Rideforsmiles, Solo Australian to Africa Europe and Beyond, starting June 26th 2011.

Open wide big fella

last one for now

Was really sore from yesterday so just chilled out around the lodge which by the way is really nice 4 star apartments. Went for a short ride around the neighbouring suburbs just to have a look at whats here then had a wimpy burger for an early dinner, yeah like maccas but shit, ive found one decent burger in there its chicken and some rubbish on it, you get it down but then it keeps trying to jump back up, i wonder if its called the slippery toad burger. Anyway Dave has gone into Cape Town till Thursday i might be still here going to go for a cruise up the other way tomorrow and see whats up there, more beaches with bugger all around i suppose, but you never know. Its been nice to be here its more my style than a city but they do say Cape Town is nice, ill soon find out soon enough, I will head in there from here. Oh well tomorrow I hope my neck and back are feeling better i really am struggling at the moment, must need to get on the piss tonight.

Got up and had breakfeast then came back to my room for a little while for a bit more of a rest dont want to anything to strenuous, jumped on the bike and went for a ride to nowhere. In the end did over 200k's around here on back tracks over to the beaches along the waterfront, every turn off, little beach and village to the east of here. Was really fun, some of the tracks I rode off on I was getting a little concerned that I was miles and miles from anywhere and I hadnt packed any water or food so if i had a melt down of any sort i had a gruelling walk ahead of me, something that I am usually better at being prepared for, it take so little time to throw a few things together to make sure you are ok in any situation.

The road to the east goes to nowhere, just stops at the beach in the end and there is absolutely noone around, was good so I gave the bike a bit of a flog and took it up to just on 190k's and still had some left in it but with the panniers on and the wind blowing really strong didnt want to wind it out anymore, I know pea heart lol Was nice to see that it can get up there not probably going to get to many oppurtunities to blast it especially as usually its got all my gear on it which makes those speeds slighty suss. Ive had it up to 160 fully kitted but not overly interested in pressing my luck just for the sake of seeing where a speedo needle can go to.

While I was driving saw this weird looking cat like creature, ill have to ask about it it looked sort of like a normal cat but the weirdest markings almost tiger like. I stopped and did a uturn to take a picture but it moved off into the bush as i came back, was a bummer it was such a cool looking beast.

Drove down to Stampford which is back towards Hermanus, when you come into it you think what the `f%^k is here then you turn into it and its a really nice little town. Lots of little art and antique places sort nice feel to it, if your a chick or 70 years old you will love it here so I just kept going to find some more dirt roads to ride, and find them I did.

Ended up going off towards Walker Bay Nature reserve I think it was but as i got to the gate i took a left and followed that track. It wound back and forwards up and over the hills heading towards the coasts over a few more hills then one more big one. I was videoing one handed as I came to the top and it went to deep soft sand and I was lucky not to put the bike down but being the champion rider I am I managed to shit myself and still stay upright

I had a look at the drop down on the other side it was fairly steep and all deep sand I had a choice to make and I was in the absolute middle of nowhere probably 10 k's to the nearest person so I hardened up and took it on knowing full well it was going to be a mission to get back up as going down was hard enough. As I got to the bottom I was thinking to myself what have I done, I used to race motorcross in the good old days and wasnt half bad but riding an 800cc motorbike with full panniers probably weighing 250 kilos is a tad harder to handle in deep sand then a 125 or 250 motorcross bike. I thought oh well ive done it now ill deal with it when I have to and kept riding towards the coast.

The track started to get really sandy and as I already had one place I knew would be tough i dogged it and turned around about a k or 2 from the coastline. Oh well all good rode back and heres that sandy steep hill, I stopped about 100 metres from it sussing out the best line of attack and decided on speed and up on the pegs leaning back was`the way to go and away I went. Got right to the top almost before I lost it and nearly went over but managed to keep the revs up so got stuck into it and bashed up the last little bit walking beside the bike.

Phew that was good always nice to get through something like that on your first attempt. Got off to have a look back at what i just rode in and was pretty chuffed with myself for getting through it actually, it was more relief be stuffed if I wanted to be stuck out here in the afternoon all by myself no water no food, I really need to pack something when im going for rides just in case as when i do these local rides i am looking to find the off the beaten track stuff.

Anyway got home had a chat to Caron im not sure what im doing i like it here but have to head off soon, im pretty sure ive only got three more weeks on my visa so better start making headway soon. Cape Town is only two hours away and the Namibian border is 657k's from Cape Town so i can get there pretty quick if i need to. everyone keeps telling me ill like Cape Town maybe I will maybe I wont time will tell, might get up in the morning and see how im feeling might ride in there tomorrow if not definately the next day, whatever day that is. I had planned to be there by last Friday so i will have spent a week around Hermanus and Gansbaai and the shark diving at Kliensbaai ill never forget i probably should do it again before i leave the area.

Feel a bit of a sore throat coming on where the hell did that come from its probably from sucking in to many bugs on my 200k ride today. Anyway night time over and out.

Decided to leave Gansbaai today, have done the shark diving, rode the 200k's around the area up and down the coast and today was a semi decent day with a cold front due tomorrow so thought id skidattle. Had a really nice relaxing time here with Dave, Caron, Jan and the crew from Shark Diving Unlimited were all really nice. I probably would of stayed a few more nights as I wasnt feeling all that good but it was pretty expensive to be just hanging around and doing sweet fa. Its actually been the most expensive place ive stayed at in South Africa other than the lodge on the outskirts of Kruger National Park where I didnt have to pay full price so even though I'm fortunate enough to not having to worry about money to much, paying 650 rand or 85 Aussie dollars a night in a small village is a bit to steep to be just relaxing killing time.

