Robertson

Warren and Natalie setup their second "4x4" weekends away, this time close to home in the Agterkliphoogte Valley outside Robertson. As I'm trying to get as much riding in as possible, I eagerly jumped on board (especially after their last Buffelspoort trip was such a success). I signed up my wife Sandy, without our her consultation although she didnt complain when I told her she was booking the weekend off and coming with me.

After weeks of scouring the web for suitable routes and countless hours spent tweaking the selected route on Mapsource - I wanted to find a route that avoided the N1, N2 and R62 yet was suitable for a "solo" ride - Adrienne and I finally set off on Friday morning enroute to Wilderness.

We are planning an overnight ride to the Agterkliphoogte Valley near Robertson for the weekend of 21 to 22 May 2011. Warren and Natalie Ellwood will be your hosts for this weekend trip to one of the lesser known gems in the Western Cape. This off road ride will suit riders of all levels.

Andy's "trip teaser" on the forum was very tempting: 

'A Must-Do trip on your calendar," he said. "OFF ROAD. You can dream you went on it, wish you were on it or you can book and get onto the trip."

True to form, the trip filled up very quickly.

As always, Andy delivered on the promise: We had it all - sun, wind, rain, thunder and lightning, hail (yep, the hard white stuff), slippery mud, sand, rocky ascents, smooth gravel, loose gravel and more.

Siende dat daar gee “trip report” is vir die “Roadies” se Suterland Winter Trip nie, het ek besluit om dit te skryf. Maar ek is nie so gemaklik in Engels nie, so julle sal maar net tevrede moet wees met Afrikaans.

Vrydagaand 17:00: Die panniers is klaar gepak met elke moontlike warm kledingstuk wat in my kas is. Hulle is klaar vas gesit op die motorfiets.

A charity ride departing Winelands 1 Engen Stop (outgoing) for 'Die Herberg Childrens Home in Robertson'

• Register : www.charityride.co.za
• Contact : Donovan Marais (STAFFIE) staffie@staffie.co.za / 082 462 6929

Thanking you in advance for your support herein.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any other questions or queries.

Kindest regards
Donovan Marais
"STAFFIE"

===The Group=== Geoff Russell (leader) – 1200GSA Michiel Bierman – 1200GSA Andre Ferreira – 1200GSA Andy Connell (sweeper) – 1150GSA Leon & Liza Kroucamp – 1200GS Anne Connell – 1200GS Sean Hidden – 1200GS Dave Hidden – F650Dakar Noelene Russell – F650Dakar Tiara Odendaal – F650GS '''Friday, 2 Oct 508kms''' We were set to have fine weather the whole weekend. We met at Lanner’s Landing in Klapmuts at 8.15 for 8.30 departure. However, Dave, coming from Stellenbosch, somehow ended up near Wellington and then finally met us about half an hour later. 1st round of strafdoppe already allocated to Dave.

===Day 1: Cape Town – Bonnievale=== We set out late Monday afternoon for Bonnievale at 17h00. The weather was good…..that is no pumping cape doctor, “anything else is good in my book”, but once we hit the R60 to Robertson the cape doctor gave us a woes snot klap making it difficult to maintain 140km/h. We were packed reasonably light, only the absolute essentials for a one night camp out, no rain gear, a cell phone to use for any major repairs, and a basic supper of noodles with tinned tuna. (The rest of our meals were to be had on route.) Our first night was with friends on their wine farm on the Breede River. After a really good braai and good wine it was off to bed before many dusty back roads to tomorrows destination….Die Hel!

After all the winter we have been having, Sunday morning greeted us with perfect summer weather. No clouds, no wind, just clear sunshine. Even at Engen people were looking for bits of shade to hide from the heat of the sun. After a quick drivers brief Brian led the group down the N1. 15 bikes signed in at Engen, with Christo Lombard indicating that he will only be riding with us over the pass after which he needs to get back home. Frank Butler We were also joined by Frank Butler. He is an Aussie that is busy riding around the world on a Dakar. He has done about 2 thirds of his trip in the last 5 years! He has a helmet cam, which he uses to record his trip. It is actually a handheld video camera that is clamped onto his helmet with a bracket that looks like a Garmin mount. He has a web site where he keeps people informed about his adventures – www.mrbeem.net

Meet at the Engen, everything you need to know including the map to the meeting point and information on what to bring is at these links: * http://bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/node/1 * http://bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za/faq#41n65