Thursday 27th – Tuesday 2nd May
THURSDAY 27th
Cape Town
I left 5:30am in the morning after having the bike serviced, carbs done up and new clutch fitted during the previous week. Half an hour later I was cruising down the N1 Freeway when everything died on me including the headlights. Not fun doing 120km in the pitch dark. I managed to stop before I rode into a ditch and sat cursing those bloody mechanics and anyone else I could think of. I had just started using a new wallet style key ring that kept all the other keys from scratching the chrome work and as I tried to take out the key from the ignition I discovered that the wind had been twisting the key ring so much that it had eventually just turned the ignition switch off. Feeling relieved that the Buff was still on after only half an hour I continued on my way to meet Beetlejuice who was waiting at the entrance to the Huguenot Toll Tunnel. After a smoke and a laugh at my expense Beetlejuice declared that we were officially on our way to the Buff and we set off again on our journey.
Our next stop was in Worcester 105 km out of Cape Town for petrol and coffee as things were decidedly cold in that neck o the woods. It was so cold that Beetlejuice actually had a leather jacket on. (He normally rides in a Tee shirt no matter how cold it is and has been referred to as “tough bastard” amongst other things by grizzled old bikers on previous runs.)
We followed the N1 National road all the way to Richmond where we were going to sleep, stopping at every town and even some places that thought they were towns, constantly meeting the same bikers at the petrol stations. At Richmond we eventually found the B+B and after offloading our bikes (we couldn’t get the bikes up the steps into the room) we went to the the B+B’s pub/ restuarant where we settled down to a few rum and cokes as it was too early for supper. After bumping in to a friend of Beetlejuice’s (who forced us to have a few beers with him) we managed to persuade the restuarant owner that it was time to fire up the grill and get cooking. We had a nice bottle of vintage Sedgwicks Old Brown with our meal while we watched the locals decorate the bar with underwear obviously left in one of the rooms. Beetlejuice immediately decided to leave the owners with a present as well when we left the next day.
FRIDAY 28th
Richmond 9am
After a leisurely breakfast at the Ka-Ma Lodge we scraped the ice off the saddles and windshields and parked the bikes in the sun to defrost the motors before firing them up. Beetlejuice wanted to check the oil level on his ‘rauder but we had to wait for the oil to melt. He raced up and down the main street for a while without his helmet on which provoked a few reactions from the town people but the oil was still too thick and cold to run down into the sump. Eventually the motor heated the oil enough for us to get a decent level check and we packed up and were off again.
Colesburg
This is where we turn off the N1 and head towards Aliwal North. This route had been decided earlier by the toss of a coin in the restaurant to prevent any further fighting. We then had to decide the best out of what as it didn’t turn up Beetlejuice’s way first time.
Aliwal North 4pm
We arrived at the campsite and were lucky enough to find a short queue for our entry tickets. After cruising through the grounds we found some friends who had been the previous year and knew all the best spots. They invited us to camp next to them and we were very glad we had done so before the weekend was up. After setting up camp we went off to town looking for food for a braai that evening. Town was in chaos with bikers doing wheelies and donuts up the main street but we managed to squeeze between two cop cars set up as a blockade and find some shops off the main street. Back in camp we fired up the braai and then wondered around the entertainment oval listening to the bands and chatting to other bikers. There was only one girl trying to do a strip show with all the bikers cheering her on with cries of “PUT IT BACK ON!!!! PUT IT BACK ON!!!” The DJ quickly shut down the song that was playing in case she went any further much to every ones relief and the band took over the stage and chased her away. The music was good and we stood around listening till about midnight.
SATURDAY 29th
Aliwal north
We awoke to a reasonably cold morning and what felt like bad hangovers, which Beetlejuice immediately attributed to flu. I had seen Beetlejuice swallowing two rather large bottles of thick Sedgwicks cough mixture. I wondered just what vicious brand of flu this was that caused people to fling themselves into bushes at a respectable braai and also wake up with scars on their arms. I wasn’t too sure if he was right and I personally couldn’t remember too much as I was very tired the previous night and had been stumbling around half asleep after sampling some of the Beetlejuice’s cough mixture.
After watching a very boring stunt show we headed for town looking for some entertainment and after having our ears pierced again (there were no tattoo artists at the rally) we went to the Wimpy for more food. We had decided that food was the best cure for this dreadful flu we had as the cough mixture wasn’t working. Some bikers were trying to bring their bikes into the Wimpy so that they could watch them closely while they were eating but couldn’t figure out how to open both doors. (No amount of shaking the door seemed to slide the bolt open). After lunch Beetlejuice declared the town a “No Helmet Zone” and we set off towards the main street where all the action was. A few seconds later a cop called us over but it was only to let us through the cordon so we could join in the fun. We rode up and down the main street watching a few wheelies and donuts and then headed back to the camp to see what else was happening.
