I was invited by [member=9492]Xpat[/member] to join him for a ride over Old Mill Drift Pass somewhere Fouriesburgish, which was completely unbeknown to me, never heard of it.
He said he'd not do this on his trusted 990 but would take his 690 instead "because of the recent rains".
Now, he did same (690) during our Penge Pass ride, and then I took my 701 - a matched ride mos, so what can go wrong right?
Penge turned out to be relentlessly tricky, small rocks on end, and because I'm an unfit sod it wore me out quite well - but 'awesome' came first, really a great ride in a stunning (and unknown to me then) area! :thumleft:
Sooo, Martin will tackle this Mill pass thingy (as said, didn't have a clue) on his 690..... hmm, let me do some homework first!
Some YouTubes exist but they're old, 4 or 6 years - and quite frankly they looked fine, a fairly easy ride actually, I'll do that easy enough, probably on the 890 Rally even.
But, those 'recent rains' I've seen hurtling past as swollen majestic rivers when joining [member=13184]Noneking[/member] & [member=5599]chopperpilot[/member] around Nelspruit recently, and 'rains' is the wrong word: 'downpours' is more like it, because this deflected hurricane from Moz caused hundreds of cubic kilometers of water to fall into SA, over a rather large area also.
Such quantities of water washing down a mountain will cause an old pass to be affected.... so let me be chicken and take my 500 for this trip!
I'm glad I did.
Old Mill Drift Pass used to be a 4x4 route - 'used' yes, for it is no more!
Rutted, overgrown, washed away, stepped up to 60 centimeters high, boldered up to car-engine height so no normal diff will make that - I own a cruiser, and NO WAY I'll ruin that poor thing on this once-a-doable pass!
Martin attempted this same pass last year, alone of course (the git ), on his 990.
It was waayy better then than it is now or ever will be again - because of two things:
1) He made it (on his 990 keep in mind) quite high up before he smoked his clutch, and..
2) [member=614]Runner[/member] made it up, albeit from the other (grassy) side, with his (still mint mind!) Nissan 4x4 bakkie to come fetch him!
As said a 4x4 will not make that anymore, also not from the grassy 'easier' side, if only because here & there the width is simply insufficient, let alone the huge diff- or transfer box ruining bolders, ruts and overgrowth now present.
But, our day started off easy.
We arrived the day before in Fouriesburg and stayed in the Country Inn, another unknown quantity for me but Martin stays there often he said - a lekker plek.
We had an awesome meal, some drinks and then we hit our beds.
The next morning Martin led us two to the Caledons Poort border post at a moderate speed (my 500's on mousses) and veered off just before the boom, onto a little road, and then dove off down onto a little dirtroad.
This led us along the Caledon river, a very scenic route indeed :thumleft:
I believe coming weekend there will be some race or ride here on bigger bikes, and this will be doable I think, especially for those going through first.
A little tricky down-rutted thingy, watch out for one partial washout which reduces the width of the path (hug the left here!) so you won't break your neck whilst your bike goes swimming down in the river, and a crossing of a tiny but muddy contributory at the end will be the places for spectators to make epic pics!
Sure, on a plastic (which I was on yes, sortof) these are easy enough, and the higher weight of the 690 didn't hinder Xpat too much here either.
This track is not often used, is quite overgrown and has anything you want, sand, mud, clay, rocky stuff etc, but mostly it is a very scenic there where you can see out a bit :thumleft:
We emerged at some exit where people go to the 'higher' path, but we decided to continue along the river's bank - way more open hence stunning views!
Here it was obvious that also here those 'recent rains' took its toll, and we had to venture our way around obstacles which once were the track on T4A.
At some point Martin stopped and pointed to an astonishing large area which was washed out, up to ~7 meter deep canyons interspersed with high peaks and some rideable ridges, and the track used to lead over this.
During his previous (990) ride he tried there and could not go further, so let's not waste time here.... or shall we, just to take some nice pics?
We did, and parked the bikes on a spot where no 'further' was likely, for him to venture on foot to see if there's perhaps a possibility - and note he didn't have time for this previously, it was a bit late in the afternoon then.
