It was far warmer than expected at the start of the Winter Warmer tour. George is known to be Cold And Wet, as reflected In the CAW registration plates. but happily today it was neither. Remarkably for a group of 22 we departed on time at 8.30 heading out of town for the old Montague pass.

While we all know who it was named after, more interestingly it was built by Henry Fancourt (ref the golf estate), an Aussie engineer brought in for the job by Montague, the Colonial Secretary at the time. Well, it was really built by convict labour but their names are not recorded. Surprise. Completed in 1847 in just three years of what I guess was hard labour for the 250 odd convicts.

Given the current Gauteng toll road saga, and more locally, Chappies, it is worth mentioning the new pass was tolled and the original toll plaza (well ok, old stone building) still stands near the foot of the climb on the George side. For just a penny per wheel and a penny per ox the farmers could reduce the previous three day journey via Cradock to just three hours. It takes about 45 minutes on a bike. And it is free these days. A penny a spoke anyone?

At the top with Nicky

Down the other side and across a network of gravel roads northwards brought us to Dysselfontein. The locals warned us against taking the road toward De Rust as the drift or low bridge was covered by the river and impassable. Depending in who you chose to believe the depth could be
above the waist or to about the knee. The group felt adventurous and pushed on. In the event, it was passable with the water reaching just above the knee, but the fast flowing section made for exciting wading.

All in all we had to ford the river about six times but most were quite rideable although up to the wheel axle is some cases. Although not all chose to ride. At the first wading quite a few riders had elected to remove their shoes to keep their feet dry. This strategy was abandoned at the second crossing. Apart from Nicky. She stuck to her guns and each time ceremoniously deshod and reshod at each crossing. Fortunately for the rest of us with sodden shoes, the sun was warm – so despite the moderate temperature it was not too bad having wet feet. Not great mind you!

One other crossing could not be ridden and this provided some excitement for the day. As he was passing through the faster flowing bit, Trevor mistook the line of the drift and set his right foot down onto, well, thin water. Tumbling down he was in the channel proper up to his chest. The water was freezing which took his breath away and explains why he failed to communicate the seriousness of his position. Holding onto his bike doggedly he managed to establish his footing about two meters down stream and attempted to move back toward the drift. The water was flowing far too fast and he made no progress whatsoever. It soon became apparent that a more constructive reaction than laughter was required! Fortunately the channel he was in was narrow and I was able to wade out toward it and reach out my hand to draw him to the side. Ricky also came out and grabbed the bike once lose enough. And so the incident ended without major issues. Apart from a scratch and some shivering Trevor was fine!

And so here we are at House Martin in De Rust for the night. As I was walking back to my room Nicky appeared – designer (probably) jeans, leather shoes and a smart top all complemented the just washed and brushed hair. Hardly expected after a day in the saddle crossing rivers.

“I wear nail polish and makeup. I’m a girly biker” she quipped. “Deal with it!”