Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

I'd love to come along, with pillion, thanks Andy!

Hi Andyman,

 

Compliments of the season to you. Please book for two. My son Glen is totally new to riding, but very capable.

Thanks

Marcus

snet you a PM.

Hi Andy

Please add me to the list.

pm sent :-)

Hi Andy, count me in please, pm sent as well.

thanks

Erhardt

Would love to join with pillion

al

Hi Andy,

Would love to join your off road ride on the 26th.

John Collins

Is this the same 'easy' begginers trip we did last year Uncle Andy?

Slm Shammer, this trip is the real easy. its not a follow up to a trianing. It is jst for beginners and thos just wanting a real chill off tar ride.

No steepies, loosies, wetties, slippies.

Just awesome roads in an awesome countryside with other awesome people wnating to get confidence, kilos under the belt, and watch others and learn from them.

Really glad to have you along.

Would love to join you and this is a perfect intorduction as not done off tar before

 

Tim

Hi Andy, [please add me.

Jacques

Hi Andy.

Please add me with pillion. She is a beginner.

 

Thanks

Hi Andy

Can you please add Andrew Kemm to the list? 

Thank you for all the responses. we have two groups and it may grow a bit more.

If your name is not on the list and you think it should be, forgive me, I havve got several events on the go and its possible to miss someone.

Please check details, If I do not have your bike, then let me know, same for any incorrect details,

If I do not have your email and cell number please send this to me in a PM.

I'm almost finished my assignment to Nacala port and will be back in SA on Friday night. I'll follow up on Saturday morning

Hi Andy

 

It's purpleplumbing@webmail.co.za

 

Regards

Marcus

Hi Andy 

pm sent

Hi Andy

 

Please take me off the list, I have a project going live on Saturday evening.... 

Just found out...

Appologies.

will definately make it next time round!,

Philip

Hi Andyman, if there is still space count me in please.

Kevin

Jean says, Andy I would love to be there but a small knee operation will have me off the bike for a few days, can I book now for the next one?

Keith Scott, to join in if possible please?

justenoughwords@gmail.com

Final instructions

Hi guys n gals

Welcome to the ride to Greyton

Pillion friendly, low speeds, good  gravel roads, whatever the weather- we will ride.
Ideal opportunity to get kilometres under your belt and get more comfortable riding on gravel roads.
40% tar
60% gravel
Skills level - basic

We meet 08H00 at the Engen 1-Stop, exit on the N2, Left as you approach Somerset West towards Sir Lowry's pass.

Refuel here and you'll have enough for the 240 kilos for the day. And to get home again.

Come early to have a brekky or coffee n snack if you like while we muster.

　

08H15 Rider briefing. - see the briefing attached and make yourself familiar- even if you'll hear it from me on Sunday.

Depart N2 east pass Bot river.

We ride through awesome countryside, so pillions, please have your cameras ready at all times.

Lunch:

www.facebook.com/searlestradingpost?ref=ts

Naomi at Searle's is our hostess, we can relax in the garden and enjoy a lunch. your own expense. Halaal catered for.

Depart after lunch Greyton to Genadendal on Tar.

I left at 06H00 to recce the route and the venue and was back by 09H00.

252 kilometers from S/West round trip.

Roads are awesome, so no need to the tar after lunch, the gravel roads to Helderstroom are silky and fast. I barrelled down them in crisp air at 140, and the tar from Helderstroon to the R43 is all the new 160r design road so you can really burn the pipes clean on that stretch. But tomorrow we ride at modest low speeds.

Venue is ready for us.

We have secure parking for bikes only.

The roads through the farms are just pleasure.

I topped a rise and stopped with a vista spread out below me that was just super natural.

I'd brought a flask of coffee, so just had to shut down and sit in the still air, sipping quietly as the silence grew and then was penetrated by the distant sounds of nature going about its own business. 

Amazing how the sounds of nature come back at you and minute by minute you start to pick up more n more of the bird calls, geese, ducks the distant dairy truck, domestic farm sounds etc.

Very special country we live in.

You will enjoy tomorrow.

Greytongreyton 2greyton 3greyton 4greyton 5greyton 6

Thank you Andy and Pete for organizing yet another interesting and eventful ride with beautiful roads and scenery. Who said beginner rides are boring? It was nice to see a lot of new faces and to meet new people. Hope you enjoyed the ride and that we will see you on other rides.

THanks Andy and Pete, we did enjoy it. Defnitily was an eventfull day and I think we all enjoyed it. Hope the next one is coming soon.

Thanks to all the fellow riders, hope to see you all at the club meeting Thuesday and if you get lost.... rather call Andy.

