Allemanskraal na Marlu via Kamferpoort

 

Last night I decided to shorten the ride to Marlu by about 54 km. I will travel with Llise to Klipplaat with her bakkie. Form there she will head home and I will tackle the road to Marlu. 

We left Allemanskraal just before 08:00 and got to Klipplaat at 08:20. We said our goodbyes and I started cycling at 08:26. The first 15 km to the entrance of Kamferpoort is mostly downhill and I got there in just over an hour. At the entrance there is a road going left to Mount Stewart. I made a mental note that I can look at that road as an option for a future ride. 

Just after this junction I encountered the first gate. There are a number on this road. The road first swings to the right, then through a "spruit" and then left along the side of the mountain. Around the corner I encountered a locked gate. 

I knew about this gate and arranged with my brother-in-law to ensure I can get a key to open it. The instructions was quite clear: the key will be in the lock and I had to leave it under a stone on the south side of the gate after I locked it. No problem and I was on my way. 

Lower down the valley there is another gate and this always have open, but not today! I looked around for the possibility of a stone with a key under it, but there was none! I looked at the gate, which was 2 meters high and not only 1 meter like the previous one, and realised that the only option was to climb over and also hual my bike over it. So I first climbed over with my backpack and left that on the otherside. Now for getting my bike over! I hooked the bike as high as I could onto the fence next to the gate. I then climbed onto the fence and managed to get my bike across, with a fair amount of effort. Once over I let it down the otherside and then dropped it to the ground. I was quite pleased with my abbility to overcome this little problem! 

After that adventure, I started cycling again. Just before the main gate, which was not locked, I managed to fill my waterbottle. Out the main gate and right for the last 21 km to Marlu. This area is not flat, so I stll had some cycling to do. It is amasing how "long" 21 km can become after 4 monster days! So it was a bit of a grind, but slowly and surely the kilometers passed. Up and down over the undulations untill I saw the Marlu board. What a relieve. I really was looking forward to opening the gate and tackle the last kilometer to Marlu. 

So that was the Groot Karoo Toer. A well werth while excersice and good preperation for the FC in June 2026.

Data for the day: time 4:29; distance 51.52; meters climbed 493.

Data vir die toer: totale ry tyd 39:07:36; totale afstand 502.02; totale meters geklim 4,610

Pienaarsbaken na Allemanskraal via Erasmuskloof

Na gister se "monster dag" kan ons vandag uitsien na 'n meer "redelike" dag. Omtrent 145 km maar met minder as 900 meter se klim. 

Ons kom 06:19 aan die gang. Ek wou 'n pad reg suid van Pienaarsbaken deur 'n paar plase af na die Erasmuskloof pad neem, maar Jaco Loots raai my af on dit te doen want die laaste gedeelte is kwaai verspoel. Ons ry dus met die plaaspad af N9 toe, draai links en dan so 5 km met die N9 tot by die afdraaipad wat ons deur Erasmuskloof sal neem.

Dit is weereens 'n grondpad met 'n lekker gladde oppervlak en ons handhaaf 'n goeie pas. Die eerste gedeelte is oor 'n gelykte en dit is hoekom dit so lekker gaan. Na 23 km begin ons die klowe binne gaan en die pad word onmiddelik moeiliker. Daar is heelwat kort bultjies, maar die oppervlak bly goed. Die klimme laat ons gemiddelde spoed gou val. Die ongewing raak nou al mooier terwyl ons deur die klowe en langs rivierlope ry. Ons ry ook verby Letskraal, die huis van waar Andries Pretorius sy Groot Trek begin het. 

Die pad klonkel al met die vallei op. Elke nou en dan is daar so 'n "toetser" om ons hartklop op te stoot en dan weer 'n lekker afdraend. So gaan dit tot op ongeveer 30 km, dan kom nog een van daardie "never enders"! Hierdie bult krul vir 15 km teen die rant op. Die gradiënt wissel so tussen 4 en 11 grade, so die meeste van die tyd trap ons maar. So elke nou en dan voel ons lus om ander spiere te oefen en dan stap ons. Dit neem ons net kort van 2 uur om die 15 km af te lê.

Nou is dit basies bult af tot by Graaff-Reinet. Die pad plat so elke nou en dan af en dan is dit weer bult af! Ons kom na 5:50 se ry en 89 km, in Graaff-Reinet aan en stop weer by Coldstream. Hier rus ons vir 35 minute en val dan weer in die pad. Dit is nou 12:45 en die temperatuur staan op 40 en sal bo 40 bly tot 16:30! Die maksimum het by 45.7 gedraai en dit was toe 14:30! Die pad Allemanskraal toe is nie moeilik nie, maar redelik eentonig met heelwat sinkplaat. 

