Date: 2024-02-09
Departure From: Little Rock Resort (Ladybrand)
Departure Time: 06h33
Destination Name: Pretoria (Home)
Arrival Time: 13h00
Total Travel time: 06:27 hours
Weather:
Overcast
Departure Temperature: 16.5C
Peak daytime temperature: 31.5C
Odometer Reading (km):
Start: 140664
End: 141148
Total Distance: 484
Average Moving Speed: 90.4 km/h
Gravel Distance: 95.3 km
Gravel / Tar Ratio: 20%
None
I woke up at 05h00 to the sound of 4 legged lawnmowers cutting the lawn (horses grazing).
While packing, I received a call from my wife to let me know a violent thunder storm had shutdown the solar system at home. The system is located in a secure cage and requires a ladder to access and I was the only person who knows the system. I decided to head straight home which meant tar roads only.
4-legged Lawn Mowers
While heading to Clocolan, I realised there were some checks that may allow the household to continue as normal. I called my wife and she implemented the checks and restored everything to normal.
This meant I could do some gravel roads. I found the nearest gravel waypoint and continued the journey along gravel roads. There was rain on the North and East horizons which was the direction I was heading. The route took me along minor gravel roads that were not well maintained. Most of the route was very loose gravel that was like riding on marbles. There were some stretches of thick sand, of which the longest was about 200m. Light rain started falling during the last 10km of gravel before reaching the N5.
Along with the threat of rain and the fact that the 95km of gravel had taken 1:41 hours and I still had 200km of gravel to go for the day, I decided to continue along the tar roads only. I headed for Bethlehem and further along the R26 to Pretoria. The weather cleared up soon after Bethlehem, but I decided to remain on the tar roads.
Example of a Gravel Road in the Orange Free State
Example of a Coffee & Bum Break along the road
Home .... North, South, East, West .... Home is best.
What a great trip! But getting home, back with family, is always the best part.
A filthy bike
Landmarks travelled passed:
Clocolan
Paul Roux
Bethlehem
Reitz
Tweeling
Frankfort
Villiers
Heidelberg
Johannesburg
Midrand
Centurion