Wellington to Hermanus

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I don’t know how I’m going to break the news to Trinity but I’ve developed a serious crush on Brutus. This bike is seriously racing my motor! I now understand why it’s the top selling BMW motorcycle model. It is an AMAZING ride!

Following a rather slow start to the day, my day was nothing but exhilarating. This was because I ended up chatting to three the other couples staying at the same guest house as me, so I got away about 1.5 hours later than I had planned to. Well, everyone knows I’m prone to a chat! What lovely people though – all three retired couples, two from the UK and one from the Netherlands.

The plan for the day was to head to Hermanus via Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Gordan’s Bay and Betty’s Bay.

What a day it turned out to be. The scenery was breathtaking, while the weather was sketchy at bits. It was quite windy but sunny on the route to Stellenbosch. I don’t know this part of the world very well but I could not forget the spot where our minibus broke down on the way to Simonsig wine estate between Christmas and New Year. When I saw the spot I instantly started to giggle and thought about my group of my friends and mom standing on the side of the road with the grape sellers. I could help but smile. It also of course made me realise that I was close to Simonsig so I decided to pop by and see if Maureen was there. As luck would have it she was and I have a photo to prove it.

From Simonsig I headed east to Franschoek passing by Tokara (the best wine estate to see the sunset) and De Graaf (the best wine estate in Stellenbosch to have lunch), which are located on opposite sides of Helshoogte Road (R310). The dramatic landscape surrounding these estates is breathtaking.

It felt quite strange riding into Franschoek without my friend Angela – I have only ever been there with her. I looked for a place to have lunch in town (Franschoek has two of the top restaurants in South Africa so it’s a bit of a foodie’s haven) but as I kept riding I decided to head up the mountain to Le Petite Ferme, Angela’s favourite wine estate in Franschoek. I can’t blame her though, the food there is outstanding. My steak was flawless, the same as my view, so I enjoyed it for the both of us.

As luck would have it I was on the road I needed to be, namely the R45 heading towards Franschoek Pass. What an exciting ride! The road firstly climbs the mountain providing a panoramic view across the wine valley, and then winds down the mountain in a series of tight twists and bends. It looked and felt quite dramatic with the clouds closing in on the mountain pass. I sadly didn’t take a photo of the road down the mountain but I did take a photo on the way up (see below).

By the time I joined the N2 (heading west to Cale Town) it had started to rain lightly. For the first time I felt rather cautious of Brutus so I placed him into rain mode (a setting on the bike that reduces the power output by 30%). As a result the drive down Sir Lowry’s pass was not as dramatic as it would normally be but my other issue was that the wind was really strong as I came over the pass so I had to keep my eyes firmly peeled to the road. This is quite a shame as Sir Lowry’s pass is not something you ever want to miss!

Fortunately for me though the disappointment of missing taking in the view from Sir Lowry’s pass was forgotten on the drive around the coast on the R44 from Gordon’s Bay to Hermanus. The drive reminds me so much of Highway 1 between Big Sur and Monterey, although in my view it’s nicer. Below is a little taster of it for you.

I arrived in Hermanus at around 6pm. After a shower I rode into town to have a light dinner and see what the town has to offer. It’s a very cute little town very much catered to whale watching, which is what this part of the coastline is famous for. I captured one of the whale watching lookout points below.

What a truly wonderful day!

Cape Town to Wellington

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What a start to my Garden Route tour!

My USA/Canada trip was very much a soul searching trip. This trip is all about having fun and relaxing. Of course, that’s not very difficult to do in the laid back Cape and being on a motorbike. Brutus, the BMW1200GS that I’ve hired for this trip, is exhilarating to ride!

Wednesday morning started out with my mom and I having a walk on Scarborough beach. The beach is absolutely stunning (see video below) – almost as good as my company.

From there we headed to Kommetjie so that I could take in the glorious view from Long Beach, my favourite view from any beach in Cape Town. The video below is the view over Long Beach drive and its view towards Hout Bay as you come into Kommetjie from Scarborough. I also wanted to get a Latte and access to wifi. I’ve discovered that wifi is not that readily available in Cape Town. Not if you move away from the city anyway.

