The Nav invited some of the KLR Clan, some of whom we have ridden with before and a few others we were glad to meet and ride with for the first time. Shah, George and their wives on KLRs joined us at the Bonjour Garage in Tokai and rode with us to Dolphin Beach where we met up with the rest of the group, which consisted of tall Paul & Ben on their KLRs & Christy, being the odd one out on her Yamaha.
It was an early start, so we decided to do a little bit of mileage before breakfast and headed up to Malmesbury via Melkbos and Mamre. Just after Mamre we took a short gravel road to the right which gave us a view of the 'Rock the Daisies Festival" on the Kloof Wine Estate.
The weather was threatening to rain and it was fairly chilly - a degree or two below what we would call comfortable! We had a leg stretch at the Ry/Go on the R315 towards and the guys shared some interesting KLR stories while being entertained by two passionate donkeys.
We took the gravel road north from Malmesbury turning west after about 10kms to Riebeeck West. The wheat is standing high and the sheep are shawn.... a few stew's around too...
Enjoyed a delicious breakfast at De Groote Schuur Coffee Shop in Riebeeck West where we enjoyed excellent coffee with superb service and food. We have come to rate breakfast establishments on the coffee served and this one rates highly!
After breakfast, the Nav took us on a detour on the back roads to Porseleinberg Pad. We only got lost once and passed a deserted farm house eventually bumping into a farmer who provided directions. The roads were tricky in places but nobody was paranoid about the mud and sand and all got through it fine... not once, but TWICE as we had to turn back to retrace our tracks.
Not being comfortable with pillion riding myself, I was super impressed with both Shah and George's wives who rode pillion with them. At times they seemed like a single rider as they stood up in tandem and looked totally in sync as they manoeuvred along the gravel and sand. Well done guys and gals - amazing to see and I have great respect for you ladies for being so brave.
On the Porseleinberg Pad we stopped for a few pictures next to the crop sprayer, a familiar sight we've seen once or twice along this road. We headed off towards Windmeul with rain threatening and stopped on the Langeberg Pad to put on our rain gear. Shah won the prize for having the brightest rain kit and the new kit seemed to fool Ben completely because shortly after that he and Christy broke away from the group and we didn't see them again.
We were happy to hear via Paul that B & C ended up in Durbanville and made their way home from there. * Note to riders * ALWAYS keep your buddy behind you in your sights and stop if they stop and continue again when they have caught up or go back to see if they are having a problem. This goes for the Nav too!
The last stop was at the top of Durbanville Hills where we said our goodbyes and made our separate ways back home.
 |
| the route |
 |
| Ben the Homeopath on his KLR & Kristy the Teacher on her Yamaha - nice to have another lady rider along in Charms's absence (best you get your butt back in the saddle Charms!!!!) |
 |
Rendezvous @ Dolphin Beach
7 riders, 6 on KLRs & 1 on 650 Yamaha
|
|
Leg Stretch at the Ry/Go on the R315 - boys catching up on KLR stories
|
 |
| George and his lovely wife |
 |
| Ben on his KLR |
 |
| The road less travelled... except by the KLRs and we did it TWICE - does that make us TWIhards? |
 |
"The Garmin showed this as a road, said the Nav".... clearly not...
at least we got in some practice on the three things I fear most on my rides:
water, mud and thick sand! Thankfully we all made it through, not once, but TWICE so does that make us TWIhards?
|
 |
"Perhaps we should go that way guys"
Christy soaking up the views
|
 |
| re-grouping |
 |
My KLR got a beaky vuil after a few water crossings along the way
|
|
 |
| Crop sprayer towering over the KLRs - what a sight! |
 |
| Langeberg Road - Putting on rain gear |
|
What a great ride! Nice people & great bikes. A much bigger group than what we are used to but all with the same goal in mind - to have fun and enjoy some offroad dual riding.
We did 318kms in total and got home at about 2:30pm, in time for the Nav to wash the bikes and pack them away ready for our next adventure.
We look forward to riding with this group again in the not too distant future.
"4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul"
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment