Durbanville

You may wonder why so many ladies events on 1 weekend.

This was to be a follow-up ride for the basics training session the day before.

A few ladies booked, then cancelled - 1 overslept, the other's bike ran out of water (or shall I say coolant) (ahem) the day before... and there was the mist....

Then there were the sudden bookings....

So I said to Andy, well I'm going to lead the ride regardless of numbers and at least try out the new restaurant I'd booked.  Although I must say, when I booked, I told them I was expecting 5 or at a push 10.

We are off to see NITE FEVER, a 70's Celebration, a full live show reliving music from the 70's, which most of us should remember , and we will be sitting right in front. For our very first official club social , we have block booked the best 100 seats in the house for Friday night 1 July 2011 at the Barnyard Theater, Willowbridge Shopping Centre. The show starts at 20h00.

Firstly, there are no pics for this ride report. Sorry. They just did not happen. But, if you are looking for an interesting morning route near Cape Town, read on…

My friend Johnny is not normal.

That is to say, he has abnormal bike-riding skills, which I guess comes with the territory if you have been riding bikes for a few decades, including successfully racing dirt bikes. For the record, he rides an Orange Beast with the most divine rumble when idling (I’m never close enough to hear it when it’s moving), but we won’t hold that against him.

Sunday dawned, eventually after a rainy, nay stormy night in the Western Cape.

1^st thing Annie said was, “Good, the ride is history after all that rain, lets sleep in, go put some coffee on..”

Today is Sunday 22 August 2010, the BMWMCC off-road ride for beginners.

A quiet slow ride of flat, good dirt roads, mixed with stretches of tar road so riders can relax and let their minds catch up with them before the next stretch of dirt road.

 

Taking us from Durbanville to Paarl and back.

Bike for sale R 1150 GS 2001 R 50 000 52 Sparrow Hawk Crescent, D'Urbanval, Durbanville gjjkoen@iafrica.com

2008 Specialized S-Works Transition Triathalon / TT Racing Bike, Size Medium (54) Dura-Ace Groupset, American Classic wheels. ULTRA AERODYNAMIC FRAME Extremely narrow FACT carbon tubes minimize drag through the use of an airfoil shape (the tallest allowed by the UCI). A small diameter 1-inch steerer reduces frontal area. A forward arcing seat tube creates an aerodynamic shelter for the rear wheel, and the FACT carbon seat stays are designed to tuck behind the seat tube. Brand new done only 300Km. Reason for Sale: Career Change R 38000.00 Contact Natasha: 0728515967 [img_assist|nid=1

Our riders: '''Annie''' - F650GS '''Karin Pohl''' - F650GS Twin (Bella) '''Erica Korb''' - F650GS (BenG) '''Glenda & Melanie''' - F650GS '''Jean''' - F650GS (PinkGoat) '''Chrisma''' - Kawasaki KLR (Sidechick) '''Michelle''' - KTM (1 Kat) '''Peter O'Hanlon''' - F650Dakar (Our ever-patient Sweeper) The Ride was once again successfully organised by Renette (Rynet) who unfortunately had to phone me on Saturday evening to cancel herself as the trip leader :( because of a very bad bout of flu (We missed you!) Renette gave me the route telephonically and asked me to lead the ride. At this stage it was still raining cats and dogs. I went through to Plattekloof Engen with dark clouds looming - the same clouds that caused a few to phone and cancel - I got 5 minute updates from Renette by phone. I wondered who would pitch! I caught the tail-end of the Tulbagh breakfast ride and waited with a cup of coffee, almost swallowing it in one gulp when 7 bikes arrived just about simultaneously :)!

SO on a slightly sunny day we met at Plattekloof Engen garage for our first ladies off -road BEGINNERS ride . All of us on BMW's except Suzette on her KTM 990 beast. There were to be 10 lady riders of whom 4 had hardly any tar riding experience, let alone any off –road experience. In order to lure the ladies’ bikes out of their respective garages I decide to make this the shortest , easiest, most level , most straight, most good gravel road ride that I can find in all of the Western Cape short of staying in the car park. Wisely I rope in Annie and Geoff , and the week before the ride Geoff and Noeline kindly hosts Annie and I first at Geoff’s computer and then at his bar . Geoff gives us some interesting and safe routes which we proceed to cut and slash to make it even easier and shorter .

Leaning the bike into the wind, I wondered about Alvin's phone earlier call asking whether the ride would go on in the heavy wind. A smattering of the regular faces is always a pleasure, but more pleasingly are the constant new faces. Today we had two new members (please introduce yourselves on the forum). The bikes varied to include 1200GS/A's, 1200RT, 1200S, 650GS, 800GS, 800ST, K1200GT and 1200C. The ride took us towards the sea on the Plattekloof Road where the traffic lights were totally out of sync stopping us every time. We stopped to regroup 4 times, the last being as we turned on the M13 towards Durbanville.

Directions to Dirt & Dust Take Wellington(Durbanville main road) road towards Klipheuwel / Fisantekraal. Turn right on the R312 / Paarl. Past the bridge, Dirt & Dust is on the lefthand side. (Keep a look-out for the black & orange Dirt & Dust posters)