Capetown's number ONE!

I read an AOL newsclip by Ruth Doherty that Tripadvisor has announced that our own "Mothercity", our beautiful Capetown has been voted the best holiday destination in the world!



One of my Canadian friends, Jeremy forwarded me the link; http://aol.it/y79RgC where you can check it out for yourself. Apparently we, and I say we because Capetown is only about 140kms away from where I live, pushed Sydney into second place, Machu Picchu came third, Paris fourth and Rio came fifth.

This is great news, look it is a beautiful City with a great deal to offer as far as holiday makers are concerned so I am not surprised by this at all. Come see for yourself!

We spend quite a lot of time in and around Capetown either staying over with our friends who live in various suburbs around the city or just "in and out" on a day trip.

Well done Capetown!

Dragon Lords Mcc Matric Drive and Sleepover;

And now for something completely different; well actually it is taking place in Capetown; on Saturday 21st July the Dragon Lords, a Capetown motorcycle club are hosting a "Matric drive and sleepover" at the Daytona Palms, Daytona Road, Killarney Gardens.

Remember how I was saying what good people bikers are? Well this club will be collecting Matric dresses and outfits for underprivileged school children who otherwise would not have been able to have an enjoyable matric dance.

How many people have got their daughter's Matric dress still hanging in the cupboard even though she left home many years ago and now has kids of her own? We do and we will be taking that dress, and hopefully a couple of others with us to the jol.

One of my Capetown biker friends Nancy recently announced on her Facebook page that she has so far managed to collect six dresses, Man I love bikers!

I haven't been to the Daytona Palms yet but apparently there is enough space for tents because many of the bikers made it known that they intend to party and don't want to ride afterwards, there will be live music and stalls and the musicians amongst you have been urged to take your musical instruments along because there will be jamming sessions. It sounds like it's going to be a jol of note, I may have to leave my bike there and take a taxi back to Linda's house!

How's that for a bit of really good news to end off with?

Advertise in Superwheels SA Magazine

The time for the launch of Superwheels SA Magazine is drawing nearer! Although I am only involved as far as submitting an article once a month is concerned, I cannot help but be caught up in the excitement, I am really hoping that this mag is accepted not only by the biking fraternity but also by the dealers and service providers who are needed for the vital advertising.

 Now there is a competition being run where those that advertise in the inaugural issue will be placed in a draw to win their advert free of charge in the September issue! What a bargain.

At the moment, as I said before this magazine is only being issued in the Western Cape, so this is only for the attention of my Western Cape readers - so pay attention both of you!

If you know of anyone, dealer, mechanic, service provider or club president - in fact anyone who has anything to do with our prefered lifestyle, direct their attention to this advertisement; Let's make it happen people!

What I would really like  is that you email me; oddsandsods@telkomsa.net  (cc info@superwheelssa.co.za) with your favourite rides, breakfast run venues and general favourite spots so that I can visit them and write them up in forthcoming issues, you will receive credit for the suggestions and maybe we can visit the place together. It could be a total jol!

Give it some thought brothers and sisters, we bikers can make it happen and we could soon have our own free biker magazine.

Thursday, a day on the bike

Wednesday afternoon the General Manager phones me; "Andrew we need to get tomorrow's sample to the lab in Capetown early, do you think you could take it on your motorbike?" Hmmm let me think about that.......Hell yeah!

The opportunity to do a weekday ride is a real pleasure which I don't get all that often, I phoned Frank and asked him if he was up for a ride, I wanted to check out the route for the Polar Bear run and suggested he meet me at the Viper Lounge between 10h30 and 11h00, he was keen.

Thursday morning was cold but it was going to be another one of those mild winter days, I checked! There was a bit of a mix-up in the preparation of the sample and I didn't get away until 09h05, a bit late but I was determined to be there by 10h30, so it was to be a high speed run then?

I actually made it through Capetown traffic and dropped off the sample by 10h25, one hour and twenty minutes later, a personal record! I also made sure that I dropped my speed down to 120kmh at the known revenue gathering spots so I should be okay and I got back to the Viper Lounge just before Frank arrived. A thoroughly enjoyable start to the day.