Thanx Andy and Pete. 

Really enjoyed myself today and made some new friends. Oh and the ride was great too. Your time and knowledge is always appreciated. Til the next one, hopefully soon.

To the fellow riders and sweepers, thanx for making the ride enjoyable and safe.

Thanks Andy and team, it was a very enjoyable experience today, looking forward to those still lying in the future!

Thanks Andy, Pete and sweepers for a brilliant organized ride. Thanks to the fellow riders. This whole bunch of you all made my day. See you soon at the club meeting.

 

Jacques

Shaws pass re-group and gravel Brieifng, Glynnis n Andrew

We all met at the ENGEN and the total abscence or the ride leader made soem wonder if they were at the right place.

Pete took charge and Andy still made it on time after swapping bikes and batteries to Annie's bike.

Drama at home had him speaking Swahili fluently and the neighbours generally amused to see just how loudly Andy can swear!

255 kilos S/West to S/wets return.

For several it was thier very first gravel road experience.

The general gravel speeds of 40 kph  were safe and fine, but by mid afternoon, riders were doing 80 easily, some up  to 100 on the good gravel.

Shaws pass getting ready for the gravel, Zanie n Pete

Pete explains the dynamics of cornering

 

Paying attention

Rest stop on the Klein river

Rest stop on the Klein river

Riders on good gravel, coming up on the cross roads

Hugh's 650 died of fuel starvation.

a run on diagnostics and a call or three to Shane in Cape Town to troubleshoot could yield no result. The fuel pump was not priming.

Hugh bravely submitted to being towed 9 kilometres to a farm yard school.

He did absolutely perfectly, but he's an experienced rider, even if new to gravel. Then he pillioned to the N2 and was later met by family and recovered the bike.

 

a welcome greeting at Searle's Trading post

We were met by a bevy of beauties offering ice cold drinks- 4 different cordials.

Refreshing and cool.

Then outside to the reserved area to chill out, chat and munch on lunch.

At Searle's there a bit of everything, but the doll's houses are exquisite!!

Naomi's team had cordoned off the entire pavement parking area so all 24 bikes could park right in front and we had a really nice lunch, spoiled for choice.

suiting up to go the last leg

I think part of going to Greyton for the city folk is to feast their eyes on the large array of bikes that call there, both road and adventure bikes. And they are never disappointed.

Ample parking in front, secure.

We headed off from Greyton out on the R406, we had the new craze of bareback horse riding  in our face as four youths flogged their steeds up the 406.

Right into and thru Genadendal. more horsemen, lekker to see them riding.

Then right up the right hand bank of the Riviersonderend river valley to the R43 at the top.

We then rode to the N2 and said our greets, some going direct home, others to meet at the Houwhoek farm stall for a beer/cooldrink.

 

1.6km down the railroad track tweespoor we found the abandoned Ten.

Shortly before the fam stall, we helped a chap suffering heat exhaustion. where the FBOS discipline kicked in, -   scene secured, rider stabilised and bike recovered.

Pete rides the Ten back to the N2

 We then retired to the farm stall for a well deserved cold one.

Then home

No bikes got broken nor any riders hurt, no animals were harmed in the making of this adventure.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for a really enjoyable first off-tar ride to Greyton yesterday, I loved every bit of it (with the possible exception of being in the slightly lost group )

Great lunch venue, sorry about having to leave early but had to get back to see Springsteen in Bellville, also awesome so wow, what a day!

 

Tim

Hi Andy / And all riders and pillions that joined the ride to Greyton

I was to tired to write and post a long story last night... but here it is.... all you "grammar fraeks" must please excuse my boere-english .

First of all I would like to thank Andy and all the organizers of this ride for choosing yet again another stunning route and an a very nice venue. You guys never fail to surprize us. It was good to see so many new faces and to meet new people, I hope all of you had a fun filled day and that we will see you on more rides. I’m also still fairly new to riding a bike. I started riding about 18months ago with no previous riding experience. The club is a good place to learn and improve your riding skills, not to mention meeting nice people and seeing what beautiful roads an scenery our country have to offer. What better way than to experience all of this  than on a bike?

Each ride is still a learning experience to me. On this trip I learned  a couple of things and I would like to share them with you.

