What is in a name?

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Well, it's been a while since this little exploration started, but it was not forgotten. And as it happens another opportunity to go explore presented itself at last.

My wheels for today's journey was the aptly named Dodge Journey, a capable 3.6L V6 with enough ground clearance to handle anything today might throw at it (I hope ). Also note how clean it is... for now.



Today I approached the area from a different direction, finding myself North of the Breede River traveling in an Easterly direction. In Beutler's day they would have been traveling East between the Breede and Zonderendriver, so that's where I needed to be. I crossed the Breede River on the R317 towards Stormsvlei, via the Red Iron Bridge:



The Red Iron bridge could easily be mistaken for a train bridge from a distance. It was built in the early 1900's, but apart from that I could not find any meaningful info on it. Structures like these have always fascinated me. Bridges connect people. Bridges provide safe passage over swollen rivers. Bridges allow the adventurer in you to go see what lies on the other side.



And today the Breede River was swollen, overflowing it's banks after the recent rain:



The road hugs the Breede River traveling east, and even includes a little pass. It's not spectacular as far as Western Cape passes go, but there you have it - Hessekwasnek Pass:



Soon the road comes to a T-junction and right across you are presented with this:



Now I am pretty sure had Beutler's party come across this all those years ago, they would have stopped and so did I. Wagon loaded with the newly acquired provisions I hit the road again.

The first gravel - you can see the earth is well and truly drenched at the moment.



Some scenery of the winter landscape:



Once again I did not have my T4A GPS, so I was merely following my nose with only a general idea of what direction I had to travel in.



Two roads diverged in the Overberg, and I, I took the one less traveled by...



And that has made all the difference!
(with apologies to Robert Frost)



Beginning to move down to the Zonderendriver valley.



The dense row of threes in the distance show where the river runs.



I stopped at the homestead to make my presence known, but no-one was home. I don't like being on some-ones land without permission, but the river was so painstakingly close now. I decided to drive the last couple of 100 meters to the river.



And there is was, overflowing it's banks between the trees.



Here wagons had to camp for days waiting for the river to run down. And here I am, on the exact same spot.



The Breede and Zonderend rivers converge mere kilometers from here, with Swellendam being North East, and more importantly, North of the Breede river. I wonder why travelers on their way to Swellendam crossed the Zonderendriver to get to the Southern side, only to be confronted by a full Breede River 8km further on? Surely crossing the Breede river higher upstream would have been a better option? I makes little sense to me now, but I am sure they had their reasons back then.

Some more scenery on the way out:



And just as I thought my little adventure was over, I was confronted with the same problem Beutler had! An impassible route due to flooding!



While taking the photo a truck approached, weighed the options of taking the detour, and decided to go for it.



That didn't seem so bad? At least I know the bridge is intact. Should I chance it? Why not?



Well, let me give you some advise. When a road is closed, don't chance it! It's NOT worth it. I drove over the bridge, but the water was much higher / stronger / faster than I anticipated! A wall of water quickly formed next to the car and I could feel the force of the water trying to push me off the bridge. I made it, through grace. Luckily I was in a big car with reasonable clearance!

The rest of the journey home was spent looking at the Canola fields in full bloom and reflecting on what I have found.



What is in a name?



Juliet did not attach much importance to it, but in this case there was more in a name I could have ever imagined. History, exploration, adventure. A name is the link of a place to it's past. I believe in traveling informed. It makes for a much richer travel experience and if you travel informed, a name is where your trip begins. So, Juliet, there is a lot in a name after all! When I first went to see what lay over that hill, some people would only have found a dead end, but because of the name, I now know that I stood where true explorers and adventurers once stood before. And that is very cool.

The last map of my travels:


(Click for full size map)

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Honda NC700 X

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I recently spent a week on the new Honda NC700 X. Could this bike be a cheaper alternative as a Dual Sport bike? Some thoughts.



Firstly, you have to judge it for what it is - a commuter. As commuters go this is probably the best one I have ridden (not comparing it to Supermoto bikes etc, purely commuter). The seat is comfortable and the riding position upright with a good view over the traffic. The sitting position is very neutral with your feet below you, hands in front and back upright. Very comfortable. The standing position is also very good. Absolutely neutral. I would not change a thing. Not sure if someone with long legs will have the same experience, but the bikes fits me (or I the bike) like a glove.



The power delivery is very linear, it feels almost the same regardless of where the revs is. So much so that I ran it into the rev limiter several times at first as you don't "feel" a natural curve in power where you automatically gear up. This is very useful in traffic as the power is always on tap. The bike is extremely user friendly and rides easily. It feels nimble and really zips through traffic.