We sat and chatted over a cup of coffee and then saddled up, back out of town along the R27, right onto the M19 up to the N7 and left towards Malmesbury. The N7 was busy but we weren't on it for long, right onto the R304 past Philadelphia where we would be stopping for breakfast and then we were out of the traffic and into more picturesque country.

I took a wrong turn and we ended up at a dead end next to a wind farm, I actually didn't realise how big those things are;

 We retraced our route back to the intersection and were soon on the right road, I found what I had been looking for; a narrow ribbon of tar threading its way through the wine farms and the delightfully picturesque Paardeberg mountain range towards Paarl and Wellington.

By then the sun was high and starting to warm us up, there was not a breath of wind and at the next stop I had to remove my jersey. It was the most absolutely fantastic riding weather and to be out there in the winelands leaning into curves and cresting ridges, speeding down into yet more beautiful and fertile valleys was sheer pleasure as the big BMW ate up the mileage, our destination was Wellington for a bit of lunch.

 We eventually found "The Gekko Lounge" on the main road, a new place for both of us, it looked very neat and clean with a large outside area which would obviously be pleasant in the summer, we elected to eat inside. The fairly extensive menu certainly looked reasonable and we both opted for crumbed pork chops with chips and salad at R70, with a glass of dry red each the bill with the gratuity came to a very reasonable R180.

Feeling much refreshed and satiated we set out for the ride home, I had now established exactly what I wanted for the Polar Bear run and there was still plenty of good riding ahead of us. Wellington to Malmesbury is around sixty kilometres through the wheat fields.

Negotiating the single lane bridge outside of Wellington, we were soon back out on the open road and heading at speed for the fairly large town of Malmesbury which is in the centre of the wheat faming area.

Just outside of Malmesbury we arrived at what must have been the Mother of all "Stop/go" road works! There was already a queue of about forty cars as we cruised slowly down the shoulder to the front of the line, they see us rolling - they hating! We stopped right infront of the first vehicle in the queue which was a front-end loader, the next was an eighteen wheeler! Man that was going to be a slow line when it got going. The attendant changed to sign to "Go" and it was still creaking when Frank and I blasted away, oh the sheer joy of being on two wheels!

Malmesbury to Saldanha is just over one hundred kilometres and we decided that we were going to wind it up on that stretch, 160kmh is just right and thoroughly enjoyable and at 16h30 we pulled into the Beach Bar in Saldanha for an Absolute Bloody Final - or two. I had phoned Janet earlier so she met us there after work.

What an absolutely wonderful day it had been, and a golden opportunity to be able to spend a day out on the bike instead of working!

Sunday and Monday riding

We have had the worst winter storm so far and there are no doubt many more to come but again Sunday dawned clear and calm albeit bloody cold! As I said in my last post we had been invited to attend a Dave "McFlash" MacFadden supporters day at the Viper lounge so it was a nice excuse for a ride, not that we need many excuses.

It was about 09h30 by the time we got onto the R27 and my thermometer was reading 10 celsius - Fresh! We both dressed warm and as there was no wind it was actually a very pleasant ride, somewhere around 10h30 we were ordering breakfast and drinking our first beer.

 It was a good opportunity for me to have a chat with the two young ladies who are heading up the new Superwheels SA Magazine; Martene left and Taryn right who both seem to be really fired up and very enthusiastic, it was a pleasure talking to them. It certainly is an exciting project and I'm happy to be a part of it.

We enjoyed a good breakfast and then watched Max Biaggi win the first race of the day, a really exciting and close race after which we took our leave.

As I have been tasked with planning the route for the upcoming fifth annual Polar Bear run I wanted to visit the place that I had in mind for breakfast on that Saturday so we headed for the "Pepper Tree Art Stable and Coffee Shop" in the little town of Philadelphia where I met and spoke with the owner, Annalet Aspeling, who was charming and only too happy to oblige with a set menu breakfast for 20 to 22 bikers in the middle of winter. I'm sure a group like that is a nice cash injection in what would normally be a very quiet time.

From there we took a fairly leisurely cruise up the N7 as far as Malmesbury, Janet pointed out the snow capped mountains visible to our right around the Ceres area, that's why it's so damn cold!

