unishaun

My recently put together stride SX, set up for bike packing/touring

I usually pack light (out of necessity due to riding the uni), but the wife likes a few creature comforts and if I am going to get her to tag along, I will happily carry some extra weight. Another thing I learnt from the trip on the uni, is the weight lower down is easier and more comfy to handle.

A year or so back I rode sections of the Cross Cape Cycle Route, self supported on my unicycle. The ride reports are somewhere here on the hub. I enjoyed the experience, and I know this will sound obvious to everyone, but a unicycle is not the best tool for the job. I don't mind the slower pace, the big issue is getting weight off the butt which is not possible while riding. I still love my uni's, but would rather stick to the single track and enjoy shorter, technical riding. Anyway, the touring bug has bitten and I decided to build up two bicycles for the wife and I to enjoy the back roads. After a lot of searching on the web and looking what could work, I decided on the Silverback Stride SX. It is nothing fancy, but it has mounts for rear racks, 1x12 gear setup, 100mm air fork with remote lock out and relatively inexpensive. I also like the idea of a multi purpose machine, something I can do the occasional mtb ride, hit the gravel roads for some bike packing and even throw on some slicks and enjoy a sedate CTCT. I did eye out some gravel bikes, but thought I would go with something a little more traditional. Having been off my feet for about a month due to an ankle op, the "build" was also a nice project to keep me from going crazy. Below are some pics of the process from unboxing, assembling to fitting racks etc. The wife is very short, so I had to order extended arms for the rear rack, then that will look a bit better.

Slowbee, just from your pics I can tell you that you need to look up. As in where you want to go and not at your feet. That will already make a huge difference. Also, you need to keep a straight back, good posture makes for better reactions to direction changes, be it forward/back or to the sides.

Wait until you hit the trail... If you get it right, it is very addictive, I have 3 atm and always looking to buy more

I will be there on the unicycle trying to do as many laps as possible.

Day 11 was my ride from my camp site in the middle of nowhere, into Swellendam. The distance was about 45km, but mostly on tar once I got near Suurbraak. I stopped for lunch in this quaint little town. The rest of the ride to Swellendam was via the N2, so no highlights to speak of there. At least there was a coffee shop that sells Origin coffee, so that lifted my mood. Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

So I have been meaning to put up the last few days and here they are. I know it's like you have read the ending of a book and are now paging back. Day 10, got off to a slow start out of Riverdale. The road pretty much ran just north of the N2. The beginning I was met by nasty winds before climbing into the pine forests. A lot of the area is diary country, so plenty of farms and livestock. Rode for about 50km and it was starting to get late, so I thought it a good time to find a spot to camp. Found a good spot just out of sight, behind some trees and called it home for the night. The day was warm, as was the evening, so much so, I did not even use a sleeping bag. Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

Cheers all. Ed Pratt is a machine, what I find super impressive with him is how young he is. Now time for beer Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

I'm done! That's it, I'm making Swellendam my end point. It may still be a bit of distance to the end of the official Cross Cape Cycle Route, but I'm more than happy with what I have achieved. 450 km in 10 days of riding on my unicycle! I set out on the trip to have a bit of fun, meet new people, push myself and see a bit more of this amazing country, and I have done just that. The main reason for me calling it here is due to the fact that my butt can't take it any more It is at the point that I can't ride more than 2km before I have to get off the uni and walk to give my butt a break. I will still do a report for the last two days and at some point a full review too. Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

Day 9 marks half way roughly. I stayed with friends of Rob and Irene's in Van Wyksdorp, Ralph and Lynn/Linn (not sure on spelling). They have a super cool tequila shed, and if you are ever in the area, you need to pull on through. Started my ride at about 9 after a decent breakfast, the route was again typical of the Karoo, not to many hills, not a soul in sight and nothing much else. The route ran between the Rooiberg and Langeberg ranges so I at least had some epic views surrounding me. I find these sorts of rides the toughest though. I made it to the tar road that leads to Riverdale, this about 45km of riding. The tar road to town was another 25km, but there was nowhere really to camp or stay because I was far from about to push the last 25km, so I managed to hitch a lift in the back of a bakkie and skip the tar road, which did not have a proper yellow lane to cycle in. So a little bit of a cheat, but far safer. Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

Day 8, left Calizdorp in the mist. Saw nothing until I hit the bottom of Rooiberg pass. The climb was a very loose so landed up walking the crap bit. Had an awesome coffee stop at the top of the pass. Met a couple who were traveling around the Karoo, we chatted for ages and they got some nice snaps of me riding. The rest of the ride to Van Wyksdorp was pretty straight forward. There were children playing soccer as I came into town, they landed up running along side me as I made my way to the town centre. Another group of school children were busy singing the national anthem as I rode past. Not a bad way to make an entrance into town. Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

Day 7, I took a rest day so no riding for me. Stayed over in Calizdorp at the train station. Had a great day with Dewald and Irma who I got in contact with through a motorcycle forum. The Klein Karoo is such a special place and has so much to offer Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

Took a rest day in Calizdorp, will be hitting the road early tomorrow to Vanwyksdorp Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk

They have come a long way. Mine is fixed but you do get free wheel hubs that you can lock and unlock on the fly. You even get a two speed geared hub. They cost a ton and it's just more that could go wrong Sent from my A8 using Tapatalk