Promoting
the Spyders takes on different guises – doing a long trip every now and again
is one of the many ways I can showcase the ability of these wonderful machines.
On 8 December I pointed the nose of the RT-S in a westerly direction and set
off at 4:20, aiming to get to Kakamas around 13:00 – 867 kilometre on the N14.
I planned to get that section behind me as quickly as possible – the road
surface is not the best and the trucks belt along the narrow roads at death
defying speeds.
I
was warned about road works before Kuruman but I didn’t think there would be
that many. Another 2.5 hours was added to my estimated riding time and I
arrived in Kakamas at 15:30. I was also warned that the road between Kuruman
and Upington had no fuel stops so I filled up to the maximum in Kuruman and set
off on the 264 km leg. I was easy on the throttle and rode conservatively but
the needle dipped dangerously low about 50 km from Kuruman. I lowered the
screen for less wind resistance but 10 km outside Kuruman the needle wasn’t
moving at all and I gratefully pulled into the first filling station, just to
be told they didn’t have petrol! I mentally willed the Spyder to the next
station about a kilometre further on and was astonished to see 24.2 litres finding
its way into the 25 litre tank! After that little bit of stress the leg from
there through Upington to Kakamas was a doddle and the scenery improved as
well.
I
arrived at the Kalahari Gateway Hotel (owned by one of our Spyder Ryders!) (http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/kalaharigatewayhotel/
) and could hardly wait to dig out my bathing suit and order a beer! The
temperature was in the high 30s and I gratefully sipped my very cold beer submerged
to my neck in the pool. Against all logic, my dinner consisted of the best
sushi I’ve tasted in a long time (where have you heard of an hotel in Northern
Cape serving better sushi than Johannesburg or even Cape Town?)
The
Spyder looked like a mobile killing field so the next morning I went hunting
for a car wash, found the one and only car wash in Kakamas but then was told
that one had to book a week in advance – a good business to be in, by the looks
of it! I set off for Garies via Springbok, setting the cruise control on 110
km/h to enjoy the sights and smells of the Northern Cape. If you zip through
there at 160 km/h you miss all the wonderful sights – rock formations; the
tiniest flowers; nesting kestrels; giant communal weaver nests. I took detours
to small towns and took a photograph at the Welcome to… sign at the
entrance to the town. I also looked for the old churches and photographed them
with and without the Spyder.
It’s
just over 400 kilometres from Kakamas to Garies but with the stopover at
Springbok to have lunch and have the Spyder washed and taking detours to the
small towns, it took me over six hours to get to Garies. Although it was hot,
the bike telling me it was in the high 30s again, it was a dry heat and not
unpleasant at all. I stayed at Sophia Guest House (http://sophiaguesthouse.co.za/ )
which turned out to be the only place with water – Garies town was on water
restrictions and they had a tank with a pump for the showers.
After
breakfast on Saturday I left for Cape Town and carried on taking photos of Welcome
signs and churches, taking my time en route. I arrived at my sister’s
place in Muizenberg late afternoon and then discovered that none of the day’s
photos of the churches had been saved – a real let-down as I’d made fairly long
detours to visit recommended towns for quant churches. I will just have to go
back!
Tuesday
and Wednesday my sister and I stayed at the Drakenstein Lion Park (http://www.lionrescue.org.za/ )
but
it was pouring with rain so we spent most of the time in the tented camp
reading. When we could we walked amongst the 35 rescued lions, reading their
individual stories. We did find a gap in the rain on Wednesday morning to go to
the Butterfly Farm just outside Paarl – the place is well worth a visit! On
Thursday when we left we visited the Vroue Monument and Taal Monument
and caught up with some of our history.
On
the days it wasn’t raining, I cruised around Cape Town, showing off the Spyder.
As usual, it drew a crowd wherever I stopped and I spoke to many people who
showed a lot of interest in the bike, so hopefully we’ll have a few more Ryders
in Cape Town soon!
On
Friday 16 December I left for Stanford and having forgotten that it was the
first day of the long weekend, I got caught in the traffic jam at the bottom of
Sir Lowry’s Pass already! We travelled bumper to bumper all the way through
Hermanus but eventually I was on the fairly quiet road on the way to Stanford.
I met up with the guys from GV Motorcycle Rentals (http://www.gvmotorcyclerentals.com/#Home)
and they escorted me to the village market held in the Common. If ever you’re
in that area, give them a shout for outstanding hospitality (they also have two
guest houses!)
