RAT Cape Town

Weekend away has been renamed …………… ” WHAT RAIN”………………..

With those who dared to defy the weather guru’s heading off towards the Black Clouds was to turn into an adventure. N1 Winelands for 1st meeting , Bottom of the Du Toits Kloof Pass for 2nd collection and on towards the interior. A suggestion to go through Rawsonville was wise , missing the camera’s and stops. Fuel at Robertson BUT Ashton was the turning point. RAIN , RAIN and my some more rain. Towards BarryDale and for fun we had RAIN.

The Sherry at Country Pumpkin warmed the inside but nothing could remove the wet riding gear. Needless to say the TRIUMPH all weather gear really works (those that had). The rain slowed in parts , arriving in Oudtshoorn around 4 ,fairly dry.  La Dolce Vita for dinner.

Saturday morning showed that the heavens had opened up the evening , wet , wet & some drizzle. Leaving at 08.30 towards Robertson Pass the sky was blue BUT the pass was misty. Riding slowly we could actually see the beauty of Gods work.

Keith & Schalk from Knysna joined in a hearty breakfast , spilling the beans that they had traveled in rain all the way……..BUT………we left Eight Bells in drizzle which soon disappeared and we were greeted in George with blue sky and SUNSHINE. Now there was no looking back ! WHAT RAIN????

Knysna – to The Heads – oops the service sucked but Tiger rider Wim sorted that out and we suddenly had more waiters than in a german beer hall. TAPA’s for all@ Thesen , RAT Dawson went Oysters…..Tourists gathering around the Triumph’s. Back to Oudtshoorn , over Outeniqua Pass , again………..NICE……….road was clear and dry …need I say more.

BRAAI time

Trust a man from Paarl to get massive fires going…. Jack Daniels arrived…………. inhibitions left…..it was Guy Fawkes with no crackers.

RETURN

08.30 saw the rear end  of the group….one rider rode in green jeans….”follow that pants”… with the GT of Zak under terrible strain (dam jack)….. stop @ Ronnies….. Breakfast @ Barry dale , fuel @ Robertson and a final good bye @ Du Toits Kloof Lodge……………

THANKS TO ALL………. A GREAT WEEKEND ….SOME GOOD RIDING …AND WONDERFUL COMPANY

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In typical Cape weather the group left the shop and headed towards Philly to meet up with the “others”.

Patches of rain greeted us as we made our way towards Malmesbury then on to Moorresburg with a planned stop in Piketberg for some fuel and a bite. This was a bad plan, the new “Spur” outside of Piketberg was under staffed and unable to handle the “crowds. The fuel pumps were packing up and cutting out – so anyone wanting to use that place in the future should stay clear.

The road between Piketberg and Velddrift is as bumpy as corrugation – we rode the “road” balls to the wall , well in Ian’s case he felt them in his throat. The R6 taking strain – BUT the Triumphs well suited for that kind of road. A welcome sight was Velddrift – and a sigh of relief from Andre after sending poor Ben 10 down the road twice and littering the road with their clothes as a pannier came open. The short distance from there to Elandsbay could not come quick enough.

The hotel was waiting for us. Check in was without hassel. Of course being gentleman the MHM guys ave up their sea facing room to the newly engaged couple – but then found ourselves in the Presidential Suite.

Down for a well deserved cold one – Gareth giving the bar lady a hard time in deciding what he wanted ” Die man vat sy tyd”………. as she wanted to go off shift , of course no one dared argue with her. PHOTO’s tell the store further.

Needless to say , the evening progressed with plenty of giggling , laughter , leg pulling , chatter , and cold drinks (ja right). (Photo’s tell the story). No one knows how much wood was burned and between Ian and Richard there seemed to be an endless supply – thanks guys.

Breakfast……….. You gotta love the scrambled eggs and baked beans……….. and the road map eyes – any sunglasses salesman would have made a fortune.

Road back to CT seemed to be over so quickly. Stop in Velddrift & Langebaan and a final “cheers” at Melkbos.

THANKS TO ALL THAT JOINED – IT WAS GREAT FUN

(and I now hear well done to Doug who has just bought a Triumph Explorer)

REMEMBER OUDTSHOORN 1st WEEK NOVEMBER

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With the rain having pelted down the evening before we all expected Sunday to be a total disaster. But Cape Town weather proved how mysterious it can be – and glorious riding weather was the order of the day.

A mere 5 bikes braved the wet & cold conditions – but needless to say the ride went off without any hassle – with a Street Triple & a 848 playing out in front , and the “old” folks bring up the rear.

A hearty breakfast for a mere R35 was enjoyed , while the fires was raging and warming up the place.

The off road guys arrived – All dry and clean – amazing.

Of course again the Street Triple “picked on” the R1 , but well 675cc against 1000cc….Mmmmm that story remains where it is……….

Thanks guys for joining.

Next ride is the long road to Elands Bay Saturday 20th.

Huge thanks to DrumBeat Charters / Barrie Geeling for arranging the “passes” for us to enjoy a trip to Seal island.

Thanks to all those that joined in and also joined up for a hearty breakfast @ The Lookout in Hout Bay Harbour – and thanks for Donovan Dawson for arranging the seating.

Cool weather greeted all , but thank fully the waves and swell was not as bad as Saturday so the boat could go out.

Photo’s attached.

Next Run …………. Overnighter 20th July – Elandsbay -

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A Huge Thanks to all those who joined in for the evening.

Thanks to Patrick who prevented a theft from one of the street ladies who thought

that Jenni’s jacket would look better on her than Jenni.

JC’s certainly has never had so many Triumph motor cycles standing outside their door.

THANKS EVERYONE

PHOTO’S are now added – thanks Daphne for finding the camera

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Triumph have once again supplied a master piece in the 2013 Bonneville Red Frame Special Edition.

@ ONLY R 84 500.00 this model Bonneville is accessorized with :

Red Frame , Black Powder coated engine , Red Stitched Saddle , Black Pillion Grab handle , Black Long Stem Mirrors , Matt Black & Red paint job.

865 cc 50 kW , 67 bhp engine beautifully styled to take you almost anywhere.

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I recently ran into someone I know who had also bought a Triumph Explorer from our local Triumph dealer and when I asked how he was enjoying his Explorer I was very surprised to hear that he was not happy with the bike and regretted its purchase.
This got me thinking, of all the Triumphs sold through-out the year, you most likely only receive feedback from those ‘very few’ clients who have a complaint. I therefore thought it prudent to put “finger to I-pad” and let you know that I am very satisfied with my Triumph Explorer and as time in the saddle increases the more I can appreciate the design and engineering that went into my bike.
Let me share my most recent experience with you and please bear in mind, I’m not a journalist so here goes ….
My friends and I had been planning a road trip for some time however we could never pull it off and we had to be content with the occasional weekend Rat Runs as arranged by Triumph dealers. Always great riding with like-minded Triumph owners so I’m looking forward to seeing what’s planned for 2013.
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Triumph Cape Town was honored by receiving a visit by three Triumph Dealers from Austria. Led or spearheaded by Jorge Jamon , who took Triumph SA’s Explorer 1200 his fellow friends Johannes Anker & Ingo Lintner used a Tiger 800 XC and Tiger 800 to explore the Cape and surroundings – into and onto the most gravel of roads – no mountain pass was left unridden.

With over 3 000 km’s traveled by each Tiger our three Austrian friends left Cape Town before Christmas.

Thank you Jorge , Johannes & Ingo for proving that ALL TIGERS can tackle (successfully) what many (other brands) fail at.

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