Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Some people say that motorbike riding is not an aerobic activity. I beg to differ. There were times during the club outing to the Biedouw Valley in the Cederberg when my heart was doing push-ups, pull-ups and all kinds of supercharged activities - but more about that later.

We met early on Saturday 12 March 2011 at the Engen near the Philadelphia turn-off on the N7. Those of you who know that my husband very, very seldom sees an African dawn, would know what a challenge it was for us to be there on time.

Congregating at the garage on the N7 - kit and bikes all nice and clean...

Captain my captain: Our esteemed ride leader

There will maybe be a little sand en route, he said at the briefing, just a little bit, nothing to worry about...

After the briefing, we headed out on the N7 towards Malmesbury, stopping to check bikes and let air out of the tyres before heading off past the Police station onto the gravel road to Moorreesburg.

Checking bikes and tyre pressures near Malmesbury

It was early morning; the sun was shining, the birds and the bees were doing their things, and soon we did out first regroup about halfway to Moorreesburg.

Regrouping after the first bit of gravel

As promised, there was also a stop or two for road works

We took the turn-off to the Misverstand Dam, and there's where I maybe had a bit of a 'misverstand' with our esteemed ride leader. When he said at the briefing "there will maybe be a little bit of sand," I thought he meant "there will maybe be a little bit of sand." Errrm, well, maybe I just misunderstood what 'little bit" means.

The one moment the road was firm and visibility was good; the next there was this thick dust cloud and I went into a lovely deep sandpit about the same time that I noticed Geoff and Jane in front of me doing a really interesting snaking movement across the road.

All still good, but when my iPod then promptly started blasting REM's "Everybody hurts" into my ears,  I did the only thing that seemed sensible at that moment, and started swearing. Very loudly. 

I saw a few impressive recoveries but there were no incidents, and while it took me a few moments to remember what I had learnt in the sand course, we were all soon back up to speed.

Soon thereafter we crossed the Berg River and Warren gave us a five minute breather for a snack and to tell us some fascinating historical facts about the countryside. Stopping at the Berg River crossing

Tranquil Berg River

All too soon we got to Piketberg, where we had a brief stop at the garage (some of the ladies have not yet been bush-trained) and to grab something cold to drink, and then it was back onto the gravel. This was another new road for me - aaah, so much to do and see. The group had by now settled into a nice rhythm; everyone had found their place to ride in the peloton and in general it was just a nice, chilled-out ride.

We hit some more road works near the top of Piekenierskloof, but with such stunning scenery around, it really was no problem just hanging for a while. We are just so lucky to be living in the Cape.

More stop-n-go on Piekenierskloof

Who cares about waiting at a road block - aren't these views just something else?

I'm afraid I held up whoever was behind me through the rest of Piekenierskloof as I was having so much fun looking around, but a few minutes later the pass was done and dusted and we turned off to Citrusdal to get back onto the gravel by taking the Old Cape Road.

The Old Cape Road follows the Olifants River and is generally in good condition, although this weekend it had a few sandy spots and a fine sandy layer in places. That's one of the most interesting things about riding gravel - the roads constantly change; today it's in a good condition; next week things have changed.

We stopped to regroup as we crossed the Olifants River: (and to continue training those who needed bush training)

Richard and Jacky

A little while later, rounding a corner, we were horrified to see a bike on its side in the middle of the road. Geoff got caught in some soft sand and potholes on the inside of a corner and the front slipped out. Fortunately he and Jane were able to step off the bike with no injuries other than a pannier being ripped loose. The panniers were loaded into the back-up vehicle, and we all soon continued. That is, all apart from Ed, who was having problems with a front tyre deflating - he ended up putting his bike onto the trailer until Clanwilliam, where he could get enough air at the garage to re-inflate.

A tiny sidestand incident 

We stopped to refuel in Clanwilliam, to be treated to this sight:

Ask me no questions... and I'll tell you no lies...

Since the Pakhuis Pass has been tarred, we briefly got back onto the tar for a few km before turning off onto the gravel section leading to the Biedouw Valley and Wuppertal. Suddenly the iron horses seemed to have smelled the stable; the pace picked up and the 14-odd km to our overnight stop was done in a jiffy.

Biedouw valley here we come!!!

This pic was taken from the same spot, turned 180 degrees the other way... (I know I've said it before, but... isn't this scenery something else?)

Geoff and Jane go over the edge

Our overnight spot was the Mertenhof farm. In booking for the trip, we could either book a room in the house, or opt to camp. Both were phenomenal value for money. The house is divided into two sections, in case two non-related groups visit at the same time (and the views from the stoep...)

Campsite under the trees next to the house. There's even a separate ablution block for the campers

The first thing Warren said when we got to the farm, was: Hurry up! The ride had been planned so that we'd arrive in the Cedarberg with plenty of time to explore; Warren being willing to share 15 years of 4x4 experience and knowledge of the area with us.

So, we hurried up and dumped kit in rooms (yep, our very organised ride leader had pre-allocated the rooms - thank you, thank you, thank you for putting the snorers in the other side of the house); the campers did their thing and half an hour later we were ready to go and explore.

The 4x4 track is not usually open to bikes, but Warren spoke nicely to Barry and off we went - most of the group opting to ride, with Barry in his plaasbakkie chauffeuring the rest up to the plateau.

