Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

This is a story of a disastrous weekend for Lance and me. It included a crash and a forced overnight bike abandonment. Yet the whole experience, aside from the fear and the frustration, left me with the knowledge that we are surrounded by and incredible number of incredible people, whom are willing to help out beyond the point of what we’d consider reasonable.

This report covers a five day ride in March 2013 from Cape Town to Baviaans over a variety of roads – myself on a R1200 GS and my son, Jethro, on a KLR 650.

Last minute work and preparations led to an afternoon start with a firm plan to end up in Calitzdorp for the night, but looser ideas on how to get there.

This ride was the result of something that has been bothering me for a while. The club has been on a roll for quite a while with many new members joining, particularly off road riders, with the result that rides fill up very quickly with long waiting lists. My riding has improved exponentially as a result of going on Warren’s rides which are exactly suited to me. I like everything about them. But for a while I have felt a bit guilty because my presence excludes new riders who should get the same benefit that I did.

Some pics taken along the way

We are planning an overnight, off road ride to the Fish Eagle Private Nature Reserve, nestled in the heart of the Groenfontein Valley Conservancy north of Calitzdorp for the weekend of 13 – 14 October 2012.

Warren Ellwood and John Geldenhuys will be your hosts for the weekend and the ride should suit riders of all levels.

The very rustic campsite right on the banks of the Calitzdorp dam offers shaded camping areas, two hot bush showers (gas), two toilets and a big central lapa where we will gather to cook and socialise.

After weeks of scouring the web for suitable routes and countless hours spent tweaking the selected route on Mapsource - I wanted to find a route that avoided the N1, N2 and R62 yet was suitable for a "solo" ride - Adrienne and I finally set off on Friday morning enroute to Wilderness.

Why is it that its always about the people? 

 

Oudtshoorn Dual Ride : Advanced group : Geoff

The Burn Out

Bikes : 18

====My Biking experience====

All things come from nothing, so too this trip report. After last year’s annual tour , where it would have been , in a number of ways, better to have stayed in bed, this year’s got off to an amazing start…,we left Milnerton on time!!!, at 08h01 on Friday morning….a good omen.( Incredible actually):-) The ride in the morning traffic was not too bad, I expect the cars to make some unexpected moves – they didn’t disappoint! Our first stop was the Engen 1 Stop on the N1, René & Jean were departing as we arrived to fill up. At the start of Du Toit's Kloof Pass