Revival Tour 2013

In 2012 I didn't do nearly as many trips I would have liked to. I decided that 2013 was going to be different, so I did my first trip on the 1st of January and called it my "Revival Tour". What was supposed to be a four day trip however ended after two days mainly because of two reasons. On the second day I landed mid-day at Matjiesfontein where I was supposed to overnight and had no idea what I was going to do with myself for the rest of the afternoon besides maybe taking some pictures and visiting the museum. Riding on seemed like a better option at the time. Secondly my "patched-up" topbox which had been "repaired" after a previous fall fell off with all my camera equipment inside. Fortunately this sturdy BMW top box could give any Coleman cooler box a run for its money and my cameras survived a second crash. I was however not prepared to take it for a third bashing seeing that it has survived two already and the third time might be interpreted as "pushing my luck". I was also not going to spend a whole afternoon in Matjiesfontein musing on whether I should continue my tour with a dodgy topbox or head straight home and postpone the last part of my trip until a next time.

My initial plan was to take as much footage of my trip with my Sony Handycam and compliment it with a few  shots from my GoPro attached to my helmet. I had my SLR camera also on board hoping for some nice photo opportunities at various locations like Matjiesfontein, Barrydale, Prince Albert, etc. The ideas was to create a nice 20-minute movie of my Revival Tour for my blog...

On New Year's Day I left Cape Town at 6:30, headed for Worcester via the Du Toitskloof Pass and stopped quite frequently along the way to gather footage. It was actually cold most of the way with temperatures ranging from 15 degrees to 21. I knew I had the whole day to get to Mossel Bay, so I was really just cruising along absorbing the scenery. At Seweweekspoort I planned a quick "in-and-out" ride because I have never been through Seweweekspoort before. It would be the only "no t-shirt yet" section of my whole trip and I was really excited to see what the place looked like. What a lovely road and scenery.   Unfortunately it was not exactly what I was expecting to see and experience. I was a bit disappointed but think it was because of reports I have read and an image I have created about this "must-do" poort that created the exeptionally high expectations. Compared to roads like Prince Alfred Pass, Gamkaskloof, Montagu Pass and even Meiringspoort it was not as adventurous and exciting as I had hoped for. I was planning on spending at least two or more hours in the poort for footage, but eventually did the 40km through and back in less than an hour. I was also totally appalled at the amount of rubbish that was floating in the rivers and blowing around the picnic spots. I guess after New Year celebrations that could be expected, but it really was a sad face to see on such a beautiful morning.

The rest of the way to Mossel Bay via Oudtshoorn and the Robinson Pass was well concluded with a braai at my brother-in-law's.

My second day started at around 7 am and I left for the Montagu Pass via the old road to George passing through Blanco. The Montagu Pass to me is really spectacular and I have spend lots of time on that pass before. I remember years ago when I still thought it would be the biggest challenge to do it on a mountain bike. I did it a few times since then and every time I go there I just want to stay there as long as I can. It's really worth going early in the morning when everything smells fresh with its cool and damp shaded areas and "foresty" smell. It was here that I realised with utter disgust that all the files on my Handycam from the previous day were corrupted. It would not be the first time that I have lost all the files on this stupid little video recorder, so my hopes of retrieving it was lost along with my "Producer" aspirations. I never took many pictures with my SLR on the way either so it was left up to the GoPro to save the day...and the tour for that matter.

After the Montagu Pass I joined the queue of Gauteng motorist heading towards Oudtshoorn and for them eventually towards a province they sadly call "home". I was thinking how bad it must be to be driving back to Gauteng after a holiday on the South Coast and shouted a little "Thank You Lord it's not me!" inside my helmet. When I drove into Oudtshoorn I let go of my handle bars to stretch my arms and nearly lost control because of a wobbling front wheel. I stopped to check it out thinking that I might have lost one of the little wheel balancing weights, but it was not that. I was a bit worried as I have never felt that wobble before. I've had concerns with an "unstable front suspension" since I bought the bike. Compared to my previous F800GS the handlebars just feel very loose at high speeds and now all of a sudden it does weird things at slow speed as well. With the Swartberg Pass still beckoning to be conquered and no Motorad support in Oudshoorn (nothing found on my iPone) I decided to move along and hope for the best.

I was doing about 80 kph all the way to the foot of the Swartberg Mountains frequently letting go of my handlebars hoping that the wobble would have mysteriously disappeared. Later I slightly got used to the wobble and decided to focus on the ride rather than the possibility of getting tank-slapped before I reach my final destination. There were quite a few vehicles on the pass already, as well as mountain bikers thinking they were mean to do it on leg power. I also thought that long time ago when I crossed the Swartberg Pass on a mountain bike but then I discovered the engine-driven two-wheeled mode of transport and never felt the need to "prove myself "again. By this time of my trip I was just using my GoPro for footage and decided that I will make short clips of the passes in case someone would be interested to look at it. It might give an idea of what the passes look like and the road conditions. Maybe I can prevent someone from having a disappointment like I had at Seweweeks or make them more relax for an upcoming trip across the mighty Swartberg Mountains.