Ons stop met voor Kendrew om weer ons water aan te vul. Verby Kendrew, oor die Sondagsrivier en nou is ons op die laaste been Allemanskraal toe. Die hitte keil ons op en hier is geen teken van skaduwee nie. Ons kry wel 'n paar bloekom bome en stop net om 'n bietjie uit die son te kom. Dan val ons weer in die pad. 

Net na Kendrew kruis ons die Sondagsrivier en ek stop om my "buffs" in 'n waterpoel nat te maak sodat ek kan afkoel. Daarna oor die treinspoor en ons ry aan die linkerkant van die spoor. Die pad is redelik gelyk en ons buur meedoënloos voort in die hitte. Met nog so 15 km oor kom ek agter Llise is nie meer agter my nie en ek kan haar ook nie sien aankom nie. Ek het nou twee opsies: ry aan en kry vir Elsa om Llise met die bakkie te kom haal of draai om. Sy mag dalk omgeval het as gevolg van die hitte dus moet ek so gou moontlik by haar uitkom, dus draai ek om. Na net meer as 'n kilometer sien ek haar aan gery kom! Wanneer ek by haar kom sê sy dat sy naar gevoel het toe maar afgeklim en 'n bietjie gestap het. Ek vra hoekom sy my nie geroep het nie! Sy het, maar ek het haar nie gehoor nie! Sy sê ek moet aan ry, sy sal op haar pas aankom! Dit is nie vir my 'n opsie nie en ons lê die laaste 15 km rustig saam af. Na 10:10 kom ons by Allemanskraal aan. Die temperatuur is nog steeds bo 40! 

So eindig nog 'n gebeurtenisvolle dag in die Groot Karoo! Na die tyd sê Llise dat dit nou net sowel is dat sy eers 'n dag later by my aangesluit het want sy is nog nie reg vir 4 sulke lang dae agter melaar nie, veral nie in die hitte nie!

Data vir die dag: tyd 10:10; afstand 143.22; meters geklim 901.

Llise Dodds se "kommentaar

Once upon a time there was an #artist. She believed that real-life experiences enrich your work and that cycling is good for the body and mind... and "sommer" for everything else that needs fixing.

Then, one day, a gentleman asks the artist to embark on a #Karoo cycling tour with him.

"Of course!" The artist said and immediately pushed the facts known about the gentleman to the farthest, darkest room in her head, locked the door, and threw the key away. 

(The gentleman is @philipler. He is preparing to become the oldest person in the world to complete the @freedomchallenge. He is 77 (or 78, age is just a number) years old, a machine, and the saying "never underestimate an old man on a mountain bike" applies. And there goes the key.)

Points to remember next time😜: 

*44°celsius day temperature is hot.

*Hot water is not lekker to drink.

*Never underestimate an old man on a mountain bike.

This was one of the most wonderful adventures of my life🥹. Riding #unsupported with just a backpack was a first for me and it was a privilege to cycle 300km with such an experienced rider.

We live in the most beautiful country. 

Now: paintbrushes out! #paintings to create! 

Groot Karoo Toer - Allemanskraal na Pienaarsbaken via Graaf-Reiner en Nieu Bethesda

Llise Dobbs arrived at Allemanskraal just after me. We had a nice time with the Featherstones, which included a good supper. 

On Monday morning we hit the road at 06:20. It is 46 km to Graaff-Reinet and the road is fairly flat with only one hill just before Adendorp. There is again a lot of corrigations but not as bad as the previous day. It took us just under 4 hours to cover the 46 km. We stopped at Coldstream for refreshments then tackled the road to Nieu Bethesda. 

The first 22 km is on the R63 to Murraysburg. After 14 km we hit Ouberg Pass. 6 km long with a steady climb. After 4 km I stopped for a break and we push to the top where the road to Nieu Bethesda turns off. Here we commenced cycling again. We still have to do about 30 km before we get to Nieu Bethesda. It once again is a good quality gravel road going up and down over the hills. 

We stared running low on water and I saw a farm house about 300 meters from the road. We decided to see if we can find water there. Before we went through the gate, I look at my map and notice that we missed the Nieu Bethesda turn off about 2 km back! We proceed to the farm house and found a locked gate. We walk around the back of the house and the dogs began to bark. At last Hendrik appears. He was taking an afternoon nap to miss the heat. He fills our water bottles and confirm that we must go back. If we did not miss the turn off, we would not have found water because the house can not be seen from the point where we had to turn off! Our first "luck" for the day. 