Whilst he was recce-ing down some dongas I saw some cowpath going elsewhere, in the general direction we wanted to go - and, because I have a very similar mindset as these bovines I thought let's have a look ..... et presto, an easy crossover path which was even rideable reverse i.e coming back, so this was where I was going to put the 500 across!
Martin reappeared and said 'maaaaybe doable, but coming back would be a problem, so I think we should not' - and then I told him let's but we take the cow's route!
We did, easy even, and found our route back along the river: great!
But a cow is a 4x4, and small also, a lot more maneuverable than a bike is we found out a little further.
A smallish wash proved crossable if we walked the bikes along a very off-camber weaving edge - which we did, helped by a local young man from Lesotho which appeared out of nowhere - of course, they always do ;D
When we rode off afterwards he followed us, running.... which I thought a bit funny until I saw our next 'Whoaa!' obstacle a few meters on
He also helped us crossing here, manhandling bikes in pressing heat, and during our catch-back-our-breath smoke-break afterwards he was awarded with some chocolate bars Martin produced out of his backpack :thumleft:
Martin carries a lot, it actually would not have surprised me if he'd be carrying a clutch plate set for my 500 lol.
Anyway, the remainder of this route proved scenic, stunning actually, and was easy.
Then via some (dirt)roads on to Old Mill Drift Pass, we stopped at the lodge to pay our dues (R200/bike!) and in the hope to buy a cold drink.
Did I mention it was fggn hot that day?
'Hottest day since whatever!' according to the young lady helping us.
They do not have a shop so no drinks and disappointed sighs from us - but this was negated by offering us cold lemonade with ice ..... YES please, give give give, we had two of them actually ;D
Lifesavers I tell you!
Then on to the pass we had come for, a casual ride through grassy undulating lands marked "4x4", and the various SUV's at the lodge from visitors led me to believe this was going to be easy :thumleft:
Gent's, apparently it once was, a lekker ride over a mountain which once even was concrete-paved there where the incline was a bit steep.
That concrete is still there, however sticks out like islands - and these islands do not wash away, even in the dreadliest downpours, but the rest does!
Strewn rocks aplenty though, and no surprise that someone has stacked ramps there already, however these last one attempt only - attempt yeah, they are downright difficult to negate.
Oh, no detours possible, important to mention I think ???
The 'second set' of ramps, if you make it past the first and highest one, one could do with a bit of speed plus frontwheel-lifting blips & some fork-bouncing if you ride on the 'long island' - which I did!
Small islands tend to be unpopulated, and this one should have been no exception here, were if not for a fggn Russian standing on it! >
Scroo yoo Martin, and for punishment he had to help me lifting the 500 over it :biggrin:
I helped him getting his - heavier, noticeably so! - 690 on it though, he decided to try the 'side' if the large island present: lots higher, I don't recommend that way!
Anyway, after these three 'steps' the going gets easier, still going up (lots!), but don't expect any of an easy path here!
I will let the photos do the talking, it wore us out - to the top mind, and don't forget that what goes up has to come down!
We reached the top after helping each other here & there, and quite frankly I was knacked when I got there..... such a relief to see that 'gate'!
Had a smoke and took some pics, something Martin did along the way.
He also was klaar when he got there, and we had a little break.
I asked him "So from here all is downhill?" but my sarcasm must have been too obvious.... or Martin's English & Intelligence combined too good, because I got a 'yeah' and 'no' from him
It was downhill yes, but hardly easy and here and there steep, narrow, off camber, and any resulting fall to the right not something to look forward to.
The biggest problem though is we were knacked, and this I find affects my self confidence - to such an extent that I, during a breather, was looking down and thinking "I can do this, have done this many times, no problem, just gas it a bit, there's even plenty run-off at the bottom - you wuss!" .... but I didn't, for some reason I could not get myself to do it, so the wuss in me won and the paddapote came out, easing down the rockstrewn slope
Later on I confessed this to Martin, only to hear he had very similar thoughts
Anyway, we made it safely to the grasslands at the bottom, and the ride home was plain relaxing, just poerpoering over some farmroads - lekker! :thumleft:
As per his usual Martin took loads of photos, and better one's than mine.
I'll post them below, for reason I am unable to post them inbetween my typed text.... ???
