Polar Bear run 2012 - part one

Much to Des' disappointment the weather last weekend was fantastic! He has been wanting the "Polar Bear run" to be a real winter test for the members, something to sort the men out from the boys;

in spite of the previous weekend being wet and cold, the week leading up to the run being miserable and the subsequent weekend also being wet, (as I sit at my keyboard now it is definitely not biking weather.) the weekend of the fifth annual run was like summer, as it has been every year.

In fact the worst part of the whole run was when I left home at about 08h00 Saturday morning to head for the gathering point in Velddrif, my temperature guage read 5,5 celsius which is cold enough to seriously damage a brass monkey and the sun was hovering directly over the town so I rode the whole 60kms trying not to stare at it.

The previous evening we had met at the Admiral pub for the traditional pre-run briefing, beanies and badges were handed out - six of us qualified for our five year badges,

Me, Freddy and Frank proudly sporting our 'Polar Bear run 2012' beanies
everyone agreed that Frank looked like a homeless person.





Des presented the owner of the Admiral pub with a plaque commemorating their support of the run which she assured us will be proudly displayed for all to see.

 The presentations and acknowledgements were enthusiastically applauded, even by the WAGS although they were not taking part in the run, the second Polar Bear run included them but by subsequent unanimous vote the run was returned to the "Guys only" status.

It was a pleasant evening meeting old freinds, discussing past runs and eagerly anticipating the next day's ride.

A good few of the members were already there when I arrived, we stood around clutching paper cups of hot coffee with our breath visible in the cold morning air as we waited for the rest to arrive,

Des is a member of the infamous "Kreefsmokelaars" Mcc (Crayfish smugglers) so his Honda Goldwing which was being ridden by his son in law, was adorned with a crayfish and braai grid!

Thirteen of us headed out onto the R27 just after 09h00, time to find out if the guys liked the route that Frank and I had set up. Five members on scramblers were doing their own thing, meeting us at the end venue later that day, and another three were going to be meeting us at the breakfast venue.

We settled into a staggered formation, I was leading and set up a resonably fast pace 140 - 150kmh, we took the R45 for very pleasant 80 or so kilometers to the intersection with the N7, the cold winter sun slowly rising in the pale blue sky was beginning to do its work.

Only about thirty k's along the N7 and we turned left towards the little town of Philadelphia for a very pleasant breakfast at the "Pepper Tree Coffee shop" for the very reasonable price of R45.

Philadelphia and the Pepper Tree is a popular breakfast venue so already there were quite a lot of people there but service was good and the venue is pleasant, the beer was cold so the guys were happy.

The next part of the run was to the town of Wellington, The R304 out of Philadelphia is a very nice narrow tar road that winds it's way through the farmlands to intersect with the R302 where we turned left heading towards Malmesbury, about halfway along we turned right onto a minor road that cuts through to join the R44 at "Windmeul", what a lovely piece of road that is! A narrow tar ribbon that undulates its way through verdant farmlands, wineyards and fragrant fields of intense yellow Canola that fill the helmet with its heavy rich aroma.

Soon we were pulling noisily into the parking area outside the "Gecko Lounge" in Wellington, here extra jerseys were peeled off as by then it was warming up nicely. A cold beverage while we discussed the next part of the ride; over Bain's Kloof Pass, past Wolesley and Tulbagh and to the turnoff at Gouda. Dave went on ahead in his car to set up the traditional cheese and wine stop.

I must confess to not actually enjoying the Bain's Kloof Pass very much, it is for me far too narrow with very tight corners and absolutely no room for any mistakes - we all made it safely though and pulled into a parking area at the bottom for a wee/smoke break.



I started thinking that perhaps I had taken my jersey off too soon as we saddled up again, there was a fairly strong wind blowing through that valley and the rugged peaks of the massive "Slanghoekberge" were lightly dusted with snow. No time to think about that though as we sped through those beautiful valleys, the wide sweeping curves following the Bree River, we crossed the bridge and took a right onto the R44 and the magnificent Mitchell's Pass. Halfway up that wonderfully fast pass is the "Tollhuis Bistro" where we stopped briefly for an expensive, warm beer - I'll give that place a miss next time!