The R45 from Malmesbury was a breeze, no traffic to speak of and no wind and it was a real pleasure to cruise at a relatively sedate pace towards the coast and home. After a couple of beers (glasses of wine in Janet's case) at the Beach Bar where we were in time to watch Max win the second race as well, we arrived home at about 16h30, a very pleasant day and as I had been asked to take mussel samples to the lab in Capetown the next day I was looking forward to another ride.

The earlier the samples get to the lab the sooner the tests can be carried out and the sooner the results are available, but because of the horrendous early morning traffic in town it is considerably quicker to take the samples down by bike. It is an hour from Saldanha to the outskirts of Capetown, from there to the Rosebank area where the lab is situated it takes me half an hour on the bike because I can filter down through the snarled up lanes of traffic, in a vehicle that can take another hour and a half!

I love these "Sample run" opportunities! I left Saldanha at 08h15 with my dashboard thermometer reading 8,5 celsius! Wearing knee warmers, a jersey and my winter jacket and with my handgrip warmers turned on I was quite comfortable.

I set a fast pace down the R27, the engine purring at fractionally over 5000rpm at 160kmh we ate up the kilometres with the sun slowly rising in the pale sky to my left. What a fantastic ride, cars and trucks obligingly moving aside as I swept up behind them, I was in my element and thoroughly enjoying myself. I slowed down to 120kmh at the laybyes where the revenue collectors usually hide so hopefully I won't be making any contributions!

Sure enough, as expected I ran into traffic between Melkbos and Tableview but I am quite used to filtering the lanes, keeping an eye out ahead for cars jumping gaps and I had an interesting ride through to Rosebank arriving there at 09h40 - actually just less than an hour and a half, bloody good going!

By then it was definitely time for a breakfast so I made my way back to the Viper Lounge, R47:50 with two pieces of toast and coffee, very nice and the coffee warmed me up so well that I had another.

This Johnny Cash "Walk the line" chopper is on the sales floor, very cool indeed with what is obviously the great man's sentiment on the tank;

 I wish I could afford to have it as a second bike, I must admit I wouldn't mind posing around the Saldanha/Vredenburg/Langebaan area on that one - no further than that though, it must be a very uncomfortable ride for any kind of distance.
The ride home was absolutely great, considerably warmer by the time I hit the R27 - I would like to propose that the speed limit on the open road be increased for motorbikes to 160kmh, all in favour?

Oxtail pot and lunch at Chappie's

We had a very good time last weekend, we went down to our friend Janet's house in Hout Bay to do an oxtail potjie for a bunch of friends. We drove down in the bakkie because I took my pot and my gas cooker which would have been very difficult to carry on the bike! Generally the weather was good although we did pass through some rain over "Suikerbossie"

Here the meat has been browned and I was frying the mixture of onions, green peppers and celery before putting the meat back in with some fresh garlic cloves.

Then it was time to add the special ingredient before letting the pot simmer for five hours. It was a very festive evening with a great bunch of people and they seemed to enjoy my pot.

Cleaning up the next morning was easy because Janet has an automatic pot cleaner which we put to good use, after a relaxed morning we had Peri-Peri Chicken at the Chapman's Peak Hotel before heading home.

The "Chappie's" veranda is a very picturesque place to have lunch, overlooking the bay and right next to the road which heads up over the iconic Chapman's Peak drive, there is a constant procession of motorbikes roaring past and also loads of beautiful South African girls arriving for lunch! Oh yes and the chicken was excellent!

During the past week we have had the first of our serious winter storms, Thursday and Friday were absolutely miserable! Today the sky has cleared and we may be in for a good weekend, tomorrow we want to ride down to the Viper Lounge in Capetown for a "McFlash" MacFadden supporters jol organised by the Superwheels SA Magazine team. No point in arriving for something like that in a bakkie!

I also need to plan the route for the Polar Bear run which is taking place at the end of July so I intend to ride that tomorrow afternoon, I'm thinking of organising breakfast in Philadelphia and then a loop through Malmesbury ending up at Porterville in the late afternoon with the cheese and wine stop somewhere in between, it's all good isn't it?

Just as a matter of interest and seeing as how it's Father's day on Sunday I bought myself this "Kershaw" folding knife, every man needs to carry a knife in his pocket for cutting biltong etc., and seeing as how my last one, a "Leatherman" multi-tool got stolen at work I decided that I needed another one - R800 at the Xtreme store which I thought was pretty good.