It was a little hazy on Wednesday from the fire that day (the country is having its worst drought in 100 years). As sad as the fires are I couldn’t stop smiling. Everything about Cape Town reminds me of being back in Northern California (just half the price). That in itself is worth getting excited about.

The thing that South Africa (or Cape Town at least) is not shy on is gorgeous scenery and loads of outdoor activities. Oh yes, my heart is beating that little bit faster just thinking about it.

My first day of riding (yesterday) took me from Fishhoek via Chapman’s Peak to Bloubergstrand to Riebeek-Kasteel to Ceres and then onto Wellington where I stayed last night. A 190mile (300km) ride covering dramatic coastline, rolling fields, mountain passes, and ending in the wine lands. A pretty amazing day.

I cannot wait to process the Go-Pro video to show you the various passes but until then below is a taste of my ride yesterday, which starts with the view from Chapman’s Peak lookout, then the view from Bloubergstrand, Bainskloof Pass through the Ceres mountains, which brought me to Dunstone Country House in Wellington where I stayed last night.

I cannot wait for my ride today to Hermanus. Woohoo!

South Africa: 4 Sleeps to go

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Happy 2016 everyone! I hope it is filled with joy, adventure and good health for you and your loved ones.

What a start to the new year this has been for me. Trinity is finally home – very much in need of a service and a tyre check but otherwise she’s in good shape, as you can see below.

The bonus last week was catching up with Dave and Elaine who I met in Bryce Canyon and spent a couple of nights with in San Francisco. It was so wonderful to catch up with them and I was touched that they made the time during their short visit to see me. Thanks guys!

On Friday I head to South Africa to spend time with my family; hopefully fling myself off the side of Table Mountain (to abseil that is); and tour around my own country. I cannot wait! I have hired a BMW1200GS for my 8 day Western Cape tour, which I am ridiculous excited about sharing with you.

Cape Town has always been my favourite city in the world. Not because it is rich in culture or gorgeous architecture, although Table Mountain as a backdrop is pretty spectacular, but because it’s where my heart sings! I was reminded of this between Christmas and new year when I was in Cape Town for a few days. I cannot remember when last I was so happy! Of course, being with some of my favourite people certainly added to my joy. As a teaser I thought I’d share my favourite spot, Chapman’s Peak. It reminds me of the drive along Highway 1 between Big Sur and Monterey in California. What wonderful memories!

For more details about my upcoming trip please visit my ‘South Africa’ page, and of course, keep an eye out for my blog. I plan to take you on a exciting adventure through South Africa’s Garden Route.

My motorcycle journey starts on 21 January so watch this space!

VIDEO: My American Journey

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After two and a half months of very little to report, I have great news. Trinity is on her way back from LA and is estimated to reach UK shores on the 22nd December 2015. I’m so glad she’ll be home for Christmas (fingers crossed)!

Before I change my website to make place for my 2016 tours, I would like to share a video with you that I created as part of a presentation I gave at work recently about my trip. I had never intended to make the video public but the result exceeded my expectation, very much in keeping with the journey itself, so it seemed like a waste not to. I hope you enjoy it!

I would like to say thank you to my friend Nicola for the use of her interview in my video. Nicola interviewed me throughout the planning and execution of my trip, as part of her film studies, so hopefully she’ll have something exciting to share with us in the future.

On a final note, I wish you all a very happy Christmas and wonderful 2016!

Planning 2016

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Five weeks ago today I left San Francisco. Although the first week back in the UK was a hell of an adjustment, I can’t believe how much I’ve achieved since then. I’m on a roll and loving it!

The best part about returning from my sabbatical was most certainly finding out that I still had 25 days leave left until the end of June 2016 – I was accruing leave while I was effectively on leave. Result!

In order to make the most of my leave, and maintain a balanced level of ‘me/down time’, I sat down and thought what I’d like to achieve in terms of my travels over the next year. My second consideration was realistically how long I will be able to keep Trinity since I have nowhere to store her.