I did 200 k's everywhere around here yesterday and other than Stamford which is an interesting village and as pretty as it is around Gansbaai there really isnt that much other than the shark diving in this neck of the woods. If I had my time again and as much as Dave and Caron were great host i'd probaby be staying in Hermanus area and coming over to the shark diving from there as its only 30k's away there is alot more restaurants, nice beer gardens, whale watching from right up close on the coast and very scenic too.

Took awhile to pack up and ended up hitting the road around 11:30am, its only a few hours into Cape Town so just started riding thinking unless somewhere exceptional jumps out at me ill get into town.

Well the wind by this time was really strong so made riding down the coast a real pain in the ass, as I was riding along today I was thinking to myself, is it ever not blowing a gale down here. Every day this week other than the day I went diving with the sharks has been absolutely rippin wind and even that day was probably 15 knots, I was thinking to myself if this keeps up im out of this part of the country real quick as scenic as it is it really just makes for bad riding and crappy days.

We have our winds at home to but this is just a real shit and there would want to be some magic days to make up for the constant gale force winds you have to put up with this all the time.. Ok there not gale force but 30 odd knot winds is annoying constantly. Im pretty sure its windy alot of the time, ive talked to quite a few motorcyclists and all of them have told of stories of the wind blowing them nearly off the road along the coast here and im guessing all of them dont just tell stories of motorbike riding in August.

The ride was slow cause of the howling wind but still very scenic all the same. Wasnt go to stop anywhere along here so kept riding till I got into Cape Town. I was going to head down to Simons Town about 40 minutes south of Cape Town but it looked like it was pouring with rain that way so stayed on straight into Cape Town. Arrived in town at 2:30pm and rode straight into the cbd to have a look around. The weather was windy and starting to rain so I thought I better start looking for somewhere to stay. As it was pouring with rain to the south I thought id head to the north. I remembered the guys I bumped into from Hamaan Bmw were all from the north of the city so I put hamaan Bmw in the Gps and started heading out of town.

Rode up the N1 and could see a ridge line with houses along it and thought it looked like a nice place to suss out for accommodation as everywhere else around here seems to pretty flat other than the massive mountain range.

Rode in off the highway and as per usual 3rd time lucky on somewhere to stay and again its really really nice. 450 rand or just under 60 bucks a night beautiful views looking back over table mountain and close to a shopping centre down the road. Susan has been teaching in Taiwan for 15 years on and off and has recently come home and seems really nice.

Will use this as a base for a little while in Cape Town i have to suss out something with my visa if im going to stay and do this breast cancer charity ride next month.



The view from the Saxxon Lodge in Gansbaai

Got up for breakfeast around 9 was a really nice breakfeast Susan's mother made tuna fish cakes with salad, fruit salad and a bowl of corn flakes. Was actually the nicest breakfeast ive had since ive been here im so over the big heavey bacon, eggs, sausages, fish fingers and all that other food, it was actually really nice to be fed something very healthy. Hung around for awhile the weather was really still pretty shitty rainy and windy. By lunch time it was clearing up a little so thought id go for a ride over to Hamaan Bmw and meet the guys.

Had a bit of trouble finding it as they had moved from where it was on the Gps. Ask some guy where they had moved to and he gave me pretty bodgie instructions and in the end rode around for 30 minutes with no Bmw in sight. Was happy to just ride around it was all good just getting to know the area ends up being Tyger Valley im in well being a tiger supporter thats all good. Ended up asking another guy and he pointed me in the opposite direction so off i went,wsnt that far and I found it. Walked in and said gday only to be greeted you must be Sheldon the aussie Basil mentioned. Nice to made feel welcomed. The guys grabbed me a coffee and I had a chat to Raynair, shit I think I spelt it wrong more than right but ill fix it later buddy. He had just been in Oz for a month so was telling me about that, we also talked about a ride the guys had done a month or so ago which looked and sounded awesome, he showed me all the pics on TV in the shop and looks unreal, there was talk of doing it again with me or getting me the gps coordinates so I can do it.
Hung around for awhile apparently they have booked Killarney race track near here for Sunday afternoon so got an invite out to there which should be great fun and an awesome way to meet a few crew. Rode home taking my time sussing out the area some more and got home about 4:30, on the way picked up some hot food for dinner down the supermarket and just came home and pigged out and relaxed for the night.

My baby enjoying the view of Table Mountain here in Cape Town

Another really nice breakfeast then just came back to my room and chilled out listening to the Tigers play the Sharks in the NRL. Tiges need to win to cement 4th spot for the finals next week so big game for the boys. I found a site that streams the match live from fox tv so watched the last few minutes on video. After the game I got organised and headed off to Tabe Mountain National Park for a look around. Got there and as usual it really pays to be on a bike, the parking is so easy so I got parking right at the front door of the cable car. Walked in paid the 180 rand for my ticket on the cable car and jumped on and off to the top.