If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know?
Enjoy the pics, it really is a stunning area to visit :thumleft:
He said he'd not do this on his trusted 990 but would take his 690 instead "because of the recent rains".
Now, he did same (690) during our Penge Pass ride, and then I took my 701 - a matched ride mos, so what can go wrong right?
Penge turned out to be relentlessly tricky, small rocks on end, and because I'm an unfit sod it wore me out quite well - but 'awesome' came first, really a great ride in a stunning (and unknown to me then) area! :thumleft:
Sooo, Martin will tackle this Mill pass thingy (as said, didn't have a clue) on his 690..... hmm, let me do some homework first!
Some YouTubes exist but they're old, 4 or 6 years - and quite frankly they looked fine, a fairly easy ride actually, I'll do that easy enough, probably on the 890 Rally even.
But, those 'recent rains' I've seen hurtling past as swollen majestic rivers when joining [member=13184]Noneking[/member] & [member=5599]chopperpilot[/member] around Nelspruit recently, and 'rains' is the wrong word: 'downpours' is more like it, because this deflected hurricane from Moz caused hundreds of cubic kilometers of water to fall into SA, over a rather large area also.
Such quantities of water washing down a mountain will cause an old pass to be affected.... so let me be chicken and take my 500 for this trip!
I'm glad I did.
Old Mill Drift Pass used to be a 4x4 route - 'used' yes, for it is no more!
Rutted, overgrown, washed away, stepped up to 60 centimeters high, boldered up to car-engine height so no normal diff will make that - I own a cruiser, and NO WAY I'll ruin that poor thing on this once-a-doable pass!
Martin attempted this same pass last year, alone of course (the git
), on his 990.It was waayy better then than it is now or ever will be again - because of two things:
1) He made it (on his 990 keep in mind) quite high up before he smoked his clutch, and..
2) [member=614]Runner[/member] made it up, albeit from the other (grassy) side, with his (still mint mind!) Nissan 4x4 bakkie to come fetch him!
As said a 4x4 will not make that anymore, also not from the grassy 'easier' side, if only because here & there the width is simply insufficient, let alone the huge diff- or transfer box ruining bolders, ruts and overgrowth now present.
But, our day started off easy.
We arrived the day before in Fouriesburg and stayed in the Country Inn, another unknown quantity for me but Martin stays there often he said - a lekker plek.
We had an awesome meal, some drinks and then we hit our beds.
The next morning Martin led us two to the Caledons Poort border post at a moderate speed (my 500's on mousses) and veered off just before the boom, onto a little road, and then dove off down onto a little dirtroad.
This led us along the Caledon river, a very scenic route indeed :thumleft:
I believe coming weekend there will be some race or ride here on bigger bikes, and this will be doable I think, especially for those going through first.
A little tricky down-rutted thingy, watch out for one partial washout which reduces the width of the path (hug the left here!) so you won't break your neck whilst your bike goes swimming down in the river, and a crossing of a tiny but muddy contributory at the end will be the places for spectators to make epic pics!
Sure, on a plastic (which I was on yes, sortof) these are easy enough, and the higher weight of the 690 didn't hinder Xpat too much here either.
This track is not often used, is quite overgrown and has anything you want, sand, mud, clay, rocky stuff etc, but mostly it is a very scenic there where you can see out a bit :thumleft:
We emerged at some exit where people go to the 'higher' path, but we decided to continue along the river's bank - way more open hence stunning views!
Here it was obvious that also here those 'recent rains' took its toll, and we had to venture our way around obstacles which once were the track on T4A.
At some point Martin stopped and pointed to an astonishing large area which was washed out, up to ~7 meter deep canyons interspersed with high peaks and some rideable ridges, and the track used to lead over this.
During his previous (990) ride he tried there and could not go further, so let's not waste time here.... or shall we, just to take some nice pics?
We did, and parked the bikes on a spot where no 'further' was likely, for him to venture on foot to see if there's perhaps a possibility - and note he didn't have time for this previously, it was a bit late in the afternoon then.
Whilst he was recce-ing down some dongas I saw some cowpath going elsewhere, in the general direction we wanted to go - and, because I have a very similar mindset as these bovines I thought let's have a look ..... et presto, an easy crossover path which was even rideable reverse i.e coming back, so this was where I was going to put the 500 across!
