famous song has a line , ‘ Get your kicks on Route 66 .’ What about 62 ? I would have to produce something appropriate .
After many emails , to places of attraction en-route , bouncing back and forth , we left with a full agenda , but just one goal : Get out there and enjoy . Big Mike would not only pilot us and take pictures , but he would also have to play sighted guide and describe as much as he could to me all the way . I would smell , listen , taste and touch until I drew an image in my mind . I would then put these thoughts to paper and voilà , a story worth sharing .
Big Mike and I had enjoyed many a mile on two wheels together and despite my reticence about being a pillion instead of piloting , I was happy to be out . After all , the worst day out riding , is better than the best day behind a desk . Luckily for me , Big Mike has years of riding experience and despite us having a few close calls in slippery mud , so far , we had always kept the rubber side down and the friendship up .
With these thoughts bouncing around in my head , I closed my bag in the top case , climbed aboard the scooter , and gave my family a last goodbye kiss . The air was crisp . A light breeze was already blowing but this soon morphed into a much stronger gale . Into peak hour traffic , we weaved . I pulled my buff up and leaned back . My first thoughts ? Damn , this scooter is comfortable . It felt a little like being on the back of the Harley Davidson Easy Glide I had travelled on a few months earlier . I better not nod off .
Once out of the city , you don ’ t have to go far before passing the first wine estates . As we rode the winding roads up the back of Durbanville hills , I knew that to both sides , were rows of vineyards . Sauvignon Blanc being the most prominently grown cultivar here . I had enjoyed many a bottle of the end product .
TRAVERSE 68