Day trip around Cape Point

  Deon (a buddy of mine with a KLR 650) and I originally planned to do bike trips together. Unfortunately it worked out in such a way that Deon could only get an appointment for a learners licence (both of us didn’t have bike licences) much later than me. Recently he got his licence, so we decided to go around Cape Point one Sunday and go have lunch in Houtbay. Since I grew up in the Cape, this would be a nice trip down memory lane for me.

We were a bit concerned about the weather, since it is winter. Fortunately it was a perfect day! It wasn’t too cold, not a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind (well, at least when we left). We took the coastal route from Stellenbosch to Muizenberg, along Baden Powell drive, then through St. James, Fishhoek and stopped in Simon’s Town for a coffee. This is where I realised that I’m very much used to looking for parking. We ended up paying for parking (meant for cars) but when we left, saw a bike parked on the pavement. Eish, I’ve got lots to learn about bike riding.

We gave Cape Point a miss. It cost about R70 per person and I’ve seen it many times before. As the road turned toward Scarborough, a bank of mist set in. This spoiled the view, but I think this is fairly typical for the region in winter. A couple of detours were in order. The most notable section of road had to be Chapman’s Peak drive. There has been a history of rock falls in the past, so they have build barriers that look like medieval chainmail. Quite impressive! By this time we were getting hungry. Houtbay has quite a couple of places to eat, but while working there many years ago, I remembered a fish & chips shop in the harbour wall (think its called Fish & Chips on the Rocks). So we headed there. It was incredibly busy, as can be expected on such a nice day (the mist had mostly cleared).

By the time we left Houtbay, it was already 2pm. So we took the coastal road to Campsbay. Thinking traffic would be fairly light, due to the inconsistent weather, I suggested we keep to the coast all the way to the Waterfront. Wow was I wrong. Once we entered Campsbay, I remembered why I hadn’t driven that route much as a kid. The traffic was crazy! Fortunately we could make quick work of the traffic, being on bikes. We stopped at the new Greenpoint stadium. It is really impressive! Unfortunately we couldn’t get close to the stadium due to the Soccer World Cup. Must say I was impressed with the police presence.

Now it was getting late, so we wanted to get back. A quick coffee pitstop in Pinelands and we were had home in our sights. We wanted to avoid the N1 & N2 (main routes leaving Cape Town). So we took the turn off at the Airport and took the Stellenbosch arterial back to Stellenbosch. I quite enjoyed the relaxed pace of the day’s riding and the views were spectacular. (AM, I’ve posted the photos…now get off my back :) )

Weekend through the Cederberg

In order to prepare for touring on a bike (and getting used to riding over long distances and rough terrain), I need to do some touring in SA before I go overseas. I did my first trip over Easter weekend with a friend, Lappies, from the lab where I work. Both of use were quite happy to play things by ear, so the plan was simple: Meet up on Friday morning, make our way to south side of the Cederberg (a mountain range which has popular camping & hiking spots) and find a place to camp for the night (no bookings made). Saturday we would exit the Cederberg at the northern side and make our way to Wolseley, where we would watch the rugby (the Sharks were playing a Super14 match) and spend the night. Sunday we would make our way back home.

Ok, so how do you pack a bike? I had no idea :) No I know that less is more, except when it comes to tools. No matter how many tools you take along, if you break down and need that one tool that you forgot at home, you haven’t brought enough tools :) So I packed the tools I thought I might need (including tyre levers, spare inner tubes and some sockets) and enough clothes for any weather (No I don’t pack like a girl, I just know it can get REALLY cold and hot in the Cederberg). I put my 4-man tent (this is the smallest I own), sleeping bag and camping mattress on top of it all. I know when you look at the picture it looks like I’m going away for a month, but this is how we learn :)

So once I finished packing, I met Lappies at Caltex in Merriman ave, Stellenbosch. We filled up our iron steeds, but before we set off, we fitted radios to our helmets. Fine they were the kind you usually use between the rider and pillion (passenger, yes I feel it is my duty to educate you to biking lingo :) ), but they worked fine as long as you are closer then 50m form each other. Even though it was incredibly misty, we decided to start off with coffee in Franschhoek.

During coffee we mapped out a route that would not take up too long to get to the Cederberg, but allow us to enjoy some of the sights that were up on offer. I should mention that the mist disappeared as soon as we got over Helshoogte pass, so it turned out to be a beautiful day. As we left Franschhoek, I wanted to check out the Berg river dam. I heard about it while still at school and wanted to get a look at it.

 

Travelling along the R303, we had an uneventful ride to Wellington, via Paarl. At Wellington we headed up Bainskloof pass. This is one of the most beautiful passes I have seen. Unfortunately I only have photos of the Wellington side, as the Ceres side is quite narrow and not the place you want to stop in the road on a bike. As you exit the pass on the Ceres side, you find the Bush Pub. There we had lunch and watched the Stormers’ game.

From there on to Ceres to fill up, but right after filling (and checking messages from his GF) Lappies noticed that he had lost one of his sandals (it was strapped to his bike and somehow was not secured after the lunch stop). Since the fuel would cost less than replacing the sandal, we went back to look for it.  Fortunately we found it next to the road, fairy long distance from the Bush Pub.

Back on track, we headed back through Ceres up Gydo pass. This where (until last year) they held an annual hill climb. Guys would bring their Porsche’s, Subaru’s, modified BMW’s and even VW Golf’s to see who could be king of the hill. Unfortunately the even has been cancelled after spectators being seriously injured in almost every event! By this time it was getting cold and the wind was picking up a bit.

