Border Patrol Day 12 - 22 Dec 2021 %

465Km

What was meant to be a great day of riding turned out to be meh. Because it was going to be a long day, the longest of the trip, we wanted a 5 am start. That turned into a 6 am start. Outside there was mist everywhere and everything was wet but at least it did not rain as we were expecting. Surprisingly it was also quite warm.

All the farm animals came out to see us off.

The first 50km is a nice gravel road that takes us to Mosselbay, a harbour town on the Garden Route which we will be riding today even though it was not intended. The Garden Route is a 300km coastal road that stretches from Mosselbay to Plettenberg Bay and it is a very busy route during the holiday season.

Things start to unravel when I miss a turnoff just before Mosselbay and the GP Ice routes us through some industrial and township parts of the town. Left, right, stop, right, left, stop, stop, and I’m going off my rocker!

Eventually, we are back on track heading towards our first pass of the day on the outskirts of George, another town on the Garden Route. As we take the turn off I see the first signs of trouble but I ignore it hoping it will go away.

But it keeps on getting more prominent until….

This is when I remembered that this region suffered some devastating floods just a few weeks ago. But how bad can it be, I drive a Ural damn it!

I find a guy sitting on the other side of the barriers and went to speak to him.

‘How bad is it?’

‘Eish, it is bad’

‘Will I be able to get through?’

‘There is a big step but you can go and see’

No invitation is needed and I whizz down the road past the barriers to see for myself. Ok, now I understand what he was talking about. They are not steps but rather huge concrete barriers.

With no space for me to squeeze through I turn around and gave a wave as I rode past our ‘guide’ to backtrack our steps. I will find that all the passes and roads I intended to ride today were closed so we were forced onto the Garden Route with the rest of the tourists and vacation goers.

We stop in Wilderness for a quick bite to eat.

While I drink my mint tea I look at alternatives while keeping an eye on the dark clouds brewing up ahead. I come to the conclusion that if we wanted to reach our overnight stop before nightfall we have little choice than just to follow the Garden Route.

As we ride through peak hour vacation traffic in Knysna. This town, obviously also on the Garden Route, is a very nice holiday destination and they have loads to do.

I spot a bike shop just too late and have to make a U-turn to go back. I want to go and check if they have a tyre that we can use as a backup. They do and I buy one. Keep in mind that these are normal bike tyres and not really suited for a sidecar because of the sidewall stiffness. A sidecar tyre is constructed more like a car tyre with a stiff sidewall to handle the stresses when turning, and also the weight rating is higher. But to get to the next point a normal bike tyre will do just fine.

We make a quick stop at a padstal between Knysna and Plettenburg Bay.

Just before entering Plettenburg Bay, we turn into the Lanwood Snake Sanctuary to find out what it is all about. Turns out it is more a day outing and judging from the price you’d want to stay the whole day. Since we don’t have the time or the money we move on.

DID ONE OF THE SNAKES GET INTO THE SIDECAR!

We stop at Bloukrans Bridge, the site of the highest Bungy in Africa, not because we intend to jump but to take pics. If you are an adrenalin junkie this is a must-do.

At 216m I’d say it is about 210m over my threshold.

So with all our senses intact and no torn ligaments, we set off to cover the last 100km for the day. We’re making good time because we are riding on good roads that we share with rude and selfish vacation-goers but I’ve made my peace with that today. With 70km to go it starts raining and looking ahead it does not look like it’s going to change any time soon so I decided to pull over and get the rain gear out.

While I’m hopping around on one leg a superbike screams by and a few seconds later I hear it approaching again, heading our way. This guy turned around to come back to find out if we were OK. No, seriously. Absolutely amazing and the way it should be (you might remember the bikers that rode past us when we were fixing a flat with Henriette). Unfortunately, he caught me with my pants around my ankles in the rain so the conversation was short but after a fist bump, he was on his way again. Would have loved to have gotten his name and contact to keep in touch. May his journey be a long and safe one.

With faith restored in some humans, we continue our journey and reach Jeffery’s Bay in dry weather just before 15h00. After joining our brethren in perking up the road signage we go the left, right, stop, left, right, stop dance to the doorstep of Island Vibes.