283km
We went to be last night with the wind howling and the memory of the last 10km into Lamberts bay was still fresh in my mind. When we came to a stop there was a constant ringing in my ears because of the headwind on that last stretch. Remind me to tell you about the worse piece of crap you can buy, ever. It’s called a Shark helmet but that is a story all on its own so back to today’s ride report.
My ears opened before my eyes this morning, listening for the howling…complete silence, I even gloated on Whatsapp that there is no wind this morning. Between then (6 am) and the time we left (8 am) the wind picked up for no apparent reason other than to piss me off.
After a chat with Tannie Enna, we were all packed and ready to leave. As we pulled out it was clear that this was going to be a very windy day but surprisingly the wind died down to a very acceptable level, just enough to bring the cool ocean air inland.
But just before we continue I want to digress a bit. We traveled quite a bit and have a habit of keeping a journal. We have a friend, Karen, who is also busy traveling with her sidecar a bit further South to where we are heading. So we get valuable weather info from her updates and it’s actually very depressing, almost like the Spanish Flu. Gale force winds, rain, and the occasional volcano eruption. OK, the last is a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point. Anyways she also keeps a journal but seems to be an overachiever.
So once we got over the fact that our art will never be featured on the front page of any magazine we get back to the days riding.
Driving merrily along we crest a hill to find the road blocked by cars and ….. Traffic cops. As soon as they saw us approach the hand went up indicating for us to pull over. Crap, right at the spot where I intended to vandalize a signage board with our sticker. But we knew why they pulled us over. We are being profiled, it is something we’ve gotten used to by now. There would be 5 vehicles in a row and we would always be singled out. I’m starting a movement #Uralsmatter. But lucky for us we are always singled out because they want to talk to us. Never have I been asked to pull the front brake or switch on the left indicator or even to show my license. All they want to know is what motorcycle this is, where we came from, and where we are going.
After a bit of friendly banter, we are off towards Elands Bay leaving an un-vandalized road sign in our wake.
After last night’s gaffe with Surkov’s hair, he insisted to ride up front, who are we to deny him and judging from the smile on his face he is enjoying it.
At Elands Bay we stop at the Rooi Stoor (Red Store) padstal where Surkov charms the ladies.
Elands Bay I’m told is a top-notch surfing destination and judging by the number of vehicles passing us with surfboards strapped to the roof others heard it too. We had a quick drink to fortify the gut probiotics before heading out.
And stocked up on our meds. I’m hoping to keep these ailments at bay during our trip using this. The kit consists of pills for Grumpiness, Happiness, Tantrums, and Stupidity. Only the happiness pills are meant to increase symptoms. I have a sneaky suspicion that the stupidity pill will not last the trip.
Just down the road from the padstal we are flagged down to let some cattle cross the road. Instead of crossing the road they just start walking down the road. Oh well, they are bigger and probably smarter than us so we give way.
Redelinghuys is a small village not far from Elands Bay and one of those places where you expect a Google search for ‘things to do in Redelinghuys’ to return a result of ‘there are 0 things to do in Redelinhuys’. Funny enough not so. There are all sorts of things to do in and around the village such as 4×4 and hiking trails, coffee shops, and caves, some of which they share with Elands Bay.
It is here where we get onto our first gravel section for the day. There will be 4.
Note to self: don’t go to Redelinghuys to practice your cornering skills.
We get onto the main road just before Dwarskersbos where we will stop to visit an old friend. Dwarskersbos is best known for….. Only the people who live here know it exists. Apparently, this is where Vasco da Gama set foot when he explored St Helena Bay. It is actually a very nice settlement and I can see why many go there to settle down after working all their lives.
Ronel escorted us to a little shop in Velddrif to stock up on some snacks.
We say our goodbyes and start the last 100km to our overnight stop at The Sandcastle B&B in Melkbosstrand. After just over an hour of slogging against a headwind that picked up again, we knew we were close as Table Mountain came into view. Why this is called Table Mountain is beyond me. A table has got legs, this should be called Flattop Mountain.
Lucky for us there was an ice cream vendor cycling past just as we arrive so we called him over for a nice cold King Cone.
We take a romantic stroll down the beach to Melkies for some Tacos and Chicken Strips.
Surkov wasn’t feel well so he decided to stay in.
We are actually very close to our overnight stop for the next two nights at the family but since we did not want to burn too many matches with a long stay we decided to stay at the B&B and do a bit of a scenic ride inland and then circling back towards the Cape Town suburbs where we will stay for two nights.
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