Was cloudy when I arrived so the view was really limited so just had a bit of a walk around, got talking to a nice couple from East London on holidays in Cape town then heading up the west coast. He was a surfer and made boards so was good talking to him about surfing over here. Was thinking of pissing off but decided to hang around for a little while longer and im glad I did, the clouds cleared and the view was quite spectacular. Grabbed some lunch while I was up there so that was nice to relax enjoying the view eating lunch.

The one thing I did notice while I was up there was all the whinging and whining going on, oh its to cold, oh the clouds, oh the food in the restaruant wasn't good, thought of telling one whinging couple to shut the f$%k up but thought then all im doing is joining in on the whinging so I just walked to where there was no people and sat down to enjoy the view.

Decided to head down at around 4, needless to say there was a few people on the cable car whinging how crowded it was geez shut up. Got off walked the 10 metres to my bike hopped on an went for a ride along the road that runs along the base of Table Mountain. Unfortunately the road is closed due to landslips, would of been a nice ride by the look of it.
Headed

Rode down the mountain and then up the other range next to Table Mountain Signal Hill, there was some nice views back to Table Mountain from over there so grabbed a few more photos. Decided to go home as it was starting to get late so put in my Gps to avoid tollways and motorways so added about 15 k's and about 20 minutes onto the trip home but it was really nice to go through all the suburbs of Cape Town rather than just buzzing up the highway.

Stopped and got some petrol had a nice chat with a few of the boys in the service station then headed off to where im staying. Went past the shopping centre so thought id grab some chinese for dinner but since she wasnt around so i just grabbed some fried rice and honey chicken anyway, come on she was nice looking Must admit it was pretty f%^kin ordinary chinese too wont be going there again.

Got home and had a quick chat with Susan about her teaching in Taiwan and then headed up stairs to pig out on my chow. Been hanging out going through my pics etc im going to have to delete some off my pc soon its getting full otherwise go by myself a portable hard drive which im not that keen to do as its just more shit to carry.
Off to the race track tomorrow looking forward to that just to meet new people and catch up with some of the crew from the shop.









Cape Town from Table Mountain

Got up at a reasonable hour around 9:30am had breakfeast and just hung around the house for awhile. Headed down to Killarney race track at about 12:30 it was only 10k's away so a short ride. Followed the Gps to where it said it was and it had me turning off the N1 into a settlement, I thought this is the Bmw training ground, just go into a settlement and get chased by the locals and either improve your riding skills or get robbed.

I turned off the highway at the next intersection cause I saw the local crew playing soccer, so went down just next to the settlement and watched the boys play. Lets just say they were fairly ordinary, none of those guys will be scouted but they all were having fun thats for sure. This is quite near the city of Cape Town, well on the outskirts of the city and the gear they had and the field they were playing on was ordinary so im guessing the fields and gear in Ethiopia will be much the same if not worse so they will be stoked to get all the gear we are bringing to them.

Got to the race track a little late but all good the crew was all there, Bazil was there as was Rynere so said my hello's to the boys and headed over to the race track. Rynere was riding soon and Bazil had to leave to go to another do so I was just there watching the bikes. Was really good to be standing right next to the race track and watching the Bm's flying past at 250 odd k's an hour. All types of bikes from the Bmw rr 1000 to chicks on Gs 650's

Got talking to a few of the local guys from the Bmw club looks like a really nice crew of people. I ended up hanging around for quite awhile standing in pit lane on the track wall watching the boys flying around. I left there around 4ish then and hit the road home stopping at maccas for dinner, 753 maccas in Africa, I think im down to 741 to go, I really have to stop eating wimpys and all the other crap if im going to put a real dent in that number.

Dropped into the local shops to grab some money to pay my bill here and got talking to the local car park security guys. Ended up having a chat with them for awhile, one of the boys had tried to extend his antenna by himself and I got talking to him about that cause he'd stuffed it up and as it was what I used to do I explained the most likely mistake he'd made. Usually when people do jobs like that themselves they leave a connection loose so I guessed that would be his problem, ill dop back down in the next few`days to see how he went. Jumped back on my bike and headed back home I like it around here its a really nice area and Susan and her mum seem really nice.

Anyway said I might leave tomorrow but ill decide whats going on then its due to be really nice riding weather for the next few days so will head`down to Cape Point and Simons Town and see if I can find Traceys yacht and stay on it for a night or two.

The boys gearing up ready for the time on the track.

Slept into this morning, well sort of ive been waking up at 6 then going back to sleep. Had all good intentions of leaving today and lying there early I thought it would be ideal to get up and hit the road so what did I do, thought f$%k it rolled over and went back to sleep. Ive never been a morning person unless im walking out of an all night venue so it was slumber land for me for a few more hours.

Rolled out of the fart sack at a reasonable hour the sun was high enough in the sky not to cast to long a shadow. Spent a bit of time reading some adventure stories on Namibia and Malawi im looking forward to getting there but reading blogs is a great way to get information on where to go and what to see in some of the less touristy destinations.

Decided to go see if I could track down some more printing stuff for the portable printer I've got and headed over to the bigger shopping centre about 10 minutes away near Sable. Got an address off them for the Canon guys over in Montague Gardens so headed off for another 15 minutes ride to there. Ok where the f$%k is this joint theres business parks in there hundreds and im looking for central park business estate so im guessing its in the middle somewhere. Stopped to ask directions yeah righto you think you would learn they dont know where it is, i must admit if i was in a hurry it would be a bit of a pain but the more im cruising around the more im seeing of Cape Town.