Time to meet up with Dave, back onto the R44 and down the pass, speeding through the farmlands again, leap-frogging lines of cages held up behind deisel exhaust-belching 18 wheelers we revelled in our freedom. A few road work areas slowed us occasionally but soon we were cruising through the usually Baboon-infested "Nuwekloof Pass" then a right to pass the small dorp "Gouda" and soon we were pulling up in a very picturesque spot that Dave had chosen.

  The cheese and wine stop has become a tradition after the first run when Graeme pulled a bottle of wine and a little piece of cheese out of his pannier and shared it with his brethren, it amounted to only a sip of wine and a taste of cheese but now it is a welcome stop especially as it was a good few hours since breakfast.

From there it was between 40 and 50kms to the Porterville Hotel and it was decided that the guys could all do their own thing, some wanted to wind it up a bit,

and as they all thundered off the sound of those bellowing exhausts was like music to the ears, soon it was just Des, Frank and I left in the laybye. We saddled up and headed down the road, Des flashed past me and I decided to speed up as well but all of a sudden my helmet was again filled with the heavy, warm aroma of Canola and I couldn't resist stopping for a photo,

sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses! After a very enjoyable day's ride, apparently Frank and I had done a good job setting up the route, we lined the bikes up outside the Porterville Hotel.

Time to party! We put our gear into our rooms and headed for the bar from what I could gather everyone was in the mood for a party.........................................................



Dragon Lords' Matric Drive, Saturday 21st July

The weather was absolutely atrocious! The whole week leading up to the weekend had been great but the forcast was for 80% rain and strong winds on Saturday, calming a bit on Sunday. I was a bit dubious about whether Janet would want to go but she said "It's just an hour's ride, we'll just put our wets on and go." That's my biker girl.

The Dragon Lords were holding a Matric Drive in Killarney Gardens, collecting Matric outfits for underprivileged school kids who would otherwise not be able to have an end of school dance. We considered this a really worthy cause and determined to attend, to which end we managed to accumulate four girl's dresses, some shoes and a handbag as well as some shirts and ties.

As the jol was only starting at 14h00 we only needed to leave at around 12h00 or so, plenty of time to see what the weather was going to do. It rained through the night but seemed to be clearing later and when I looked to the south I could see that indeed the sky did seem to have blue patches amongst the heavy, dreary grey clouds.

We put our rainsuits on just after 12h00 and were riding out of town by 12h30 but I could see that the cloud cover was solid and heavy, as we turned onto the R27 West Coast road heading south the temperature was 16,5 celsius and those blue areas I had spotted earlier were nowhere to be seen. The wind was blowing very strong northerly but as we were heading south it didn't matter much.

Before we even got half way it started to rain, lightly at first but with growing intensity as we got nearer to Capetown and by the time we were riding past Melkbos towards Tableview all hell broke loose!
It rained so hard that I couldn't see through my helmet visor, visibility was severely restricted but still the cagers were behaving like idiots and way too many of them were driving without headlights! Some had park lights on but they were as dim as their brains, luckily I could raise my visor and was able to see much better but the pelting rain was stinging my face, I had to reduce my speed considerably and was constantly on the lookout for large standing pools of water and for fools coming up behind me too fast.
We haven't ridden in rain like that for ages and it was a great relief to arrive in one piece at the Daytona Palms Pub in Killarney Gardens, I parked the big red machine outside and as the rain had temporarily subsided we removed our rain jackets and headed into the tent. There were not many motorbikes parked outside and I noticed later that although the crowd grew considerably the number of motorbikes did not, there were a lot of cars though!

There were quite a few revellers already on the go and a large marquee as well as some smaller tents had been set up to keep us all dry and happy.

We moved through the marquee and into the very pleasant wooden panelled bar area in search of beverages to ward off the chill, there we were met and greeted by one of the organisers of the drive, and a member of the Dragon Lords; Vera Basson Manuel a very pleasant lady and obviously passionate about the charity events that they are involved in.

 As the afternoon progressed the bar area filled up, particularly when there was another brief rain shower. It was a very festive atmosphere and I greeted several friends from the many rallies we have attended.

My friends Nancy and Peter were there, I bump into them at almost every local bike do and we discussed getting a bunch of them to come and ride up the west coast with us for a day, I will show them our local attractions and favourite spots.



