BACKGROUND
PHASE 1
It all started at Freak’s birthday bash with a comment by Hermanator that a visit to his relatives for lunch at the Docks might be a good idea.
Freak immediately rushed off and acquired an attractive pillion candidate from a nearby table and Neil and I agreed that keeping the Sunday breakfast run tradition going would be a good call.
PHASE 2
Neil did some debating and philosophising and then came up with a counter proposal to do “a bit of a longer trip” on dirt, and skip the meal that would require increasing the pre-load of his GS for the return trip.
PHASE 3
Call from Neil … “Maybe we should take tents and camp somewhere”.
PHASE 4
Call from Neil (just as I was about to put my helmet on to leave … “Don’t worry about the tent, we’ve got accommodation at Middelpos”.
I am blithely unaware of the geographic location of Middelpos, but obediently remove the sleeping bag, pillow and tent from my luggage, and I’m off.
We were a touch late leaving Neil’s as we were waiting for another couple who eventually decided to plan a Mozambique trip instead of doing the real thing – as it turned out, our trip was only marginally shorter than a Mozambique trip.
THE TRIP
(aka The Neil Terry university of offroad riding – initiation for newby on Dakar ie me!)
The Trip
N7 to Clanwilliam, with some interesting scenery along the way, including a fellow who was examining the sun through binoculars! (I wonder where he acquired them?)
Turn easterly towards dirt, then down to Wuppertal. At this stage, 60Km/hr on sandy gravel is a challenge but Neil is patient and full of useful tips like … “go faster”. (I did to the introductory offroad course but they said “go slower!” … though they were talking about navigating around cones, not gravel roads.
After what seemed an eternity of trying to bend my handlebars barehanded, with a front wheel that wanted to reach some destination of its own, we eventually reached Wuppertal - at about 1400 I think.
I am now starting to get the hang of negotiating cones at high speed and 60Km/h is feeling reasonably comfortable. I’m also no longer freezing on every corner, requiring that I get off every time to push it around the bend. The Dakar is a decidedly uncomfortable bike to stand on though … if you don’t have bandy legs for riding broncos I just cannot get comfortable if there's a slight uphill.
In Wuppertal we repair Neil’s pump connection so we can help repair some cage driver’s puncture, then make our way back up the pass to the Mertenhof Guest House, Time is a problem and I'm pushing hard which is great because I'm really starting to get the feel of moving in the saddle and transferring weight on the corners.
Turn right to go further East into the most STUNNING countryside with some amazing views. I am now hurtling along at a reasonably comfortable 60Km/hr, enjoying a feeling of limited control. Neil scouts ahead and waits at good spots for photos.
The our first gate, which Neil allows me to open for him. Shoved my bike through and off we go.
I have to emphasise that I have seldom seen such stunning scenery, even with the continual battle with the martelpyp that I was mounted on.
This was the first of a host of gates which were all UNMANNED!!! I wouldn’t actually have expected them to be manned as we only saw one human being the whole of the trip from Wuppertal to Calvinia … (I’ll get to the Calvinia bit later – all part of the learning exercise!), but all the gates on this section are marked as “Gate Unmanned” on the T4 Maps that I’m looking at, so I thought I'd mention it :-)
Things were now going well. Neil opened a gate and I took advantage to race ahead; even if it did mean that I wouldn’t be enjoying the pleasure of squinting through his dust, we were now somewhat concerned about time so no time for niceties – his turn to enjoy sand in his teeth.
Now for a short stop. Not to allow Neil to catch up (he was somewhere else taking photos), but to examine the river. Didn’t I mention a river? No? Funny – nobody mentioned one to me either on this first newby learning experience.
River and Rock Climb
Anyway, it was fun. Didn’t fall off, which was fortunate because I needed the momentum to climb the rock cliff. (No nobody mentioned that either).
Funnily enough I find that on the Dakar I’m far more comfortable with these obstacles than I am with sandy roads at speed, which is fortunate, because we have a seriously rutted track with loose rocks to negotiate for some way to go. Still as I’ve mentioned before – unbelievable landscapes.
After numerous more gates, the terrain starts getting easier and we’re shifting along at between 60-80Km/h quite happily, until THE GATE.
This one has a big sign of a hunting rifle on it and says “Private Property Keep Out”. We decide that we are not going back so I open the gate; we move through, I double check that the gate is closed properly and I decide that it’s probably a good idea to let Neil go first … he’s a bigger target.
Not a soul but some thick sand
After a few more hours of dirt riding, it becomes thick sand – another hair raising lesson but I don't slow appreciably, and then we meet a chap in a bakkie who is most friendly and advises us, while squinting into the setting sun, that the road to Middelpos is not really safe as it’s been flooded and some has washed away. Under good conditions it would take a few more hours, if you can find the correct road, so we say thanks and elect to find accomodation in Calvinia! To cut a long story short, we do the rest of the ride in the dark (about 2 hours?) and eventually hit tar road and the Calvinia Hotel … where we find Gunter, Hannelie, Phillip (without bike – its blown up) and Hennie (with bike – it pongs of crushed springkane that have targeted him as a good suicide site).
Drinks, supper, bed – I’m knackered!!!
Next morning, breakfast and off to Middelpos, where we met a lovely hostess who had spent the day cooking supper for guests who never arrived (for which Neil kindly paid anyway), and then on to Sutherland.
This part of the trip was pretty uneventful, except that I’m now feeling ok with 80-90Km/h and occasionally 120Km/h (until my brain registers what’s going on and then my throttle hand reacts!)
What a great trip!
The last part of the trip was to Maatjiesfontein where Neil heard that Jane was on her way so we took advantage of some grass and shade to kip like two bergies until she arrived and we rode back to Cape Town as a threesome (the twosome ride with a guy with pink tappet covers wasn’t as dangerous as some may believe btw!)
Neil, thanks for an excellent experience! Your turn now … you can add some pics and illustrative comment (I’ll add a map later).