We got back and started on a beautiful road past a river over some hills and down to another river. Here the road deadended into a farm. I got back to my map and saw that we once again missed the turn off. In our defence I must mention that there are no road signage on these roads. The temperature hovered between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius. There was a period when we had some cloud cover and it dropped to 26, but that was only for about half an hour. We were again taken over a number steep hills. The last is a bit of a "never ender" as each we think we have reached the top, there is more! When we finally do get to the top, we are rewarded with the most gorious down hill into Nieu Bethesda. We find some prople on a stoep and they provide us with ice and water. 

It is now past 15:30 and we still have 60 km to go with two monster hills! Onwards we go. We cycle most of the first hill, but do revert to some pushing every now and then. The section in between passes quickly and then we start the last hill. It really is a monster and once again involves a fair amount of pushing. By the time we crest this hill, it is 18:15 and we stll have 20 km to go, of which the last 9 km is a gentle drag upwards! While we were on these two hills I though by myself that if a bakkie had to pass us from the back, I would try to hitch a ride! That luck did not come our way today! 

The down hill on the others was from a next level. It really was a joy after all the suffering of the previous hours concurring those hills.

Just as the road started to flatten out, a bakkie aproached us. As he neared us he flashed his lights and I stopped next to him. The driver got out and introduced himself as Jaco Loots, our host for the evening. What an angel!!! He was watching my tracker and saw that we are not going to get to his place before dark, so he decided to come and fetch us! That was our secong "luck" for the day! We put the bikes on the back and enjoyed the ride home with him, where we  arrived at 19:00. What a day! 

Data for the day: distance 145 km; time 12:33; meters climbed 1,868

Groot Karoo Toer - Marlu na Allemanskraal

 

Tyd vir die Groot Karoo Toer wat deel is van "kondisionering" vir die Freedom Challenge. 

Ek en Marc en Llise Dodds sou ry, maar Marc se program is te vol so hy onttrek. Llise moet vir Marc Saterdag help so sy sal eers Sondag by Allemanskraal by my aansluit. 

Ek ry Saterdag Marlu toe. Aangesien ek 06:00 wil begin ry, oorweeg ek om nie rugby te kyk nie. Die plan verander en ek besluit om eerste kwatier te kyk, dit verander na eerste helfte en eindig met die hele wedstryd. Wat 'n goeie besluit!

Ten spyte die laat gaan slaap kom ek 06:10 weg. Die weer is idiaal vir fiets ry, bietjie bewolk en lekker koel. Vandag ry ek grongpad van Marlu oor Mount Stewart en Jansenville. Links by die hek uit en al links van die berg noord van Steytlerville. Pad is in 'n goeie toestand en ek handhaaf 'n goeie pas tot by die Steytlerville/Mount Stewart pad. 

Terwyl ek so ry sien ek 'n bokkie wat skynbaar in die heining tussen die pad en die veld, vassit. Hy probeer vorentoe en dan agter toe maar vorder nie. Ek besluit om te kyk of ek kan help. Gelukkig is die 'n steenbokkie, dus kleinerig. Ek kry dit reg om hom vas te druk en onder beheer te kry sodat hy my nie skop nie. Hy het deur die ogiesdraad van die heining probeer kom en sy kop deur gekry maar sy lyf is te groot. Toe hy sy kop probeer terugtrek, toe hak sy horings vas. Ek moet nou probeer om sy kop terug te kry. Na 'n lang se gesukkel, slaag ek eindelik om die horings terug deur die ogiesdraad te kry en die bokkie te bevry. Hy kies natuurlik die hase pad. Hoop nie hy maak weer dieselfde fout nie. My goeie daad vir die dag is gedoen!

Ek het al baie die padwysers na Mount Stewart gesien, maar nog nooit daardeur gery nie. So vandag is die dag. Die pad Mount Stewart is ook in 'n baie goeie toestand. 

By Mount Stewart stop ek om 'n paar foto's van die vervalle plek, wat 'n spoorweg stasie was, te neem. Dit is regtig tragies om te sien hoe 'n eens netjiese spoorweg dorpie, agteruit gegaan het. 

Vanaf Mount Stewart to so 20 km anderkant Jansenville ondervind ek die meeste sinkplaat wat ek al op enige van my fiets toere ondervind het. Van hulle is redelik klein, maar die meeste is besonder groot en loop regoor die pad tot teen die rant! Dit bemoeilik die ry en is ook baie uitputtend. Dit dryf my tot rasenery! 