Stay safe and if you pass a vehicle with a "Think Bike" sticker give them a thumbs-up because they have our interests at heart.

Superwheels SA Magazine

 

Great news for those of us in the Western Cape! Superwheels SA magazine is being launched in August this year, this will be the first free biker magazine and will be dedicated to the biking lifestyle. Written by bikers for bikers its content will include articles on the racing scene written by a prominent racer, information on rallies, day jols and charity runs.

Advertising will be relevant and of interest to all of us, they will invite input from the public in the form of letters or emails and I have been asked to write a monthly article on local rides, restaurants and general places of interest to the biking fraternity.

This is all very exciting and long overdue and I am sure it will be eagerly adopted by the lucky Western Cape biking family. Plans are to go national a bit later.

Keep a look out for this magazine in August, closer to the time I will let you know who will be distributing it, we need to support this initiative brothers and sisters.

A memorable ride

Sunday was another one of those lovely winter days that I've been telling you about; calm, clear and crisp and I couldn't wait to get out on the road and take a long round trip home, but I'm getting ahead of myself;

We wanted to go to the Good Food and Wine Show in Capetown and had earlier in the week decided that we would go on Saturday afternoon, typically the weather leading up to the weekend started to deteriorate and it rained! Friday night it rained and early Saturday, while we were enjoying our bottle of JC le Roux sparkling Sauvignon Blanc in the spa bath, it rained.

We are bikers, we're going! But determination wavers when faced with putting on the rain suits and heading off into the rain, it's all very well when you are out on a trip and get caught but to cold-bloodedly mount up and leave a warm dry house when it's raining?

We procrastinated a bit and by the time we mounted up, sans rain suits, the sky was starting to look like it might clear, it was 11h00 by the time we rode out of Saldanha and we got a few little spots of rain  but I could see blue sky to the south. We both had our winter jackets on, they are water repellant but not water proof but as we thundered south the sky started to clear as the clouds broke up and the weak winter sun started shining through.

It was cold but it was good, I waved a greeting to a few other intrepid bikers heading up our way as we cruised down the R27 and by the time we rode into the outskirts of the City and through to Linda's house the sky was pretty clear and it was no longer quite so cold.

We took a taxi to the show and back so that we could partake of the wine tasting and the beer tent without having to worry about road blocks, we spent about four hours there and by the end of that time I had had enough, it was so incredibly crowded as to be very unpleasant - been there, done that, got the tee shirt. Talking about tee shirts, I was wearing a rally tee shirt as usual and was greeted by three brothers during the afternoon, also wearing various rally shirts, reinforcing the brotherhood that exists between us even though I did not know them.

Sunday; We decided to take a ride up the N7 to Mooreesburg for a brunch at "Die Oude Stoep" which I have mentioned before, we have often stopped there for a drink, let's see what the food is like.

The N7 is a pleasant ride, especially on a Sunday as there is not too much traffic, it is the national road leading through to Namibia so is usually very busy with lots of heavy rigs.

Once we joined the N7 it was only about 80kms to Mooreesburg, I set up a steady 140 to 150km/h and we relaxed into a comfortable cruise through the farmlands, the pale wintry sun was by then starting to warm us and also apparently the little lambs frolicking next to their mothers in the veld, they would stop every now and then to nibble at the succulent green grass shoots which had been teased up by the first of the winter rains. Thousands of Sheep and Cattle grazing contentedly on hundreds of farms bordering the N7 as we sped happily by.

Now is the time when the normally dry Western Cape comes alive and green fynbos carpets the hills and valleys through which we rode, it was sublime, sheer pleasure and I cannot remember enjoying a ride so intensely as I did that one. It was with a slight sense of disappointment that I saw our destination drawing nearer through the pale, hazy sunlight.

At "Die Oude Stoep" in Mooreesburg a chalkboard propped in the doorway bore the legend; "Sorry kitchen closed." - bad news because hunger pangs had been with me for some time!

There is nowhere else to eat in Mooreesburg on a Sunday, at least that we know about so nothing for it but to press on, the next place is in Langebaan some 80kms away. We rode slowly along the link road some 20kms to the R45 because it is such a bad road but then wound it up to 16okm/h once we joined the R45.

