To a funeral via the scenic route

I don't really have the money now for a new GPS so I bought myself the cheaper version instead. A 1: 325 000 map of Cape Town and Surrounding Attraction, 3rd edition. There is something to a map that you don't find with a GPS. It is like reading a newspaper from the Internet. That feeling and smell of the newspaper in your hands just disappears when you try do do it electronically. The same goes for finding your way through some unknown territory with the help of a GPS instead of a map. I remember once I was traveling through the Sahara with a convoy led by a guy that really knew his way around in a place which to me just looked like u huge beach with no sea. When we stopped to have a drink, I asked him where we were. Instead of giving me some coordinations from his GPS, he took out a map and opened it on the bonnet of his 4x4. Apart from the fact that it was probably the closest I ever came to feeling like Indiana Jones, it was much easier to orientate myself in case I had to continue walking from there. GPS coordinations would not have helped. Anyway, so I got the map and what better way to try it out than going to a funeral via the scenic route.

Yes, I went to a funeral of a cousin which I didn't really know. I believe that the rest of the family always appreciates the support more than the deceased, but at the funeral I was thinking that by being there I might've increased the chances of actually having someone at my funeral one day as well. If you ever get time to watch the movie "The Big Fish", then you will know why I would love to have plenty of people at my funeral but that's another topic for later. I am sure I can write many posts about funerals, but I will leave that for a day when I have not seen the heartache of people seeing off a deceased loved-one as recently as yesterday. So, I was on my way to a funeral with my bike and a map. The nice thing about living in a more developed country is that there is usually a well developed road network. The problem with living in a more developed country is that most of these roads are usually tarred. I am more interested in the gravel roads. My new map shows more detail  on gravel roads than my previous Road Atlas so thought I might as well take the scenic route to the funeral and back. Not that I don't have any sympathy with the deceased or the family, but I have learned that if you cannot turn an "uncomfortable" event into an "acceptable" one, then you might as well give up on life too.

Road towards Du Toits Kloof Pass

Disgruntled family members

My trip to Worcester started very early. My plan was to go straight on the N1 across the Du Toits Kloof Pass to Rawsonville, which is close to Worcester. According to my map this is where I could find some interesting undiscovered (for me at least) gravel roads. From my start I had to endure the same cold temperatures I had on Sunday, so going to 3.5 deg C was not a good start for me. When I approached the Du Toits Mountains I was thinking of chickening out and going through the Huguenot Tunnel, but as I was climbing the pass, strangely enough so was the temperature. In my head I was paging around through my old climatology text books that my dad so dearly paid for in an effort to give me an education trying to unravel this strange phenomenon. I eventually came to the chapter on anabatic and catabatic air flow and figured out why. The temp at the top climbed to 16 deg C, but as expected on the way down it went down with me. Just after the small tunnel at the bottom of this pass, I met a few other relatives of mine. Babboons. I stopped to take a family picture but they were not interested, typical of family that you have neglected over the years.

By the time I got to the Rawson turn-off, I was back to nearly a frozen state. The temperature was around 4 deg C. My first gravel road was up Holsloot to the Limiet Berg Nature Reserve. Here I was not only hoping to find a nice gravel road leading up to the reserve, but also checking for any future camping possibilities. To my disappointment the road was closed, with plenty of signs advising NOT to enter. My first gravel road for the morning was a dead-end. A little bit less motivated now due to the temperature effect on my state of mind, I headed for my second road I was planning to do before the funeral. This road, according to my new map, runs around the Bergvlei Dam where it meets up with the Villiersdorp to Worcester road. From there it would be an easy ride to get to Worcester and in time for the funeral.

Bergvliet dam

Bergvliet dam

I was impressed with the size of the Bergvliet Dam as I was heading towards this gravel road. I stopped to take a few pictures of the dam with the sun rising on the opposite side, hoping that the temperature would also rise soon. By now it was around 7 degrees and climbing. A sign next to the turn-off saying "Bergvlei Correctional Services" didn't bother me much, but when I came around a corner and saw huge gates with guards, it did. I stopped to ask what the hell was this in the middle of the road that I am about to take around the dam, and was informed that this was in fact the road leading to the prison, and unless I arrived there for work or in the back of a police van, then I have no business there. Another dead end for me, at least not as permanent as for so many on the opposite side of that fence, but still. By now the motivation was completely lost so I went straight to Worcester two hours early to find the church where the sermon was going to take place. For comfort and to get my blood flowing again I stopped for a breakfast and coffee at the Wimpy.

Theewaterskloof dam

One thing that really caught my attention at the funeral service was the way the deceased were described by the family. A man that was totally obsessed with nature and hunting. I was wondering what people would say about me at my funeral one day. A man that was totally obsessed with the pleasures he could get out life, or someone maybe who could never find the gravel road experience he was obsessed finding? While I sat there I once again realized that time is short and we have to make the most of life while we can. I was sure that my cousin would not have raised an eyebrow if he heard that I took a scenic road to his funeral, so I decided there and then that I will continue my scenic trip back to Cape Town.

More Theewaterskloof Dam

From Worcester I went to Villiersdorp but decided I will skip any more gravel roads and just head back to get back to work. The road is not much longer than the N1, but it has more curves than a California beach babe and with lots of picture opportunities. From Villiersdorp I took the Franschhoek Pass road towards Franschhoek. First I took some pictures of the Theewaterskloof Dam just to show that I was there, and also stopped at the famous lookout point on top of the pass. The Franschhoek Valley that lay in front of me is nothing new to me. I have seen that valley from various heights before. This is a very famous paragliding spot and I used to fly there quite often. But today I was on my bike and I was now in a hurry to get back to work (yeah, I know it sounds like bullshit but I was).