While I was`riding down one of the roads I saw this chick walking down the road in a yellow tank top with the best rack so I immediatly turned the bike around and stopped to ask her directions. Everyone had been telling me about the gorgeous women in Cape Town but im sorry to say im not even sure she had a head but ohhhh mumma, I know i hear ya chicks "oh Sheldon" hey im only a mere male in the washup, ha ha.

Ended up finding Canon and they were no help and sent me on a merry chase to see another place right in the Cbd so off I go into town. It was a really nice day for a ride so was enjoying riding around lost. Ended up in obviously the wrong place and a seedy part of town but hey there was a Kfc so it wasnt all bad and partly civilized. Stopped and looked up google on my phone and realised there was another Long street about 25 minute away so thought id give that a go. Rode into town and around and around and yep this is the one, found some parking on the footpath and walked around the corner to Cameraland.

Walk in cool, got the paper and the battery for the printer which I was thinking of getting as the 12 volt charger doesent seem to have enough charge to do the printing off the bike battery. Waited around for awhile they had the battery but no printer paper or the cartridges which is what I needed though ive got about 150 sheets to use and ink for that. I ordered some paper and ink hopefully they will have them in for me but oh well ill work that out as I go, if they dont get it in time so be it theres lots of other big cities on my trip.

The battery for the printer cost 750 rand about a 100 bucks a bit expensive but it will be great to be able to give the more remote kids the photos I take other than just the city kids ive been giving them to at the moment. Got back on the bike and rode around heading in the general direction of home you can see it from the everywhere its the first ridge line outside of the city to the north so just kept heading that way.

Traffic was really heavy as it was peak hour but just enjoyed cruising along slowly enjoying the view of Table Mountain and the city. Got home and had a rest was pretty rooted actually been on the search for this stuff and getting home after 6 hours riding and searching, was a very interesting day seeing alot of the different suburbs of Cape Town along the way.

Had a chat to Susan for a little while and asked how come they are bed and breakfeasts and not bed and dinners. Talked about the Afrikaans lingo and how hard it is to understand some of it and their pronounciations of things.
Went up to my room and started packing my stuff up, tomorrow I will make a move to Cape Point and down to Simons Town. Pacjing away for awhile and there's a knock on my door, Susan had made a nice steak and vegies dinner for me, now that's a nice surprise. Pigged it down and took the plate back down to say thank you and then just cruised back and have just been relaxing now doing my blog for the day.

Watching some documentry on TV on September 11, shit its nearly 10 years ago, crazy stuff thats gone fast. When I see docos on this stuff it always reminds me of a comment the x President Bill Clinton said in a speech after it, that if the Americans spent 5% of the increase of the military budget after 9/11 they could feed everyone in Africa for 2 years, thats 5% of the increase not the actual budget, bloody silly the wars we fight arent they.

The view from my bedroom

Got up and finished packing the bike up so by around 10 I was ready to go. Had a chat to Susan for awhile then jumped on the bike and hit the road. Road down towards the coast could of just hit he N1 into town but this was a sight seeing ride so the coast it was. The north side of the city is pretty standard beaches just like anywhere really so kept cruising into town. Just around the corner from Cape Town city central the area becomes a bit more upper class obviously this neck of the woods is where it gets the tag little Monaco but im guessing Monaco doesent have a filthy big dock sitting in front of it with run down ships in there being worked on, well maybe it has maybe i’ll find out one day.

Kept heading out of town on the coast road, im guessing pretty expensive to stay around here, it reminded me a lot of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast high rise right on the beach everywhere pretty much a cement desert but the board walk looked nice.

Next village or town was Camps Bay, looks like a good place to hang out lots of nice restaraunts beer gardens etc right on the beach so if your into that sort of thing Camps Bay would be a nice place to hang out. Very scenic and great looking beach. Did think about stopping for a drink but decided to keep riding still had a few hours riding ahead of me.

Next place was Haugt Bay I think thats how it’s spelt very pretty around here. Went off the highway and down to the beach front was alot of surfers here surfing some smallish waves but the water looked great. Was interesting to see a big sign warning of Great White sharks im sure that must put off any one other than die hard surfers which is always a good thing, maybe its something Byron Bay could look at doing lol

From there the road became more a rural highway what a ride, would be fantastic to have it by your self you could certainly hump along here and have some fun but the scenary is breath taking so crusing along and taking it all in is just as nice for the first time.

Rode along alot of it with my camera in my hand videoing it was quite spectacular and certainly one of the rides you should do if you are in South Africa and you always have the Cape of Good Hope at the end as a goal.
Arrived at the entrance to Cape of Good Hope where they hit you up for 80 Rand ok about 11 bucks aussie so not to bad for a National Park.

Its certainly a nice view down at Cape Point but its the most South Westerly point not the most southerly point which is Cape L’agulhas. Why I was there I thought to myself why not have the most SSE point and the NNE NWE and all the different points on the compass as they all have to be there somewhere. In saying that it certainly is a beautiful part of the world looking back into False Bay.

Got the little train service they had that runs up to the lighthouse, I know lazy shit but hey its like 4 bucks aussie return and looks like about a 20 minute steep hike up tp the top.

Did the regulation photo shoot up there and then headed over to the restaraunt and grabbed a pizza and a coke for lunch. Got talking to an really nice Indonesian guy from Jakarta who had lived in Sydney for awhile he was over here for a week or two, I really dont know how people travel like that would be rush rush rush, i’ve been in South Africa for over 2 months now and I feel like ive been rushing through.