When you take it out on the highway it's a different story. The bike is not extremely fast or powerful, but adequate for a commuter. I pushed and pushed and I got it to an indicated 173km/h. I am a very big and heavy guy so that did not help the poor bike much. It runs up to 140km/h easily but to be honest there's not much after that. Going up an uphill on the N2 it could do no more than 140km/h and I had it absolutely pinned.



On the Saasveld road part of the Seven Passes the bike rides like a dream. The twisties and power on tap, along with the smaller front wheel and road tyres makes this bike really feel alive. It turns in quickly, feels nimble and handles well. The build quality also impressed. With this bike selling for so little I kinda wondered if it's not made in China or something to keep the costs down, but this is a solid bike with a quality feel. The cubbyhole also is a unique and very useful feature. It really takes a lot and things like a 2L coke fits easily with room to spare.

It's also a good looking bike that looks surprisingly similar to the VFR1200.



How does it compare to the TransAlp? Well, apart from the fact that both are 700's there is no similarity at all. Honestly I think the TA (as a DS bike) is better in all respects bar fuel consumption. The NC700X literally sips petrol. The V-Twin in the TA is smoother than the parallel twin of the NX700X. The TA has a lot more grunt. Both my TA's ran into their rev limiters in top gear no sweat (185km/h). That said, the TA is almost 50% more expensive.

Judging the NC700X as a DS bike is unfair as it was not built be a DS bike. The sump is exposed, it has mag wheels and comes with road tyres. But there is absolutely no reason why it could not be used as a DS bike on good gravel. I rode it on good roads, loose surfaces and over corrugations and this bike surprised the hell out of me. The suspension is good and it soaked up the corrugations and holes. It's comfortable whether you sit or stand and it's easy to take it up to the 140km/h mark even on gravel. I had to start braking a lot earlier due to the road tyres, but apart from that this bike is a pleasure on dirt. Casual cruising on gravel on a weekend you're also less likely to want the performance above 140km/h.



I ended up liking this bike a lot. It turned out to be my preferred mode of transport that week. If you're someone traveling to work and back every day (especially in a city) this bike will not let you down. It's comfortable, economical in the extreme and it will happily do outrides into the Karoo on weekends. For R66 000 you get a lot of bike for your buck.




Also see my thoughts on the Honda NC750X.







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Every Girl's Dream - A Life Celebrated!

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A very sad update to this post. Didi Coertze lost her battle with cancer on Saturday afternoon (14 April) at 16:15 after being admitted to hospital at 02:00 that same morning. According to her mother, Cindy, she had been fine on Friday, but was not feeling well during the night. "We still went out on Friday evening."

DiDi lived life to the full right to the very end. She was an inspiration.

Motorcyclists have been invited to attend her funeral this morning as we did last year when we provided a cavalcade for Didi on her way to her matric farewell. That night she made us part of her special night. Today we got to do something in return.

The Southern Cape bikers started organizing immediately. It was on short notice, just like the martic farewell ride and on top of that this would happen mid week and during business hours. But again the bikers did not disappoint. Those who could make it did and those who could not rode with us in spirit.

Starting to gather early on a Wednesday morning:



There were different bikes, different kinds of bikes, different kinds of people and people from different clubs. But true to the brotherhood of biking, when the chips are down, we all stand together.

While waiting for more bikes to arrive everybody talks bikes of course. This beautiful Race Nation Fireblade got some extra attention:



Soon more bikes arrived. Buks on his new XR650 sporting his Wild Dog paws:



We all rode to York High school together where more bikes waited.





The hall where the memorial was held was absolutely packed.



Kids from different schools (Southern Cape Children's Choir) lined the walls and sang choir songs. DiDi was the head girl of the Southern Cape Children's Choir in 2010, when they became the champion children's choir of South Africa.



There was a range of emotions. It was incredibly sad, but at the same time, as the photos of her life scrolled by and friends and family told their stories of this wonderful girl, it was a celebration of her life. This girl touched many lives.

What an honour it was to be part of the roaring send-off of DiDi Coertze.



No more pain, only peace. Ride the highways of heaven Didi.




Daniellè Coertze
March 11, 1993 to April 14, 2012


DiDi wrote an Essay on 20 March 2012. It was distributed with the funeral letter. Please take the time to read it. It will touch your soul. (Click on each page to enlarge)




Didi in the news:

Bikers Gazette


Other articles:

Local girl loses half her leg to cancer.

Brave hearts take the steps.

10 Million steps for Cancer.

Didi Coertze passes away.

Funeral service for Didi.

Courageous DiDi dies.

International Hero of Hope will never hold award.



Danielle Didi Coertze

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