The ride over the pass was excellent as usual. I am always amazed by the engineering and commitment that must have gone into the planning and construction of the pass. I drove past the turn-off to The Hell and smiled because of a previous experience I had there with a mate's Buel that made it there but only half-way back. I was a bit sad when I reached the end of the pass and was contemplating going back again just to do the long uphill section to the top. I prefer going UP passes and hate the coming down part, but I still had to get to Matjiesfontein and was hoping on getting something to eat at Prince Albert before I finish the boring part of the day's route. The temperature already reached the high twenties, but after refuelling I decided to skip breakfast and head straight on to Matjiesfontein.

The stretch to Prince Albert Way and the N1 to Laingsburg was exhausting and boring as usual. On the N1 the oncoming traffic was hectic but did not bother me much. I was more trying not to fall asleep and with a strong side/head-on wind struggling to keep my bike on the road. I stopped for "breakfast" in Laingsburg around noon and with a full stomach on my way to Matjiesfotein I hit the bump which dislodged my topbox and send it flying through the air. Fortunately for me I heard it fall on the tar behind me and I immediately stopped to retrieve it and roughly calculate a ball-park figure on the damage. With around R15 000 worth of camera equipment inside I was a bit peeved off with myself for always wanting to fix things the "cheap way". Fortunately nothing was broken except maybe my motivation to continue the tour with this self-launching topbox. When I reached Matjiesfontain at  around 12:30 I had already made up my mind to push on. If it was going to be "homeward bound", then it was NOT going to be on the N1. I turned off at Touws River to go via Ceres and the Bain's Kloof Pass. With a wobbly front wheel and a shaky topbox I spend more time now checking my equipment in the rear-view mirror than checking the scenery ahead of me. I did however catch a glimpse of two elephants at the Aquila Nature Reserve just outside Touws River and was glad that I was still able to live in Africa with its wonderful wild life and screwed-up politicians.

When I reached Bain's Kloof Pass it was already 33 degrees. I switched on my GoPro for the last time and in between silly motorist and a precariously bouncing topbox I was rather relieved when I reached Wellington. There I stopped for a pie and Coke and from there on took a leisurely ride back home. I reached my house at around 4:30.

Doing over 1200 kilometres in two days is not really what I had planned, but what I was very pleased at was the fact that I started my new year with a bike trip. Maybe it did not go all that well, but it was lots of fun and a fantastic way to start the year. I am already thinking of new ways to use my GoPro and to sort out my luggage carrier issues and to have my front suspensions checked out asap. There is definitely a bike trip revival happening for me and it will hopefully continue far into 2013.

Below are the clips that I made from the passes. Rather boring to watch except maybe for the parts where I nearly left the road while looking back at the pass and the arsehole who didn't want me to pass him on the Bain's Kloof Pass. Unfortunately the quality on YouTube is also not as good as the files I uploaded, but the time it took to upload discouraged me from uploading again. No wheelies, sand monsters, skilled manoeuvres or exciting stuff, but at least a good idea of what the passes look like from the seat of a motorbike. 

Gravel 101 - The re-exam

About six months ago I had a nasty fall with my bike on a gravel road in Namibia. What I didn't know then was that it was not only my bike that got written off, but also my confidence to ride gravel roads. I poured my heart out on the BMW forum and the response was so uplifting and inspiring that I decided to include a bit of gravel riding on a trip I had planned to Plettenberg Bay. 

My route from Cape Town took me straight to Mossel Bay where I had to "deviate to the scenic route" which would include the Montagu Pass as well as the Prince Alfreds Pass, both gravel roads. My other option was the easy N2 straight to Plettenberg Bay, but because of all the motivation and advice I received on the forum I decided to "go for gold".

I was a bit worried when I left Mossel Bay around 13:45 because rain was predicted for this area and I was already through two downpours heading towards Mossel Bay. The last thing I wanted was to slip and slide down Alfreds Pass. I was here to rewrite "Gravel 101 - Riding Gravel Roads" after I horribly failed the module which focusses on "Sand Riding Techniques". I was not prepared for "Gravel 201 - Riding Wet Slippery Roads" yet. I filled up in Blanco and was checking out the low lying clouds on the Outeniqua Mountains. I had no idea what it would look like closer to Knysna and Plett. I had no alternative other than crossing the mountain and hoping for the best once I got to Alfreds Pass which is over the Montagu Pass and via "Die Langkloof", 120 kilometres further down the road". No turning back then.