Went down to official South westerly point you know the one where all the photos are taken got one of me then everyone pissed off so I grabbed the bike and parked in front of the sign and took another. Always a good way to spoil a good photo by putting my mug in it. Ok it was about 4:30 so had to start making tracks to find accomodation. Rode into Simons Town 30 odd k’s away and the did the regulation look around actually took me 4 joints this time but the first one was up a massive hill with the bike parked on the street so it would of been a mission to unpack and pack the bike the next was like shitloads, over a 100 bucks aussie a night so that was out. I know im being a bit tight with money and the more i spend on a bed the less I have for hitting the piss.
Ended up back just out of town where they do the penguin watching and went down and asked they wanted to much again so went 50 metres up the road and found a nice little self catering place for bugger all with amazing views so that was me im in. Its so nice here ill probably hang for a few days. I should email Andy from Ecotours sa and let him know im in town and grab a beer with him somewhere.

I saw False Bay yacht club as I was riding through town so Traceys yacht is here somewhere too so ill have a look for that tomorrow, at this stage ill probably just stay here but should go stay at least one night on the boat it would be a great part of the journey to say i stayed on a yacht in Simons Town South Africa.

All in all a great days riding with some amazingly spectacular scenary and 10 minutes ago i was watching penguins 10 metres from my door squarking away. Little ol happy feets better not be morning birds or there will be hell to pay I dont care how cute and protected they are lol

Lying on my bed I have an absolutely amazing view back across False Bay, ive certainly lucked a great place to stay and ilsa the lady that runs this place seems really nice too.

Time for slumber land Adios amigos

Haught bay

Woke up around 9 beautiful morning to just hang around here. Went for a walk down the path between the front lawn and the beach there is penguins everywhere. Took a few photos, you can get so close to them they certainly cute little things.

Around lunch time I headed down into town and suss out Tracey's yacht in the harbour and see what the deal is, I prked the bike down near the marina and walked over to the False Bay Yacht Club and asked about Tracey's yacht and yeah no probs I'm in the right spot. Walked over and its moored in the middle of the harbor pretty big thing I'm not exactly sure how long but it must be 30 odd foot or more. Jumped on and had a look around but it was locked up ill have to go into the office and get the keys on another day, at this stage I'm happy where I am even though its costing me money it just so nice and relaxing back over there in Boulders just out side of Simons Town. Talked to the guys ont he shark diving boat moored next to Traceys yacht they actually charge a hell of a lot more than they do up in Kliensbaai, nearly double which is a bit strange but oh well what ever you can get away with I guess, but 350 bucks is getting up there I wont be doing it again at that price.

Walked back over to the restaraunts and sat down grabbed a beer and ordered some calamari and prawns. Was really nice sitting there having a few beers and lunch so hung out there longer than I expected it was really nice on the waterfront relaxing enjoying the views. As I walked back over to my bike there was a couple standing there looking at it Kelly and Shelly were locals and got talking to them for a fair while. Always nice to meet local people anxd have a bit of a yarn.

I had left home a few hours ago ridden 3 k's and it was like 3:30 4 oclock so i thought id jump on and go for a bit of a ride. Rode a few suburbs away the train track runs right along the ocean front looks like it would be an amazing train ride even if short and if you commute to work along here it would be a nice way to start and end your day.Had a little look around at Fish Hoek but was getting a bit late so I headed back to the lodge over at Boulders. Stopped on the way to get a bit of food for dinner then went down as it was peak hour for the penguins and watched them for awhile they certainly don't fear us humans they were merrily dancing away doing there own thing.

Ilsa came over and asked if I wanted to go for a walk so chucked my shoes on and off we went with the dogs through the golf course on the other side of the hill here in Boulders, ill have to do it in the day time it looks very nice around here. Had a really nice chat Ilsa as we strolled around, she had been through some difficult times after an accident too so it was nice to talk to someone that went through alot of the ups and downs that I have been through in the recovery process. We got back home said good night and I came into my little apartment and crashed it's just so nice here I had have to say nearly the best so far, I can jsut lie on my bed and look out the front window over this amazing view over False Bay, you would think I would go and stay on the yacht for one night but this is certainly going to be hard to beat.

Traceys yacht



The view from my bed here in Boulders near Simons Town.

The` weather was pretty shitty today so did Sweet FA which was bloody unreal I love doing nothing so when the weather comes in theres no excuse to go for a ride or do anything. I've still got this cough I've had for a few weeks and it is starting to shit me, im sick of it every f$#king year when the weather cools down, one day ill find the right medicine to fix it but the shit ive been given this year is just not cutting the mustard.
At one stage over the last few days I thought it was getting better but this shitty day has brought it back on. It really is annoying oh well eventually ill drag my hump back to the doctors again and try something else.

Basically hung around here all day uploading pictures to my blog in advrider.com I dont know how many people actually read the blog on my rideforsmiles.com website but over 3000 people have logged in on here as its a dedicated motorcycle adventure site.

I should spend some time doing more pictures but with Facebook, Advrider and my website blog it all just gets to much, I'll have to do something about it to lessen the workload with the blogging or it will become just to much and they will all suffer.
Met Ilsa's daughter and her friend Roz today, Roz knew Tracey from down the yacht club and told me that they will be out on Saturday night down there so might be a good excuse to go stay and have a few drinks.