Martin reappeared and said 'maaaaybe doable, but coming back would be a problem, so I think we should not' - and then I told him let's but we take the cow's route!
We did, easy even, and found our route back along the river: great!
But a cow is a 4x4, and small also, a lot more maneuverable than a bike is we found out a little further.
A smallish wash proved crossable if we walked the bikes along a very off-camber weaving edge - which we did, helped by a local young man from Lesotho which appeared out of nowhere - of course, they always do ;D
When we rode off afterwards he followed us, running.... which I thought a bit funny until I saw our next 'Whoaa!' obstacle a few meters on
He also helped us crossing here, manhandling bikes in pressing heat, and during our catch-back-our-breath smoke-break afterwards he was awarded with some chocolate bars Martin produced out of his backpack :thumleft:
Martin carries a lot, it actually would not have surprised me if he'd be carrying a clutch plate set for my 500 lol.
Anyway, the remainder of this route proved scenic, stunning actually, and was easy.
Then via some (dirt)roads on to Old Mill Drift Pass, we stopped at the lodge to pay our dues (R200/bike!) and in the hope to buy a cold drink.
Did I mention it was fggn hot that day?
'Hottest day since whatever!' according to the young lady helping us.
They do not have a shop so no drinks and disappointed sighs from us - but this was negated by offering us cold lemonade with ice ..... YES please, give give give, we had two of them actually ;D
Lifesavers I tell you!
Then on to the pass we had come for, a casual ride through grassy undulating lands marked "4x4", and the various SUV's at the lodge from visitors led me to believe this was going to be easy :thumleft:
Gent's, apparently it once was, a lekker ride over a mountain which once even was concrete-paved there where the incline was a bit steep.
That concrete is still there, however sticks out like islands - and these islands do not wash away, even in the dreadliest downpours, but the rest does!
Strewn rocks aplenty though, and no surprise that someone has stacked ramps there already, however these last one attempt only - attempt yeah, they are downright difficult to negate.
Oh, no detours possible, important to mention I think ???
The 'second set' of ramps, if you make it past the first and highest one, one could do with a bit of speed plus frontwheel-lifting blips & some fork-bouncing if you ride on the 'long island' - which I did!
Small islands tend to be unpopulated, and this one should have been no exception here, were if not for a fggn Russian standing on it! >
Scroo yoo Martin, and for punishment he had to help me lifting the 500 over it :biggrin:
I helped him getting his - heavier, noticeably so! - 690 on it though, he decided to try the 'side' if the large island present: lots higher, I don't recommend that way!
Anyway, after these three 'steps' the going gets easier, still going up (lots!), but don't expect any of an easy path here!
I will let the photos do the talking, it wore us out - to the top mind, and don't forget that what goes up has to come down!
We reached the top after helping each other here & there, and quite frankly I was knacked when I got there..... such a relief to see that 'gate'!
Had a smoke and took some pics, something Martin did along the way.
He also was klaar when he got there, and we had a little break.
I asked him "So from here all is downhill?" but my sarcasm must have been too obvious.... or Martin's English & Intelligence combined too good, because I got a 'yeah' and 'no' from him
It was downhill yes, but hardly easy and here and there steep, narrow, off camber, and any resulting fall to the right not something to look forward to.
The biggest problem though is we were knacked, and this I find affects my self confidence - to such an extent that I, during a breather, was looking down and thinking "I can do this, have done this many times, no problem, just gas it a bit, there's even plenty run-off at the bottom - you wuss!" .... but I didn't, for some reason I could not get myself to do it, so the wuss in me won and the paddapote came out, easing down the rockstrewn slope
Later on I confessed this to Martin, only to hear he had very similar thoughts
Anyway, we made it safely to the grasslands at the bottom, and the ride home was plain relaxing, just poerpoering over some farmroads - lekker! :thumleft:
As per his usual Martin took loads of photos, and better one's than mine.
I'll post them below, for reason I am unable to post them inbetween my typed text.... ???
If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know?
Enjoy the pics, it really is a stunning area to visit :thumleft:
