Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

SO on a slightly sunny day we met at Plattekloof Engen garage for our first ladies off -road BEGINNERS ride . All of us on BMW's except Suzette on her KTM 990 beast. There were to be 10 lady riders of whom 4 had hardly any tar riding experience, let alone any off –road experience. In order to lure the ladies’ bikes out of their respective garages I decide to make this the shortest , easiest, most level , most straight, most good gravel road ride that I can find in all of the Western Cape short of staying in the car park. Wisely I rope in Annie and Geoff , and the week before the ride Geoff and Noeline kindly hosts Annie and I first at Geoff’s computer and then at his bar . Geoff gives us some interesting and safe routes which we proceed to cut and slash to make it even easier and shorter . Next step Annie , as the ever prudent and diligent ride leader, manages to find the time to recce the route a few days before the big event and she takes Jacque ( one of the club's back up drivers) along. Thanks Annie and Jacque :) A few days before the big event, I take one of the girls shopping for off –road pants ( Cycle City R500 excellent value) One of the girls also had questions about oil, and Peter was duly dispatched to check her bike's oil level. He also offered to ride her bike out of her garage on the day of the ride which she gratefully accepted. The day of our ride promises to be magic, and it certainly was. I am a tad nervous , due to the lack of experience of some of the riders. And seeing the girls paddling wildly trying to enter and exit the steep slopes of the Engen garage doesn't help either !. I have visions of bikes falling over all over the place during the ride. Annie is even more nervous as she has the reponsibility of leading the ride ,and does not wish a repeat of the drama at “ all- fall- over Hill “ that we had on the not-quite-beginners Ladies ride on the 15th March . Pete , well he looks as happy and 'rustig' as Pete always is , not in the least bit perturbed that he now has the life and limbs of the 9 women , and those of their bikes, firmly in his hands . Most of us arrived at the garage at 07h30 fill up with petrol, fiddle with bikes , chat, drink coffee, fill in indemnity forms, chat some more and faff some more. Then at 8am when were supposed to leave the garage two latecomers meander into the garage. The whole process starts all over again , they fill up with petrol, fiddle with bikes, chat, fill in indemnity forms , faff and chat . Except for me and Annie, no one notices that we have now been at the garage for some 75 minutes already . The main attraction of this event is clearly going to be social ,and I wonder idly if any of the ladies would actually notice if we just stayed in the garage the whole morning and just chatted and then went home. I think we would still have had a great day :) At last Annie gets to do her pre- trip speech, which she does so well and away we go. I am third last to leave , after Dave and Peter the sweeper. Dave has come with to escort Lorna to the garage and will also help sweep. I again wonder nervously how the ride will go as I see the bikes weaving drunkenly out of the steep exit of the garage. But my worries soon disperse as we settle into a nice easy slow meander down Plattekood road and the girls are doing great ( well so far everyone has managed to stay on their bikes :)) Annie is Mother Patience herself , and takes the ride slowly , so not one of the ladies feel stressed or hurried . I think we attempted to keep an average speed of 80 hour but that was simply too ambitious, and we quickly reduced it to 60 km / hour , but often even slower than that. There was a bit of a gap between the faster riders in the front, and the slower ones at the back so I went ahead and filled in that slot, but Annie made it so easy for me, as she rode slowly to start with, but also stopped as soon as she didn’t see the rest of us behind her .I hope I can do such a good job when I lead the next ride. From the Plattekloof garage we took the R302, winding through vineyards etc. This becomes Wellington Road, then the Klipheuwel Road. Turned right onto the Lichtenburg Road, which took us onto the R44 (the Agter Paarl Road), taking us past Nelsons Creek , we turned left at the 4 way stop direction Malmesbury and just a few hundred meters down the road we took a right on the “ Lady Loch “ road, following this for a few kms, then turning right onto the dirt (Hoog Road) . This was the last part of the NC 09 Green Route and is very pretty. At the entrance to the dirt we stopped mainly to socialize but also to deflate tyres. Group foto : Lorna, Tiara,Mandi,Tanya, Annie,Erica,Renette, Glenda,Diana,Suzette I see Tiara deflating my tyres and am very impressed at her thoughtful gesture. To see her expression is priceless when she realizes too late that the tyres she had deflated did not belong to her 650GS but to my 1200 GS !. I did however thank her profusely to make up for her hardship Tiara deflating her own tyres Here there were some pretty anxious expressions on some the ladies faces. Suzette especially looked very nervous , but I didn’t blame her at all as she is so tiny and petite her feet can hardly touch the ground from atop her KTM 990 . Suzette , who is also known as “ stop and drop “ ( nickname used here with her permission !) had already dropped her bike earlier