Ilsa just came over and brought me a nice hot dinner which was really nice I was just starting to get hungry and it certainly beats jam sambos that I was looking at having.

The Tigers are playing tomorrow mid morning time here so looking forward to listening to that tomorrow, go the Tiges. No other plans im really just enjoying spending time in this amazing place walking out my front door and onto the beach watching the penguins in 20 seconds is pretty nice and relaxing.

The picture below is the view from the the front lawn yesterday, it really is beautiful here.

Had a really cruisey day today, my back and neck are up the shit, oh well tell someone that cares hey. Went for a ride over to Fish Hoek to have a bit more of a look around and ride as many roads as I can in the local area around here. While I was there I found a electronic repair shops so asked about fixing the microphone on my phone Nolan helmet setup. The bloke in there said he couldn't do it but said theres a shop up the road, so off I trudge in search of it. Walk in tell them what I need and they take me and my helmet out the back into the repair shop and get to work. Bit of friggin round a few changes in the configuration of the wiring and its done.

I'll have to write down the wiring details as its actually flimsy as shit. Went for a bit more of a ride along the coast road mountains on one side the ocean on the other was pretty nice riding even if it was to nowhere. The roads in South Africa are really good and with the mountain range right on the coast there is amazing rides just everywhere. Came back into Simons Town and had lunch in a nice restaraunt right on the waterfront called Berthas prawns and Calamari washed down with beer and a durrie so really nice.

Came home and just relaxed watching the penguins coming ashore, they certainly are cute and weird looking creatures and walked right up to me i was so close I could of kicked them back into the ocean but im guessing that wouldnt of gone down to well it the penguin souviner shop across the road.

Enjoying Simons Town (below) its a really nice spot around here but will have to make a decision on what im doing in the next few days either way.

Went for a cruise looking for some fun rides today and found one basically straight up from the back of Simons Town. It's only a short ride but would make an awesome hill climb circuit, I got stuck into it a little bit, was alot of fun, any time you get up to 130 odd k's and are breaking hard on a windy road with the cliffs right there on your side it is always a nice feeling.

I've noticed the front shocks on the beemer dive pretty hard when you hit the brakes, a problem I had read about but when your riding like that it certainly comes into play. Will be interesting to see how it goes when I hit the dirt roads in Namibia but im sure it will be fine as long as I take it easy.

Rode over to Fish Hoek again and went and had some lunch in one of the supermarkets while I was there got talking to a nice guy Clive whose heading on a cruise in a few weeks on the Queen Mary ocean liner, some people have the life don't they, my old man has been on the QE2 a few times but im sure there both excellent, certainly not your regulation piss head cruise I bet.

Dropped down the waterfront for a beer ended up having a chat to Ian a local guy that had strolled over to have a chat, its great your never get lonely when im on the bike, people just constantly come up to say hello, its really nice. Hung arufn for awhile then came back and just hung out watching the penguins was lucky enought to have a mother and her two chicks (i think thats what they call them) come right up to me as i sat there it was a real nice experience. Came back to the lodge and hung out watching TV, still got that cough but picked up some different cough medicine will see how that goes.

Here's a couple of my little mates from Boulders.

Went down to town to find somewhere to watch the Springboks first game in the world cup, the aussies played in the middle of the night here so yeah whatever. Was surprised that the clubs werent chokers like they were for the Wallabies Springbok tri nations games, im not sure i know the world cup is on free to air so maybe everyone is at home watching it.

Ended up at the False Bay yacht club watching it with about 30 people met a few nice people down there, had only just walked in the door and Geoff had a beer for me. Had a nice time chatting to Dan, Martin and another guy that owned a Bmw gs 800, he had done his front shocks, funny that i met him after only thinking about yesterday, maybe its a sign , doo do doo do doo do doo do doo do. He also suggested putting the wider footpegs on, not the first time thats been recommended to me but at this stage ill be leaving it as it is im not spending 7 or 8 hundred bucks on that stuff, i know tight ass,ok ill think about it but I've never been one to farkle anything let along a pretty much brand new Bmw.

Went down stairs after the game and had some lunch standard calamari and a few chips, wasnt the biggest meal ive ever had maybe im looking like I could do with losing some weight and they were being nice. Left there and rode back to the jetty to see if there was any action over on the waterfront, not much going on down here today which is surprising considering its Sunday afternoon, anyway grab a seat order a beer a chicken bunger light up a fag and chill out watching anything worth perving on, ok 5 minutes later ive scoffed down my burger sculled my beer and im out of there, it aint happening here.

Been reading alot of blogs on Namibia in the last few nights im getting keen to get there and see what its all about, i was thinking of renewing my visa here in South Africa and hanging around but im not sure if I could be stuffed running around doing paperwork, i think it would be easier just get on my bike and piss off.

The afternoon was relaxing, just reading up on some more on Namibia and Malawi enjoying the view from the lodge. Pretty sure ill be out of here and leaving towards Namibia on Tuesday. Met some really fantastic people here in South Africa and loved every minute of it, the roads and rides i have done and been shown have been amazing just one after the other and there hasnt been one I havent really enjoyed. They say Namibia is fantastic riding if they are saying that here it must be just brilliant.

Just reading the local newspaper and the local South Africa crime stats, for the first time ever less than 17000 people have been murdered in a year, that works out 1 every 32 odd minutes bloody classic im surprised they have such high unemployment with stats like that.