Back of Franschhoek Pass

Franschhoek pass

The couple of kilometres on the N1 back to my office gave me enough time to reflect on my day of  "dead ends". Despite the fact that I was going to a funeral, despite the fact that I reached some dead ends myself, the day turned out to be another exciting one. I have not given up on finding that ultimate gravel road yet, and like the cliched saying says about life, the journey towards the destination should never be ignored. Today was just another stop on my way to find that ultimate road....

Franschhoek Valley

Ride to Nowhere

The invite said something about "a nice leisurely ride" and "a great outing for those of you with partners who are scared of you riding fast". The whole idea behind the trip was to give Noelene some experience for her trip to the Transkei later this year and the planned distance was estimated at 350km. The route, well, to "nowhere", "as we are not sure which way the wind and sun will carry us".

I was looking for something to do on Sunday seeing that my family was in Johannesburg and what better way to kill a Sunday than a bike ride? I was up early, too early in fact, but decided to have a coffee at Carlucci's before I would meet up with the rest of the gang in Plattekloof. The thought of going to Carlucci's came a bit late, otherwise I would've thrown in a breakfast as well. Besides, the plan was to eat somewhere along the way, so the empty stomach would only be empty for a short while I hoped. After finishing my coffee while reading about Julius Malema who is now singing "kiss the boer, kiss the farmer" (oh please save us from that), I met up with the guys at the Engen garage as planned. Geoff, who organized the trip was amazed to see so many bikes, 15 in total. He was expecting 4 or 5. But the more the merrier and off we went to a place called "nowhere".

Fortunately the road wasn't really that unplanned, we were informed where we were going to ride and have lunch. I was rather pleased that I came along because two of the roads Geoff mentioned I had never been on before. Always fun to explore new roads. We got onto the N1 in the direction of Worcester. Crossing the Du Toits Mountains via the Hugeunot Tunnel or the Du Toitskloof Pass was not debatable. Bikers take the pass. At this point the ride was still going rather slow, afterall, it was  ride for the "easily scared partners". At this point I knew that I made the right decision to do the ride, the pleasure of riding in a group and the thought of seeing new places is exciting enough. After the pass Geoff stopped for a while just to make sure that all the ducklings made the first obstacle. Before we started we realized that we had 3 paramedics in the group, so at least we were covered should somebody overshoot a bend or two.  Before Worcester we turned off onto the Rawsonville road (R101) to get to the Slanghoekpad (Slanghoek road). This road I've never been on before and I was amazed at the beauty of the surrounding area. On this road is where Goudini Spa is. This was when I realized that riding in a big group like this does NOT allow for sightseeing and taking pictures. I was a bit disappointed, because the road was really beautiful. So were the Slanghoek Mountains as well as the farmlands. Sigh.

The Slanghoekpad ended where we met up with the road that comes from Wellington going to Ceres (R303). I have done this road before when I crossed the Bain's Kloof Pass (one of my first posts). We stopped at Ceres again to take a break and a leak and to make sure everyone was happy with the pace. From Ceres it was a long and straight road (R46) to Touws River. It was here where I used my iPod the last time, but this time there was no time for iPods and riding in a group makes it much less boring than doing it on your own. We met up again with the N1 and headed south for a few kilometres before we turned off onto the Koo road (R318). Here one of the riders developed problems with his sprocket and decided to head home rather than do the rest of the trip towards Montagu and Robertson. Yet again I was totally disappointed that we never stopped to take pictures, because this road was also new to me. (If I can steal some of these guys pictures just to show you). Another fantastic route in between the mountains, right in the Karoo. On this road we went down the Rooihoogte pass as well as the Burger's Pass, with the Koo Valley in between. Here the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celcius. A few kilometres before Montagu my fuel light came on. I would learn later that at this stage most bikers had their fuel lights flashing. With more than 80 kilometers left on the reserve, we easily managed to get to Robbertson to sit down for lunch at The Dros.

We just finished our drinks when one of the guys mentioned that he had to be back in Cape Town before 5pm. It was already close to two and with no orders yet taken, three of us decided to skip lunch and head back home. OK, this meant that I have had nothing to eat the whole day, but I also wanted to get home early because I wanted to write my post before I go fetch my family at the airport. We filled up and left for Worcester. This road (N15 or R60) I've done many times before, so it was just riding to get back. The wind at places was throwing my head around but the weather was perfect and I was not complaining. When we reached the Du Toits Mountains again, we knew there was only one way to get to the other side, so we took it. At the top we stopped to have a last look at the view over the Paarl Valley. I am sure at this point the rest of the gang was still waiting for their order in Robertson. Closer to Cape Town we split up into our own directions and I stopped at my house at 4pm. Distance on the clock: 500.1km! Strangely enough I wasn't really tired, but my neck was a bit sore because the wind slapping.

My final thoughts on this trip. I definitely will do this road again, much slower and stopping for more  pictures. Although the trip was supposed to be "leisurely", we sometimes did speeds of up to 140 km/h. Still slow maybe for many, but when I ride at that speed, I tend to miss the beauty around me. I still prefer my 200km trips where I see everything around me and get time to explore and take pictures in stead of hanging on to my handle bars for dear life (OK, it wasn't really that bad). The ride was still good and I know the idea was to give Noelene her mileage, so I cannot complain about the reason behind the huge distance with limited stops. Besides, I met some great people and this was my first introduction to the Cape Town BMW club. I will definitely be riding with them again soon. I also swopped contact details with some new biking buddies and we are planning on doing some trips ourselves soon.