The Akkedis Pass ( or Lizard Pass ) was a lot of fun , the surrounds are truly magnificent and along this entire pass you are fully immersed in a true mountain desert . Although it is only 6 kilometres long , the pass can take up to 40 minutes to traverse in a 4-wheel drive in low gear as the gradient is steep . But the bike powered us up the hills as if they were flat . We lay down around the bends and roared up the long rises . The sun started to break through the cloud just as we reached the top of the pass . The long straight to Caledon went by in the wink of an eye . The bike really has a way of peeling off the miles faster than you would think .
We wasted as little time as needed on the N2 and turned off towards the Theewaterskloof Dam at the first opportunity . After a quick snap on the edge of the dam wall , we flew up the next pass . Mike handled the turns like a pro and after a few minutes of left right , left right , we made it to the small wine-loving town of Franschhoek .
We idled through the historic village because the town was abuzz with traffic . Mike called out to me with bearings and information on what he saw . An old Citroen car , a farm truck loaded with wooden bins swollen with grapes and more . I picked up the smells of food from the restaurants and heard the babble of people sitting at tables on the pavement . Cutlery scraping at plates and patrons chattering between each other . Tractors shared the road with us , and people crossed everywhere and anywhere . Our only option was to just idle through the mass of vehicles and cars . I was impressed that the town centre was so busy . Restaurants seemed to be full , and shops were bustling . I hoped this meant that Covid was coming to an end but of course , this was not the case .
After leaving Franschhoek , we turned and rode up the Helshoogte Pass . The Berg River dam was off to the side , and we soon passed over the river that flowed from it .
One last stop for a tasty meat pie at the Potbelly Pantry , and then the nice roads were over . The last stretch home was back on the freeway we had started on , just in the opposite direction .
The wind blew hard for that last thirty minutes of riding . Really hard and with the afternoon traffic picking up , it was the least enjoyable part of the two-day ride . We had covered almost 900km when we pulled in to KTM . The bike was filthy , with mud caked everywhere . When the team came out to greet us , we apologised for returning it without cleaning . They just laughed and said , “ That ’ s exactly how we like them . The dirtier , the better .”
So , in closing , what can I really say about the KTM 1290 Super Adventure R ? It ’ s as tall as a horse , as powerful
as a rhino , as strong as an ox and as fast as a cheetah . I love it .
So many eyes had focused on us as we passed by . Many with jaws hung wide open . I don ’ t blame them . The blind guy and the big guy had ridden the two Capes and managed to complete the ride on arguably , the best possible two wheeled way of doing it . If any doubt lingered before , this ride totally convinced me that KTM is brilliant . Best part of all , at least the lads riding the black and orange bikes know how to greet when passing by . CV
Chris is the Blind Scooter Guy and through a life changing event he had found adventure in differing means . His adventures provide us all with a little perspective , his full story through outstanding books can be found at blindscooterguy . com , and Chris is proof that a Blind Man Can .
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