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| Kradmelder |
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Kradmelder
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 Posted: 16:07 - 28 Oct 2012  Post subject: Off road trip across Magaliesberg and north west Transvaal |
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We have been having lots of rain for the past few weeks. Like everyday. Today looked like rain later, and I figured the gravel roads would be very muddy but i needed to ride. I dont mind rain, but rain and off-road just don’t mix. Far too slick and very slow. Not conducuve to 400 km days.
I lay awake at night listening to the rain, woke up at 6 to grey skies. shook my fist at the sky and it started to clear!!
So I did the servicing on the bike, oil, water, lube and check chain, adjust tyre pressures for soft roads etc.
Then pack the tools: compressor, gauge, tubes, slime, valve puller, tyre levers, and the spanner and screwdriver set.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00453.jpg
By 0800 Maedchen is itching to go
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00454.jpg
I head SW towards the Cradle of Humankind, where the oldest bones of humanoids have been found. But it has been ruined! They have tarred it all, and even put in bike lanes   
It is full of cyclists and even hordes of weekend warrior road bikers
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00457.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00458.jpg
If only those Mrs Ples types could be alive today and see what has been done where they once roamed free: lines, rules, tourist traps, hordes of cyclists and street bikers, and outside the reserve, squatters, filth, crime. They would probably figure, fark this, let's do ourselves in and not start the human race.
I hurried to escape as fast as I can and didn’t even stop for a cool drink.
Just past the Cradle I leave the crowds of weekend warriors and breakfast runners behind and hit the gravel, or should I say mud?
Starting with the ruins of the new south africa, probably the wreck of a murdered farmer's farm
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00459.jpg
Then it gets muddier. Speed drops from a good 100 kmh on gravel to 30 kmh, and even less in really bad patches.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00460.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00461.jpg
As i approach Magaliesburg the thought of breakfast with the hordes of weekend warriors on their shiny bikes and latest leathers puts me off, so i detour around on gravel farm roads. I find a reaaly nice remote tea garden on a muddy road. The mud puts off all the street bikers and cagers so it is nice and quiet. A stunning spot in the middle of nowhere
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00462.jpg
I order an english breakfast, but being no damn pom, I ask for boerewors instead of bacon or pork bangers 
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00463.jpg
From there it is time to cross over the Magaliesberg mountains. By gravel off course:
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00464.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00465.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00466.jpg
On the other side of the mountains is Marikana. That place where the police shot all those striking darkies 2 months ago.
I cant stop to take pics. The place is full of angry surly darkies, well a few less angry surly darkies than 2 months ago
It is also weekend so many of them are drunk. What a dump. Shacks, filth, goats dogs and chickens on the road, people drinking in public, black taxis stopping anywhere.... not a place to pull out a camera. The place is also crawling with cops. Being weekend I don’t want to attract their attention to pay a bribe, so I just keep going.
After Marikana, it is across tribal lands on badly corrugated roads. a 50 km stretch of gravel will nothing but the odd mud patch and her of cows on the road.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00467.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00468.jpg
Eventually I reach Beestekraal, which is an old railway station converted to a restaurant, since trains have stopped running in the new south Africa. It is 40 km from the nearest town. It is run by an older white lady, and local farmers are there, all of whom ask me questions about my bike, and say I must come again and bring my kids.
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00470.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00469.jpg
After a few beers I head for home, but by the canal roads; roads used to service the irrigation canals for all the farms
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00471.jpg
https://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m270/hvandermerwe62/IMG-20121028-00472.jpg
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| Spudly |
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Spudly
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Posted: 17:07 - 28 Oct 2012  Post subject: |
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That looks an awesome trip Krad, the countryside is spectacular. Reminds me a lot of Western New South Wales.
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Kradmelder
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Suntan Sid
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| Posted: 18:13 - 28 Oct 2012 Post subject: |
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That looks like a good day out Krad.