After supper of Shwarmas in the rain we spent the rest of the evening lying in the tent wondering what had become of us. A few years earlier if the women had let us out of our cages for a weekend we would not have been lying in a tent wondering what to do. Just goes to show. After a seriously loud thunderstorm the guys took up the revving competitions again and so we hauled out our ear plugs and settled down to a decent night’s sleep. Having camped higher up than most people we stayed dry the whole night.
SUNDAY 30th
Aliwal North
After packing up we left the rally site for the last time, sorry to be leaving but glad to be on the road again and we headed off into town to find petrol and breakfast. After a Buff Breakfast (more steak, bacon, eggs, sausage etc) we headed out of town towards Queenstown, Fort Beaufort and Grahamstown
Grahamstown
We rolled into town with mixed feelings. A very nice little town but both of us had done our two-year army service at the army base near this town 16 to 18 years ago and we still had a few bad memories to haunt us.
Port Elizabeth
I remembered this town from my army days as I had spent a few weekend passes here instead of going back to Cape Town. We stayed with Beetlejuice’s sister and her husband and after being taken on tour of the town they made us spectacular homemade pizzas and then Beetlejuice headed off to bed, still struggling with his flu. He swallowed half a family bottle of cough mixture again and was asleep by 8pm.
MONDAY 1st
Port Elizabeth
We left at 9am and cruised through town almost deserted, as it was a public holiday. I would really have liked to spend a few days there and was sorry to leave so soon.
Jeffries Bay
This is a famous surfer town and Beetlejuice recounted how he had spent his honeymoon surfing here. We found a nice little restaurant overlooking the sea and our bikes and proceeded to have another farmhouse breakfast. (The usual steak, bacon, sausage, eggs etc)
We decided to take the alternative route instead of the toll road through the Tsitsikama forest and were really glad we had. It was the most amazing road and scenery. Lots of tight bends on mountain passes running through forests and next to rivers. We didn’t know whether to stop every 2 minutes for the scenery or keep riding and enjoy the road to the full. This must have been close to biker heaven.
Biker Hell was next. Back on the N2 in the rain with cars all over. Well not exactly biker hell as we still were riding and enjoying the scenery at least. Beetlejuice decided to visit a quaint little town and I now know why it is so quaint. The road leading up to it was gravel and so atrociously bumpy that I was surprised nothing had fallen off the bikes. It had really worked the old bladders though but unfortunately Beetlejuice forgot that his new rainsuit was double layered for extra protection and christened it instead of a bush. At least we know it’s also waterproof from the inside out.
Knysna
Went to the Heads (Name of a place not the toilet for any mariners reading this) and then into town. It was still pouring with rain and we decided that if we wanted to find a place to sleep before dark it was best to head on. A bit disappointing as Knysna is a wonderful town to explore, but we had already decided that we were going to do Port Elizabeth as a breakfast run and hopefully then we’d have a bit more time.
George
Wet Wet Wet but the best was yet to come. The Outeniqua Pass is really nice and even though it was under thick fog and rain it is still a nice wide pass and we slowly cruised over the pass and out into dry territory on the other side. Once we had turned inland again the roads became drier and Beetlejuice decided that 160km/h was a nice cruising speed so it wasn’t long before we reached Oudtshoorn.
Oudtshoorn
We arrived in Oudtshoorn still cold and wet and found a place to stay overnight. After dumping all our gear we headed into the town centre in search of food and drink and entertainment. As it was a very quiet night we had to entertain ourselves with impromptu drag races down Main Street for a while before we found a Spur. We parked our bikes on the pavement and settled down to a nice meal with a few Windhoek Lagers thrown in. Afterwards we did a short “ride by” the front of the Spur just to show our appreciation for a nice meal
TUESDAY 2nd
Oudtshoorn
Our mission today was to beat the rain and so we set off by 8am to try and get through the rain as soon as possible.
Ladysmith
Breakfast here (Another farmhouse special) and after buying dry socks and plastic bags I managed to eventually feel comfortable with reasonably dry feet again for the rest of the journey.
Barrydale
Stopped at our usual coffee shop run by two bikers with their 3-legged dog, a 3-legged cat and a 1-legged budgie. After filling up with petrol we hit the road again for Montague another 66 km’s away.
Montague
Didn’t bother to stop here as it was only another 23 km’s to Robertson and we were making good time. Both of us had been in the town many times before so we didn’t feel that we were missing anything.
Robertson
We stopped for petrol and Beetlejuice discovered that one of his baffles had blown out of his exhaust. Fortunately it was still hanging on and we went into town to find a new bolt to hold it in place. While he was fixing his pipes I did a quick check and found a few loose bits on my bike so a bit of tightening later we were back on the road.
Worcester
Our usual stop at the Shell Ultra for lunch and petrol and then back on the road again for the last hundred kms back to Cape Town. We parted at the Stellenbosch turnoff where Beetlejuice headed off towards Strand and I continued on the N1 back to Town.
Cape Town
Back in Cape Town, tired but happy with the trip. I enjoyed the riding far more than the rally itself but was glad we had decided to go.
Tags: Rally Reports
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