Old Bridge Tavern Somerset West
by Peter and Jacqui Cowman
The tea arrived at my bedside at stupid-o-clock; it was still dark and, being a Sunday morning, could only mean one thing. Yep, another Nomads breakfast ride. Half an hour later we're on the N2 to Damelin, temperature 7 degrees and foggy as we passed the airport. Arriving, we saw the usual motley crew of hardcore riders- no time too early and no weather too cold to keep them from their ride to some far-flung destination for bacon and eggs. And nice to see a couple of posh new BMW's being given an outing, don't ask me model details, how on earth would I know. Not to mention the sexy little number our esteemed leader was riding (no, not you Sandra), a cute new Kawasaki courtesy of his new partners, Helderberg Kawasaki. Dunno about a visitor's bike though, a 'Kamaguchi', is that a cross between a Kawasaki, a Yamaha and a pair of Gucci loafers?
Travelling back down the N2, as we passed Somerset West I thought of the extra hour I could have had under a warm duvet if we had known in advance of the planned route! Nevertheless, at least the fog was gone and we were now in sunshine as we turned off towards Gordon's Bay. There we encountered a few mad cyclists with their slow-moving escort vehicle but, once past them, it was open road and a chance for Peter to scare the bejesus out of me on the twisties. The water in the bay was like a mirror and apparently whales were spotted. I was keeping my eyes on the road and missed them - I like to be sure to spot any hazards and give Peter plenty of back-seat driving advice!
Warnings from oncoming motorists advised us of a road block at the Kogel Bay resort, and sure enough the cops were out in force. They were prompt and polite and we were through in no time. Everyone could enjoy a feel-good moment that they hadn't collected any money off club members, although both the visitors collected fines. A point to note, maybe club members should check that their guests are street legal before departure?
After that I think everyone enjoyed an excellent ride along what is really an awesome bit of coastline and a good place for practicing some tight cornering. In spite of my best efforts, Peter still managed to keep up with the adrenalin-junkie frontrunners (they know who they are) and I managed to feel like a Top Gun pilot pulling 10 G's through the corners.
After a sedate run through Betty's Bay and Kleinmond, it was back onto the N2 towards the Botrivier Pass. Again the Cowman flying sofa acquitted itself admirably behind the pack leaders round some serious bends ; sorry, guys, you don't lose us that easily!! A strong side wind through Grabouw kept everyone concentrating for the last leg, Sir Lowry's Pass, which wasn't too bad at all considering how it can be. Then it was just a short sprint into Somerset West and the final destination, The Old Bridge Tavern in Main Road. No danger of us getting lost, it's our local pub!
Arriving at 11am, several people opted to do 'brunch' and order meals from the main menu instead of breakfast. The choice was good and the prices were very reasonable, although the service was a little slow. The price of drinks, however, was a bit of a shock; you needed to pay the equivalent of the national debt of Burkino Faso to get a round in!! And you know how us Nomads like the odd beer or twelve. Peter was definitely in danger of going home in a much more sober state than normal, so we didn't hang around, opting to pop home with a few of the 'nothing better to do today' brigade to open a few cold ones there.
All in all, a route we know and enjoy well, and nice to do it with a few mates for a change. But next time I'll take the hip flask.
Jacqui
