Dullstroom GS ride

Is there a GS ride on that day?

There will be. Captain Buffle is overseas... more info later.
Any route suggestions (to the Dullstroom area) welcome.

I can work out something? It is quite a ride, so will have to leave early and maybe join the roadies on the way home.

The road route there is about 300km - so both groups will have to leave quite early. Breakfast is served until 11. Will be finalising venue tomorrow.

I'll see if I can shorten it but keep it mostly off-road. Level 1-2... Have to work on escape route - rain is always possible, it turns that route into level 4 just like that!

Lemme know if someone else already has a route planned?

Management at the venue wants more exact figures as to the number of people who will be on the ride and having breakfast at the venue. The request is thus - can you please - beforehand - confirm to a certain if you are going to join the ride and the breakfast.

I have for now confirmed 20 people for breakfast. Providing them with more exact figures beforehand will ensure that we again have a very nice breakfast lined up.

Breakfast is also only served till 11:00. ETA should thus not be much later than 10:15.

Thanks for the trouble LeRoy.
Drix - No route planned yet (not as far as I know!)

I'll be there.

I have found a route that looks right - will go and recce it with Marnus to see if we can make it in time, otherwise shorten a bit here and there.

To be honest though, I am not comfortable with an 11 cut off. To race off road to get somewhere takes some of the enjoyment away and you are looking for trouble with a group of differing abilities. Maybe we (GS peoples) should just look for another place in Dullstroom that doesn't limit us with time? A GS ride should be route first, destination second, I think?

But then I'm speaking out of turn, I am not in charge of any of the arrangements. I have just learned - especially with the Rooiberg trip - that we are not a fast group (and there's nothing wrong with that), so plan accordingly. Dullstroom is not around the corner from an off-road point of view.

Other alternative is that we go there with the roadies and return on gravel, but I've seen now that I seem to be the only one who doesn't understand this one way club thing, returning as quick as possible as if it is a punishment...?

I am going to recce the route and to finalise all with regards to the ride with the management. Will see if we can get an extension on the 11:00 deadline.

Why don't the GS group just book lunch? Doesn't have to be breakfast, does it?

Sias wrote:Why don't the GS group just book lunch? Doesn't have to be breakfast, does it?

Nou ja toe, nie eers daaraan gedink nie. Dink dis maar meer om saam met die roadies daar aan te kom, anders eet ons weer in tandem (en in 'n rush) soos die Rooiberg trip. En dit lyk my dis belangrik dat ons bietjie brug bou, ons is een klub after all... "Shared riding" and all.

Maar jy's reg, miskien moet LeRoy maar net plek boek vir ons, dan eet ons brekfis of lunch, wat ookal appropriate is? Maar ek gaan nog steeds die roete probeer uitwerk om 10:00 daar aan te kom - dan werk dit in elk geval selfs al besluit ons finaal om eers teerpad soontoe te ry. Dit gee dan tyd om betyds vir mense vir die Laurika show te wees op die terug roete.

Altyd nice om eers te verklee en die stof af te was - daai Rallye suits het nog nooit lekker gewerk by die teater nie... kleurskema en so aan...

Refer latest post on the road thread - am thinking about changing it to a "Mothers Day Brunch" - will see what we can organise with the venue management friday.

I'm planning to recce the GS route to Dullstroom this Wednesday the 29th, leaving at 6h30 from the Engen Silver Lakes (S25 46.747 E028 20.734), if anyone wants to have fun in the middle of the week. So far Mario said he might join.

Gimme a shout - drix at drix dot co.za (oh 84 5 oh 4 121 two)

Drix, if I can get leave tomorrow, I'll join. At what time do you expect to be back?

I aim for between 2 and 4pm if all goes smoothly. Maybe stop for one or two geocaches, and brunch at Harries?

dakardrix wrote:I aim for between 2 and 4pm if all goes smoothly. Maybe stop for one or two geocaches, and brunch at Harries?

Thinking of the following 3 caches en route (tomorrow, not on 10 May): Makwasi, Groot Trek and Nearly Hi & Dry

Might also change the route over the last bit to include Tonteldoos (the 'town', not the caches)... I'll see how the time goes.

The more I study the route - I realise again this is actually an awesome ride!!! We are barely going to overlap Sharkie's great Loskop route, so will be new for people who did that one.

dakardrix wrote:I'm planning to recce the GS route to Dullstroom this Wednesday the 29th, leaving at 6h30 from the Engen Silver Lakes (S25 46.747 E028 20.734), if anyone wants to have fun in the middle of the week. So far Mario said he might join.

Gimme a shout - drix at drix dot co.za (oh 84 5 oh 4 121 two)

Ok Drix, seeing that I may not be able to join the club ride on 10 May (being mothers day and all...), I'll join you for the recce and some GC fun.
I'll see you 06:30 - Engen Silver lakes (that's on the corner of Hans Strydom & Lynnwood hey?)

If there is any change in plan, gimME a shout - marnusp at gmail dot com (oh eight three six three nine oh two three four).

Over.

Roger! ... or is that Shirley...?

Mario is also definitely going.

Oh! I do hope the ride is level 1 and 2 only so I can enjoy a GS ride again. Really don't want to bust my foot again so soon.

I just come back from the Lowveld escapement and it has not rained there for 3 weeks. Dirt roads are very dusty, the little I rode on with my bike.

Well, Mario, Marnus and I - from now on known as Dusty and the Graverobbers - scouted the intended GS route today. Took us 5 hours to get to Dunkeld, so the route needs some chopping, but I think could be a stunning ride albeit very dry and dusty. Would rate it as a level 2 ride with lots of level 1 and a few level 3 surprises, especially when you get tired as it is a longer ride than the usual club breakfast run.

Will post some pics later.

Tx guys, was a super ride!

dakardrix wrote: - from now on known as Dusty and the Graverobbers -

Pray do tell.....

Seems you will be a bit tightly stretched for the 11:00 breakfast cut-off - will rather try and organise a late brunch then - breakfast run/brunch run - who said it cant be the same. Am doing the recce on Friday - will give feedback in the afternoon.

I want to try and change the route to start at 6, kill a few off-road bits, and our 5 hours also included 3 geocache stops that will not be present on the group ride. If that works out we can aim for between 10 and 11, but can't commit to 10. We were also pretty steady today, if we have slow bikes and stops, or one flat, then our time is gone.

We were quite ravenous with about 1 hour to go before Dullies, but we also only left at 7am. When that happens, people stop enjoying the route. But I think I'll fix that with cutting out some slow early sections. Like next to a railway line where one 1200, just fixed up after Sani, picked up some new tappet cover graffiti...

But I dunno if people will be happy with a 6am leave time (still dark) ?

BTW, we returned on tar via my preferred 'shortest' route - Belfast, Stoffberg, Groblersdal, Bronkies - took us about 3 hours I think, haven't checked the track yet.

Rejuvenated DaveS wrote:

dakardrix wrote: - from now on known as Dusty and the Graverobbers -

Pray do tell.....

..again, one of those 'you should have been there' moments. Lots of dust today, especially trucks coming from the front on the gravel roads - really irritating and dangerous, but it was a normal working day, I suppose.

Graves... one of the caches was at Genl Hertzog's family grave - a public historical site, with all these huge rocks on the graves... anyway, you know how you can't take these people anywhere...? ... and after all that we couldn't even find the cache!

If they are mine ore carriers they be operating also on weekends as the refineries do not shutdown over weekends.