The Venom Rally, Kleinmond - part one

Six of us gathered at the Phoenix bar at around 12h00 on Friday for a beer before the ride through Capetown to the first annual Venom Rally in Kleinmond. It was a lovely sunny day with a light wind and we were all in good spirits, looking forward to a good ride and a weekend of good cameraderie. The plan was to ride to Capetown to meet up with another couple of guys and ride through from there, as Frank and I were the only two non-members of the Gypsy Jokers we decided to head on to the rally and let the club members meet up in town.

It was a good fast ride down the R27, we managed to stay together most of the way and then Frank and I split from the bunch at Melkbos just outside of town, I led Frank through to a bar restaurant nearby because I knew that he needed a smoke break!

As usual as we headed towards Somerset West on the N2 the wind started blowing and by the time we got onto the beautifully picturesque Clarence Drive it was bloody pumping! That wind comes down off the mountain, gusting through gaps and suddenly hits you as you dip into a corner, throwing you off your line and ruining your enjoyment, not only that but the road is full of cages cruising along and as there is virtually nowhere to overtake you find yourself tootling along behind a line of cars - frustrating!We stopped at a pub in Rooiels, under the "Hangklip mountain" for a smoke break (I don't smoke but I make sure the breaks take place where I can buy a beverage) and met up with some of our buddies from the Gypsy Jokers. From there it was a short 30kms to Kleinmond and the Palmiet Caravan Park on the outskirts of the town. We all went into the campsite (for a smoke break!) and Frank and I were going to set up our tents but our friends invited us to stay with them at a house that they had rented for the weekend. We normally camp but the idea of not having to set up, and take down a tent, was very inviting so we went along and got a very comfortable bed.

After getting ourselves settled we all returned to the rally site for the evening's festivities and let me tell you it was a jol! Here Frank and I stop to chat with Adriaan Pieterse who had won the competition to be the Western Province Rugby Team's number one supporter, apparently quite an achievement which involved a lot of prizes and trips but required a good knowledge of rugby, kinda lets me out! Friday evening is usually pretty slow in the main tent because a lot of the people arrive on Saturday morning, they are the poor buggers who can't get off work early on Friday!

There were the usual drinking competitions; for the girls and the guys and then they had the competition to select a "Miss Venom" for the weekend, but that was hardly worth photographing, South African girls are notoriously beautiful but are very selfish about showing off their assets and in spite of loud shouts of encouragement from the crowd it was a boring competiton. Oh well at the bigger rallies it's sometimes better, maybe next time? Sometime during the evening Frank needed to go and sit outside and in the background you can see someone who needed to lie outside!
Davrin came to check that he was alright and then I managed to get a lady nearby to try and revive him! This seemed to do the trick and we went back into the tent to find our friends from the Gypsy Jokers. "Don't worry buddy I've got your back!" Later on, in the early hours of the morning we headed back to the house where the party continued and these two nice people joined us. She (I'm sorry I didn't get their names) was a lovely lady who had had a personal battle with cancer and he looks a bit worried but I was being gentle! At about 04h00 one of the guys decided to go to bed and of course if you are the first one to go to bed you obviously get all the furniture piled on top of you. Here comes the sun! It wasn't long after this that I decided to fade, my whisky was finished and so was I. Davrin slept in Frank's bed so he found a comfortable place in the lounge.I surfaced at about 12h30 and headed into the town for a lunch that would set me up for day two, I found a restaurant that served a nice fillet of Kob with rice and garlic butter sauce that seemed to do the trick - bring it on! As I rode back to the house I was ready for whatever the day would bring, or so I thought!