What happens to the mud tracks, are they maintained after the rains?
There are tracks similar to that over here, but once the winter's over and the sun has baked them, it's no fun dodging the, rock hard, ruts all day!
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Spudly
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| Posted: 18:53 - 28 Oct 2012 Post subject: |
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| Kradmelder wrote: | | inksmithy wrote: | That looks an awesome trip Krad, the countryside is spectacular. Reminds me a lot of Western New South Wales. |
Funny enough, my mind has been turning to a trip across NSW to western australia, then north to darwin. Dont seem to be many options except the tar on the south coast. No through gravel roads, just off shoots from the tar. Im still at the Google earth stage, like future long term plan when my kids grown.
There is that and going across russia with my son when he is old enough. |
Jesus, no, there are plenty of off road options - the thing to be careful of is making sure you have enough water - maps are deceptive, its a much bigger country than you think.
For example, most people think Ayers Rock (aka Uluru) is just outside of Alice Springs, and in relative terms it is. Eight hours out of Alice, but there you go.
My approach to a trip like that would be Sydney to Perth, then up to Broome, then zap across to Alice, then head north towards Darwin. Close to ten thousand kilometers reckoning off the top of my head.
Plenty of off road there too.
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Kradmelder
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Posted: 19:06 - 28 Oct 2012  Post subject: |
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| inksmithy wrote: | | Kradmelder wrote: | Funny enough, my mind has been turning to a trip across NSW to western australia, then north to darwin. Dont seem to be many options except the tar on the south coast. No through gravel roads, just off shoots from the tar. Im still at the Google earth stage, like future long term plan when my kids grown.
There is that and going across russia with my son when he is old enough. |
Jesus, no, there are plenty of off road options - the thing to be careful of is making sure you have enough water - maps are deceptive, its a much bigger country than you think.
For example, most people think Ayers Rock (aka Uluru) is just outside of Alice Springs, and in relative terms it is. Eight hours out of Alice, but there you go.
My approach to a trip like that would be Sydney to Perth, then up to Broome, then zap across to Alice, then head north towards Darwin. Close to ten thousand kilometers reckoning off the top of my head.
Plenty of off road there too. |
I have like maybe 10 years till me kids are sorted, done varsity, and know they have their values right. Then Im off.
Then you will see an 'ou toppie' crossing your outback by gravel. Your outback is like a super karoo. Ive done the karoo. It is at most 2 days. Your outback must be at least a week
500 km per day on gravel, but granted each day fatigue drops your km, and by then I wont be a spring chicken capable of 12 hrs per day on the bike.
I never ever was interested in Oz. Just recently I thought of it. It is like africa but no worries about security and getting killed for R10.
Europe holds no interest for me at all. Not my style of riding. Except Russia.
ag boeta, if we had the fuel and ammuntion, rolling 12 hrs per day across africa, we could have reached europe in a few months, stopping only to wipe the shit off our boots The italians and french would have surrendered and then it is only minarets to aim at bwahahaha!
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Spudly
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| Posted: 20:14 - 28 Oct 2012 Post subject: |
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There you go, probably all on Tarmac there, but plenty of room to find some off roading.
https://goo.gl/maps/iZtyw
According to that map, the round trip would be around 16,000km, or 10,000 miles. If you decided to mix it up a bit going off road, you could well be looking at better than a month of rough challenging terrain.
What an awesome trip that would be, you would have to do some serious planning for it.
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Kradmelder
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| Posted: 22:57 - 28 Oct 2012 Post subject: |
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| inksmithy wrote: | There you go, probably all on Tarmac there, but plenty of room to find some off roading.
https://goo.gl/maps/iZtyw
According to that map, the round trip would be around 16,000km, or 10,000 miles. If you decided to mix it up a bit going off road, you could well be looking at better than a month of rough challenging terrain.
