Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Initiated & coordinated by Rynet, this was to be a ladies-only ride. She also managed to persuade me to lead the ride - although I'm still wondering how she managed to do this!! :) She also asked Peter O'Hanlon to be sweeper. He was more than willing! ===Riders=== Rynet - 1200GS Tanya van Niekerk - 1200GS Isabeau Wilson - F650Twin Diana de Klerk - F650GS Tiara - F650GS Peter O'Hanlon - F650Dakar (with a broom) Anne Connell - F650GS Frances Minicki - F650GS (rode with us to the start and had to turn back due to back problems) Sandi Langton - backup bakkie The 1st group met earlyish at the Plattekloof Engen. After a quick briefing from Rynet, they were about to depart, when they realised they'd lost Tiara, who materialised again after she'd found the correct flavour of coffee!!! Um, we later found out that Tiara has very particular tastes when it comes to food and beverage... The 1st group met up with the Somerset West group at the Somerset West Engen around 8.30. I had just started my pre-trip briefing, when we were rudely interrupted by a traffic officer. There were many other bikers around, and we were puzzled by his intervention. To cut a long story short - this bloke was on an ego trip and wanted to warn us about small number plates (I think that was his mission) by flashing his ticket book and giving a longwinded speech. We eventually broke away and continued with our briefing. We wound our way slowly through the Somerset West N2 roadworks and passed through Grabouw, taking the Viljoenshoop turnoff to the right, just after the Peregrine farmstall. We followed this road for about 5kms and turned left onto the Highlands Road, meandering through orchards and valleys and farmlands till eventually it becomes dirt. Here we stopped to deflate. There was a lot of excitement and nerves building up. Frances bade us goodbye, not allowing us to persuade her to ride any further because of her back problems. Finally we were off! The road is in a good condition, bar some corrugations. The scenery is absolutely stunning. There are one or two winding downhills and by the time we reached the tar Kleinmond road, some of the ladies' eyeballs were rolling. I realised they were still "settling in". Hopefully some of them managed to enjoy a bit of the scenery. We turned left and left again, riding tar for another 5kms, then turned right onto the Karwyderskraal road (with the "road closed" sign), following this till we hit the dirt again. This road is also in excellent condition at the moment and takes you through farmlands and little valleys. We turned right at some point, following a road (narrower) which is looser in some places with the odd sandy patch. The group managed well, but by the time we got to the next turnoff, there were some more rolling eyeballs. Now for the next challenge - a downhill, which is at the moment not "loose". We offered to take some bikes down, which one or two gratefully accepted. Tiara, a feisty first-timer, who had "threatened" to ... me up if I destroyed her bike for the Buff the following week, made her way down, bought a plot of land, got up and continued. There were some polite four-letter words greeting me at the bottom of the hill... If only they'd seen how loose it was when I went down there my 1st time... Well, there was still another uphill to go. I believe there were some more four-letter words which made their way down the grapevine. If ONLY they'd seen how loose it was when I was a 1st-timer! Time was marching on, and we had a stunning ride to Caledon, the temperatures soaring at 35°. We stopped to refuel, watching some crazy Oke who took offence to us being in Caledon in his presence. He offered us toffies and a political speech with lots of gesticulations from his bakkie window. And I thought to myself that he was in a very safe place behind his steering wheel with all the colddrinks he'd been drinking... At this point, Diana's tummybug got the better of her, and she decided to leave us. We took tar (to make up time) from Caledon to Greyton (about 35kms) and gratefully descended on the Abbey Rose in the searing heat. Tiara discovered that they didn't stock Black Labels, and so went off in search of it all over Greyton. She was quite miffed that there is no such thing as a Black Label in Greyton and had to make do with a Castle instead... Fortunately, the restaurant did have Renette's rooibos tea, as well as all the other cold beverages in demand... We had a really lekker lunch and were feeling quite lazy afterwards. Isabeau left us as she had some other commitments she had to honour, and our smaller group headed off sleepily in search of the dirt. We took the Villiersdorp turnoff and followed the tar for several kms till it became very good dirt, winding through stunning valleys along the hills, following the river, taking another right turn. Finally we hit the tar again and followed this for quite a way in the general direction of Villiersdorp, taking a left turn onto the dirt road called ?Misdraai or something draai. Several cars passed us, swamping us with dust. Another left turn took us towards Botrivier. There are no words to describe the scenery of these valleys and hills. I noticed that the general speed of the group had increased dramatically. Wow, the self-confidence had picked up and they were definitely more relaxed. The road condition was excellent. We stopped in Botrivier to refuel and then all followed Tiara into the Botrivier Hotel to cool our thirsty throats. Renette also discovered a lovely pool at the back of the hotel, and we all splashed down in varying items of clothing. What a blast. This was the official end of our trip, and a few of us kuiered at the hotel. Some elected to go via the N2 over Houwhoek pass (with all the nasty roadworks and setting sun). The rest elected to go back over Highlands Road and skip the roadworks. Again the scenery was even more fantastic in the fading light... What a fantastic day! I think some ladies had their boundaries unexpectedly pushed - for some this was an achievement, for others it was a way to polish up their vocabulary... Thanks Renette, for organising this day - we'll definitely have to do it again before the bad weather hits us!! :)