Montagu Pass

The Montagu Pass was as beautiful as ever. The first section of road into the valley was completely dry and when I left the tar behind I could already feel my whole body going into minor spasm attacks. After about a 100 meters I remembered the advice from the forum and slowed down considerably. "It was the sand that was a concern and not the hard gravel" I kept telling myself. Though I still had about a 2 hours ride ahead with rain looming in the distance I had to make sure that I kept a comfortable pace. After the bridge on the way up I realised like many times in the past that I feel much more comfortable going uphill compared to downhill. When I go down I have that fear of pulling the front brake and letting the front wheel slip out underneath me like I did many times as a kid on my bicycle. I have much more control over the speed as I go up and the chance of slipping on loose gravel is less. Fortunately for me, going up is basically all you do on the Montagu Pass if you approach it from the side I did. 

There were a few areas where the road was bad, especially where they made these little berms to stop the water from eroding the road. I managed that well and the only times I got a bit worried was when I crossed some loose pebbles which felt as I was riding on marbles. I was wondering if I shouldn't have deflated my tyres a bit, but earlier I consciously decided against that because of the long tar section through Langkloof. As I was getting closer to the top I was also getting closer to the clouds, but fortunately there was no rain, just mist. Once over the top there was still a 7km section to the R62. This section also had a bit of loose gravel but doing around 50km/h I had no problems keeping the bike under control.

Langkloof

The sun was shining brightly when I got my wheels back on tar. I looked at the mountain and all along the road I could see the clouds pouring over the back of the mountain. I knew what that meant, wet conditions on the other side. I wasn't going to let that deter me and decided to deal with the possibility of rain like my dad always says to me, "We'll cross the bridge when we get there". My ride over the Montagu Pass already inspired confidence and I was in good spirits.

My plan was to stay on tar until I got to Avontuur, but 50 kilometers down the R62 the lady with the sweet voice on my GPS suggested that I take a shortcut straight to De Vlugt. The nice lady didn't say anything about the road surface or conditions, but I guess the "Unpaved Road" clue on the GPS screen should've warned me that it was not going to be without mental and physical challenges. I stopped at the turn-off and thought that a short-cut might be a good idea to beat the rain to De Vlugt. I ventured out on my second gravel road with caution as this decision was rather unplanned. I didn't want to jinx my trip because of changed plans. As a good friend of mine always says, "You change your mind you lose your luck!"

Road To De Vlugt

Less than a 100 meters into unknown territory, I already started cursing myself for the weakness I have for sweet female voices. The road condition was not as good as the Montague Pass road, but with determination I decided to press on ahead. This was the part that tested the "Get back on the horse again if you still want to remain a cowboy"-theory. I wasn't about to let an ego thing make the decision for me. I decided to stick to the road regardless of untested theories. This time I was in it for the sake of "adventure". I have never been on this road before and didn't know what to expect, but with lots of patience and the occasional glimpse on my GPS screen I managed to negotiate all the tight turns by slowing down way in advance. The bit of advice from the forum that I really took to heart was the "take it slow" bit. Up until now I was fortunate not to have hit loose sand, but I am sure it would've been much easier to manage the sand travelling at 40 km/h rather than 80. 

The road meanders all along the Keurbooms River and has some very sharp bends with some sections that are very rocky.  I never exceeded 80km/h, most of the time sticking to 50 in order to enjoy the scenery as well. What a beautiful place it turned out to be. I had no idea when I was going to arrive at De Vlugt, but I got there much sooner than anticipated and was very much relieved that I survived another 25 kms of gravel road.

De Vlugt

I don't know what you would call De Vlugt, but it is beautiful little place nestled in the Outeniqua Mountains. On arrival I realised that I missed out on a beautiful section of Alfreds Pass, the part coming from Avontuur. It didn't bother me too much because I covered another gravel section which was also very nice to see and which gave me enough opportunities to build confidence. I stopped at the De Vlugt Tea Garden where I had a long conversation with the owner Annelize van Rooyen. She suggested I taste some of her homemade ginger beer and we talked about the pass and the amount of people passing her tea garden daily. When she mentioned that they were expecting rain I realised that I had completely forgotten about my concern for the rain. It was clear that rain is much needed in that part of the world, but I stood there thinking that I also wanted them to have rain, but "just not right now, please Lord". Annelize warned me that the road gets VERY slippery when wet and I started wondering if I can get the credit for Gravel 101 if I can pass Gravel 201 without pre-exam preparations. After finishing my ginger beer I decided to get on with my real challenge, Prince Alfreds Pass...hopefully in dry conditions. I had no idea what to expect on the other side of the mountain, but I still had this side to conquer first. I guess I was getting very close to that proverbial "bridge to cross" now.