'n Gedeelte van die pad loop deur die Noorsveld Conservatory. Onder ander verby 'n huis wat beslis iets besonders was met vier slaap kamers, eetkamer, later aangeboude braai kamer en tennisbaan. Tans is alles verwaarloos!

Ek vertoef hier om een van my broodjies te eet. In Jansenville stop ek om my tweede broodjie en 'n gekook eier, te eet, saam 'n Coke. Dan durf ek die laaste 70 km aan. Dit was 91 km met 725 meter se kllim tot in Jansenville en dit het my 6 uur geneem. 

Die pad van hier tot by Allemanskraal is 'n gelydelike   klim. Niks ernstig nie, maar onophoudelik! Die pad kronkel al langs die rivier op en dan 'n bult uit met die Karoo vlaktes uitgestrek voor my. Met 14 km oor na Marais Siding, waar ek na Allemanskraal moet afdraai, merk ek geboue op en "aanvaar" dit is Marais Siding. Toe ek daar kom, toe is dit 'n plaas en Marais Siding is 9 km verder, agter nog 'n lekker styl bult! Ek moet maar net daaroor, daar is geen ander opsie nie.

Net voor Marais Siding is daar 'n T-aansluiting en ek draai links. Na 1.25 km sien ek dat ek besig is om langs die treinspoor te ry en dit is nie reg nie! Ek kyk weer na my kaart, wat ek nie gedoen het toe ek by die T-aansluiting gekom het nie en sien dat ek die afdraai na Allemanskraal gemis het! Dus maar terug en met regte pad Allemaskraal toe waar ek, na amper 12 ure se ry, in klok.

Baie interessante dag. Ek moet erken dat ek 'n paar keer regtig gesukkel het om "vol te hou". Die pad was rof, ek was vol pyne van al die geskud en dan was die pad nog lank ook!

Data vir die dag: Tyd 11:58:06; Afstand 163.3 km; meters geklim 1,350

Fietskraal, Coetzerskloof circle

  

Yesterday was spent driving from Bucklands to Fietskraal. We left Bucklands just after 08:30 and arrived at Fietskraal at 12:15, where we were welcomed by Charné and Michael van Gend. 

 

After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, I hit the road. Leon had some other commitments (with internet connections, work follows you where ever you go) and would join me during the course of the morning. My route took me out of Fietskraal, left on the R337 and after 4 km left again still on the R337, going towards Cradock.

This district road is in a good condition and climbs steadily for the next 20 km from 1,039 to 1,261 meters. Nothing serious and I managed to maintain a good pace. It took me 1:30 the get to the Schurfteberg turnoff. From here it is a more taxing climb up to 1,492 meters over the next 7 km. There after there is a short downhill to the beginning of Coetzerskloof, but I decided to carry on up the Schurfteberg farmstead, owned by CW Erasmus to find out if there is any family connection. That took me another 30 minutes. I was lucky enough to find Wilhelm Erasmus outside with one of his labourers. After a pleasant chat we did establish that there is no direct family connection in spite of the fact that his family is form Somerset East and my dad grew up in Cradock, as a matter of fact just across the mountain about 35 km to the north. We did establish that there is a family connection between him and Spike Erasmus, the knee surgeon from Stellenbosch. I was at varsity with Spike and we, previously, establish that even though our ancestors came from the Eastern Cape, that there is no direct family relationship. Maybe there is way further back to the records we have!

 

After I bid my goodbyes, I started my journey back. There still was no sign of Leon! Just before the Coetzerskloof turnoff, I stopped to have my sandwich. Just as I was about to continue my journey, I saw Leon in the distance! He only got away at 10:00. I waited for him to have his sandwich and then we were on our way. 

 

The first 2 km was quite a good, disused, farm track which took us through a number of farm gates. There even were some old road signs!

The next 1.5 km consisted of various cattle tracks, some which was very indistinct! Through threes and over round brown boulders. A couple of meters down the river, which did have a little water and then back again over the boulders. There were lots of spike-thorns, so I had to be careful where I push my bike because these thorns can cause serious damage if they penetrate your tyre. I did pick up a couple, but fortunately the holes were quickly sealed by the “slim” in the tubeless tyres when I pulled them out. It took me 1:30 to cover the 1.5 km! 