Cruising along my thoughts revolved around food, I was hungry and there were a lot of options in Langebaan but I was leaning towards the Chinese restaurant; A & J's at the Laguna Mall, two weeks ago we had had the best prawns there and I fancied a Salmon hand roll as a starter. Salivating into my helmet I opened the throttle wider.

They did not disappoint, the prawns were crispy fresh in a sauce that made my fingers taste good, my starter Salmon hand roll was perfect and we finished off with a chicken dish with egg fried rice which we washed down with a bottle of cold Sauvignon Blanc. A & J's are having winter specials with as much as 20% discount on meals, sushi specials and buffets that really make it worthwhile, it's a great place to eat, we'll definitely be back even if only for the prawns!

A great day, a truly memorable ride and a delicious meal - really what more could one want? Maybe a winning ticket in the lotto?!

Winter - pros and cons

Winter is upon us! It has been pretty cold these past two weeks and we have had some of our first rain, we get winter rains on the Cape west coast so riding days are cut down a bit. Fortunately it is a relatively short winter and there are often wonderful balmy days right in the middle of the worst weather so we have to choose our riding days, you can't count on good weekends so planning a ride is difficult.

Having said that, our fifth annual Polar Bear run is booked for the last weekend in July! If you have been reading my stuff you will have seen that every Polar Bear run up until now has been held in the most wonderful weather even though they have been right in the middle of winter, let's hope the luck holds.

This year the run is to the Porterville Hotel which is only some 100kms from home but the idea is to do a long loop arriving at the hotel in the mid afternoon. That way it is only a short ride home after the party! I am going to plan the route and my buddy Dave has agreed to set up the cheese and wine stop on the way, we'll make it a good one and you can bet I'll tell you all about it.

I have had a couple of short local rides including a trip down to Capetown to get the new battery fitted, I enjoyed the ride so I'm not going to mention how much the battery cost!

A lot of our short rides take place around the Western Cape area, and particularly the area where we live so I thought I would show you how beautiful our area really is;

This view (over the fresh oysters) is of the Langebaan Lagoon stretching down towards Church Haven, this is a very popular tourist area and is always crowded in summer and the holiday season, the lagoon and the bay is a particularly popular area for kite surfers and wind surfers and some international events take place here. Langebaan is twenty minutes from home around the bay.

Behind the happy looking rider is the resort and restaurant "Weskus Plek" (West Coast Place) at Jacob's Bay, a very picturesque spot on the planet and only ten minutes from home. Other nearby coastal resorts which are often included in our rides are Paternoster, Saint Helena Bay and Velddrif on the banks of the Berg River where my friend Des has his rustic little shop the "Ek en Jy Visserye" which is a tongue-in-cheek take on the I & J Fishing Company.

Saldanha Bay is in its self a picturesque and pleasant little town but it loses out as far as tourism is concerned to the nearby places like Langebaan and Paternoster but perhaps that is better for us residents anyway. If you are interested check out Google Earth to get a look at the "Lie of the land" to see where we are, Saldanha is pretty much a fishing town with a couple of big industries like the Sea Harvest Factory and the Rock Lobster processing factory. It is also home to the mussel farm in which I am involved and also a large oyster growing area.

We have also got the export terminal for the iron ore which comes down from the Sishen area and which is loaded onto bulk ore carriers right here so we have quite a busy harbour.

At the moment the small subsistence fishermen are very busy with the shoals of Snoek (Thyrsites Atun) which are running and some beautiful specimens are being offloaded at Pepper Bay, the price seems to have come down to about R25 per fish so I think I'll get myself a lovely fresh one for the weekend.

The word soon spreads that the Snoek are running and the crowds come down to the jetty to buy some fresh fish direct from the boats, there's not a hell of a lot better than that.

From then it almost becomes a race for the boats to come in, tie up and sell their catches, most of the early boats sell the entire load to individual buyers,



Some of the later ones sell to the public, either in the local area or they park next to the road down in Capetown and sell them down there.