With these two factors in mind the following plan was born and discussed with my office:

January/February 2016: 2 weeks touring the east coast of South Africa

June 2016: 2 weeks touring central Western Europe (Belgium/France/Switzerland/Italy/Austria/Germany/Netherlands)

September 2016: 2 weeks touring Spain/Portugal/France

The South African trip will be on a hire bike rather than on Trinity – it’s not economically viable to ship her for a two week trip. The two other trips will however give me the opportunity to ‘stretch her legs a bit’ or maybe rather mine!

I have no fixed plan as yet except that I want to see the best of the countryside that each region has to offer, so if anyone has suggestions please let me know.

Update to follow in due course!

P.S. Thanks for the Kruger photos dad. A day trip into the park (in a vehicle of course) may well be on the cards.

My Trip Summary

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I wanted to wrap up my trip, summarise my highlights/least favourite moment, and the things I figured out for myself on this trip, so here goes.

I arrived home on Thursday having had no sleep on the flight. I was curious to see how I would feel when I got home. I was so excited! I dropped off my bags; gave my folks a quick call each; and then grabbed my hiking boots to hit Wimbledon Common. I managed to get up to the Common and felt nauseous from lack of sleep, so I admitted defeat, and went home to sleep. My sleeping pattern has been nuts (hence the 01:30 post). Hopefully I won’t be nodding off at my desk tomorrow (it’s first day back in the office).

The last 5 days in the Napa/Sonoma wine region, and San Fransisco were fantastic! It was wonderful to have some of my friends join me in Napa and we certainly celebrated my (near completion of my) trip in style. My hangover the next day was testament to that.

The landscape around San Fransisco and its wine region reminds me so much of the Cape (South Africa) in terms of weather, scenery and vibe (it’s just not quite as pretty as the Cape and three times the price), that I felt right at home. It made me miss Cape Town. I can’t wait to go back there. It’s still my favourite place in the world! Of course, I am South African so I may be a bit biased.

The pinnacle moment, when I crossed Golden Gate Bridge to complete my journey, occurred around 15:51 at Sunday, 20 September. It was a bitter sweet feeling completing my trip. On one hand I was so proud of what I had achieved but on the other sad it was over. In the end I wracked up around 11,450 miles on my (virgin) ride.

The moment was captured by Nicola and Gail who were in a car behind me. Thanks ladies!

Below are the highlights of my trip and some of my favourite things. I haven’t included photos of these but you could search for these on my Facebook page or foe the relevant posts on my website.

The scenic highlights of my trip:

1) The northern rim of the Grand Canyon at Yellowstone National Park
2) The magnificence that is Crater Lake
3) Mt Rainier (and its phenomenal night sky)
4) The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde
5) The whole of British Columbia (it’s too gorgeous to separate)
6) Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe
7) Bryce Canyon
8) Grand Canyon
9) Highway 101 between Big Sur and Monterey
10) Highway 1 in California

(To be honest it’s incredibly difficult to make this list)

My personal highlights:

1) Sharing sections of my trip with Grant, Nicola and my cousins
2) Meeting the amazing people that I have met on my journey
3) Meeting and walking with Charlie at Crater Lake (the guy walking the Pacific Crest Trail)
4) Having my friends Nicola, Paul, Amyn and Gail with me in Napa
5) Sharing in Aira’s 1st and Bee’s 100th birthday celebrations

And of course, crossing Golden Gate Bridge!

