I’m quite like the spur-of-the-moment kind of plans, mostly because there isn’t the long period of wonder how the plans will turn out. But I have to say this trip’s planning really caught me off guard. Marius is a friend of mine that is retired in Onrus, that has been riding bikes probably for more years that I’ve been alive. So I get a call from him on Friday morning, inviting me to do a weekend trip with him and a couple of his riding buddies. I don’t think I’ve ever had so little remorse for cancelling my weekend plans. Within an hour I’d phoned him back to confirm my participation. This was going to be great!
The soccer world cup has taken its toll on me, and this Friday night was no different. After the game, and a couple of drinks, I got home and quickly packed my stuff. This meant I got to bed a 2am. Marius and the guys were meeting at 8am in Hermanus which meant I had to leave at 6am…in the icy cold morning. Well at least I wasn’t late :)
After a quick coffee at Marius’ house (with some dirt riding tips), fuel top up and introduction to the guys (Brian, Leon and Roger) we were off. The plan was to try stick to dirt roads as far as possible and make Gouritzmond by late afternoon. I have ridden on dirt roads once or twice before, but knowing that I was seriously inexperience compared to the others, I was asking questions about riding techniques very often (I’ll post the tips on another page soon). We all had a bit of a scare on the first stretch, a crest was followed by a sharp turn which was covered by loose gravel. I was VERY close to picking daisy's (think some of the other guys too). This is the only time in my life I felt like stopping and smoking a cigarette to calm down. Fortunately I’ve tried smoking and hated it.
Our first stop was Elim. A small farming town that was established by missionaries, but is now know for their thatching skills. Emile (the museum’s curator) came to greet us and even started up the historical water mill. This was special as it isn’t operated often. Our next planned stop would be Struisbaai for fuel and weekend supplies. The plan was to braai so meat, starch and wine was purchased. From there we went to De Hoop National reserve (one of the oldest settlements in the country) where we spotted some whales.
I have fond memories of the ferry at Malgas. We camped there one holiday, as a child, and I “worked” on the ferry using the dog’s leash and choker chain. I was thus very keen on this stop. But first we stopped at the bar for a quick refreshment before crossing the “pond”. It was at this stage that we realised we had only covered about half the distance to Gouritzmond, and it was already 2pm. So no more unnecessary stops. Unfortunately the road was of quite bad quality and Roger had a fall. I was behind him, but all I saw was dust and his bike rolling. Fortunately he was wearing proper riding gear and only sustained minor scratches, his bike wasn’t that lucky. The cylinder head cracked causing a major oil leak. It is at this point that I’m proud of being a South African! We went to a nearby farm as we 
needed a tow rope and a place to store the bike until it could be picked up by a trailer the following week. It was evident the farmers were simple folk with not much in the line of finance, but they were very helpful and friendly. With shouts from house to house, a suitable tow rope was quickly found. By the time we towed the bike (I’ll elaborate on how this on the riding tips page) to their house, they had cleared a small shed for the bike where it would be safe until it could be collected. Real Salt-of-the-Earth people!
So 5 guys on 4 bikes, but by the time we reached Witsand Roger’s body was not happy with him and it was clear he would not be able to complete the weekend’s riding. After a call to his wife, she was on her way to pick him up. It was quite late and it didn’t look like we would have enough light to make Gouritzmond. One of Marius’s buddies has a house in Witsand that he rents out and we decided to spend the night there. This was a good call as by the time we had the fire burning, it was dark. And so the party started! I’m not usually a big drinker, but we made a serious dent in our supply of drinks.
As we didn’t make it as far as planned the first day, our travel plans had to be re-thought. Getting up quite early, we headed for Vermaaklikheid. This place is a jewel! We had breakfast at the restaurant next to a pond, where we all agreed that this place has to be visited again to properly relax. We decided to go as far east as Stillbay. From there we were forced to get on the N2, against everyone’s wishes. As we wanted to avoid main roads as much as possible, we wanted to ride up Garcia Pass, between Riversdal and Ladismith, and come back to the N2 at Suurbraak via Tradouws Pass. Caught in the stress of the N2, we missed the turn off. Fail! This was actually fortunate as it gave us enough time to get back to Hermanus without rushing.
Keen for back roads, we turned off to Protem (pretty much just a post office and silos) just past Swellendam. Not much to see on these roads, but the ride was AWESOME! Via Klipdale, Langkuil, Shaws Pass and the Hemel en Aarde road we headed back to Hermanus.
Now, the weekend didn’t quite turn out as planned, but this weekend I wouldn’t exchange for anything. Not only did I learn loads about dirt road riding, but I got to spend some quality time with a friend and make some new ones. Can’t wait for the next trip with these guys!