 

We entered the Cederberg at Op Die Berg and hit our first stretch of gravel road. This was quite an experience as it was my first time riding gravel road. Fortunately my bike made it quite easy for me :) I was amazed to see a piece of tar road! The first lodgings that we came across was Mount Ceder. However, they didn’t have any camping and looked terribly upmarket. So we kept on going.

   

The next place we found (the Oasis), I’d heard about from my boss. He described it as “biker’s paradise”, so I was quite happy to stumble onto it. We got a warm welcome from Gerrit and he fixed us up with a camp site for the night. We also met some bikers (a lot more hard core than us), who were blown away that Lappies’ bike (1979 Suzuki GS450) made it all the way into the Cederberg.

After a good (but COLD) night’s rest, we set off for the main forestry station in the Cederberg. It is called Algeria, no not the country :) The road to Algeria was quite bad and took us longer than expected. Fortunately we had no breakages. On the way is an old water mill that I helped my dad measure up as a child. It was nice to see it was still standing. We got to Algeria by lunch and stopped for some food and a swim.

Exiting the Cederberg, we headed for the N7 and filled up just before Citrusdal. From here on we were back on tar. Of course we had to get some “refreshments” for the game :)

As we had some time we took the long way too Wolseley via Eendkuil, Piketberg, Porterville and Tulbach. Unfortunately the wind picked up which made riding “interesting”. But, we got to Wolseley in one piece and just in time for the rugby.

We kicked off Sunday morning with some mechanic work. Lappies’ bike was gradually losing power as the weekend progressed. So, out came the tools and we adjusted the Suzuki’s timing. This did the trick.

Back on the road we took the R44 to Stellenbosch. We didn’t ride home together, as I had to stop off at Vogelvlei Yacht Club to do some admin and Lappies was on his way to the GF.

So, all in all not a bad first trip with the bike. It definitely helped me to feel more comfortable on the bike and did wonders for my packing (as I only used about 1/3 of the stuff I took along).

I’ve put in a map of where we went. I’m not sure how well it works, but trying to put all these pins in was just too much work. I might just carry a GPS in future and save the path in Google Earth.

I’ve removed most of the pictures, as it causes the blog to take too long to load (and since SA doesn’t have free broadband, this might be a problem for some).

Preparation 101

PPPPPP: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance (the 6 P’s so few children get taught). Let me just start by saying that the idea of this trip is not to plan out an itinerary like a travel agent, but rather do as I like, when I like & how I like. However, without knowing what is out there, how will I know what I need to plan and what I can wing (yes, the wing is king :) ). For instance, I have no idea whether I need visas, places of interest or exactly what countries I want to visit. I hadn’t even looked at a map until about a month ago :)

So in the spirit of preparation, I’ve started to research how to buy a vehicle in South America, because there is no way I’m renting for 3 months. I’ve found some forums that have given some detail as to the paperwork, but in truth I’ve only really looked at Chile. Argentina is next on my list.

I had no idea how difficult it was to find a map of South America in South Africa! Fortunately all the maps I need at the moment (to orientate myself) are found in the back of my new travel book. I spent some time on Saturday to look for a travel guide on South America. I found two at Exclusive Books in the Waterfront, and after Googe-ing some reviews and found another guide which some liked more. Obviously I had to have a look at it. Fortunately there was one available in Cavendish, so I went there. After spending about 20min scanning the Lonely Planet and Footprints guide, I finally settled on The Footprints South American Handbook 2010.

I gather that Spanish is spoken in a lot of countries in South America, so I’m going to learn Spanish. I remember from my German travels that learning a new language on the go is loads of fun. It also gives a sense of achievement if you can understand what the person across the counter is saying…sort of.

So at this moment, my focus is on South America. Since I have a holiday visa for the USA, I’m not too fussed with the plans for the north…yet.

And so it begins

Ok, so I’ve been talking about starting a blog for a while now. Finally it has happened! As some of you are aware, this will be my main means of showing you what I’ve been up to (relating to my trip). Jammer vir die van julle wat voel ek skeep my moedertaal af, maar ek gaan nie elke stukkie wat ek tik vertaal nie. There are a couple of things that I want to do during this trip, beside see other countries.

#1: Break the rut. I feel like I’ve been stuck in a rut for some time now. I’m not sure why, but what better way of getting out of it by making a change. So the idea is simple: so some place where few people know you and there is no “quick bail out” if something goes wrong. Of course I’m not trying to do the solitude thing, I can do that well enough in Stellenbosch. I’m just trying to shake things up, and forcing yourself into a new environment might just do the trick.

#2: Locals. Locals have always been the key to enjoying a foreign country. So, I’m going to try engage them. I read an article about a MIT professor (Amy Smith) who is “fixing the world on $2 a day”, which inspired me to apply my engineering skill to improve the lives of others. I know I’m no mechanical or structural engineer, but with some mechanical background fixing & rebuilding cars I recon I might be able to help someone somewhere. So, the idea is to travel the back roads of South America and meet some locals. Maby I can swop some labour / apply skills in return for board and lodging. I heard about WOOFFing, which would nicely fit into this idea.

#3: Travel. So I need to get around South America, but there are so many options. I quite like following my nose, so I thought of getting my own transport. Since this trip is all about getting myself out of my comfort zone, I’ve decided to travel by motorbike. But I don’t (didn’t) ride a bike. So I bought one :) I now have my learners and have done a couple of weekend trips (I’ll update them on this site). All in the name of preparation.

 

 

 

The plan: In broad strokes I want to travel in South America for 3 months, doing a circle route. Then off to North America, go to the smithsonian institute, visit friends in California and finally end up in Vancouver, Canada to visit my crazy Canadia friend April. As time goes by (and the budget becomes clearer) I’ll refine the plan.