djpreston
Race Dog
The day arrived after much anticipation, confusion and rain…I woke early and immediately checked the weather…overcast, but no rain…Yeeha!! I quickly went on the forum and posted…The ride is ON!! :ricky:
I kitted up and headed off to the local Sasol to fuel up, I wasn’t gonna make it to Sasol Pinehaven on the fumes in the DRZ. I took a leisurely ride down Malibongwe Dr to the N14 and on to Sasol Pinehaven.
When I arrived there were 2 WD’s (Eggs and Splash) already waiting, we introduced ourselves and just as we thought it would only be us 3, Roxenz and his son (Jnr) on a XR125L rolled in. We greeted them and started to discuss the route while Jnr re-fuelled his bike.
A big thanks to Wild Hearted Son for the planning and route!! :thumleft:
With everyone eager to go, we set forth for the Magaliesburg via Hekpoort (all on tar)…we travelled a steady 80-90km/h, a nice leisurely ride, just what I needed to get used to the DRZ. As we approach Hekpoort, I noticed some heavy clouds and wet road, the thoughts going through my head were..”Oh no, I hope it doesn’t start bucketing down on us, that’s all we need to start a long day in the saddle!!” Lucky for us..NO RAIN!!
We reached the T-junction and took a left (R560) towards Breedt’s Nek, we passed through a small town and soon afterwards turned right onto a dirt road, the start of Breedt’s Nek, well so I thought…after about 10km of nice gravel roads we reached the bottom of “The Nek”.
As we approached “The Nek” we passed a warning sign…BAD ROAD AHEAD, PROCEED AT OWN RISK!! … I think, we were going pretty quick and I was concentrating on where I was going…
We went up “The Nek” without incident, passing a family in a Terios on their way down. We parked the bikes and enjoyed the spectacular views from the top.
We discussed the warning sign at the bottom of “The Nek” and Eggs and Splash decided they wanted a pic, so they promptly hopped on their bikes and headed down for the photo shoot, while Roxenz, Jnr and I decided to remain at the top. After what seemed like forever and no sign of the 2 KTM’s, Roxenz decided to go look for our “lost” riders. Not 5 minutes later all 3 were seen coming up the hill…we discovered that the KTM’s had struggled and lost a few parts…
ot: ...Eggs’s KTM forks were unbalanced and Splash lost his rear indicators and numberplate…We discussed the fork problem and found that the compression screws were unevenly adjusted, which was quickly remedied. (Note the broken pieces in the backpack)...
We discussed where to next and mounted our rides for the trip down, the first 200 or so meters was very rocky and had wash-aways (as posted in recent RR’s)…Roxenz took the lead and we followed with Eggs bring up the rear…I nearly lost it early on (watching the front wheel too eagerly and not where I was planning on going)…this is where the WD’s camaraderie really comes to light…Eggs stopped next to me and gave me some great tips and advice on how to handle this type of descent and terrain. The sections after the first 200m were easy as pie…looks like the road has been graded recently.
At the bottom we hit the T-junction and turned right towards Buffelspoort Dam, a few 100m down the road we came across a lovely gravel road towards Zuurpoort (I think that’s what the board said), what a nice detour, we ended at the old N4 road and took a right towards Buffelspoort where we filled up at the local Caltex before heading to Marikana and the canals.
The roads were good, most hard pack due to the rain and a fair amount of water, and the locals friendly, always waving as we passed…I was really relaxed and enjoying the ride…until we hit a long section behind a mine of sorts, I chose the wrong line and the bike was everywhere, my legs dangling off the pegs like a ragdoll being shook by a pitbull... :imaposer: ...luckily I didn’t go down. On this portion of the route I saw a lone rider up ahead, but we never caught up to him…I hope he was having as much FUN as we were!!!
My third brain fart happened just before the Rooikoppies Dam, we were going along this nice gravel road and the road turned to the right and looked like there was quite a bit of thick sand, I was entering the corner too fast and hit the brakes hard…BIG mistake…the bike carried on straight over the corner and into the bushes, Phew!!! Didn’t come off…start the bike and get back on the road before anyone sees…too late…Eggs stopped just as I was coming out the bushes, I just gave him a thumbs up…another blow to my ego… :-[
We reached the R511 and headed for the Beestekraal Train Station for much needed refreshments…
The pose…
My trusty steed…Suzuki DRZ…
We had a bite to eat, the food was delicious, the portions good and great value for money. We discussed which route we would take and mounted our steeds and headed for the canals, but first we had a fuel stop at Greens Filling Station. After everyone was topped off we headed for “The Rock”, the roads were great, although a lot corrugated…we reached “The Rock” and contemplated riding to the top, but decided that it was best left for another trip…back to the canals.
On our way we encountered a bit of wildlife…Roxenz was leading and we were coming down a hill, at the bottom was a large pool of water, as he passed the pool on the left he suddenly stopped, I came cruising along and suddenly realized why everyone had stopped…a leguaan was storming down the road at them, I hit the brakes and only just missed hitting the reptile, missing its tail my millimetres, it quickly made its escape into the bushes.
We reached the canals and the roads were lovely, twisting and turning with the canals, we had a few water crossings and at one, Roxenz took a foto of Eggs and myself doing the big splash, what dirty fun. We carried on along the canals dodging the puddles and passed 3 other riders (2 KTM’s and a GS1150), we waved our friendly Hello’s and were off, quickly leaving them behind.
The last stint before Brits we hit the all talked about mud monster…the going was pretty easy in the beginning, but we soon hit a looong stretch, following Splash’s example I rode on the grass between the road and the canal, but after crossing a small road…Surprise!!!...the grass had huge furrows in it and again being fixated by the ground the DRZ came to a slow halt, with the front wheel in one furrow and the rear in another, no speed, sudden stop and DOWN I went into the mud, I couldn’t get out as the bike had pinned my leg, thanks to Jnr and a friendly local who kindly helped lift the bike off me, no damage…just my ego AGAIN!! We arrived in Brits and made a few wrong turns, but were quickly back on track, as we crossed the R511 to do the last portion of the canals before Harties, I noticed Splash had a flat, we stopped and decided to repair the flat at a nearby filling station and also get a nice cold drink.
The culprit..
Homemade bike stand…(check the sleeper block)
Many hands make light work…
…2 Tubes later…ta da…
During the repairs, Eggs asked Jnr when he was going to upgrade from his “Sowing machine” to a KTM? Jnr promptly answerd…Why? My sowing machine went everyehere you KTM went!! (Just goes to show that even with a small bike you can have adventure!!)
Jnr with his "Sowing Machine" (XR125L)
We mount our rides and head off to complete the route, a nice section with a couple of “Speed Jumps”, I was getting tired and my butt a little sore (the notorious comfortable seat of the DRZ)…the canal road ended at the R27, where we took a right towards the Engen/Wimpy and Harties Dam wall. At the Engen we said our Goodbyes as it was getting late, Eggs and I were going to back to Lanseria while Roxenz, Jnr and Splash were going back towards Pinehaven…
I arrived home dirty and tired, but with a HUGE smile on my face…We covered approximately 350km for the day.
Thanks for an awesome day out and a fantastic ride…it was great to meet some fellow WD’s, you guys are great!!! :thumleft:
When is the next ride… :ricky:
I kitted up and headed off to the local Sasol to fuel up, I wasn’t gonna make it to Sasol Pinehaven on the fumes in the DRZ. I took a leisurely ride down Malibongwe Dr to the N14 and on to Sasol Pinehaven.
When I arrived there were 2 WD’s (Eggs and Splash) already waiting, we introduced ourselves and just as we thought it would only be us 3, Roxenz and his son (Jnr) on a XR125L rolled in. We greeted them and started to discuss the route while Jnr re-fuelled his bike.
A big thanks to Wild Hearted Son for the planning and route!! :thumleft:
With everyone eager to go, we set forth for the Magaliesburg via Hekpoort (all on tar)…we travelled a steady 80-90km/h, a nice leisurely ride, just what I needed to get used to the DRZ. As we approach Hekpoort, I noticed some heavy clouds and wet road, the thoughts going through my head were..”Oh no, I hope it doesn’t start bucketing down on us, that’s all we need to start a long day in the saddle!!” Lucky for us..NO RAIN!!
We reached the T-junction and took a left (R560) towards Breedt’s Nek, we passed through a small town and soon afterwards turned right onto a dirt road, the start of Breedt’s Nek, well so I thought…after about 10km of nice gravel roads we reached the bottom of “The Nek”.
As we approached “The Nek” we passed a warning sign…BAD ROAD AHEAD, PROCEED AT OWN RISK!! … I think, we were going pretty quick and I was concentrating on where I was going…
We went up “The Nek” without incident, passing a family in a Terios on their way down. We parked the bikes and enjoyed the spectacular views from the top.
We discussed the warning sign at the bottom of “The Nek” and Eggs and Splash decided they wanted a pic, so they promptly hopped on their bikes and headed down for the photo shoot, while Roxenz, Jnr and I decided to remain at the top. After what seemed like forever and no sign of the 2 KTM’s, Roxenz decided to go look for our “lost” riders. Not 5 minutes later all 3 were seen coming up the hill…we discovered that the KTM’s had struggled and lost a few parts…
ot: ...Eggs’s KTM forks were unbalanced and Splash lost his rear indicators and numberplate…We discussed the fork problem and found that the compression screws were unevenly adjusted, which was quickly remedied. (Note the broken pieces in the backpack)...