 The first lesson that I’ve learned is that the BMW’s fuel computer is very accurate… if it shows “0km” it actually means “Djy ry nie”.  Too lazy to top up my bike on Saturday I decided that I will try my luck and push through to the meeting point with the fuel I have in my bike. When I left home in Bellville it indicated that I have about 35km left on my tank. I reached the sign that said “Engen 1 stop 2 km” and I started to relax. As my luck would have it about a kilometre down the road my bike died on me. With the destination in sight I decided that  the two of us will have a nice romantic walk. The bike was rewarded with 18 litres of fuel and I rewarded myself with a monster Monster energy drink.

The second lesson that I’ve learned is that club training sessions or any other bike training is worth the money spend. I’m not sure if the people in the second group saw the “interesting” skid marks on the Gravel road between the R316 and the N2? What happened there was I was the second last bike of the first group and my friend Zack was the sweeper. As I was coming over a little a hill a saw the bike in front of me and I slacked down to get my following distance. All of a sudden the bike in front came to a standstill and I had to slam on my brakes. It’s surprising how what you learn on the training becomes instinct. I was heading straight to the tail end of the bike. With my rear brake locked and what seems to be centimetres from this bike a had to make a quick decision . At this stage I was probably  doing about 10km/h, but with not enough space to stop I  had to make a quick decision so I let go of the brakes  and gave the throttle a quick blip just in time to pull my bike past the other bike. Knowing that Zack is still somewhere behindme, I  heard his voice in my head. Yust to put the record straight… I’m not that crazy, we were on comms). We were basically skidding parallel to each other at this stage at a fairly low speed. His bike’s rear wheel slipped of the shoulder of the road causing the front wheel to  clip my rear wheel and we gracefully parked the bikes. Mine on its left side and his on the right. At the end of the day the problem was caused by a bee (not BEE) in a helmet. Lessons learnt here is that safe following distance is a good thing and that no matter what the cause, always indicate your actions and stop on a safe as possible place. Luckily no harm was done.

 We just went of the N2 on another stretch of gravel road when Pete told us that there was a bike with a mechanical problem in Andy’s group. He asked me if I will  back track our route to go and fetch the rest of Andy’s group while Andy will be helping the broken bike. Andrew and myself chased backed on the route we came and when we reached the R316 I thought that these guys can’t be so far behind our group. I saw a miss call from Shameer, one of the guys of the second group. I phoned him back. He gave me their GPS coordinates (thank you Mr Smartphone). I then realized that they turned right on the N2 where we turned left. I told Shameer that that they must carry on the N2 and that Andrew and myself will chase back the 24km stretch on the road between the R316 and N2.  As we reached the N2 Zack phoned me and he said that Pete say that Andrew and I must take the quickest route back to the venue. I entered the Venue’s address on my GPS. Riding on the N2, direction George, we drove past a gravel road saying Greyton but my GPS indicated that I must take the next turn about 5km down theN2. So I followed my GPS and we took the 2^nd turn about 5km down the N2. We were on a very nice gravel road leading us into a farm yard. The GPS said turn right in 300m and drive for 1.9km and then to turn left. At this stage we were on a 2-spoor road leading through a harvested field. Not to our surprize we were introduced to Mr “Gate” with the surname “Locked”. So Andrew and I had to back track the 7km back to the N2 and then the 5km to the 1^st Greyton sign we saw.  With about an extra 100km down the line Andrew and I arrived at the venue. Luckily everybody of the two  groups were there. Thank you  Shameer for taking the responsibility and leading them safely to the venue. Lessons learnt here is to always stay in groups. You can easily get lost on the network of gravel roads. And it’s always wise to have contact numbers of some of your fellow riders. Maybe I must change my GPS voice to man’s voice, seems that even a women’s sense of direction on a GPS is dodgy…. Sorry ladies .

On our way back we quickly stopped on the road from Villiersdorp to Caledon just before the N2 to have a quick briefing . Some people decided to go  straight back home  from here via the N2 and the rest of us decided to have a refreshment at the Houw Hoek farm stall. At this stage I  was sweeping for remaining part of the group. As I went down the Bortriver pass I saw the front part of the group parked on both sides on the road. At this stage the road was one lane per direction. My first thought was that something terrible happened. I saw a gentlemen sitting next to the road and Andy and Pete were talking to him. He couldn’t have asked for better people to assist him. Pete pillioned with Andy and we set of to fetch his bike. I couldn’t help to notice that Pete was practising what he preached earlier the day regarding pillions. He and Andy make quite a good couple on a bike. About 1.6km down the road we found the bike lying on its side on a sandy patch on the railway road between the Houw Hoek Hotel and Botriver. Pete took the guy’s bike back to him. This is a fairly narrow 2-spoor road with basically all kinds of riding conditions, loose rocks, sand etc. Andy and I had to go through the stretch of sand to turn our bikes around. I must tell you guys that I’m not good friends with the “sand monster”. Yet again no serious injuries to the rider or the bike occurred and we all stopped for a cold refresment. Lessons learned here are not to ride on your own and to always keep hydrated.