Where im staying the lady who runs this polace was telling me her daughter was having her lawns mowed the other week and the guy whipper snipping flicked a rock up and smashed one of her windows so she asked if they would put in to cover some of the cost of the window so instead of saying yeak ok like in most other countries the guy pulled a knife out and grabbed her and was going to cut her throat in front of her kids, fortunately her husband walked in and the guy put the knife down, I guess they wont be using that lawnmower man again, if it wasnt so serious some of the shit that happens over here would make a good comedy.

Photo below the view from Berthas Restaraunt in Simons Town where I spent a fair bit of my time while I was around here.

Had a good ride today just back around past the turn off to the Cape of Good Hope not going in there again been there done that so just kept riding along the road I had come in on the other day as it was so nice. As I left Boulders here in Simons Town there is a young bloke up the top of the hill in a penguin suit you know the deal encouraging everyone to turn in and come and see the penguins always smiling waving etc I stopped to have a chat with him cause hes always the first thing you see and last you see when you leave this area. Sly was from Malawi and down here to work and had found this job, he was a pretty happy chappy so im guessing this line of work suited him down to the ground as much as hes just up there by himself on the turn off, no one really would stop to talk to him as its a pretty busy little intersection.

Talked to him for a few minutes and slipped him a tip of a 100 rand note which isnt much like 15 bucks or something but you should of seen his eyes light up I found out later thats more than a days wages for him so no wonder he was pretty stoked, I still felt pretty cheap giving him that. He was such a happy outgoing person, doing his best to survive and willing to doing anything he could for him and his family. Took off on my ride and stopped so many times a guy doing a 80k cycle was keeping up with me, eventually he stopped and we had a chat for awhile. We were watching the guys surf down there in the remotest of spots and I said its a bit narky (sharky) down there, but he assured me its worse over the other side of False Bay and that there had actually been a guy taken and killed in Plettenberg a few days after I left. It didnt make the papers, I guess it must of been around the time when 17 school kids died in the bus smash there in Knysna Plettenberg area a few weeks back so that sort of probably took the gloss off that blokes claim to fame. One bloke surfing taken by a shark pffft not even news worthy over here.

Took off riding again, the coast road is certainly an amazing ride, runs all the way along the cliff face looking down over the ocean. Had good intentions of following it all the way back to Camps Bay but obviously took a wrong turn somewhere and just kept riding till I thought hang on where am i. So I did the only thing you can do in this situation I just kept going. The road wound up over the mountain range another fantastic ride I have to say, whizzed past a couple of cars and trucks one a cop car, he wasnt going to catch me once I got past with all the trucks so it wasnt a big deal and I had clear road ahead which was fantastic.

The road just kept winding away through the mountains up and down then I came to the top of the last one and thought hang on a minute thats got to be wrong im looking north arent I im supposed to heading south as far as I knew. Oh well better check the Gps out so turned it on and yeah sure enough I was about 30 k's north west of where I wanted to be and heading away from where I had thought I was, Oh well you get that. Could see the ocean so thought well I'll just head down there and wind my way back along the coast, the good thing about around here all you have to do is head up a hill and you can see for miles. On the way past through a few suburbs then ended up in Miuzberg looks like a pretty nice little town, I read about a shoot out here the other day in the newspaper standard stuff couple fo guys shot dead having a running gun battle with the cops, you know every day fun stuff they do here in South Africa.

Rode into town and had a look around, it actually looks ok and I felt really comfortable, there alot of sufers hanging around on the main beach. Didnt stay long in town as I wanted to keep riding and headed up the hill that runs behind the town. Stopped half away along and was taking some pics and some guys pulls over and says hi, he actually lives in the eastern suburbs of Sydney back in Australia and was from here in Miuzberg and must of seen the NSW number plates on the bike. Had a chat for a little while but as we were both stopped on the footpath we headed off pretty quicky.
Kept following the coast along till I reached Fish Hoek and stopped for a good healthy lunch and dinner, got to love KFC. While I was there dropped into a fabric shop to get some iron on patch for my jeans I ripped when I fell over the fence blind drunk after the night out with Helen in Durban that will be good it aint getting smaller that rip and I paid a shitloads for these jeans so might as well look after them.

Anyway just came back and relaxed tonight and did sweet fa, changed my website around so its linked to Advrider, im sick of doing two blogs for no reason so it should be easier to upload pics and keep up to date. Hopefully everyone from there can read the blog here in Advrider, I'll have to check on whether you have to become a member to actually read the blogs, I cant remember off hand. It is my excuse for having so few pictures uploaded in here, that should change now I'm not double dipping on blogging

Decided ill be heading to Namibia either tomorrow or the next depending on the weather im not going to start in the rain as there is no need. Rang up the AA car place its like out NRMA or RACQ you know the deal roadside assistant mobs to see if I could get a Comesa Yellow Card third part insurance but apparently the borders arent reconising them now so you have to do it at the borders or get them from Lusaka in Zambia so thats another problem solved and that I dont have to worry about. Had tossed up on renewing my visa here in South Africa but stuff it been here for nearly 3 months its time to get cracking.