We discussed where to next and mounted our rides for the trip down, the first 200 or so meters was very rocky and had wash-aways (as posted in recent RR’s)…Roxenz took the lead and we followed with Eggs bring up the rear…I nearly lost it early on (watching the front wheel too eagerly and not where I was planning on going)…this is where the WD’s camaraderie really comes to light…Eggs stopped next to me and gave me some great tips and advice on how to handle this type of descent and terrain. The sections after the first 200m were easy as pie…looks like the road has been graded recently.
At the bottom we hit the T-junction and turned right towards Buffelspoort Dam, a few 100m down the road we came across a lovely gravel road towards Zuurpoort (I think that’s what the board said), what a nice detour, we ended at the old N4 road and took a right towards Buffelspoort where we filled up at the local Caltex before heading to Marikana and the canals.
The roads were good, most hard pack due to the rain and a fair amount of water, and the locals friendly, always waving as we passed…I was really relaxed and enjoying the ride…until we hit a long section behind a mine of sorts, I chose the wrong line and the bike was everywhere, my legs dangling off the pegs like a ragdoll being shook by a pitbull... :imaposer: ...luckily I didn’t go down. On this portion of the route I saw a lone rider up ahead, but we never caught up to him…I hope he was having as much FUN as we were!!!
My third brain fart happened just before the Rooikoppies Dam, we were going along this nice gravel road and the road turned to the right and looked like there was quite a bit of thick sand, I was entering the corner too fast and hit the brakes hard…BIG mistake…the bike carried on straight over the corner and into the bushes, Phew!!! Didn’t come off…start the bike and get back on the road before anyone sees…too late…Eggs stopped just as I was coming out the bushes, I just gave him a thumbs up…another blow to my ego… :-[
We reached the R511 and headed for the Beestekraal Train Station for much needed refreshments…
The pose…
My trusty steed…Suzuki DRZ…
We had a bite to eat, the food was delicious, the portions good and great value for money. We discussed which route we would take and mounted our steeds and headed for the canals, but first we had a fuel stop at Greens Filling Station. After everyone was topped off we headed for “The Rock”, the roads were great, although a lot corrugated…we reached “The Rock” and contemplated riding to the top, but decided that it was best left for another trip…back to the canals.
On our way we encountered a bit of wildlife…Roxenz was leading and we were coming down a hill, at the bottom was a large pool of water, as he passed the pool on the left he suddenly stopped, I came cruising along and suddenly realized why everyone had stopped…a leguaan was storming down the road at them, I hit the brakes and only just missed hitting the reptile, missing its tail my millimetres, it quickly made its escape into the bushes.
We reached the canals and the roads were lovely, twisting and turning with the canals, we had a few water crossings and at one, Roxenz took a foto of Eggs and myself doing the big splash, what dirty fun. We carried on along the canals dodging the puddles and passed 3 other riders (2 KTM’s and a GS1150), we waved our friendly Hello’s and were off, quickly leaving them behind.
The last stint before Brits we hit the all talked about mud monster…the going was pretty easy in the beginning, but we soon hit a looong stretch, following Splash’s example I rode on the grass between the road and the canal, but after crossing a small road…Surprise!!!...the grass had huge furrows in it and again being fixated by the ground the DRZ came to a slow halt, with the front wheel in one furrow and the rear in another, no speed, sudden stop and DOWN I went into the mud, I couldn’t get out as the bike had pinned my leg, thanks to Jnr and a friendly local who kindly helped lift the bike off me, no damage…just my ego AGAIN!! We arrived in Brits and made a few wrong turns, but were quickly back on track, as we crossed the R511 to do the last portion of the canals before Harties, I noticed Splash had a flat, we stopped and decided to repair the flat at a nearby filling station and also get a nice cold drink.
The culprit..
Homemade bike stand…(check the sleeper block)
Many hands make light work…
…2 Tubes later…ta da…
During the repairs, Eggs asked Jnr when he was going to upgrade from his “Sowing machine” to a KTM? Jnr promptly answerd…Why? My sowing machine went everyehere you KTM went!! (Just goes to show that even with a small bike you can have adventure!!)
Jnr with his "Sowing Machine" (XR125L)
We mount our rides and head off to complete the route, a nice section with a couple of “Speed Jumps”, I was getting tired and my butt a little sore (the notorious comfortable seat of the DRZ)…the canal road ended at the R27, where we took a right towards the Engen/Wimpy and Harties Dam wall. At the Engen we said our Goodbyes as it was getting late, Eggs and I were going to back to Lanseria while Roxenz, Jnr and Splash were going back towards Pinehaven…
I arrived home dirty and tired, but with a HUGE smile on my face…We covered approximately 350km for the day.
Thanks for an awesome day out and a fantastic ride…it was great to meet some fellow WD’s, you guys are great!!! :thumleft:
When is the next ride… :ricky:
