Today was a long day. We tried a last ditch attempt to see some flowers by heading North along some more dirt roads, discovered to roads to be rough, and about 200km more dirt than anticipated. So we turned West again towards Kamieskroon. Little did we realise that we were adding an extra 200 km to our already long trip for the day. So, we spent about 12 hours in the saddle today, covering 990km. Wow. We are exhausted. But, let's start at the beginning. We were treated to. Boerebreakfast by our hostess at Lizards Place. If anyone wants a great place to stay and you are anywhere near Loeriesfontein, you won't go wrong here. Lizma really went out of her way to make us comfortable.
So after heading out North from Loeriesfontein we eventually headed West again to join the tar headed towards Springbok. The dirt road heading West was pretty good, but near the tar we came across some wet sections. All three of us nearly lost our bikes a few times to the slippery conditions. We had some good laughs at each other in the process. Wazz even managed to have his bike at 30 degrees pitch to the left and then 30 degrees pitch to the right before somehow managing to get it upright again. Needless to say we slowed the pace right down after that. But even at a really slow pace the road was incredibly slippery. And it was difficult to see before hand when you were entering a slippery section because it was white sand and white mud. You just suddenly had the bike snaking under you. Anyway, we made it to the tar succesfully. We found a fridge on the side of the road with a solar panel on top of it. On closer inspection we discovered that the fridge was actually a housing for the energiser for an electric fence of some farmer. I suppose to keep the sheep in or the predators out. But it did look a bit odd. Take a look at the photo.
The sky was clear so we hoped for some flower display. However the temperature was still too cold so the flowers remained hidden for the most part. We did see some beautiful flowers, but not the kind of splendour we heard people telling us was there two days ago. Oh well. We stopped at Kamieskroon for some more takeaway koeksusters. We couldnt resist. We also filled the bikes again, but this time we did so at the Co-Op. And just as well. The vibration from the dirt roads had caused one of the bikes to lose its clutch lever hinge bolt. Which is a 12mm shaft with a 6mm thread on the end. The folk were very helpful again and eventually we got a 6mm bolt with a lock nut, and wound some thin wire around the top portion of the bolt. N boer maak a plan! Clutch fixed until we can get a proper replacement. :thumbup: Then it was the long haul all the way to Kuruman. We stopped at the KFC in Upington for supper as we were going to arrive in Kuruman too late to want to hassle with a braai. We also cleaned our visors of all the bugs. There were millions of little miggies, although they were probably Mayflies of some variety. The moment we stopped they flew in and around our helmets. And into our faces. The bugs lasted from about 100km West of Upington to about 100km East of Upington. They probabky bred around the Orange river because this section of the road runs parallel to the river. Also saw a huge tower being constructed North of the road near Upington. Took a photo on the return trip. I think is is some solar plant??? Will have to Google it later. Everywhere we stopped always caused a stir among the locals. We had so many comments and questions around the bikes. Don't blame them
So, eventually arrived in Kuruman. The air remained cold all day, and even colder when the sun set. We arived at our B&B, Safari Lodge where we were welcomed and shown to our room. Just after 9 pm!! What a pleasure to get into a warm shower and into bed. Been a long day. But the bikes ran well all day. We did a chain lube in Pofadder. Didn't want a chain failure due to lack of attention. We are supposed to lube our chains every 1000kms, so it was already overdue by a bit. Once the sun set we reduced our stop interval to every 60km. We didn't want to risk any fatigue accidents or incidents. And we were getting pretty tired at that stage. We didn't stop for long, just to move our bodies a bit and recharge. And the stars!! Living in Gauteng we don't get to see the stars like we did this evening when we switched off our bikes. It was absolutely incredible. Wish digital phone cameras could catch the effect properly! Attached a photo of our bikes with a communal weavers nest on a telephone in the backround. Between Springbok and Pofadder. But now it is time to sleep. We have our last 500km tomorrow.
We are back home safe and sound. Had an awesome trip even though the weather was miserable. Today we travelled the last 500km to Krugersdorp. The air temperature was much better today, but we had a very strong crosswind most if the way. So, again we sat on the sides of our saddles. We also felt the fatigue from the trip today. My right wrist and forearm were cramping. Don complained of cramp in his left upper arm and shoulder, while Wazz was sore in both arms. The constant battle with the cross wind also tired our necks a lot. However we had an uneventful trip from Kuruman to Krugersdorp, with the road getting progressively more and more busy as we went through Delareyville towards Gauteng. Thankfully all the roads are in excellent condition. A photo of our bikes before the ride this morning outside Safari Travelodge in Kurumann and an after photo of our bikes in our back yard this afternoon. (Just to prove we made it back with all three bikes.
I have just done the calculations on fuel. We travelled a total of 3305km according to my trip meter. According to Don's trip meter we travelled 3345km. Probably the difference between the radi of the tyres. Along the way I checked my trip meter versus the GPS and the trip meter over-read by about 1% Not too bad. As a matter of interest the speed indication was also optimistic, but by about 4% Interesting that the percentages were not the same? So we probably did a true distance of somewhere in the region of 3270km. We didn't separate the fuel bills for each bike, but noticed that we all used approximately the same amount of fuel at each refill. It all depended on how much fuel the previous fuel attendant had managed to put into each tank. Our total fuel usage was 353.29l at a cost of R4633.47. Fuel was more expensive by just more than R1 in the Northern Cape than in Gauteng. The calculations take our fuel consumption to about 28km/l or 3.56 l/100km. Not bad considering the very strong head/side winds we experienced just about all the time. Also we pushed the speed a bit on the long sections. It would therefore have cost me less to drive in my VW Touran and we would have been much drier and warmer, but it would never have been the same amount of fun. We built some good memories together. (I was very glad for the motocross experience that we have. It saved us a couple of times on the mud roads.) Next time we do this again though, I will spread the trip over a longer time period. Five days for 3270km was a bit short. I would have liked to spread it over at least a week, or two. However, I don't get enough annual leave for that. But there will be another trip. Our goal of scattering Tanya's ashes was not realised due to the weather chasing the flowers into hiding. So we will have to do it again next year. Hopefully in glorious sunshine and 27 degree plus heat.
All in all it was a great trip. The weather wasn't kind. We got wet and cold, and we got wet and cold, but we had a super time nonetheless. I am blessed to have the two amazing sons that the Lord has given me. Don and Wazz are really great young men and I am very proud to be their dad.
Hi Roy What a wonderful ride. I am thinking of riding from Cape Town, to Springbok, to Kuruman, to Rustenburg. Your weather report pushes me to leave in October. I dont like riding in the wind. Should I bypass Springbok and go to Upington via Calvinia? Any suggestions and recommendations will be appreciated.
We just did the trip again this September, and the weather was perfect. Nice and warm, little wind, and no rain. The only downside was that we were in a cage due to time constraints. We had to do the trip in a long weekend. But as far as the decision to bypass Springbok.... If you want to see beautiful flowers then Springbok should still be on your list in my opinion