I went out to wander around the site for a bit, there was a mens and ladies boiled egg eating contest taking place, I was not moved to partake of that!



It was whilst I was wandering around with my beer that I became aware of a strangely hypnotic yet somehow familiar rythmic drumming sound, something that seemed to react with my long-buried tribal roots perhaps, I followed the sound and came across a lot of people involved in a "drumming circle", it was very compelling and tugged at something deep within me that was long forgotten. It was not only me that was affected, many people joined in, pounding happily at the hide drums losing themselves to their inner rythms. I can imagine that it would be very therapeutic.



By late afternoon the rain seemed to be a thing of the past and more and more people arrived, crowding the tents and the bar with rowdy revellers intent on partying. Fires were lit outside and although the organisers had advertised that tents could be erected for sleepover I saw no evidence of that on the soggy grass.

I stayed for a while longer, chatting to other bikers and to the organisers. It appeared to have been a successful jol, perhaps not as good as it would have been were the weather not so bad but those who braved the elements seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The Dragon Lords are a worthy bunch of bikers, seemingly often involved in charity events and this was not the first matric drive that they have held. You've heard me say it before and you'll hear me say it again; Bikers are good folk and I will certainly support this club again.

Later that night I braaied chicken thighs at Linda's house while at the same time attempting to dry our sodden gloves next to the fire, it had been a good day inspite of the storm and Sunday promised to be better weather.
The ride home was much nicer, it did rain again before we left but although cold it was dry and I was able to enjoy myself on the bike. We ended off with a late lunch and some wine at the Beach Bar when we reached Saldanha, tired but happy!

Next weekend is the fifth annual Polar Bear run, I will tell you all about it but one thing I can tell you for sure; I'm not worried about the weather now, after that storm I am well and truly "weathered"!

Matchless 500cc single

I got my motorcycle licence way back in 1968 in the BSAPolice driving school whilst in the training depot in Salisbury, (now Harare) Rhodesia, (now Zimbabwe). We were taught well and my love of riding developed from those days, even though I had been riding scooters illegally before then.

I remember the Police riding school very well, we rode the Matchless 500cc single and the BSA 650 twin, both fantastic motorbikes and although neither of them were well suited to off road riding we did quite extensive dirt road training on them as those who would later be posted to district stations would have to ride them for miles on virtually non existant roads.

The extensive training that we received stood me in good stead for the thousands and thousands of kilometres that I have ridden since then.

I came across this old photograph of my late friend Patrol Officer Paul Weinel on one of the Matchless motorbikes, probably taken whilst he was stationed at Kezi.

The old British bikes were gradually phased out and replaced with Yamaha 350's, much faster and more nimble but they lacked the panache of the early bikes, I would love to have a Matchless 500cc like this beauty in my garage next to the BMW.

Isn't that a beauty? Surely there's one for me somewhere.

The Sheep's Head Guild

Last Thursday night my friend Vos sponsored us to a meal with "The Sheep's Head Guild" at "Boesmanland Kombuis" restaurant at Club Mykonos, the guild meets on a regular basis mainly to eat a meal that they all enjoy but which is not served by the average restaurant; a crispy roasted lamb's head.

The guild meals are open to all, and initially it was restricted to the lamb's head only but in order to encourage more people to attend, particularly women, they introduced the "Offal Potjie" option as well. Those are the only two menu options on the night.

I must admit that it does take a bit of a strong stomach to be able to eat the head, but I had been involved with one a while ago and I do have quite a strong stomach so I was keen. Janet opted for the Offal which she also thoroughly enjoyed.

We took our own wine along and sat and chatted with other members while eagerly awaiting the meal, the heads were certainly nicely roasted and the lamb aroma was getting the taste buds active. By the time they were ready I was good and hungry.

Dinner; known as a "Smiley" in the townships for obvious reasons, I helped myself to a good slice of the oven-fresh bread and some farm butter, I didn't need any vegetables with this meal and as far as I saw none of the other guys bothered either. It was a bread and meat evening.

Silence reigned, apart from the clanging of cutlery against enamel plates as the guys got stuck in. I was quite grateful for the dim lighting, there are parts of the meal that you don't want to see too clearly!

