Day 3

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This morning we woke to some blue skies. There was a hustle & bustle in the camp as everybody packed their steeds.



Some more interesting bikes I noticed:

The Harly that came, stayed and left on the trailer Nice meeting you Milady.



I really liked the look of this Suzuki. Makes you want to ride through Africa. Rough and tough.



We also had a chat with Andy & co. who rode through Baviaans the previous day. According to them the route was fine, BUT they did ride through and over the plateau before the rain came. The decision had to be made. More rain were forecast in Baviaans today and one more phone call confirmed unfavorable conditions. Three out of the four riders voted that Doodsklip be postponed to a next trip. We will return.

In the mean time we still had to get out of the camp. Some mud at the gate - check the guys in the background, lurking camera in hand waiting for some poor sod to fall over



Cement road to Willowmore:





Turning of this road onto the N9 near Willowmore I saw LGF gun his DRZ. Behind him (in front of me) Rovrat turned and gunned his BMW. I turned in and gunned the TransAlp too Nice feeling that! I looked in my mirror, only to find Fidel on his KTM right behind me... On his back wheel!!! Man Fidel that looked great

Quick refuel in Willowmore, Snafu waiting his turn.



And breakfast of course.



So once again our route today was different from the route planned. In fact, we rode very little of the route planned It was a good route. We should ride it one day Now though some wet and muddy riders decided to head for George where hot showers, a nice fire, steaks and some liquid refreshments waited

We decided on the scenic route - the Kammanassie road and over Montagu Pass to George.






(Photo by Rovrat)







The view from Amanda's Grave at the top of Montagu Pass: Three passes in this picture. Top left you see the railway line over the Outeniqua mountains, below that on the left you see Montagu Pass descending and on the right you see Outeniqua Pass ascending over the mountain. In the background you see the low lying Southern Cape.



The Magnificent Montagu Pass:





And for a grand finale, right at the bottom, Rovrat dropped it He frantically tried to pick the bike back up before I could take a picture and succeeded. Next time you wont be so lucky!



At home we lit the fire and had a good laugh reminiscing about the Bash. It was a good one. The mud and rain defined it like the cold did last year, but conditions can't keep a good Bash down. Thanks again Watty!

Day 2 - Bash day!

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I got up early this morning. Very early. So early in fact that I had to go back to bed and get up again!

When I did get up the 2nd time the sun decided to join me. It was not as cold this year and most were still sound asleep. There was an eerie silence with mist hanging over the camp.



Lots of interesting bikes on display. Mr Big's Tiger once again caught my eye - a beautiful specimen.



The silence would not last long though. The main hooligan was waking up: Morning Bus!



Lots of out-rides planned for today. I was going to take the scenic ride while LGF was going to take the fruity / technical ride. The historical ride would happen in the afternoon. Small groups started to head out on their own rides but I waited for the main ride.

Some of the scenery on the farm:



Clouds started to gather and the rain the weatherman forecast approached. Didn't look to bad though.



Then all hell broke loose!!! Thunder and lightning, very very frightening! And the the hail came down. That's right - hail!





Adventure riders we might be, but riding in hail? It soon became clear that those who have not set off yet won't be riding today. This is where this Ride Report turned into a weather report.

Those lucky enough to still be close came back. Wet riders would be returning all through the day.



Not to worry. We had all the ingredients for a helluva party. One that started very early and would carry on till very late indeed.




Outside our camp was getting wetter and wetter. Just getting to your tent would be an adventure!



Yep, that's my tent in the middle of the river there



As far as the lodgings go I had the best of all! Cant beat beach front property Location location location!!!



At this point I got worried about the planned ride to Doodsklip in Baviaanskloof the next day. I managed to phone my wife and ask her to phone various farms in Baviaans to inquire about the conditions there. The news were not good. Without fail every farm phoned advised against riding through the kloof in these conditions. Already some 4x4's had to be recovered, one of those on the route over Groot Winterhoek to Patensie. On top of this RovRat and I were sporting road biased tyres.
A decision had to be made... later Right now the party was cooking!


Bikes kept rolling in. Jacko and his BMW HP2 had some tell-tale signs



Somehow during the evening Watty (the organizer - thanks man, you did great! ) got most to quieten down a bit for the lucky draw. Thanks also to all the sponsors.



Milady amused by the goings on. Bradly getting rid of his shirt already:



You can't keep these KTM okes down Fidel decided the lapa needed a burnout but promptly dropped his bike right in front of the door!



Bradley was not to be outdone. His KTM was going to do a burn-out come hell or high water!



Hoe later hoe kwater...

Not content with the burnout he also wanted to do a burnout on the bar counter Please note that the "bar counter" was nothing more than a thinnish plank...






(Photo supplied by N[]va)



Eventually I decided to turn in. The rain had stopped and it turned out to be a beautiful (but not quiet) Karoo night.








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