When the Road Brings You Together

A few days ago, Dave and I had one of those rides that reminds you why you ride in the first place.

We met up with three Spanish riders - Alex, Pablo, and Lucas - who had just completed something pretty extraordinary. Over the past three months, they’ve ridden more than 15,000 kilometres from Barcelona all the way down to Cape Town. Not by chasing highways or shortcuts, but by deliberately choosing the harder line. Back roads. Borders. West Africa. The slow way. The real way.

Their project is called Down to Africa, but what struck us immediately wasn’t the scale of the journey - it was their attitude. Calm, open, curious. No bravado. Just three good humans who genuinely love being on the road.

When they rolled into Cape Town, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to give them a proper welcome - and to show them a few pieces of the Cape they might have missed on the long push south.

So we put together a loose 250km loop. Nothing dramatic. But a desire from our side to share more of our beautiful land.

Franschhoek Valley from the top of the Pass.

We started with Boyes Drive, easing into the ride with views over False Bay, then traced the coastline through Clarence Drive, past the ocean and into Betty’s Bay, where the penguins inevitably stole the show. From there, we cut inland onto quieter back roads and finished with Franschhoek Pass, one of those stretches that reminds you how lucky we are to ride here.

No rush. No agenda. Just riding, talking, stopping, riding again.

We ended the day the right way – over a steak, a cold beer, and a long conversation back in Cape Town. Stories swapped. Routes compared. Laughs shared. That easy camaraderie that only motorcycling seems to create between people who’ve only just met.

All smiles after a great South African steak and a cold beer! (Pablo, Alex, Greg, Dave, Ant, Devin and Lucas)

What also left a strong impression on us was the kit they’d chosen for this journey.

All three had ridden the entire route on Royal Enfield Himalayans - bikes that had carried them through rough roads, long days, and some seriously challenging terrain. They spoke openly about the bikes: simple, honest, tough. One engine issue along the way was handled with remarkable support from Royal Enfield, who shipped out a replacement engine to keep the journey alive.

Fifteen thousand kilometres later, those bikes had earned their respect - and ours. It’s a real vote of confidence in a machine when it survives a journey like that and still inspires trust at the end of it.

It’s also why the Himalayan is one of the limited rental options available on the Pangea Rally.

Not because it’s flashy, but because it’s proven.

One Royal Enfield Himalayan looking pretty amazing after 15000km of hard mileage.

Rides like this - unplanned, generous and with great people - are a quiet reminder of what the Pangea Rally is really about. Adventure, yes. Landscapes, absolutely. But more than anything, shared experience. The road bringing people together. Stories crossing borders.

We’re grateful to have met Alex, Pablo, and Lucas, and to have shared a small chapter of their journey here at the southern tip of Africa. We hope South Africa left its mark on them - and that we’ll see them back on these roads again someday.

Until then, in Via Veritas.

You can find Alex, Pablo and Lucas at down.to.africa on Instagram.