At last, a day on the bike!

After a terrible twelve hour journey imprisoned in a metal tube travelling at more than 900kmh at 30,000 feet we arrived back in South Africa to weather that was worse than that in the UK! Alright, we got back here on Tuesday morning and we only had to be back at work the following Monday but still I was hoping for some motorbike weather - this was not to be!

What was I to do? Tuesday night we went to bed at 19h00 and slept for a full twelve hours, Wednesday morning Janet's cracked ribs were still bothering her so she was sort of pushing me away all the time and after three weeks in the house with grandsons who were likely to burst into the room at any time, Janet had been pushing me away for a while! We worked it out though.

The cracked ribs? That was her own fault, about a week before we left she tried to use a dressing table stool to stand on while attempting to adjust the television on top of the wardrobe, it tipped over and she fell across the edge of the stool. I didn't know about this as I was outside entertaining a bunch of students, busy cooking for twelve people, it could have been a lot worse, it could have been twenty people!

We relaxed, went to a few restaurants, saw some friends...Friday afternoon I went to the Phoenix bar as usual with my buddy Frank and got totally stuffed up at pool! I'm not sure what it is but whilst I was in England my son-in-law beat me 42 games to 14 as is usual and when I returned to South Africa I just could not get my mojo back! Don (the bastard!) my ex friend from the "Beira Mar Restaurant" in Saint Helena Bay white-washed me!!!

My biker scum buddy Frank told me about a breakfast run on Sunday which I determined to attend, the meeting area was the petrol station in Velddrif and even though the weather was not that good I was going to be there, I had had enough of the "ladies" Linda and Janet who had come up from Capetown to visit us on Saturday, I had to get away, I left the three of them to their own devices - sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!

I arrived just after 09h00 and already most of the riders were there, they were mostly from the local "Meeulanders" club, one of the longest running motorcycle clubs in the area and all friends of mine.

Malcolm arrived on his Super Tenere', every time I see it he has done something else and this time there were after-market crash bars which looked very good. (George have you got yours yet?)

By 0930 there were 15 bikes at the garage ready to go, some twenty people all with a common goal; to have a good ride with like-minded people. We set off in a good staggered formation, as much as the narrow road permitted, and rode at a steady pace in the gradually warming winter sunlight. It was only about 70kms to our destination; the Eland's Bay Hotel but it was a good ride and as we lined the bikes up outside the Hotel we were happy, contented and ready for a good breakfast, and maybe a beer or two!

We lined up outside the hotel, I always try to encourage bikers to line up in an orderly fashion for good photographs but some guys have no imagination and I have no authority so I let it be.

Frank lines up his FJR while Pieter looks on.

The Eland's Bay hotel is really nice on a good day, the view is spectacular and the bar is open. We stood around talking crap and drinking a beer while we waited.....and waited for our breakfast.

It was whilst we were waiting for our breakfast that we noticed a lot of attractive ladies wandering around in bright orange overalls, at first I thought that they might have been on the run from a nearby prison but Frank pointed out that they were far too good looking and several of them had large flowers attached to their overalls, surely not prison attire?

Once we summoned the courage to approach them we found that they were actually lady members of the HDCCT (Harley Davidson Club of Cape Town) out on a ladies day and that some of them were actually riding! Frank tried to move in but I managed to drag him away, I pointed out that there were probably some big guys involved.

Lovely ladies, we enjoyed chatting with them and they assured us that we would be welcome at their club functions even if we didn't want to buy Harley Davidsons. We'll see you soon ladies xxx.

Our breakfast was good even if we did have to wait for it, maybe that encouraged bar sales but anyway we left close to 13h00 and had a good fast ride back to Velddrif, I was tucked in behind Craig and Monica on their Yamaha Fazer and Willie on his BMW K1300 and it wasn't long before we were pulling into the parking area outside "Die Wielhys" Pub. (The Wheelhouse)

Anton and his lady arrive on their custom Kawasaki.

Another very nice Kawasaki Vulcan, and by the next entry I will have their names!

The bikers try to line up outside the "Wielhys" pub, they still haven't quite got it right but I will work on them. This is quite a new biker-friendly pub in Velddrif.

The bikers settle in, here you see Willie, Steven, Anton and Mike getting their beverages.

Here's our lovely Monica, always smiling - lovely lady. I headed home after a beer and a shooter that the owner insisted we have, I went via the Phoenix bar in Vredenburg where I again got crushed in few pool games. Dammit I don't know what's going on at the moment but I will sort it out.

It was a good day, how could it not be? I was on two wheels with a lot of good people.