I
left the next morning at 5:45 for the 634 km haul to Jeffrey’s Bay via
Barrydale on the R62, arriving in J-Bay just after lunch time. As I left
Barrydale I thought a bunch of bikers having breakfast at the Backpackers was
going to chase me down, they waved THAT enthusiastically! In Jeffrey’s Bay I
stayed with some friends and they showed me a pass essentially closed to
traffic, but which is still used by bikers and some brave car drivers.
Bloukrans Pass has very sharp corners, hairpin bends, fallen rocks and trees
across the road, forcing you to crawl along at 40 km/h and so enjoy the
scenery. We then went to the Tsitsikama Nature Reserve for lunch. A most
perfect day, riding hidden passes then having lunch in one of our most
beautiful nature reserves!
I
left for Bloemfontein on Monday 19 December via the N10 and N1. The route
skirts around the Addo Elephant Park and although it’s essentially a highway,
it twists through the mountains, finishing with Olifantsnek Pass. Very little
traffic with only a few trucks. The acacias were in full bloom and the area had
had good rains – green as far as the eye could see.
I
filled up at Springfontein and was pulled over by a traffic cop who was in awe
of the bike. He told me not to take the highway as there were lots of
stop-and-goes which would delay me unnecessarily. He gave me the alternate
route but I misunderstood his directions. He said, “Take the Jagersfontein/
Fauresmith road, then to Bloemfontein.” But when I got to the T-junction
showing Bloemfontein right, I thought it went back to the highway, so turned
left to Jagersfontein! By the time I realised my mistake, I shrugged and
carried on to Fauresmith to take a picture of the Spyder next to the train in
the middle of the town. I arrived in Bloemfontein late afternoon having done
820-odd kilometres instead of the 770-odd. The road from Jagersfontein to
Bloemfontein is probably the straightest road in all creation – at kilometre 40
there was a very slight right bend, kilometre 60 another right hander, then at 80
another and at 90 a slight left hander.
On
Tuesday I had to get a new back tyre from our agent in Bloemfontein, Bloem
Jetsport run by Leander (051 448 0993). I spent the day being thoroughly
spoiled by my brother and the owner of the guesthouse my brother manages (http://www.magrietjie.co.za/index.html
). It was very difficult to leave on the Wednesday, but after another wonderful
breakfast, set off for the home run.
Against
better judgement I took the N1, thinking it’s the last stretch home so I might
as well go on the hated highway. It didn’t take me long to decide it was a bad
choice and got off the highway at the Winburg turn-off. Not only is the highway
boring, especially after all the wonderful roads I’d travelled, but it was also
dangerous. It was the start of the lemming run to the coast and the cars were
behaving abominably – passing on solid double white
lines, overtaking on blind rises – I wasn’t going to end my trip like this!
I
soon discovered that I had made an excellent decision and enjoyed the rolling
farmlands. When I was at NAMPO earlier in the year I saw humongous tractors
selling for a few million rand each and wondered who the farmers were who
bought them. Well, I discovered where all those tractors went! The fields were
being ploughed by four to six tractors and along the road I encountered another
flotilla of the same workhorses. The only bit of road unfit for travel was in
Heilbron town (potholes where a Hummer can disappear into never to be found again)
and just after where they were fixing parts of the road – only two
stop-and-goes. The rest of the journey was uneventful and my last Welcome
to… and church photographs were in Senekal.
Total
kilometres in two weeks: 4,927
Average
consumption over the trip: 9L/100 km
Number
of bike problems: 0
Wonderment
at our outstanding country: The superlative doesn’t exist!
I
was reminded again of the outstanding qualities of the Spyder as a long
distance touring machine. If you set the cruise control and take your time to
look around, there is no better way to enjoy our wonderful country. We are
spoiled for choice where routes are concerned and we should not be put off by
the laments about the condition of our roads. There were very few sections
which needed serious attention but on the whole, the quality of our roads is
outstanding. You might not want to do the kind of mileage I did, but a quick
trip to a small town on our back roads should be a regular occurrence. Long distance
bike trips become a drug and doing it alone even more so. When I did the trip
in June I commented that everybody should do a trip like that at least once a
lifetime, but I was wrong. It should be done more often to renew your faith in
life and in yourself and to blow the cobwebs away. Travelling alone is not for
everybody but even with companions, a bike provides a certain solitude while
travelling. I cannot encourage you enough to look at the map and plot a general
route to a little-known town and enjoy eating up the miles on an exceptional
piece of machinery.
A
full range of pictures can be found on the FaceBook page http://www.facebook.com/SpydersSA