 I would like to thank all of you for joining this ride. Who said that beginners rides are boring??? Like the say… “A bad day on the bike is better than a good day in the office”.

Be safe and keep the rubber on the road.

Well said Carel, but if you want to win the Trip report trophy we need pictures....and pictures.

What kind of friend would I be if I don’t assist you with this.

Carels Romantic Walk

 

 

Getting some friendly help

Made me wish I was there till I saw the sand where the ten was left abandoned :-)

Will have to join you on the next one though :-)

Dankie Andy en Pete vir 'n onvergeetlike dag!

Die dag het vol opwinding begin, Pete jy sal maak dat my oe nog eendag uit my kaste uitpop :)

Terwyl ons wag vir die res van die groep om by ons aan tesluit, geniet ek en Pete koffie, en so deur die gesprek sal hy net noem dat dit 'n lekker rit sal wees met sy eie ups and downs, en my oe rek al groter, moet ek die koffie sluk en huis toe of sal ek deur druk, watter deel het ek gemis?

Dankie vir elke stukkie kennis en hulp wat met so 'n dag gedeel word, die lag en ondervinding wat geld nie kan koop nie.

 

Thanks Andy and Pete

What a great day. My first off road ride. Made me look at the environment through a new lense. Got back to the deep south mind body and soul exhausted. No insomnia last night. Thanks again to all. Looking forward to the next one.

Salim, we actually never took that railway route, we stuck to good well packed gravle with no mishaps.

However, we went to help a guy who had been on that railway route ans thats where the sand photo comes from.

So you would not have had to go into sand after all.

Carel came as a rescue offcier in case Pete n I go into shit.

Part of never ride gravel alone, even if you think its just 2 kilometres.

But it was fun nevertheless.

Hi Andy.

 

Seems like it was a cracker of a ride!, sorry I missed it!! Wil be on the next one, come he'll or hi water!!

p

Good report Carel, no pics, no prize. Something I try when riding in a group is to  always look beyond the riders in front of you.

Those guys who had their first gravel ride with Andyman on Sunday will only later realise how privileged they have been.

I started my adventure riding with Andyman on the same ride in 2009 and it opened the door to adventures and friendships beyond value.

I wish the same for all of you.

I'm starting to get worried about these trips.  I'm getting a name for riding pillion with Andy and on this occasion he was riding a yellow bike with a pink feather ...  hope it's not catchy!

[quote=PeterO]

I'm starting to get worried about these trips.  I'm getting a name for riding pillion with Andy and on this occasion he was riding a yellow bike with a pink feather ...  hope it's not catchy!

The riding pillion our the pink feather

Try add more water next time

OK, so i am the owner of the Tenere who was rescued by Andy, Pete and Carel. i registered solely in order to comment, but used a nom de plume in order not to offend my bikes :-)firstly: HUGE thanks - if i believed in divine intervention, then you guys were it! (although i would prefer my angels to be less hairy (in certain places), more hairy (in other places), and more attractive to the eye (overall - with some specific bumps i dare not mention) - (btw: the pink feathery accessory thing was quite disturbing in my heat-altered mental state))secondly: thanks, again. you re-inforced my view that we always help a fellow biker. in fact, i was out there looking to recover a camera dropped by an overseas visitor the previous saturday.thirdly: the 'never ride alone' factor is a moot point. i've been biking for 35 years. outside of commuting, 99% of my riding is done solo - that's what it's all about for me - i do what i want, whenever - i don't have to consider anyone else's time constraints/partner demands/hunger/anything at all... it's my Zen time... this is the first time i have come this short, and to be honest, the lesson i learned from this episode is that, just like my dream bike at 18 (my XT500) is not necessarily my dream bike at 50, so are my capabilities at 50 not as full-fledged, especially after years of bodily abuse and a major back-op. i'm not ready to settle for riding only whenever i can arrange a like-minded fellow traveller, so i'm building a recovery kit (z-drag pulley system) which will hopefully keep me going solo for the foreseeable future. so i'd amend 'never ride alone' to 'never ride without the methods you need to not need someone else'. p.s. thanks Carel, for the "Gentleman" reference - none of my mates would believe it was me :-)

It was good meeting you ... and thanks for the beer.

A lot of us ride alone too ... always a risk but I hear what you say about alone time.

All the best for future rides ... you're welcome to join us on our training days btw ... it's not only for BM's