*RIDE REPORT 2011/03/10* (Posted by Howzit on theHubSA) Started a bit slow as we waited for the regular lead rider a tad bit of confusion until (Man with portable generator in orange back pack) took the Lead and gathered the eager riders and did a bit of a RIDE briefing then we all set off into the pitch black darkness of Irene.
The jeep track was quite interesting to manoeuvre through as it was a mixture of soft sand and Caterpillar tracks. Felt sorry for the okes on their hard tails ….lol We proceeded in the direction of the Irene Train station at some point we rode past a group of people waiting to catch their next train and sudden shouts and remarks were heard. I was grateful we all rode as a group and thus never felt threatened (safety in numbers). Very dodgy to RIDE through there on your own. We ended the section at the walls of Waterkloof Airforce Base there was a WICKED speed zone till the Engen garage. Nice boost to the old ticker. Single track along the road leading into Pierre van Ryneveld. We cut through the suburbs and landed us along the R21 towards Pretoria via Monument Park. This is when the Bundu bashing ensued. Not to mention the reason why I’m writing this REPORT ……. EISH the vegetation was so THICK that while trying to navigate through the rough dense bushes I was unable to un-cleat thus landed on my left side. The second time I landed on a mother of a thorn bush OUCH I’m STILL reeling in the pain from it. I heard mention of ‘the gauntlet’ but I was unsure if they meant the gauntlet through all those thorn bushes. The route was taken very leisurely due to the heavy vegetation but we prodded along the fence of the Waterkloof golf course. A few meters of riding next to the highway until we could turn right into the road that leads up to Fort Klapperkop it was about a 5 Km worth of a climb to the BEST scenic look out points of Pretoria that many a student in their youth use to park their cars and talk about the weather … LOL The Klapperkop hill took its toll on a new rider but we all waited and a stop at a garage was used to pump a tire and share a COKE. Which I believe helped him for a while. I take my hat off to him for doing the RIDE with no complaints except for the light option he took. Just a FYI if you want to enjoy the RIDE I strongly suggest investing in a reliable light. The cycle through the suburbs lead us back to the Irene Mall. Disappointedly we found the spur was closed …./CRY THANK's all it was a WICKED RIDE as per usual ..... same time same place next week. CYA then. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en.