My favourite things:

Major city: Vancouver (BC)
U.S. Major city: San Fransisco (CA)
Smaller cities/towns: Nelson (BC), Banff (BC), Park City (UT), Jackson (WY), Sante Fe (NM), Aspen (CO), Hood River (OR), Canon Beach (OR), Lake Tahoe (CA), Mendocino (CA)
Meal: Redds (Yountville, CA)
Beer: Harvest Moon Organic Hemp Ale (Nelson, BC)
Latte: Moore Coffee (Seattle, WA)
Stays: Lake Tahoe (CA) and Mendocino (CA)
Sunrise: On the plane home
Sunset: Chandler (AZ)

My least favourite things:

1) Riding through a horrific thunderstorm in Utah
2) Riding over independence pass at night and in the rain
3) The heavy winds at times that through me all over the road
4) The excessively hot temperatures in Arizona
5) Being ‘cheated’ out of $10 at Monument Valley
6) My one lock on my pannier being damaged in Arcata (CA)
7) A flat front tyre in Bend
8) Getting stung in the neck by a wasp in Napa
9) The AirBnB I stayed at in Astoria (I don’t want to see labels on everything)
10) Loosing three things along the way – 2 wall chargers and my favourite flip flops

Having come home I realised that I love what I have, although I may need to take more sunny breaks throughout the year. I also love travelling on my own (this trip was the first time I’d ever done that). This of course means that this trip was only the beginning. My next adventure awaits (although I have to wait 6-7 weeks for Trinity to arrive back from the U.S.).

Watch this space!

The California Coastline (CA)

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I am so happy!!

It feels like everything has fallen into place having crossed into California. The weather has improved dramatically from our drive down the Oregon coast, which although gorgeous and dramatic, was rather treacherous.

Northern California (well at least the coastline) is amazing! Our first stop in California was Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, which much to my surprise was free to enter. That’s a first.

The Redwoods are gorgeous! It’s so amazing to walk amongst trees that, like Big Tree (the largest of them), are 1,500 years old. The thought of that alone is astounding. It truly is a humbling experience and I feel so blessed to have had so many of these moments during my trip. The photo and video below will hopefully give you a taster of what there is to find in this region.

That evening we stayed in Arcata. It’s a cute little town with an eclectic mix of people. Our hotel was on the town square which has a very different feel on the northern side to the southern side. We had chosen a hotel on the southern side. Oops!

I do love the Californian hippie culture but there is a fine line between hippie and bum. The town square straddles that line for sure.

The towns we stopped in south of Arcata have been fantastic though. I absolutely loved Mendocino and the cabins where we stayed last night, The Andiron. I would stay there again any day!

Nicola and I had adjoining rooms called ‘Here’ and ‘There’. I choose the latter as it had a huge wall map of the U.S. which felt like I was at home again (I currently have one on my one wall at home). The rooms were just brilliant! Each has its own character, very tastefully decorated, and direct access onto a patio looking out towards the sea (over some trees).

The cabins provided us with charcoal so that we could have a BBQ (a braai for us South Africans); firewood for the fire pits; and marshmallows to toast. Woohoo! I am very happy to report that I can still make one mean fire (I made sure it was dead and buried before I went to bed). The meat wasn’t too bad either.

Below is a very happy (and even slightly tanned) me.

What a perfect evening!

I woke up today in a brilliant mood and it only got better throughout the day. The scenery was breathtaking; the weather was perfect for riding; and my smile kept growing every time I saw a sign for San Francisco.

I could feel a real sense of pride growing inside of me today thinking about what I have experienced over the last 3 months and what I have achieved. It was also wonderful to feel excited about going home and seeing what the future holds.

I have found the peace and happiness I was looking for on this trip!

Below are a few photos and a video of the coastline I’d like to share with you before I end my post. I hope they bring you as much joy as they brought me. Enjoy!

Portland and Port Orford (OR)

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Portland for me was the tale of two cities. On one hand there are very trendy and lovely parts of town and then there’s the other parts, with an unmistakable number of homeless people wandering about and living in what looks like shanty towns on the streets. I found the latter part of the city rather sad. I have included two photos of the nicer parts of town.

From Portland we took Highway 26 to Cannon Beach. We caught a bit of rain leaving Portland and I didn’t have my waterproof trousers/pants on so I spent two hours riding with a wet bum. That wasn’t the most pleasant experience, particularly since it was 12 degrees Celsius outside. Brrrr!

We stopped off at the Saddle Mountain State Natural Area before ending the days ride in Cannon Beach. Nicola loves taking photos of the large trees under the low lying clouds and this looked like a good spot for some photos. It also gave me 10 min to warm up in the car which was most welcome. below is what the trees took like.

