Beginners off tar day ride into the Overberg - GREYTON Sunday 5th July 2015
Beginners off tar day ride into the Overberg - GREYTON Sunday 5th July 2015
Trip report is here
http://bmwmccc.org.za/awesome-dag-trip
Thanks to Marinda
Another enjoyable club off-tar ride. If you have recently done the off-road training, this is a must ride event.
This ride is suited to riders new to gravel roads and is pillion friendly.
This is a beginners ride, we will not ride fast.
Total distance is 300 kilometers 50% on gravel.
Back home at 16H30.
Fuel & lunch for own account.
R50.oo fee for non club members. (club dues not paid or not registered).
DATE : Sunday 5th July 2015
Costs : no charge for paid up BMW MCCC members.
R50.oo fee for non club members. (club dues not paid or not registered).
Lunch at Searle's in Greyton is for your own account.
Where : meet at 08H00 - Donford Motorrad, corner R44 & Webersvallei road, Jamestown.
Booking: FULLY BOOKED
Riders booked so far:-
| first name | surname |
| Andy | Froggatt |
| Anna-Marie | Wilken |
| Bobby | Jones |
| Chris & wife | Jooste |
| Craig | Broadfoot |
| Craig | Cauvin |
| Dewald | Reynecke |
| Eugene | Ehlers |
| Garrett | Loubser |
| George | Holloway |
| Jean and Kate | du Plessis and Duggan |
| Jimmie | Louw |
| Marinda | Adendorff |
| Marius | Mouton |
| Mark | Perry |
| Michiel | Besier |
| nadia | visser |
| Peter | Loubser |
| Peter | Marais |
| Philip & Helene | Fouche |
| Tony | Schlee |
| Zanie | Cillers |
At 08H20, riders briefing, route plan and departure at 08H40.
We will split into groups of 10 riders, with experienced riders leading and sweeping.
Some of you have done this before and now when you do it again, you will be surprised how some 'dicey' parts that scared you seem so tame the next time round.
We will ride- irrespective of the weather.
Join us to build up kilometers under the belt or just to enjoy our exquisite back yard.
We ride N2 up Sir Lowry’s pass bypassing Grabouw & Elgin.
Over the Houwhoek Pass through Bot Rivier and then hook right through Caledon.
All on tar. There will not be a back up vehicle.
Now we descend into the Hemel en Aarde Vallei turning left onto the gravel- Terslaarsdal road.
Here we adjust tyre pressure and suspension for gravel and an off-road briefing
We will split into groups of 10 bikes to keep us manageable,
It’s a magnificent road and a very beautiful ride which pillions will just love as they are feasted to brilliant vistas of the rich winter greens of the bread-bin of the Southern Cape.
PILLIONS TO PLEASE USE CAMERAS!!!
After snaking up to the N2 we cross and head up to lunch stop-Greyton.
After a relaxed lunch we ride out West on tar to Genadendal, then gravel road.
6km further we turn right at Middelplaas on good gravel, passed Helderstroom prison at Sunnyside, tar over Eselsjag pass and L to gravel and the Draaiberg road to Botriver via Van der Stel pass.
Top up, say goodbyes in Botriver and then run for home.
Plenty stops to adjust gear, bikes as needed to make your ride more comfortable and photograph the awesome scenery.
Mountain passes on the route
Sir lowry's pass- tar http://mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/find-a-pass/western-cape/item/160-sir-lowry-s-pass-n2.html
Houwhoek pass- tar http://mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/find-a-pass/western-cape/item/93-houw-hoek-pass,-n2.html
Eselsjag pass- tar (not yet on this website)
Van der Stel pass – gravel http://mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/find-a-pass/western-cape/item/268-van-der-stel-pass.html
Many of our riders have passed through this nursery school in the days they started out off tar and on gravel.
Many returned again and again, each time amazed at how places that scared them seemed so tame next time round,
and then they do it again they did it because they had missed the wonderful views due to sheer funk of concentrating on earlier trips..
Check out the feedback...
http://bmwmccc.org.za/beginners-offtar-ride-western-cape-sunday-26th-january
http://bmwmccc.org.za/spring-beginners-off-tar-ride-overberg-greyton-sunday-31-august-1
http://bmwmccc.org.za/relaxed-ride-swest-greyton-and-back-new-route-sun-15th-may
http://bmwmccc.org.za/beginners-off-tar-ride-greyton-and-back-0
http://bmwmccc.org.za/spring-beginners-off-tar-ride-overberg-greyton-sunday-31-august
Please add:
Craig Broadfoot
Bobby Jones
both proudly paid up members :-)
Hi Riders,
We will ride as one to the gravel turn off at Caledon.
Then at the off-tar brieifng we will split into two groups, the second departing shortly after the first group and keeping spearate from them.
Check your mail for the brieifng notes.
Thanks all for a great day! Even the weather played along. Though I have now made up my mind that I need winter gloves. There is no way I will survive Verneukpan if I hardly survived this morning.
Now I just need to get my mirror tacked back on. It seems I have a self-disassembling bike!
Thank you all for a good days ride, good riding disicpline and look fporward to seeing you on future rides.
Thanks for putting it together - and also organising the excellent weather!
I had an enjoyable day all around!
Baie dankie Andy, vir n baie lekker en rustige trippie!
Hier is n paar fotos....
Vroegoggend, lekker koud en gereed om te ry!
By die Teslaarsdal / Solitaire afdraai het ons grondpad begin.
Met ons aankoms was dit baie mistig, maar dit het baie gou verdwyn.
Andy met sy grondpad lesing.
Jeremy en Donavan het daar eenkant gesit en luister . . . dalk eendag self so rondry!
Regoor Van Brakel se winkel is 'n grondpad wat ek nou vir die eerste keer gery het --- moeite werd gewees!
And some happy riders pass by the camera
On this trip I learned a very important lesson.
When you pushstart a bike on dirt . . . . . . .
1. The rear wheel does not have much grip to swing the engine
2. Load a pillion on the bike to be push-started ---- it greatly improves the grip of the rear wheel
3. Normally one would pushstart in 2nd gear (sometimes 3rd) This one (F650 twin) would not start in 2nd. First gear did the trick.
4. Pillion must hold on and not fall off the back when the bike suddenly takes off.
5. Most important --- pusher must push forward, not lean on the tail of the bike (trying to improve rear wheel grip). In trying to add downforce, I pushed down a bit on the rear, and came solidly second when the bike took off and I lost support (at running speed). I do have a picture to prove it!!
Thinking back, I should have known better! 
In elk geval, 'n baie lekker trippie. Rustig, goeie paaie en goeie geselskap!
Very nice Danie - now what happened to your foot? I don't see any breaks - so is it a sprain?
The other thing to do when push-starting is for the rider to stand, then drop onto the seat just as they release the clutch. I've used this successfully a few times.
High axial impact on the palm caused a slight crack in the head of the radius bone (see the short black line on the xray).
I had quite a time riding back home. It was quite painfull to twist the wrist ie throttle.
I worked a system of keeping the throttle (engine speed) constant and change speed using gears
Occationally this was not enough (eg passing traffic etc) and then I did a sort of snake-wiggle of the palm to change the throttle setting :)
Of all the incidents I had through the years (sidestand and others) this is the most painfull and need-of-healing.
Eish, I hurt myself with a bike, and I was not even on a bike!!!
Three more pictures....
Pinching some extra speed
Arriving at Teslaarsdal turn-off in quite heavy fog
All on our way, after the lecture and tyre deflating.
Ouch Geelkameel! I am amazed that you made it home. I've also cracked that same bone when coming off a mountain bike. It was a miniature fracture (less visible than yours), but it hurt too much for me to even consider cycling back. Good going that you got home!
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