When two woman get together and chat (Jenny & Anne), you can be sure something is going to happen. That is exactly how this ride started. Being winter their thoughts lead to warm clothes and in this case warm socks. Last year on one of our winter rides we landed up in Clarens, there the same two ladies bought some mohair and woollen socks. They decided that they “had to” have some more. So a ride down was in the making. There is no other way of going to Clarens than by bike, never can understand why there are so many cars in Clarens when we get there, don’t those people have a life?
Now you can’t go on a bike ride and not give it a name, so what more appropriate than the item they wanted to go and buy, Winter SOX!!! So the ride now had a name, a date was set and of course you can’t go to Clarens and not stay in Fouriesburg Inn. One conversation either side lead to another person joining and then another and this one mentioned it to that one and pretty soon the group grew from 4 to over 20. Now that is the great thing about biking, or real biking, you don’t need a “good” reason to go for a weekend ride; you just need a group of friends and an open road.
Plans were finalised, bookings made and deposits paid, Of course Fouriesburg Inn was only too glad to accommodate us, we, the BMW Club Central, had sort of become regulars over the past year or so, with numerous visits to that area. Groups ranged from 20 to over 50 people, the Inn has always accommodated us and catered for our every request. Not to mention the great Vetkoek.
As the departure date approached the temperatures seemed to drop at the same ratio as the approach. How often does that seem to happen, you make plans a month in advance but as the date arrives the weather seems to turn, either cold or rain looms over the horizon. The impending cold caused one and only one withdrawal, the other couple that withdrew was not because of weather. So the figure dropped to an even 20 people and 14 bikes. Of the 14 bikes 12 were true blue blooded BMW’s and then we had 2 other bikes. In the 14 bikes there were 4 lady riders brave enough to tackle the cold, there were Anne, Pat, Theresa and a newbie to the group Catrien. Always nice to see lady riders in the group, well done ladies, now let’s see more of you ladies out there riding your own bikes. Just think how much more clothes you can pack if you have your own bike!!! Or how much more you can buy and take home on your own bike.
As the departure day arrived the temperatures seem to drop accordingly until we saw the dreaded minus in front of the figures. This “-“ sign in front of a temperature is a sort of physiological thing and should not be used as an excuse not to ride ones bike. Dress the part and you won’t even notice the cold, well that is what I tell everybody.
Saturday morning we congregated, as usual, at the Blockhouse, some earlier than others or is it some later than most, some even not at all. After a cup of coffee and something to eat we saddled up and got ready to leave, still missing an LT, GS and a Dakar. Something I don’t do, is wait for the late comers, how long do you wait? 10minutes? 15 minutes? I leave 1 minute after the advertised time. In this case I did not want to keep Roy and Suzie, on their newly acquired GTL, waiting alongside the road near Vereeniging where they waited to join the group.
The route down was via Koppies onto Kroonstad. The temperature quickly dropped to -2C and stayed there for most of the ride. The first stop Kroonstad, saw the temps rise to only 2C. As the riders got off their bikes you could see a few frozen bodies making a bee-line into the Wimpie for warmth. The breakfast seemed to drag on this time, I don’t think there were too many eager riders wanting to get back into the saddle so soon. The 3 bikes that arrived late at the Blockhouse appeared here and joined the rest of the group. By the time we did get to leave, it was up to the 9C mark, what a difference that made. A lot more comfortable to ride in those temps.
The road from Blockhouse was good, the odd pothole, but nothing serious at all. The road ahead via Steynsrus to Bethlehem was an unknown route. This route was chosen to give the two “new” bikes the distance required to clock up the kilometres for their first service. The turnoff to Steynsrus appeared and down the road we went. I thought to myself – this aint so bad!! The road was in a good condition and the country side not so bad at all. This however did not last too long. Those dreaded stop-‘n-go’s appeared and appeared all too often. In total, to Bethlehem, there must have been 8 or more. We however seemed to catch them in the “go” mode which was not that bad after all. But still not a road I would rave about, maybe in a years’ time when all the work is done it will be better. So for now, not on my list of “to ride roads”
Arriving at Fouriesburg Inn was a quick “stop-drop-‘n-go”. The luggage was unloaded and we readied ourselves for the ride to Clarens. Now some of you may know the road from Fouriesburg to Clarens, then I need not explain myself anymore, but for those of you that don’t know the road..... This is the road where I blew my bikes engine a while back. This is the road with what must be the nicest sweeps in the country, I am told the scenery is also great, although I don’t get much opportunity to look around when I ride this road (for obvious reasons). The group left in an orderly manner, but that did not last too long. In each biker there is a bit of hooligan and in some hooligans there is a bit of biker. On this stretch of road your true colours appear. Here you can see the GS/GSA’s lack that top end, the other brands with us, a Kawa and a Tiger sure made a point to show us that they had the been put together with speed in mind and we soon saw the arse end of them. It’s only 30kms but what a great 30kms and is over so fast. If you have never ridden this stretch – try it, you WILL like it.
