Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

This is largely a photo report of the Canola Run, which took place last weekend (10 Sep).

Lance and I were up at some unearthly hour in the morning, so as to reach Caledon by 08:30 for the ride briefing. Some people camped at Vloedbos the previous night. Any bike was welcome to join, so you'd find everything from plastics and classics to the big bore bikes.

The starting point in Caledon:

There had been some rain the previous day. The initial section, a service road next to a railway line, was very muddy. Everyone slowed right down.

Mud traffic jam:

You take the high road and I’ll take the low road, and it’s anyone’s guess who will get there first:

Someone stuck in the mud:

This was my first ride with extensive mud. I managed to keep my feet on the pegs. Mostly. Sort of.

Salvaging the pride on the left:

Interesting muddy single-track:

The worst traffic was at the start, when everything bottlenecked on the muddy railway service road. At least you could pay plenty of attention to the stunning scenery.

An unknown, yet photogenic someone:

Tracks in the middle of nowhere:

Lance got thrown up the embankment by a mud rut. He managed to stay upright and salvage the situation; relaying the message of his close call to me. I was behind him at the time, but despite his warning, the exact same thing happened to me. I managed to stay fall-free as well and remained so throughout the ride. I saw quite a few falls, but I did not see any serious injuries.

The route was well-marked, even if the road wasn’t:

There were many puddles:

Me plus dam:

Random stop:

Traffic jam. There must be an obstacle.

More puddles:

Yellow canola fields:

Your options: water or rocks.

Yet more puddles:

Hill with fun bumps:

More scenery:

Someone going the wrong way – probably going to help the broken-down someone on the right:

More of the happy colour:

Choosing the bundu-bashing option:

The arrow shows left. Someone went straight (and got stuck)…

The grass on that corner was incredibly slick. Lance doing a dance on the wet grass:

In the pic below, someone is checking on a couple who had one of the more interesting-looking falls (a complete 180 on the slick surface). Some willing helpers had picked up the bike and faced it in the correct direction. The couple seemed ok.

Bikes in the fields:

Bike went on strike?

This bike was abandoned by its owner for later pick-up. No-one else was in sight.

Near the end:

The place of food (and finish):

This event was incredibly good value for money: R150 for a 120km well-marked and interesting route on otherwise unavailable roads, a buff from the sponsor, and lunch (wors, rib, chop, fruit kebab, pasta salad, and bread with cheese and jam) and a drink (your choice of alcohol or soda) at the finish.