What an awesome trip that would be, you would have to do some serious planning for it. |
it is what i noticed. a trip around Oz must be planned around tar. gravel roads shoot off tar, bit dont go anywhere. Unlike russia and SA, where you can cross the country on gravel, In russia you have no other choice.
But the idea of the deserts of WA, to the tropics of northern oz on a bike have an attraction. Im a bit disappointed at the road network in northern Oz.
I dont want sydney and melbourne and perth. I want the more remote places.
must check the ktm dealers in oz Im not doing oz with some asian shit under my arse
you keen on the trip when we grey and our kids are grown? The abos will never know what hit them Just a dust cloud and empty beer bottles Biker Blitzkrieg
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Spudly
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| Posted: 00:15 - 29 Oct 2012 Post subject: |
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Nonono, you are missing my point - all the roads Google use to figure out routes are on tarmac, but once you are out of the main cities, you can pretty much get from anywhere to anywhere without touching it.
That sort of trip, you get your hands dirty and start playing with real paper maps and compasses. Well, GPS instead of a compass, but you have the iron needle there as backup.
It's considered polite to get permission from the landowners before blasting around on their land, but to a large extent, the outback is completely open, just find a compass heading and take off.
I have a lot of respect for the Kooris out west, as well as the Murris further north - they live traditionally as much as they can, there is a lot to be learnt from them.
Be an amazing trip though - I've never really thought about an off road motorbike tour, but fuck yeah, great fun.
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Kradmelder
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| Posted: 08:36 - 29 Oct 2012 Post subject: |
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| inksmithy wrote: | Nonono, you are missing my point - all the roads Google use to figure out routes are on tarmac, but once you are out of the main cities, you can pretty much get from anywhere to anywhere without touching it.
That sort of trip, you get your hands dirty and start playing with real paper maps and compasses. Well, GPS instead of a compass, but you have the iron needle there as backup.
It's considered polite to get permission from the landowners before blasting around on their land, but to a large extent, the outback is completely open, just find a compass heading and take off.
I have a lot of respect for the Kooris out west, as well as the Murris further north - they live traditionally as much as they can, there is a lot to be learnt from them.
Be an amazing trip though - I've never really thought about an off road motorbike tour, but fuck yeah, great fun. |
The gravel roads are privately owned?
Here we have District and Local gravel roads, and some provincial ones. No permission needed, they are public throughfares. Some local roads have booms with security to prevent stock theft, but they dont stop you going through. It wouldnt be legal on a public road.
Some farm roads have gates that you have to open and close. If they are a servitude, they are unlocked. Private farm roads generally have locked gates.
Im old school. I learnt navigation by map and compass, and postion myself on a map by compass (if there are visible land marks. I only started using a GPS about 2 years ago. Had no need for one, but it does speed things up, especially since more and more roads are unmarked as the signs get stolen for scrap metal value.
Ive looked at the Nullarbor plain on Google. Short of the main tar road, there seem to be just spur roads going off. Can also see the old eyre highway running next to it, which is gravel. Is it open? There seems to be 2 very sandy highways heading NE from western australia. But only that highway 1 in the south. A lot of it looks like dune. long sand stretches are a killer. especially with loaded bikes. There are some pics on google earth to see road conditions.
With such distances, the problem with a bike is fuel. You would need towns with fuel every 250-300 km at least.
Maybe you should think about off road adventure riding. You will see your country in a totally different way than from tar.
If you look under Gallery on your Google earth, you will see an option Tracks4Africa. If you turn it on you will see all these icons for road warnings, accomodation, views, passes etc. All designed for off roading or hiking. Very useful. Is there something similar for Oz?
Inland from Highway 1 I can see the railroad, trans australia railway. Is there a railway servitude road that is legal to ride? and are there towns where you can get fuel? looks like a possible option. That highwan looks busy. On google you see so many cages and trucks on it. 1000s of km of straight tar could get very boring.
Now where is your sense of adventure? get off the farkin tar and explore the other 99.9% of your country!
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