Soon I had cleared all of the delicious crispy skin and the delicate morsels of tender meat in the cheeks and jaw, it was time to get at the tongue and palate, truth be told there was a part that bothered me a little and that was the upper lip and the nostrils, quite a lot "chewier" than the rest and a bit more difficult to swallow!

I think that the tongue is my favourite part, quite tender and full of flavour.

Seemingly oblivious to the muzos serenading us, Marlo attacks the skull with a hammer and chisel, eager to get at the brains.

Every one has their own methods and tools for getting the skull open, it's harder than you would imagine. Vos has a hammer and chisel and he also brings along an oyster knife.

With my trusty, and newly acquired, Kershaw I managed to make a hole big enough to scoop the brains out, delicious spread on my bread and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. It was quite a big meal, a lot of rich meat and thoroughly enjoyable.

Demolished! I want to join, I thought that next time I might try the Offal pot but that's not going to happen, the Smiley was just too good and I'll definitely have that again, what a good meal.

Another Lamb potjie - like we don't do this often enough!

I told Janet that I felt like doing a lamb potjie for some friends on the weekend, "Who should we invite?" She rolled her eyes, "Can't we just have a quiet weekend together?" but it doesn't work like that - "I need something to blog about love, and besides we've got those lamb legs in the deepfreeze, we need to use them up and anyway we owe Tony and Laura a lunch, and what about Frank.....?" I let my sentence trail off and then I had a brainwave; drop the subject until later. 

Bright and early Saturday morning after our cup of coffee I got the spa bath filled up with hot water and some aromatic foam and I had the bottle of JC LeRoux sparkling wine in the ice bucket, as we relaxed in the hot bubbles with a chilled glass I found the right time to broach the subject; "So what do you think about a nice lamb potjie lunch tomorrow love?"

"Hmm yes, that could be quite nice, I could make a sweetcorn souffle' to go with it." she said, the warm bath and the cold wine were obviously working their magic.

"I'll invite Tony and Laura and Frank shall I?"

 On Sunday morning I started preparing for my pot, I had already thought that I would like to fry the vegetables in the rendered down lamb fat so I trimmed it off the leg while I was heating up my trusty pot.

 Once the pot was good and hot I threw in all of the fat, it was way more than I needed but once there was a good little pool of aromatic fat simmering in the bottom of the pot I removed the excess.

Already the smell coming out of the pot was awakening the taste buds! Into the simmering oil went a chopped onion, a chopped green bell pepper and some sliced celery. When these were nicely sweated down I added a tablespoon of crushed garlic and a teaspoon of chopped ginger.

In the meantime I hacked all of the meat off the bone, chopped it into bite sized chunks and flavoured it with Aromat, salt, pepper and mixed herbs;

The bones were later boiled with vegetables to make a lovely stock which we froze in small containers to use for future meals. Then it was time to chuck the meat into the pot and stir it around to brown.

 I keep the flame good and high to brown the meat nicely and then after about ten minutes I add the main ingredient;

a bottle of Castle Lager. At this point I also make up a gravy with a cup of red wine into which I stir a soup powder and a mutton stock cube, now it is simmering time, I turn the heat down and put the lid on and leave the pot for an hour. I go and drink and chat with my friends.

Check on the pot during this time, taste the gravy to see if anything must be added, check if the meat is getting tender and one hour before you are due to serve add the hard vegetables such as the potatoes and butternut squash. Turn the heat up a bit to increase the simmer because all of the fresh ingredients you have added will cool the pot down

Janet surreptitiously reminds me that I must add my mushrooms and butter beans or my cabbage by asking; "Have you put the mushrooms/butter beans/cabbage in yet darling?"

This tells me two things; one, she has prepared them for me and two, I should put them in now. I then say something like; "I'm not quite ready for them yet dear." I wait long enough to make it look like it's my idea to put them in but not long enough to ruin the pot.

I stir the mushrooms and butter beans in, pack the cabbage on top and let it bubble away for a while and it wasn't long until my friends were enjoying a typical South African meal;

 Sadza (miellie meal pap), sweetcorn souffle' and lamb potjie.

My friends enjoyed the meal and later I will tell you what we did to use up the left over sadza the next day - damn that was good!

The aloes in our back garden flower just before the winter sets in with a vengeance, which is what they did that afternoon.