This 4x4 track up/down the mountain and along the plateau was, for me, the highlight of the trip. It was twisty, very steep, with lots of loose gravel and enough potholes and washaways that you had to choose your lines and then commit - in short, it was Fun with a big capital F.

There's a bike somewhere in that pic

The 4x4 track up/down the plateau, plus the view...

Barry did explain how far you can see from the beacon, but I've forgotten

Cederberg rocks: The colours and shapes can fascinate me for hours...

The farm is that green bit left of centre

Doesn't this tweespoor look inviting?

Playground from heaven

Incidentally, Barry is the fifth generation living on Mertenhof. They primarily farm with fruit and sheep, and recently added Nguni cattle. Tourism (4x4, groups like ours) is now starting to add some much-needed funds as well.

I must admit I was a bit concerned about the return journey, what with all the loose stones and steep gradient. "Momentum is your friend!" my husband reminded me. "Use engine compression and just let it roll." It worked so well that, when I got to the bottom, it was only the lure of a few cold ones that prevented me from turning around and riding to the top again!

Oh what fun there was to be had on the way down!

The loose gravel meant you could slide the rear wheel nicely if you practised a bit of emergency braking hehehe

After a visit to the nearby waterfall and rock pools for a swim, it was time for supper and with that comes... strafdoppe! Warren had hauled along a bottle of the 'withond met skop' and no evil (or kind) deed would go unpunished.

Who'll get the next strafdop?

Even Barry did not escape...

There was a bit of a tussle between Hein and Marc's kids as to who could play with the glow lights. Hein won. 

Supper was an awesome affair with Barry's wife Mariette pulling out all the stops with home-made bread and jam, bobotie with all the trimmings, and malva pudding and custard. The Afrikaans idiom of "magies vol, ogies toe" proved to be true once again (perhaps aided a bit by that chilli-laced paint stripper Warren was dishing out), and so we went off to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream...

Day 2

Sunday morning brought yet another perfect day - not a cloud in the sky; birds happily going about their business (other than the hadedas, who manage to do so with a bit much noise); not a breath of wind. No, my husband was not around to see first light hit the rocks. He was still in bed.

Cederberg dawn

In typical hospitable farm tradition, Mariette made sure that nobody would go hungry, with juice, cereal, mieliepap, scrambled eggs and the works waiting for us at the breakfast buffet.

Breakfast buffet

Happy faces at breakfast!

We were all packed and ready to leave just before 9, and our esteemed ride leader did a quick pre-trip briefing. "There may be a little bit of sand," he said. "Nothing too hectic, just a little coating on one or two of the roads." Deja-vu? Hmmm.

Group shot...

We said our goodbyes to Barry and Mariette, and got the wheels rolling, back towards the Pakhuis Pass.

A quick stop at the Englishman's grave so that we could all regroup...

Our next stop was at a rock called the 'soldaat se kop' which did, indeed look like a soldier with hat etc etc

Can't you see it? It's right over there...

Stopping at the soldier's rock: (zoom in a bit to see the fun road to get there)

Not the soldier, but another interesting rock formation

From here, we refuelled at Clanwilliam, went briefly onto tar towards Citrusdal, and then took the Paleisheuwel gravel road. Now, this area is not called "Sandveld" for nothing. You either learn to ride the stuff, or you curse - for a very long time. I was just getting confident enough to 'blip' the throttle to get me over some of the middelmannetjies, when I unexpectedly hit a particularly loose patch of sand. My heartrate went through the roof as I tried everything I knew about sand riding to keep the bike more or less moving in the direction I wanted to go. Somewhere along the line there was a definite "thank you Rony" moment and I was quite glad I had had the opportunity to play on "Mommy Sand Monster" in December.

"Hmmm, good recovery," came Gavin's laconic comment through the headphones. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh sjoe phwee ****!!" was my pithy reply. My husband just laughed.

Shortly thereafter we stopped to regroup. "So, how was that?" Warren grinned. "Well, actually, I quite enjoyed it. It was easier than yesterday's sandy bit..."

No, really.

Because the sandy bits were longer on this stretch, you had time to get used to the way the bike was moving; and I eventually learned to read the road better, figuring out which bits to avoid. With confidence came speed, and speed makes sand easier.

These back roads to Moorreesburg were all new to me so I cannot really tell you where we went, other than that the scenery is well worth it, and it's a fun area to play in if you want to get more comfortable on sandy roads. Somewhere along the line we stopped to put Ed's bike (well, actually, Gisela's bike) on the trailer when the front wheel went down again.

That front wheel wasn't going anywhere

But just look at that view...

When we got to Moorreesburg, we decided it was too hot to do the detour via Darling (as originally planned), and we all said our goodbyes and went home via the N7. Thanks again to Warren for all the planning and for leading one of the most enjoyable trips I've been on in a while;  to Marc for sweeping and Heidi for driving back-up. It was a great trip and - Warren, can I please put my name down now already for the flower trip in Spring?

The Cederberg - Biedouw Valley trip: (Day 1 = red, Day 2 = green)

PS: A journalist friend who had interviewed Giniel de Villiers, last week told me that Giniel's average heartrate during the Dakar was 160 bpm, topping out at 190. I don't think mine was that far off on day 2 .