Look at those big fish, now at the start of the winter they start having a lovely fat stomach lining (much like mine actually!) which is absolutely delicious on the braai, I'm gonna buy me one. I love a Snoek braai with a bunch of freinds, Janet makes some garlic or creamy Aromat potatoes and a salad, not a hell of a lot better than that!
Maybe my next story will be about the Snoek braai - stay on two wheels and stay safe! 

Riebeek Valley Olive Festival

It was Friday afternoon, about 15h00 by the time we had got our luggage packed and loaded, we had both been able to get off work early and I left the choice of transport up to Janet; the bike or the bakkie? There's more space to carry the things you buy with the bakkie but happily Janet chose the big red machine, I was hoping like hell she would but I was prepared to drive there if that was what she wanted. I really don't like going anywhere in the bakkie, why drive when you can ride?

It was fairly chilly as we headed out on the R45, around 17celsius and the sky was clear but with a little bit of cloud hanging over our destination. According to the weather service it would clear, Janet didn't even ask, she doesn't trust me or the weather service!

The R45 is boringly straight but fast and it wasn't long before we were slowing down for the left turn to Mooreesburg. There were three eighteen wheelers lined up on the side of the road, the drivers standing chatting as I blipped down through the gears and swung a stylishly low left turn. One raised his hand in greeting as I accelerated up again, I knew what he was thinking; "Man that Beemer sounds sweet!" because my bike does sound great with the new zorst pipe.

I blipped the throttle for their enjoyment (and mine) but then had to slow down because that's a terribly narrow and bumpy stretch of road, we continued at a more sedate pace and it was very pleasant just cruising along through the late afternoon sunlight, there was no wind and very little traffic which made it even more agreeable.

Alongside the fence a tractor was pulling a plough, churning up the ground and as we passed the earthy, evocative smell briefly filled our helmets

In Mooreesburg we stopped at "Die Oude Stoep", a pleasant bar and eatery with a wooden deck right next to the pavement, for a beer which turned into two.

While we were sitting there chatting two different SAP vans made several slow passes, watching bikers? One of the policemen nodded to Janet each time they went past.

After a very pleasant break we got back out on the road, a short 40kms to our destination for the weekend; the picturesque little town of Riebeek Kasteel and our friend Amanda's house. It was a lovely ride, there was just one heavy grey cloud backed up against the mountain which gave us just a few little spots of rain, nothing to worry about, it would be gone by morning. A great start to our weekend at the annual olive festival.

Saturday morning our friends all arrived and we spent most of the rest of the day exploring the festival, it was crowded but very well organised although this year there didn't seem to be any places where you could just sit down and have a drink!

We bought some delicious olives, bread, various supplies and then drove through to "Allesverloren" wine estate where there was a serious vibe going on, after a couple of bottles of wine, (bear in mind there were now eight of us!) we moved through to "Ed's Diner at The Barn" where there was a very good party going on.

There was a duo playing classic Rock favourites, much more to our liking so we settled down at a table to relax.

We spent about an hour and a half or so soaking up the vibe and then the band packed up! Time to move on, back to the house for a braai, lots of laughs and good times with good friends.

Everyone was up fairly early the next morning, not too many hangovers in evidence. Janet and I made breakfast for everyone, I made a fry-up with the leftovers from the previous evening's braai and Janet fried eggs.

After that it was pretty much time to go, the weather was beautiful and I was looking forward to the ride, first though it was time for the "Ladies by the Elderly people sign" photograph.

In 2010 it was just Janet in front of the sign, last year it was Janet, Caroline and Amanda and this year there were five of them with Janet and Pat - how many will it be next year?

We took our leave of our friends with promises to get together again as soon as possible, and of the lovely Riebeek Valley which is a very popular breakfast run venue for bikers, every Sunday the restaurants are busy with lots of gleaming chrome and metal machines lined up outside.

After 32kms to the N7 I turned south to Malmesbury instead of north to Mooreesburg, I wanted the slightly longer ride and the N7 is a good fast ride. 32kms to the R45, going that way adds about 80kms to the ride, but hey isn't that what it's all about?

We arrived back in Saldanha Bay just after 13h00 after a really enjoyable cruise, I was taking it fairly easy, and  went to the Beach Club for a cold one. What a day! What a weekend! The bike performed flawlessly even though it needs a new battery.