Cannon Beach is a fantastic beach town with a population of around 1,700. The town caters well for tourism with all the bars, restaurants and little speciality shops. The best feature of course is the 8 mile stretch of perfect beachfront.

The one thing we particularly wanted to see was Haystack Rock. It’s a 270 foot (73m) monolith which is a wildlife sanctuary and accessible from the beach at low tide. As it turned out the hotel that we were staying at is located just behind it. What a perfect view!

I absolutely loved our stay in Cannon Beach. I could happily have spent a few more days there, even though it was overcast. Below are some photos of the beach. There are a lot more on my Facebook page.

The drive along Route 101 within Oregon had been absolutely gorgeous overall, although it has been pretty tough on me as it’s been raining the last two days and I’ve had an upset stomach. It’s not a great combination. Hopefully all will brighten up (literally) when we hit California. I’d be very happy to see some sunshine before I head back to the UK next week. I can’t believe my trip is almost over!

Below are a few photos of the Oregon coastline. I hope you enjoy the view as much as I did.

Olympic National Forest and Mt Rainier National Park (WA)

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Where do I start!

We (my friend Nicola is with me for the rest of my trip) had a great ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island where we started our journey on Monday. The ferries are fantastic! The service is flawless and carries up to 2,499 passengers – a rather precise number I thought. I also met a lovely fellow rider called Chris on the ferry.

Our first stop was Port Townsend. What a great little city! I haven’t had the opportunity to look into the background of the city as yet but it has a great vibe about it. The buildings are beautiful and the town is filled with art galleries. I instantly loved it! Hopefully you’ll see why.

From there we passed through Port Angeles. Part of this was because Nicola is a huge Twilight fan and wanted to see a restaurant there that features in one of the films, and we needed to get some Gluten free food for her. The Twilight tour continued on Wednesday when we arrived in Forks, which is where the book is set. I know very little about Twilight but enjoyed watching Nicola being in her element. I couldn’t resist the following photo though. It is after all about vampires and werewolves!

We spent two nights in Olympic National Forest and then two nights in Mt Rainier National Park, both of which have no mobile/cell reception or wifi. Fortunately the quality of my company and the beauty of both parks make up for this in abundance!

Olympic National Forest receives an average of 69 inches of rain every year. It is lush and stunning! It was pretty nippy in the evenings and early mornings but very pleasant during the day, which was great for our hike on Tuesday. Luckily it didn’t rain while we were there.

Our cabin was located about 20m behind a stream which was a wonderful setting, particularly as we sat with a glass of wine on the swing chair watching the sun start to set.

I’ve included a few photos below from the park, including a photo capturing my first time driving on the ‘right’ side of the road.

About an hour south of the park Highway 101 runs along the coast for a stretch. We stopped off at Ruby Beach. There was something really beautiful and mysterious about the beach which was covered in fog.

Having had no internet access for days we stopped off in Aberdeen (there as so many Scottish names around here) for two hours. This was enough time to allow Nicola to send some overdue emails, and for me to post photos and let my family know my whereabouts, although I noticed today one didn’t send. Sorry guys!

Our stop meant that we arrived at Mt Rainier National Park in the dark. Of course it didn’t help that Nicola and I got separated on the motorway and I had to direct her back to where I was waiting for her. I was very happy at that point that we both had U.S. SIM cards. At least it gave us something to chuckle about on our hike the next day.

The advantage of arriving at Mt Rainer at night was that we got to see the stars in all their glory. I have never seen anything like it. We had a perfect view of the Milky Way. I cannot take a photo of the stars from my iPhone but you could look at some photos online. We saw three shootings stars in less than ten minutes. Another item ticked off my bucket list. Woohoo!!

Mt Rainier is absolutely stunning! Although the the mountain has not erupted in 1,100 years it is still considered an active volcano. Standing just over 14,000 ft it is impressive, particularly as it is covered in glaciers.