The Prince Alfreds Pass

The road from De Vlugt immediately started out quite steep. The road condition was the same as on the road towards De Vlugt, but it was clear that it had more "unrepaired flood damage". I managed to get through some "dongas" but it was on this section when I once again had to admit  that my bike was physically too big for me. Around some of the tight corners the sand was eroded with only bumpy bed rock remaining. This means navigating around a corner while negotiating my way over open rock sections. Although I managed to stay on top I knew that if I had to put my foot down that I would not be able to keep my bike upright. This is what really concerns me about the size of my bike. I think doing cones would be a good exercise in acquiring the skills to balance the bike. On a slope however you only have the option (in my case) of one side where you can use your foot for support or the other side where you have less support than what Juju has in Orania. The other side would mean a definite topple over, or "omdonner" as I prefer to call it. Fortunately I am relatively OK with handling my bike around cones and passed these little challenges with flying colours. No harm though in acquiring more cone riding skills in future. 

I did the remainder of the steep section with ease, but it was while going through the Diepwalle Forest section that I had one of those "body spasm moments". The road, although well maintained, had loose gravel around some of the corners, and sometimes even on the straight sections. I was again doing between 50 and 80 km/h, but still taking it much slower than what I normally would've done in the past on a road with similar conditions. Then it happened...

You know that feeling you get when you hit a patch in the road and it feels as if your front wheel is doing its own thing and your back wheel doesn't know if it should follow or not? That feeling of riding on "slap pap" when all that stuff of "stand up, look up, open up" makes you wonder if it shouldn't be the other way around.... "Look down, slow down and stop your friggen bike!" My heart skipped a beat and my legs became like jelly. I was thinking what a bummer it would be if after all this gravel, I now lose it and put myself back in Namibia. I obviously have not conquered my fear, but I certainly have isolated it. It is that friggen wobbly that the bike does when I travel over loose gravel, THAT is the fear which resulted from my accident in "Nam". A similar feeling I got the first time I jumped out of an aeroplane and I couldn't find something solid to stand on before my chute deployed properly. That (un)familiar feeling of not being in control of the situation. 

I went through the loose gravel unscathed only the by the grace of God and had to stop to catch my breath. I was a bit disappointed to know that the fear has not subsided after the morning's gravel exposure, but on the other hand I now knew exactly WHAT the fear was. It's not gravel roads per se, it is the inability to control my bike in these conditions. I could still enjoy the undiscovered roads, as long as I do it at a comfortable pace and never encounter loose soil. The gravel road, the bends, the loose rocks, are all manageable. It is the fear of hitting that loose patch and losing control that freaks me out. 

The ride was wonderful, it never rained and I arrived safely in Plettenberg Bay about 3 hours after my departure from Mossel Bay. I feel much better today than I did three weeks ago when I wrote that heart-rendering post on the forum. My bike is actually dirty today and I am very proud of it. I will work on that loose floating feeling and how to counter-act when it happens. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy my bike and make good use of it on tar as well as on gravel. I am not there yet, but this ride was a huge confidence booster and put me back in the saddle again. I guess it is all about staying within your skill level and taking your time. It IS about the journey and not the destination. And eventually it IS about staying alive to tell the story. By riding slow you can even have some pictures to show...... 

Montagu Pass

I took this picture of the Montagu Pass (built in the 1840's) from the Outeniqua Pass side. The Outeniqua pass replaced the Montagu Pass many years ago (1940's) as the main connecting road between Oudsthoorn and George. The railway line which also runs across the Outeniqua Mountains is also visible as  a much straigher line higher up against the mountain.

Training on the Montagu Pass

It's a long weekend in South Africa and we are visiting family in the Garden Route. The weather prediction for the weekend was not very favourable, but it has not rained yet so I guess we cannot complain. My wife, who has decided to do the next Karoo to Coast Mountain Bike Race was looking for a gravel road to train, preferably one that resembles the road she will be doing on this race. What better place to go than the Montagu Pass?

If you are ever fortunate enough to visit the Garden Route, take some time to drive the Montagu Pass which runs from George across the Outeniqua Mountains right into the Klein Karoo. I am not going into the detail of the phenominal pass that was built in 1844 with the help of some convicts, but do read about this masterpiece. We arrived at the foot of the pass at around 9.30. The idea was to drop my wife there and then to take our time up the pass while she was sweating it out to the top. Obviously I had my camera with me to take some pics and kill time, but with the mist I knew that the chances of getting something decent was very small. Most of the pictures I took I deleted because it looked as if the lense was fogged up, but here are some of the better ones.