The ultimate family bike trip

DURING an epic road trip from uMhlanga to the Eastern Cape, encountering spectacular scenery and smooth roads were some of the highlights picked out by Trevor and his sons, Derek and Kevin Krummeck.

The local trio traversed more than 3 500kms on the country’s roads over the holidays, but insisted the biggest highlight was enjoying the ultimate family experience. Their journey took them through Elliot, Queenstown, Beaufort West, Knysna and Port Alfred, to name a few, over a five-day period.

“Biking has always been in our family. My dad was a prominent grass track racer back in the day and I’ve been riding for almost 60 years,” explained father Trevor. “I’ve done several trips similar to this, but this was the first one with two of my sons and it was incredibly special.

“It took on added significance as I saw this as possibly my last trip. I’m not saying I’m going to stop riding, but just tapering my trip lengths. It was a miracle I actually made this journey as I had a hip replacement a few months before we planned the trip. And thanks to my excellent surgeon I didn’t need a single painkiller on the journey. I’m not ruling out doing a long trip again either, perhaps at a more leisurely pace,” said the sprightly 75-year-old.

His son, Derek, who is well known in the North Durban area for his karate dojo, also said it was an awesome experience being able to ride with his dad and brother.

“Just seeing how beautiful and contrasting the scenery was, was fantastic, even more so that I got to experience it with my dad and brother. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Once we got back home I handed my dad a framed collage of photos of our trip just to remind him how fantastic it was,” said Derek.

Derek, like his dad and brother, has been riding bikes since he was a boy.

“In fact, the only time I didn’t have a bike was when I got married. I had to sell my bike to pay for the honeymoon,” he laughed.

While the adventurous trio each had different spots that stood out for them on the trip, one thing that remained a constant was a special trip to Beaufort West.

“My great-grandfather had a street named after him, and we managed to visit the site and met a lovely family living on the same street. That was just a great moment. The little children all wanted to sit on our bikes, and we connected with this family, telling them about my great-grandfather,” Trevor said.

“I hope this will inspire other people to tour South Africa first before going overseas. There’s so much to see and experience.”