First stop in Clarens is always the Artist cafe, great place to eat and the owners are always there to spoil us. I just walked in and asked for a table for 20 and within minutes this was arranged. What is so great here is that separate bills are not a problem or a big issue with them. Now it may not sound important but whenever we travel in a group we organize (or try) separate bills, makes paying so much easier for everybody. Food is always great and I can recommend it for a meal.
The ladies who had initially started the idea of the Winter SOX Run had waited long enough now, they started to hit the shops to find these illusive SOX. Most of the guys went “looking for petrol”, a clever way of staying out the shops. Again no 95 Octane, which is not good news if you ride the new boxer engines. So it was R100 of “what you got” and a slow ride back to Fouriesburg Inn. After a while we all seemed to find our respective partners and headed back like good bikers. No racing, well not for me, I know what 93 does to my bike and I was not going to take that chance again. We all got back to the Inn around 16h00, unpacked, changed and headed to the lounge, where a old coal stove was burning away heating the area to a very comfortable temperature.
This is the time when everybody chats about the ride, about the bikes and generally has a good laugh and to catch up if you have not seen the person in a while. Again for those that don’t do biking and don’t do BM biking, you would not understand. Ones priority does not necessarily revolve around drinking but around chatting and laughing. Plans are made for future rides and everything from routes, clothing and bikes are discussed, for a non biker we must appear to be daft, don’t worry “non bikers” we all think you are daft!!!
If you watch the Discovery channel, on DSTV, and see the mass migration of the animals in Africa then the scene that unveils when the call is made for dinner is very similar. Maybe not the shear volumes but the result is the same, we move from one area to the next - after food. Same thing, different animal!!! There is never a need to make the same announcement twice. If its food you are after, then Fouriesburg Inn is the place to be at around 19h00. The staff had again set up a huge table for us, to seat all 20 at one table. Let the feasting begin..... and no feast is a feast without our beloved Vetkoek.
My wife and I had decided to surprise everybody on the ride with some warm beanies to remind the participants of this the first Winter SOX Run. We dished out these bright red beanies and it was great to see everybody putting then on immediately and keeping them on. Thanks to the cold they were greatly appreciated and made the dinner table look like a bunch of Father Xmases in the middle of the year, as one chaps said “Xmas in June”. A lot of laughter and joking was to be heard the entire time. It really looked to be a great success. Great to be around so many friends all having a great time, all with one thing in common – the love for biking. Plans were made for the departure the next day, time was set for breakfast and the route was set for the return, John would take the lead home as he wanted to try a road and also do a recce of it. After dinner the people all drifted off in different directions to retire for the night.
Getting up at dawn, in Fouriesburg, in the winter, must be one of the things you don’t often do. The sky was crystal clear, not a cloud in the sky, was amazing. But stick your nose out the door and it almost freezes off. How can something looking so amazing be so cold? The bikes were frozen, all covered in ice. Some of us had remembered to bring our bike covers and to put them on the bikes the night before. Covers were frozen but bikes were ice free. Lance took a pic of his temperature gauge on the bike that morning – 07h00 it was -2.5C. So as you can see there was a nip in the air. It was great to look at the chaps scraping off the ice, most of them with their red beanies, not sure if they slept in them or not.
Breakfast, as usual, was a noisy affair with laughter and teasing. After breakfast we all moved the bikes around to the front of the Inn for the usual pictures and to get ready to depart. Two riders left the group and headed home through Golden Gate, the rest aimed the bikes in the direction of Bethlehem, mainly to fill up and get some 95 Octane. It was a crisp morning when we left, but at least the temps were in the positive figures, not double digits but heading that way. No wind, blue skies, what more can one ask for? The road was good all the way home. The road we wanted to recce however turned into a dirt road, that put a stop to that route and we attacked the N3 highway back home, toll gates and all. At the next petroport we said our goodbyes, some stopped for refreshments and some headed home. Another safe trip behind us, some good riding and great company. I think as one heads home the mind already starts planning the next trip. Well, that goes through my mind at least, I am sure there are more of you out there thinking the same. We have a great country to ride in, winter time is the best time to ride – we just need to look a bit deeper and tackle the back roads more, you will be surprised at the fun you can have.
It was decided to make this an annual ride and it would retain the name Winter SOX Run, to be run on the first weekend after the 21st June. So you have been warned and have plenty time to acquire those winter suites. Until the next Winter SOX Run – safe riding and keep dreaming of the next ride.
Written - Wymoth
Photos - various sources.