I don’t think that anyone going to Misty Mountain on Friday morning left their raincoats at home but we arrived in brilliant sunshine that was to set the scene for a brilliant weekend.
10 bikes left from the meeting point in Bapsfontein on a leisurely ride to Groblersdal with Colin in the lead. On arrival in Groblersdal Colin lead us to a remarkably modern shopping complex in this little farming town. Some of us had a regular fast food lunch while Csaba and Lyn did Jorge proud with a health meal next door at Juicy Lucy.
The ride on towards the Stofberg Pass and Roossenekal became increasingly scenic and to add a bit of a challenge to our serene surroundings we dodged a few potholes - but the road around these obstacles was good enough to provide an easy passage and did not affect the enjoyment factor.
Our first, and as far as I can recall, the only negative incident on the entire trip occurred. And as much as I would like to dramatize this event (short of calling in the ‘You Magazine’) I can do nothing much with it. I was riding TEC and Adrian du Toit was directly in front of me – Adrian suddenly came to an abrupt stop (lucky for the 2 sec rule). A bee had gone up Adrian’s sleeve and he needed to remove the sting from his arm. The people in front continued riding but clearly noticed the missing headlights and within a few kilometres Roy Moore passed us going in the opposite direction. A bit of a chain reaction followed and Csaba did the same thing. The four of us then hotted up the pace and had quite an exciting ride catching the group.
With only a short trip remaining from Lydenburg to the resort most of us filled up so that we were ready for the ride in the morning. Situated half way down the Long Tom Pass lays the secluded Misty Mountain Resort. The isolation and beauty of the surrounding mountains make an idyllic setting for a place of relaxation. We arrived around 16H00 in good time to check in, unpack, clean up and head for the pub/patio. The rooms are clean, quite large and more than adequate.
It was immediately evident that we had a particularly social crowd and, with the aid of Colin’s excellent organization and encouragement to mix, we were all like old friends within the hour. The rest of the crowd that had ridden on their own were either there or arrived a bit later making a total party of 31. On Friday night dinner was á la carte, which yielded high quality food with friendly and efficient service. Colin announced that breakfast would only be available at 08H00 the following day so the road and off-road rides would commence around 09H00.
After a peaceful evening and a good night’s sleep for all, I trust, we met in the morning at breakfast and then gathered in front of the hotel entrance for the ride briefing. Colin introduced Rupert Culwick as the off-road ride leader, Csaba as the road ride TEC and me as the leader.
Colin left with Rupert and a young rider from the area on their off-road adventure while the rest of us gathered together for the road ride.
Our route took us through Sabie and the first brief stop was in Pilgrim’s Rest. From Csaba’s positive comments this early it was obvious that we had a happy and cooperative team. On yet another beautiful sunny day even the ladies seemed more interested in riding than shopping, despite the quaint little village and curio shops surrounding us. So, we were soon on the road again heading for Ohrigstad up Robber’s Pass. We had arranged with Doug, Glynnis, Malcolm and Graeme to meet at a little shopping centre in Ohrigstad. Glynnis had informed us of the furniture shop in the centre that specializes in log-style furniture. Referring to this as ‘Log-style’ does not do the remarkable quality of this furniture any justice at all, it is truly a work of art and I was just not sure what to call it. Everyone was fascinated by the shop and its goods and I think it was a blessing that we could only window shop or it might have turned into an expensive stop for many.
Our next meeting point was at the viewing point just through the Strydom Tunnel. The view was magnificent on this clear day and it was quite unique to see the normally passive little river below raging like the Amazon. From here we made the short trip to the Mad Dogz restaurant on the Hoedspruit road. The restaurant is very country style with an interesting menu, good food (I heard no complaints) and friendly service.
We had time to eat, relax and chat but we did not linger long because I think the people still wanted to make use of the ideal riding conditions. It is worthwhile mentioning that Tony had warned us of the potholes on the Ohrigstad and surrounding roads, some of them looked like moon craters but luckily with a bit of concentration and some good tar around them we navigated our way through without any serious incidents, Elton did manage to hit one when his view was obscured by a car but was lucky enough to escape with nothing more than a jolt and a fright.
We turned off on the Graskop/Blyderivier Canyon road after passing back through the Strydom Tunnel and headed towards God’s Window. As we approached God’s window the scattered clouds gathered together and provided the all too familiar blanket that envelopes the awesome view that so many of us frequently encounter when visiting this wonder of South Africa. We stopped in the car park and everyone decided that it was not worth the walk to the viewing point as we could see the cloud cover quite clearly from where we stood. It was rather ironic that this blanket of cloud should accumulate at God’s Window since we experienced precisely the opposite in the clear skies that we had for the rest of the trip. The weather on the whole trip seemed like a ‘God’s Window’ in the persistent inclement weather we have been experiencing of late and we still need to find out how Colin arranged this with the weatherman.
Graskop was the refilling point before the intended short ride home. We left Graskop with me in the lead, full of confidence, only to find we were heading in the wrong direction. It was still early, around 16H00, and once again, we had clear skies so after a short consultation on the side of the road it was decided, with the encouragement of Csaba, that we should ride on to Bushbuckridge. Here we encountered some traffic but very good wide roads and were able to put this small amount of congestion behind us quickly. The traffic soon subsided and the roads grew increasingly scenic and interesting as we approached Hazyview. I don’t think it is necessary to elaborate on the roads and scenery between Hazyview, Sabie and the Long Tom Pass. We had kept a lively and relaxed pace all day but as we entered into the two passes we stepped it up to a respectable but comfortable speed that everyone seemed to be happy with. At the end of the ride everyone appeared to agree that the unplanned detour was probably the best bit of road that we had ridden all day.
Back to the resort at about 17H00 and again after a quick clean up we all met on the patio. Colin had arranged a braai for us that evening, which was most enjoyable. There was a party atmosphere in the dining room and everyone seemed to be in extremely jovial spirits, there was much laughter, a lot of talking, and even a bit of singing.
I think it is pertinent at this point to thank Colin for his, as always, excellent organization and his ability to bring people together that made this trip a special one that I, and most others I am sure, will not forget. Also thanks to Csaba as the TEC and his positive attitude that contributed to the uniqueness of the event.
Footnote: To all those budding singers I have to inform you that I have formally had my birthday cancelled with the department of Births and Registers but on the bright side I intend to make a passionate appeal to the committee to allow me to appoint a Club Choir Master. We will then have compulsory choir practices once a week.
Sincere thanks to everyone for the (repeated) good wishes on the evening.
Written by: John Balsdon