Enjoyable Riding...

Yesterday was a day full of riding pleasure; I left Mountain Shadow Hotel around 7.30am and was straight into a challenge the same mist I had pulled over for the day before was as relentless the following morning, see the picture. So I adopted the same driving technique, my right hand on the throttle and with my left I would ever so often use the back of my hand to wipe the mist from my goggles.

It was bitterly cold and riding without gloves was becoming very unpleasant. I was no on my way to Queenstown and hopefully to sort Hope out for the rest of our journey. We needed to fix my side mirror that had come off, just after Van der Bijl, the back break lever was also bent from a previous fall and needed straightening and I needed to find a petrol cap replacement. On arrivalin Queenstown I was surprised by its size and business, people like a colony of ants, everywhere. I found Mickey’s Bikes as instructed by a guest at Mountain shadow Hotel, and they sorted me out. Within 30 minutes I was once again ready to ride. This time I bought a cheap pair of gloves, in case they also only last a day or two. Off into the mountains was my heading. It is a beautiful place the Freestate; the South Eastern region is what I can, with certainty, declare to be tranquil and they have had a lot of rain of late which is good for the sheep and cattle farmers. The Eastern Cape is exceptionally breathtaking and the roads I travelled where new to me, and probably would be to most South Africans. This is exactly the reason I wanted to do a trip like this; I am getting to see part of our country that I would never ever see. Traversing through the back roads in and around the mountains, what a pleasant time, the roads where in bad condition and windy but great on the bike. I enjoyed, while riding, having to have my wits about me! It’s good for the mind as it keeps it active and the body feels like it has worked out.

Hence no blog last night, I was asleep by 8.30pm. I travelled a stretch of about 150km through the mountains on dirt and loose jagged rocks that must have been hard on my tires, but I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.

The beauty of a trip like this is I never really know where I will end up, it’s like a suspense thriller in my own world, alright that is a little over dramatic, but I just follow the GPS and drive; I ended up facing a large gate with a sign saying “close the gate behind you.”

I was in a game reserve, in the middle of the mountains just before Alicedale. The Irony of all these towns with woman’s names leaves me with vivid memories. Lady Grey was not a pleasant experience the misfortune I faced there took me back to Bloemfontein and then Johannesburg, where I started my journey from scratch. I was beginning to imagine that Alicedale would also leave me fighting the wind and the cold as I was now racing against the clock and the setting sun to find accommodation for the night. However although I was not familiar with my surroundings I was finding pleasure from the scenery and I was not willing to rush the familiarity and I was now content to be amongst it all. Two warthogs had accompanied me for at least 300 meters as they I had startled them and flushed them out into the road and they took off alongside me and without any escape because of the mountain edge, they frantically made their way up the road, for what seemed to be an age as they looked to be rid of me. It was a magical moment that will never be repeated. The road was very narrow deeper into the Reserve with sheer rock faces either side of me. I must confess I was not about to see another person, I was in the “Outback” somewhere, or so it felt, and the thought of spending the night flashed through my mind a couple of times, but the idea of being soaked by the predicted rain soon remove any further deliberation. I saw a small herd of Impala and some paranoid ostriches. There were a few dry rivers that needed to be crossed, soft sand and rocks, not very difficult. There was also some water to parley, so with my feet in the air I made it through without too much complexity. How this beat driving on a tar road.

The sun was nearing its daily disappearing act, and I needed to find a place to stay. I then cut back over the Mountain as Alicedale had only a 5 star hotel, which was out of the question. I eventually reached the N10 and surprisingly I was only 60km from PE, amazing how miles fly when you are having fun. I found a B&B just as I came into Port Elizabeth and I now sit at a desk looking out the window to a heavy constant downpour of persistent rain and you would think that with the rain it would slow the wind down, no chance of that.

It does not look very favourable, will I stay or will I go is the question,

I am not sure yet but I will keep you posted.

Signing off

Tyrone