“With great risk comes great reward” – Thomas Jefferson
The start
During the week before our trip, the weather threatened to put a damper on our much-anticipated BMW Annual Winter Sutherland trip. Having exchanged my bike for the much warmer and cozier bakkie on last year’s trip, I decided that this year I was not going to allow the possible “unpleasant” weather to steal from the thrilling experience to ride my bike to the coldest town in South Africa, in the middle of winter.
After a lot of internal deliberation, I convinced myself to sign up with the “experienced” group, led by Carel van der Merwe and backed up by Neels Wilken. The only way to improve is to push your boundaries. And boy were my boundaries stretched.
08h00 on Saturday morning we met up at Klapmuts BP. I was the only “rose” riding my own bike between the “thorns” in our group of 14 riders. On arrival, everyone was already covered in their rain suits as the grey skies promised imminent rain. After our rider’s briefing we set off towards Wellington and over Bainskloof Pass, where I met my first of many challenges for the day.
The rain intensified and thick mist covered the top of the bendy pass, which brought visibility down to a few metres. Along the way, strong but beautiful little waterfalls grazed the side of the mountain like a specially designed water feature. On the other side of Bainskloof, my boots were filled with water. My feet would not be dry again for the remainder of the ride. In fact, I believe a goldfish could have survived inside my boots all the way to Sutherland.
We had a quick fuel stop in Ceres. Neels was approached by a man who worked at the wind farm, and he advised us not to take the road that runs past the windfarms due to two deep river crossings. We decided to rather take a detour and set off again on the R46 and back towards Touwsrivier.
After the ride leaders were satisfied that we outran the rain, we took a left on Pienaarskloof to start our journey on gravel. Water crossings were plentiful after all the rain we had in the Western Cape, along with melted snow from the surrounding mountains. Each water crossing had a good supply of mud, sometimes just before or after a sharp corner, which kept us on our toes. We passed the wind farm which created lovely dry gravel roads – we were in our element and the pace was good.
We passed one or two sandy patches to eventually reach the R354 which is the road between Matjiesfontein and Sutherland. After getting off the bike, we were challenged to stay on our feet in what felt like a gale force wind. We crossed the tar road at 13h00 to continue with the gravel road towards Laingsburg. It was perfect timing for lunch. We rode down the gravel road and found a spot to protect us from the wind, where we enjoyed our lunch.
Lunch stop
After a quick lunch we continued along the gravel road towards Laingsburg. The wind certainly picked up and my 650 Dakar felt like a piece of paper dangling in the wind. I was challenged not to drift towards the “loose stuff”. We stopped in Laingsburg to fuel up and headed along the N1 for approximately 35km before we took a left on the gravel towards Merweville. It felt like the wind speed picked up with every progressing metre. The long stretch of gravel towards Merweville certainly challenged me.
At times it felt like I was cornering on a straight road, just to keep the bike upright and on the right line. After travelling for about 60km we reached the tar road, just before Merweville, where one of the guys had a puncture. After fixing the puncture, we set off at about 16h00 towards Sutherland for the last 106 km, which proved to be the most challenging.
Leaving Merweville I was amazed at the amount of dust which the bikes (who were a fair distance ahead of me) managed to kick up. I only realized later that the dust was not generated by the bikes, but by the sheer force of the wind which we were facing head-on. To make things more “interesting”, we were looking directly into the sun. The only solution was to drop my head so that the peak of my helmet could shield my eyes from the sun. Although it was not ideal to only see a couple of meters in front of me, I realize now that it prepared me for what was about to come.
The sun eventually set behind the hills as we approached Rammelkop pass, which is a gravel pass with a couple of sharp bends on relatively sharp inclines and sprinkled with golf ball sized stones. Amazingly, just when we thought the wind reached maximum speed for the day, it continued to gain in strength.
As I made my way around the sharp, stoney and inclined bend, I was met with a rider who became stuck sideways on the incline. Faced with the split-second decision of stopping or crossing the rather thick, stoney middleman, all of my training blew away with the wind and I made the rookie mistake of stopping. After some riders managed to swerve in time, I pulled away on the loose incline to pass the rider.
After passing the rider, I was hit with a strong gust of wind which threw me off course and had me heading towards the drop-off. I managed to pull the bike back towards the road, but the long and challenging day started to take its toll. I lost momentum and my already tired leg was too slow to catch the tipping bike. My “side-stand-like” slow motion fall was enough to awake the senses. Riders who reached the small piece of tar at the top stopped and walked back down to help pick up the 2 bikes who were now lying feet in the air (much like their owners).
Walking up the incline, the wind blew me off my feet. Back on solid ground, I got back on the bike with effort as the wind was fighting back. The guys told me to push on while they recover the remaining bike. I completed the remainder of Rammelkop without any issues and met up with the leaders at the top gate. I could see that bodies became tired as I passed scenes of one or two small “oepsies”.
Re-group
After the herd was back together, we set off at about 17h30 for the last 67km on gravel for the day. The sun was setting quick and dark clouds were gathering. The lights on my dashboard became brighter by the minute, and the road started to fade away with the fields surrounding it on either side.
With 30 kilometres to go, the rain started to hammer down on the now pitch-black gravel road. My little orange headlight barely made a dent in the pitch-black darkness. I saw the lights behind me, which I relied on for visibility, starting to fade away. They had stopped to secure luggage. The rain was now bucketing down. I stopped to wait for the riders behind so that I can ride shotgun to be able to see where I’m going.
The bike was starting to slide underneath me and I realized that the rain is now turning the gravel into a slippery sludge. Visibility was at 5%. The rain was now bucketing down and any dot of red taillight in front of me turned into a blurry red stripe. I had no choice but to lift my visor. Every drop of (what was now) ice rain on my face and in my eyes felt like needle pinch. To ride blind on a slippery surface whilst being hit with ice rain on my face and in my eyes was possibly one of the most challenging endurance of my life. I managed to rub my eyes a few times, when I had the guts to let go of the handlebar for a split second.
Bodies were tired after all the elements we faced during the day. After a couple of bikes went down on the extremely slippery surface, we realized that we had to slow the pace right down. We continued at 20kmph. Our main goal was now to reach the tar, which was still 10km away, in one piece. In the distance I saw headlights of a vehicle approaching. It was the familiar and friendly faces of close friends and fellow members who decided to come look for us.
It was after 7pm and they knew (without having contact with us) that we would be facing a challenging time. The vehicle would lend a helping hand to tired bodies by helping to pick up one or two bikes on the slippery surface. I asked them how far to go? “8km”, they said. It must have been the longest 8km of my life (including my hiking days). Plenty of hard talking was done inside my helmet. After a long day of physical challenges, we were now challenged mentally.
I rode shotgun with a fellow rider – slow, steady and standing up for the last 8km until we reached the tar T-junction. Never have I been so happy to see the reflection of a town board. Although the surface for last 10km on tar was better, visibility was still poor as the rain kept bucketing down. I continued the slow pace of 60kmph with an open visor until I finally reached Sutherland.
Arriving in Sutherland
It was heart-warming to see the familiar faces waiting for us in the street, all happy to see us. After a quick defrosting shower, we were served with deliciously warm lamb shank on mashed potatoes, broccoli in white sauce and carrots. The meal was finished off with hot chocolate pudding with thick chocolate sauce. It was like my tummy received a hug. There was no better way to finish off the day.
After exchanging our stories of the eventful and challenging day, I turned in for a good night’s sleep.
Homeward bound
The following morning, I woke up and immediately went outside to see if it snowed. The predicted snowfall eluded us, but the bikes and motor vehicles each wore a thin layer of white in true Sutherland style. After three attempts, my (what I now deservedly call) noble steed fired up. I fuelled up my bike and parked at the Sutherland Hotel to fuel my body for the journey home.
We felt the effects of yesterday’s ride on our bodies, and everyone agreed to enjoy a (what is meant to be) relaxed tar ride home. Friends who decided to skip breakfast to hit the road, had returned soon to warn us of black ice approximately 10 km out of Sutherland. Snow started to fall in Sutherland just before 10h00 and we decided to leave before the weather becomes worse. We decided that all three rider groups will ride together as one unit, sending the vehicles out in front to hopefully remove any black ice on the road. We all followed suit, ensuring that we stay in line with the tyre tracks of the vehicles – slow and steady, and avoiding leaning in the corners.
The temperature was in the minuses and of course our friend for the weekend, the wind, made sure to give us a proper send-off. I again battled to keep my bike on the tracks to avoid possible black ice. On the way to Matjiesfontein we had sights of snow and ice lining the road on either side. After 150 km of non-stop riding, we stopped at Touwsriver to defrost the bodies with a warm beverage and said our last goodbyes.
What may have been one of the most challenging days I have experienced in terms of endurance, I was rewarded in threefold with a sense of accomplishment, camaraderie and lifetime memories.
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