RideFast July 2020 2

DAY 9
We made a lot of plans last night,
including how we will wake up early
to go play at the Meiringspoort
pass in the morning taking lots of
videos and snaps from multiple
sections before heading out for
coffee at Ray’s coffee shop.
Disaster, drama and all that
Jazz!
After a quick fuel stop, on our
way out Jacques notices that
Gavin’s back tyre is too flat. On
inspection we realize it has a cut
hence the loss of air. Luckily Bruce
has a house a 1km away and
we get the tire changed in less
than 2 minutes, talk about good
preparation from Gavin...the @
Ducati tire change kit is amazing.
On the way to Bruce’s house
there’s a small gravel section
with lose gravel and all, after
Paolo realized he overcooked it
and missed the gate into Bruce’s
yard...he started experimenting
with his off-road skills to make his
way back to the gate, and it all
suddenly turned quite.
All I remember was Bruce saying
it’s too quite, I think Paolo dropped
his bike. The next thing Paolo
rocks up alone like he’s just come
out of Die Hell, with wife following
slowly behind looking like she was
swimming in the mud.
If you thought the drama
was over, well just as we left
Prince Albert for a lazy ride into
Meiringspoort pass the next thing
we are on a hot persuit trying to
keep up with Gavin - what a way
to wake up the mind and clear all
that morning kak.
In no time we were back in
the pass and smiles under the
helmet. There’s a lovely stop
halfway in the pass where you
can experience a lovely waterfall,
and that’s exactly what we did
to help blow off some steam. On
arrival at Ray’s coffee shop the
team was back in high spirits with
Paolo and wife still trying to figure
out who caused their fall - Italian
couples, such drama...
After a delicious breakfast, we
filled up our steeds and headed
straight for Willowmore. This is a
lovely small town that welcomed
us with a smile, flab everyone in
this town seemed to enjoying the
roaring thunder from the Wild Hogs.
Belly Deli serves some of the
best chocolate brownies. This is
also where Gavin found himself
testing his running skills with riding
boots on when he had to help a
KTM guy jumpstart his bike, KTM
guys are from a different planet
I tell you. They are as rough and
tough as they come! The team
made sure everyone had enough
to hydrate as the stretch to Graff-
Reinet was long, but the beautiful
tarmac made the ride easy.
We arrived at Our Yard with
very hungry stomachs. This was
also a logical stop to wait for Paolo
and wife who took a different to
turn to go collect meat from a
farmer who was kind enough to
offer after hearing about our trip.
There are such amazing people
out there and yes, #ImStaying.
After a lovely rest we were on
the road again with bikes also full
with gas (or so we thought).
The team was cruising nicely in
formation at a constant speed,
the next thing we look back
and I’m riding alone with Gavin.
Where’s everyone? Now Harald is
German and is very precise with
his calculations, and he’s been
laughing at us stoping everywhere
for gas. It so happens that
somehow he miscalculated and
ran out of gas 10km before the
next town
The drama on this day just
doesn’t want to end...
After filling up at the next town I
was out on a really hot one on the
way to Caledon. Man I was flying!
I saw the sign for Middleburg
where I could re-fuel but I thought
no man I can make it to the next
town. Nupoort showed up on
the sign but then Caledon also
appeared showing 70km to go.
My bad decisions said well, 70km...
surely we can do it. Well, just when
it was about 40km to go the
reserve fuel light came up and I
was like, no...not another drama,
not another Harald scenario!
Let’s just say the last 10km to
Caledon was touch and go under
100km/h...my bike is not used to
such speeds, it’s a superbike
We made it safe to the garage
but everyone seems to stop at
different gas stations this time
around, no idea what happened
here. We soon re-United and
made our way to Gariepdam, and
what a view to welcome us to our
rest stop for the day. Adamsview
is just what we all needed, can’t
wait to catch the sunrise!
...live for another day!
DAY 10
This morning saw us hit it hard for
our last stretch to Clarens.
It was hard riding through strong
headwinds which saw us do more
fuel stops than planned. At this
point we had experienced all kinds
of weather on the trip so no major
issues.
The stretch from Gariepdam
to Fouriesburg is not the sexiest
route. The small towns are quiet,
roads very bumpy...especially
around Ladybrand. Even when we
saw the sign for Maluti mountain
scenic route, there wasn’t much or
maybe we were too spoilt on the
trip with really amazing passes.
The beauty of riding is that you
make the most of it, even the bad
122 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JULY 2020 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JULY 2020 123