 

The track now became ridable and after a further 500 meters we crossed the river and picked up a reasonable and ridable farm track. This became a reasonable road, which took us past the Coetzerskloof farmstead and onto larger good quality road which took us down to Fietskraal over some minor undulations. After 66 km and 5:46 I pulled in to the Fietskraal yard again. Another good day in the saddle with a worthwhile scouting also completed. We did pick up that there is an alternative which is 3.4 km, against the one I took, which is 1.5 km, but the 3.4 km alternative is ridable and should therefore be quicker. There is a 100 meter climb in the first 1.5 km of the 3.4 km alternative, but as this is ridable., it should not pose a problem. 

Data for the day: 66.05 km; Time 5:46:52; 826 meters climbed.

Hadley na Bucklands

Bennie en Anine se kinders kuier by hulle met die gevolg dat ons in 'n huisie so 2 km weg bly. Hulle gee vir ons tjops, sosaties en wors, wat ons op die binne braai, braai. In tussen het dit renerig geraak en ons reël met Bennie om ons te kom haal sodat ons die rugby tussen die Stormers en Benneton kon kyk. Gelukkig maak die Stormers dit darem toe die moeite werd. Gedurende die nag woed die wind en daar val heelwat reën. 

Ek eet Weetbix en Leon bak vir ons eiers vir ontbyt. Ons kom 08:32 aan die ry. Daar is 'n paadjie reguit af en ons dink dit is 'n kortpad na die grootpad. Ongelukkig werk dit toe nie uit nie en ons moet terug draai toe ons agter kom die pad loop berg op en dan dood. Dus terug verby die huis, so 'n stukkie bult op en dan vat ons die grootpad Hottentotskloof toe. Daar is 'n paar lang bulte op en af wat ons moet aandurf. 

Ons het gisteraand besluit om met 'n draai terug te ry Bucklands toe. Dit "drup, drup" so elke nou en dan en Leon ry verby die eerste afdraai pad. Ek aanvaar hy het dit maar net gemis, of miskien besluit om maar eder kortpad te vat as gevolg van die reën. Ek sien hom ook nie by die tweede afdraai nie en ek ry aan. Die volgende oomblik kom hy by my verby en sê hy het vir my in die sloot gewag. Die afdraai is nou te ver agter en ons besluit om na ander opsies te kyk om ekstra kilometers in te sit.

Die pad val redelik van Hadley na Bucklands, maar daar is ook heelwat bulte. Die stuk deur die kloof is nogal besonders. Op 22 km kry ons die afdraai na Trentyre, wat ons dan na Bucklands toe neem. Alhoewel dit 'n plaaspad is, is die toestand goed en ons handhaaf 'n goeie pas. Daar is geen ernstige bulte nie, net erosie walle! Op 26 km draai ons regs deur 'n kloof en dan anderkant weer links Bucklands toe. Hier is dit 'n regte tweespoor plaaspad. Die oppervlakte is darem so dat ons nog 'n goeie pas kan handhaaf. Teen hierdie trant gaan ons in onder 3 uur klaar maak! 

So 'n ent af is daar 'n split. Volgens die kaart lyk dit of ons regs moet gaan, dus draai ons regs. My GPS sê reguit, maar hier het ek volgens gevoel geplot aangesien die GPS kaart nie die pad aangedui het nie, so ons probeer die ander opsie. Heel interessant, maar na so net meer as 'n kilometer ry ons in 'n wildsheining vas, so ons moet weer terug. 

Ons besluit om die ou Ossewa pad te volg eder as om reguit terug Bucklands toe te ry. Dié neem ons, met 'n redelike klipperige pad, teen 'n rant op. Die pad klim geleidelik die rant uit totdat ons heel bo is met 'n mooi uitsig oor die Grootrivier en omliggende heuwels. Ons volg die baie onduidelike pad al op die rant langs. Plek, plek moet ons mooi kyk om te sien waar die "pad" nou eintlik loop! Daar is net so 'n vae aanduiding van waar die pad is. Dit is egter baie "lekkerder" as om op 'n distrikspad te ry. 

Ons bereik die einde van die rant en daal af na die vlakte. Weereens baie kilpperig en ek lê maar weer versigtigheid aan die dag. Onder kruis ons die Grootrivier en dan weer oor die volgende rant. So gaan ons aan en kry die "tyd in die saal" wat ons beplan het. Na nog so 'n paar ops en afs sluit ons weer by die Trentyre/Bucklands pad aan. Weer deur die Grootrivier en dan op verby 'n paar werkers huisies tot by Bucklands. 

Ons het toe die rit vir die dag van 41 na 55 km gerek en ook 'n ekstra 2 uur se oefening in gekry. Die Ossewa pad was voorwaar iets besonders. 

Data vir die dag: tyd 4:27:22; afstand 53.33 km; vandag het ons net 697 meter geklim.