We were told that we were extremely lucky having been on the mountain with near perfect weather. It apparently rains here a lot too but we had perfect skies. Our second blessing was that the vegetation id starting to turn so we had an array of green, yellow, orange, red and purple covering the side of the mountain. It is indescribably beautiful.

I have included some photos below.

It took Nicola and I about 2.5 hours to walk about a third of the Skyline Trail which starts from Paradise Inn where we were staying. It is graded as a strenuous hike so we took it really easy, stopping many times for photo opportunities and tying to give Nicola chance to adjust to the elevation change.

When we arrived at the top we decided to take separate routes down. Nicola headed back the way we came and I decided to take the long way around and give my legs a good stretch. I was so excited being on the trail that I starting jogging. I didn’t stop until I nearly reached the end. It was amazing running down the mountain, but given that I almost never run these days, it explains why I’m walking like John Wayne today. It was so worth it though!

Walking down the hill to where Trinity was parked this morning, and looking at Mt Rainier, I realised that I really going to struggle to leave her in San Francisco. It’s going to be a long 7 weeks before we are reunited. I’ll be counting the days!

Seattle (Take Two)

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My first thought as I am writing my post is that I cannot believe I didn’t take a single photo of Kristin!

I was introduced to Kristin via a mutual friend just before I left the UK. I spent time with Kristin during my first visit to Seattle and she very kindly accommodated me on Friday night when I arrived back in Seattle. Thanks Kristin (and Finnian for allowing me to take over your room)!

We had such a chilled out Saturday before I headed off to the airport to meet Nicola, who was arriving in Seattle to join me for the last 2.5 weeks of my (now our) journey. I was so excited to see her!

I think it is safe to say that a lot of Sunday was about food. Nicola was getting so excited about all the gluten free products that are available in Seattle that we kept stopping to either look, taste or buy things. I kept having to remind her that we could come back if she wanted something. It was very amusing and equally sweet to witness.

Outside of having Nicola with me, my greatest pleasure that day was seeing the animals that a local coffee shop created in our lattes. I’m used to hearts and trees but we got an elephant and an owl. How cool is that! I had to go back this morning to see what animals we’d get today. It was a bear and cub. My bear’s face got mauled though when Nicola put sweetener into my latte thinking it was hers (she was having a soya latte) and then had to rescue my coffee. We had a good laugh over the incident.

I’ve includes two of our latte faces below.

The laughs and smiles certainly didn’t end there. Today was our touring day and we tried to make the most of it. We walked around most of downtown Seattle in search of Skid Row (it turns out its the whole Pioneer Square district rather than a specific street); we went up to the 73rd floor of the Columbia Centre to see the amazing view of Seattle and its surroundings; had more coffee and food; and then headed to the airport to pick up Nicola’s hire car. The latter turned out to be one of the highlights of my day. Before I get back to this, below are a few photos of our tourist activities in Seattle.

Collecting a hire car at Seattle airport is quite an experience. Firstly, you need to catch a shuttle bus to a different ‘terminal’ to pick up a car. These places are amazing (see blow). It felt like we were checking in for a flight.

We were giggling so much in the queue, clearly, that the guy in the queue in front of us asked us if we were always this happy. Most of the time, of course!

The experience only got better from there. We arrived downstairs in the parking lot expecting to be given a car. Instead, the guy at the desk told us to go and pick one. The keys are in the car. Excuse me?!

I heard him correctly. The cars were all lined up with keys either in the driver doors or the cars themselves. You could try out the cars in the category you ordered and then just take it (going through a barrier as you exit of course).

It felt like Christmas!! I jumped into all the cars just to see what they looked and felt like. I felt like I was buying a new toy. Apparently it doesn’t take much to please me!

From then on the evening was about logistics. The most amusing thing was testing how Nicola and I would communicate while we’re on the road, her in a car and me on Trinity. We nailed it thanks to the wonders of modern technology i.e. the communication system in my helmet that allows me to accept phone calls. This is what I do on a Monday night!

I think the next 16 days are going to be a scream. Welcome to the U.S. Nicola!