Chapter One - Valentino HarleyBear Swanepoel Goes To Cape Town

All packed at the Kokstad petrol stop.

On a bright, sunny Saturday morning, at the end of January, 2015, Mommy Lila, Daddy HarleyDude and I left Durban on a long trip....... the longest I have been on. We had an early start. Mommy Lila was woken up at 4 am with a cup of coffee, and after dressing and taking the last of the bags and me downstairs (most of the packing was done last night), we all left at about 5 am as the sky was getting light.

On the way down the stairs, Daddy said "I think those boots are a mistake" to Mommy. At the garage door, she turned sideways and said "whats wrong, I wear these often". Daddy looked and saw a boot with a conventional heel that will hook properly over the footrest on the Harley. On the stairs he thought he saw a boot that had a completely flat bottom, as was the fashion a year or so ago, but not suitable for riding. "Sorry, I thought it had no heel" he said.

Different boots.

They got on the road and went South, past Amanzimtoti, Scottburgh and Port Shepstone, then turning inland to Kokstad, about 270 km's from Durban. Th
e ride was nice and sunny, but when Mommy got off at the petrol stop in Kokstad, she nearly fell. Her ankle twisted and she couldn't stand properly on her left foot. The problem was discovered. Two different boots, one flat, one heeled!

Mommy also had a full heavy back-pack on her shoulders, which really added more weight than usual to the Harley. Fortunately, another pair of short boots had been packed, and these were now put on, meaning the long boots had to be packed.

After a nice breakfast, we left Kokstad for Umtata, but Mommy couldn't get comfortable, because one of the boots was digging nto her back. This meant a bit of moving about on the bike, and with it being tail heavy, caused a bit of swaying from side to side on the road. We filled up with petrol again at Umtata and headed for Butterworth, the skies getting a bit cloudy. After a bit and more swaying, daddy stopped next to the road where there was a bit of a clearing and a view of a river and gorge.

The gorge where Mommy's boot ended up.

It was decided that to improve Mommy's comfort, so she would not need to move around so much, the useless troublesome boot should be disposed of. We smile when we think of somebody finding a single boot in good condition in the gorge not too far from the road where Daddy threw it (with much gusto).

With all a bit more comfortable, we rode on through Butterworth until the clouds looked threatening. In the distance it looked like rain as the hills weren't visible. Daddy stopped at a roadside bus stop and they put on their excellent Harley raincoats. When riding again, we found it wasn't rain but a bit of mist we were riding into.

We carried on to the Kei River Mouth garage for petrol and a snack. The back pack was still heavy, and when Mommy tried to get off, her raincoat pants have a strap that fits under the heel of the boot, this strap had got hooked around the footpeg on the Harley. Totally off balance now, she couldn't stop herself and slowly went down, rolling onto her back between the Harley and the petrol bowser. Daddy was holding the bike up and couldn't put the side-stand down because Mommy was on the ground there. He tried to help lift her up with his left arm while still holding the bike upright as well. The petrol attendant just stood back looking away into the distance, wanting no part of this strange event. Lila managed to stand up eventually, and after filling the petrol tank, they both went to the restaurant for a bit of sustenance and energy.

With the weather now not so nice, occasional drizzle, we rode on towards East London, passing by on the road to Port Alfred where we were booked in to a cottage on a farm 15 km's past Port Alfred. Riding in constant rain now, we filled up with petrol again at Port Alfred and set off to find the farm.

It was exactly where it was supposed to be, but on a dirt road about 1km from the main road. It was a relief to get out of the wet and into a beautiful well furnished cottage, not far from the main farmhouse. Very enjoyable, despite the fact that we couldn't explore the beach due to the weather, because the shower was hot, the coffee and rusks good, and the DSTV a full premium package.

More on this story later.