that morning when leaving the Lord Charles garage with Diana and Mandi. I think she is very brave. And fortunately that was the last fall anyone had the rest of the day . There wasn't even a side stand incident the whole day :) Suzette and Pete next to her Orange Beast Erica pretty in pink looked tiny standing next to her yellow 650GS . She is a bit pale but hanging in there. Pretty Erica in pink with her Yellow GS650 Glenda seems to be taking the whole day in her stride even though it was a first for her and she proved her mettle by staying with the front runners. Lorna wisely is taking it slowly and keeping safe Lorna, Glenda, Diana,Annie,Tanya Mandi smiling happily, Morpheus in the background behind her After some 20 minutes of nervous chatting , we started travelling in gravel, the big moment had arrived , this is what the day was about ( not just chatting :)) . Peter went ahead and took some nice photographs of us riding . Here is a nice one of Tanya at the front (just after Annie) standing proudly on her 1200GS with the rest of us following in her dust. Tanya riding proudly , and the rest following in her dust This good gravel road was only approximately 15 km’s long . At the crossing with tar we stop to discuss how we all fared. Everyone was in good spirits, as it went very well . Erica , Suzette and Lorna all did really well . They confided that they felt very safe and not rushed at all which helped build confidence. We chat some more and then see two dapper BMW riders’ come past us, closer inspection reveals it's Wayne S and Steve T and their lovely partners, small world. We then turned right onto tar, about 3kms to the R44, turning left here, going past Voelvlei Dam, then turned left to Gouda. Several kms later, taking the Mooreesburg Road to the left –a dirt road. We stopped to switch off ABS again. This road took us through wheat fields and farmlands, crossing a river en route. Very beautiful and at the very slow speed of 40 km hour we have plenty of time to drink in the gorgeous sights and inhale the sweet scents. I even have time to wave at people that I normally would have missed. Riding through a pretty valley I spot people sitting on their stoep some miles below in the valley and they wave excitedly . I am pleased that I am able to wave at them. If we had been riding faster I would have missed them . We turned left towards Riebeek Wes, the road becoming a blue dirt road – more difficult to “read”, but nothing too strenuous . In fact it was the easiest dirt I have travelled and I was thankful that we were not scaring anyone , but were making it an enjoyable and gentle introduction to travelling on gravel. We stopped at the tar in Riebeek Wes. Not a minute too soon for me and Suzette :) Suzette and Renette laughing Annie and Pete Tiara, Dave, Lorna and Mandi Annie had already told me earlier that there was going to be a hundred meters of slightly loose stuff, and now she confided in me that it was coming up .We debated whether to tell the troops . We did. This of course put everyone in a slight tizz, but we nevertheless set off full steam ready to do battle with the loose stuff. We turned right at the stop street and then left about 3kms later onto dirt (no real obvious signpost). We then took a scenic left onto the Riebeeksrivier road, which is a lovely little pass winding along the river. More beauty and a feast for the eyes. I am also really enjoying watching the ladies grow in their riding skills and confidence . Tiara is already a lot better and more confident in the two rides she has done with us . Erica, Lorna ,Glenda and Suzette are doing fabulously and I am so proud of them. The rest of us are also getting our confidence up and getting some good saddle time in . Resourceful Anne came up with a way during the ride to take a turn off which managed to avoid the loose stuff to everyone’s happiness. Then right onto tar, taking us on to Malmesbury. In Malmesbury we stop at Renosterbos for a lekker lunch . We are all happy bunnies as the dirt riding is over and we all did so well . Happiness and smiles all around. Sandy arrives in her car, and joins us for lunch. Now despite the fact that she wrote a book about riding her 650 GS from England to SA through Africa none of us have actually seen her on a bike yet , as last time she rode the back up vehicle and today her motor car , as she had a late function on the night before ,so was unable to make the ride. We tease her gently about having a phantom bike, but it was very nice that she joined us and we all chat and eat to our hearts delight . Lunch lunch After lunch the Somerset West and surrounds ladies depart for home, and Annie leads the rest of us on tar to Durbanville where we all scatter in our own directions. That evening I receive many sms’s and also a telephone call from Tiara . Tiara thanked us from the bottom of her heart for making it possible for her to ride dirt without fear , and in such a safe and fun environment too . She complimented Annie for remaining so calm . I am happy for Tiara ,as I still fell bad for sending her, as a total dirt novice rider , to do KBK course and am now very glad that I have now made up for that , and yes I am happy that we had such a great, successful, fun and funny ride to Malmesbury. Thanks to everyone who helped, in particular to Geoff , Annie, Pete and Dave (Lorna’s partner ) The next ladies ride is the 19th April and we will keep you posted.