Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

What do you do if you do not have the skill to follow your crazy partner on all the tracks he wants to explore? Downsize. My 17-year-old 650GS, tired of getting bits smashed off it at frequent intervals, has handed the baton on to a young upstart: a new Honda 250L Rally.

Soos julle reeds gelees het uit die vorige blog – Weskus Hokkie Weskus Hemel was die trippie na Die Hel reeds in wording en eintlik klaar beplan. Verblyf was effe van ‘n issue maar die stofpad gode het gekyk na ons en dinge so laat uitwerk soos ek oorspronklik wou ry.

Prequel

The initial plan for the December holiday season was a different type of RR: Rest and Recover; not Ride Report. Yet all it took was an invitation from previous neighbours (now living in Plett) to visit. That got the brain ticking. Why only Plett? Is not Baviaans somewhere in that general direction? Leave applications were sent, accommodation bookings were hastily made and Lance and I headed off 2 weeks later.

BACKGROUND

Monsters

Over the past couple of months I have been lying low; keeping mostly to tar, whilst the idea of dirt roads became a monster in my head. It has been almost a year and my foot still doesn’t feel quite right, but at least it is functional now.

Some think it folly, others madness, even dangerous and few are in agreement, to take long bike trips by oneself is the ultimate riding experience.

Is it not lonely, boring or intimidating are often the responses to hearing about such a trip?  Well it is actually wonderfully selfish.  You go, start and stop when or wherever you want.  Travel at a speed that suites yourself.  The Route can be changed on a whim and places explored without considering anybody else.

DAY 1 – 350kms

Monday mornings are not usually the best time for most people – me included. But today was different. I would only be going to work for a total of 15 minutes on my way out of town.

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.

We are planning an overnight, off road ride to the Gamkapoort Dam Cottages situated at the end of the Bosch Luys Kloof Pass in the Swartberg Mountains. “Nearby” towns would include Ladismith and Laingsburg.