Route 62 Rally

Monday, February 21, 2011

Route 62 Rally

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Saturday morning. Today has a full program.

We stayed various places in town, but Head H.O.G. Honcho Hennie

and some other chapter members stayed here at 88BvR.

It's central and right next to the Rally site so it made a perfect HQ for the chapter. We had some breakfast as people started to gather for the mass ride.

If you like "people watching" this was a good place to be.

I estimate that between 400 & 500 Harleys gathered for this mass ride and believe me, when this bunch started up it was quite an experience. If you ever have the opportunity to experience something like this don't miss it!

Some in ride shots:

Doesn't matter what kind of biker you are, it's impossible not to like riding in a group like this once in a while. We cruised through town, the streets lined with kids and adults alike, smiling, waving, taking photos.

After the mass ride most people headed to the Rally site, but our chapter decided to do an out-ride to Meiringspoort to go swim under the waterfall.

Once again I rode ahead to do the photo thing. My Harley in the shade, escaping from the extreme heat:

Cruising through the twisties of Meiringspoort:

Time for a swim! There's a walk along a path to the waterfall and pool. It was constructed in the 1920's so that the Prince of Wales, later the Duke of Windsor, could walk up to see the bottomless pool where the Watermeid (Karoo mermaid) dwells.

There have been several drownings at this spot over the years and a lot of those have been attributed to the Watermeid. The rider's weren't deterred by that today though. The heat won.

See how high this guy jumped!

Legend had it that the pool is bottomless, but it proved to be a myth when, in 1987, a team of divers established the depth at 9m.

After the swim everybody started heading back, but I headed North through the rest of Meiringspoort for some more photos. In Klaarstroom I hoped to find a shop and some cool drink, but this is a one horse town.

This B&B had a sign out welcoming Harleys so I stopped.

Some Orange juice with ice and a bunch of cold grapes cooled me down before I hit the road once again.

The 16 kilometres of Meiringspoort was constructed in 223 work days, crossing the river 21 times. It was officially opened on 3 March 1858. It has been destroyed by floods many times with the last major rebuild in 2000.

This poort truly is a pleasure to ride.

I just realized once again that the best way to experience this poort must be on a motorcycle. You feel the elements, you become part of the experience.