Everyone from South Africa tells me the riding in Namibia is brilliant, if they think its brilliant compared to here it sounds like alot of fun. Im really looking forward to getting there, its onkly 650 k's to the border but ill probably take a week or so to get there they do say the west coast is pretty nice so ill just cruise up there and have a look around on my way. Where im going I dont know ^^^^^^ that way somewhere.l

Everyone keeps telling me im living the dream this bloke I bumped into looks like he's doing ok too lol

Got up and nearly thought about staying, ive certainly enjoyed relaxing and the riding around Simons Town it certainly is a nice part of the world and a really nice way to finish off the garden route but in the end decided it was time to go so up and packed up the bike. The weather is a little shitty today but will be ok, the speed at which weather fronts come and go in this neck of the woods it will be clear in a few hours. I tried to download some music for Roz off the portable hard drive I bought the other day and uh oh whats that friggin smoke coming from it. Ripped the power out of it straight away, just great, had spent a few hours downloading everything off my computer yesterday like 180 gigs of music movies and all my photos videos etc from Thailand, New Zealand, Tasmania South Africa and home, im hoping ill be able to retreive it somehow later but it really sucks, I said to Roz oh well if I've lost all those photos I'll just have to travel back to those places and take them again.

Said my goodbyes to Ilsa and Roz was really nice to meet and spend some time with them I just loved the pad I stayed in, the only problem with it was with such a magnificent view from bed it was hard to get out of it. We got a few photos before I left and off I went. Stopped up the road to have a quick chat to Spy and say cya later he was still happy about the few bucks I slipped and said his wife was happy too. Sort of wish I hasd given him more. Got talking about his home back in Malawi and his uncle represented Malawi at soccer and where he got his name so was nice to talk about Malawian soccer. Said cya later to Spy and hit the road.

Went left to ride back along the coast but 5 minutes down the road I thought I better go back to Fish Hoek and talk to the boys that sold me the hard drive and see what we can do at least its marked down as stuffed now if I track down the manufacturer. they wanted to hold onto it but the likely hood of seeing all my pictures again was zero if I did so held onto it I'll take it to a shop somewhere along the line and see what I can do. Rode back and cut across the mountain range then turned where I was supposed to yesterday. By this time it was raining pretty steadily the road was fairly slippery so just using more back brake, not that it mattered I was going at a snails pace along the cliff face but thats ok the view even in the wet is absolutely amazing.

Stopped at one spot and there was a few other guys stopped had a chat to, Andrea riding a Bmw gs 1200 the other guy I think was riding a harley they dont talk to us Bmw guys. They had ridden down from Johannasburg via Springbok so pretty much a ride around the country. They were off to Hermanus so told them about the Windsor Hotel that its reasonably priced and in a excellent location. Got back on the road and got into Cape Town and found the Canon shop without the Gps so getting to know my way around altrady. While I was at a set of lights I heard a honk of a horn behind me to turn around and theres the guy from the yacht club that own the gs 800 and had given me the tips on the suspension and footpegs. He was in his van so we had a shouting conversation was nice to bump into someone I knew un the main drag of Cape Town. Picked up some more printer paper and ink catridges so that was worth dropping in for, I've got about a 180 pictures I can take and give to the kids and families I meet now with my portable printer. That should see me through for awhile.

Jumped back on the bike and started riding back out to Plettenkloof to stay at Susan's again but took a wrong turm so just kept going. The good news is you can see the ridge line she lives on from anywhere so just kept heading in that direction was getting closer to the turn off and then I saw the sign to Cape Namibia, last time I saw that sign I thought if I was kitted up id be out of here so this time as I was kitted up i did and just kept riding past the Plettenkloof turn off and im on my way to Namibia. Rode for an hour or two and ended up in Langebaan. Cruised into town and straight down to the waterfronnt as usual when ive been pulling up into the coastal towns. All the shops were closed, turns out theres been a blackout all day so everyone has gone home.

Cruised back to where I had seen a pretty nice b&b and ok im in for the night, to easy. A little bit exy but this looks like a tourist town so i guess they can get away with it. In saying that it's still fairly reasonable. Unpacked the bike then went for another ride through town, as I was cruising along noticed the chick in front had a flat tyre so followed her into the shops to let her know and see if I can help, you know`the karma credit rule, im sure there will be somewhere along the line I need a hand with my bike. Grabbed the spare out then a few of the local boys came over to help as well so basically in the end I chatted to her while they did it then just checked it put the flat away and then said goodbye. She had actually just been in Thailand where her girlfriend had a stroke which was no good, she is home now she said the hospitals were great over there and full of Aussies having plastic surgery, I cracked a joke saying while I was there I went to the hospital for a sore finger and came out with three tits so got to love that.

Anyway back in my room at the lodge im not sure about this area, seems ok but something tells me to get out of here tomorrow and they do say follow your gut instincts the funny thing is im sure its fine here and even the guys helping changing the tyre this afternoon were really nice, the last place I had this feeling was East London. Plus the fact there really does seem to be f&*k all around here unless you want to hot the Mykonos casino in the next suburb or the beach in the wind. oh there does look like there is two really nice golf courses here though, you know why they call golf golf don't you, it was because f&*k and shit were already taken.

As much as I like playing golf I dont think ive ever walked off a golf course and not been pissed about a putt I should of got or that one shot i duffed even when I hit my best score of 77 theres always that one or two shots that could of made it better.

A shot of my baby enjoying the Cape of Good hope scenery on the way out od Simons Town.

The coast road on todays ride

The Penguin Man, Spy from Malawi