DS bikes take on the Mud Monster

[Groenie]

....and loose. Badly!

Six - love to the mud monster.

Sharky came up with the brilliant idea to do De Wildt on Monday. A few no shows from you know who, but in the end it was Shark (KLR), Ryperd (950), Voodoo (950), Kilroy (KLR) and me (KLR). Kilroy joined me on the way to the Wimpy just past the dam wall and we took the dirt road from Erasmia to Hennops. I didn't even think about the low level bridge on the way and we had our first encounter with water. The water was flowing just under knee deep over the bridge, but that's no problem for us intrepid adventurers. After brekkie is was off to the canals. No pics by me, but some serious mud! I think Shark has a few pics. I've never done real mud and this was an eye opener. Just look up, not too far ahead and go for it, keeping the throttle steady and steer with your feet....I think that's what they said I should do. It worked, sort of, but I stayed on the bike.

After the mud (apparently the last we would encounter, yeah right) we stopped at the shebeen we discovered last time I was there. The whole ride up to now was in pouring rain and it only let up as we finished our beers.

Then we hit De Widlt! A few hundred meters in the hiding Mud Monster claimed Voodoo. The mud was hiding under a centimeter layer of gravel, think, sticky, snot-glad yellow stuff.

My camera was acting up,flat batteries.

First of many smoke breaks

Then followed Shark's "technical river" which was flowing quite strong. First time it's been seen flowing apparently. We must have crossed the river about 20 times. Farken lekker. All the way up to the secret shebeen. By this time my camera had given up, so I hope the other guys post pics of the awesome stretch.

Stopped at the shebeen and had 2 more full size beers each.

Ryperd had Coke

Kilroy had beer

And the best bike in the world was looking the part.

Ryperd wanted to high tail it out of there and left us. We finished our beers.

And then......

Shraky suggested we go over the mountain by the water tower. I agreed, thinking it would be fun. We made it about a kilometer in,when Voodoo got stuck in the mud. Kilroy made it about 50 meters further, while Shark just battled on. I followed him until we realised the other 2 weren't following anymore. I stopped Groenie and ther he stayed for the next 2 hours at least.

The KTM got mud stuck under the front fender and so did Kilroy's bike, just under the fork brace. We had to remove the fender off the KTM and the fork brace from the KLR, just to get the front wheels turning. It was a battle just to turn around.

Kilroy tried to go through the veld, but his front wheel wasn't rolling and he was going nowhere.

See the deep rut he made in the veld? That's the sign of a victorious Mud Monster!

Groenie was the last bike to be extracted from the mud.

This bike is staying right here!

A few pics after we managed to break free

And then we sneaked home, defeated....

 

[KiLRoy]

Never trust a middle manager to navigate..... ;D

H

 

[funacide]

Come on more pics, more pics....

 

[LuckyStriker]

holy cow!

looks like fun ...or not

 

[shark_za]

My version of the same story.. photobucket acting up so I'll post in sections as the pictures load.

Monday was a public holiday and Ryperd sort of prompted me to arrange a ride close to home.
It was to be a shabeen run in the NW but once people started responding it seemed the group was quite capable of a little more. Plans changed in my mind.

It was raining when I got up but I know how lekka the planned area can be after the rains so I kitted up in my rain suit and went to the meeting point.
I was barely off my bike and Voodoo rolled in. Ryped arrived as soon as we ordered the first coffees.
Kilroy was threatening to come do his first ever Gauteng day ride and we were quite shocked to see him and Groenie pull into the garage.

The gang now assembled, we ate some breakfast and the plan was revealed.

We ride down the canals to the railway line, hop on the tar there, join again a little further and skip across to De wildt.
The first shabeen was to be the one Groenie, GRIM and D7 discovered on thier last trip.

The first real mud was found near the railway, this mud was really wierd, a combination of soft sand and clay mud. Slippery stuff!

The guys following.

Voodoos bling KTM, signs of things to come.

Voodoo roosts Ryperd, retribution for the same just moments before. Also see the lines, this was slippery stuff.

When we got to this 2nd bit of canal road, it started raining a little and there was more mud. A lot of mud.
But as this mud was still wet from the constant drizzle it was not too bad to ride on. slip sliding away and a few outriggers could be seen every time I looked back.

Groenie gets to the bridge - dont fall over dude, we will lose you in the grass. The area is looking green!

Kilroy enjoying his first ride in Gauteng

more....

 

[shark_za]

Ryperd styling through.

I have very few pics of Voodoo and he rode right behind me the whole way, I would stop to take photos and he would be next to me before I could get the camera out!

We got to the shabeen and had a beer while the rain passed.
Then off to the MX section where Voodoo found the 950 was getting tired.
I think this is another sign of the front wheel not turning freely with the low mudguard.

Following the river through the whoops section was fun , each and every crossing was a new challenge as the water was flowing.
I have never seen that before and was hoping Groenie got some pics as taking those shots in the rain fried my camera.

Later on I realised I could use my cell phone as well. To be honest we were doing a lot of riding, this was trail riding at its best, very different from riding the same area at pace. Off camber drops into erosion ditches, water crossings, rocks, mud, whoops, ups and downs.

Kilroy crossing a river.

Groenie doing the same

more....

 

[KiLRoy]

Thanx Shark for the tour, awesome trailriding venue.

Thanx to the rest of the gang - Gigs, Tiaan and Herman - great riding companions and handled the terrain well.

Next time on a TTR??

H

 

[KiLRoy]

wicked mud here in Gautengelengeleng

 

[JourneyMan]

Fark!

That's hectic Kilroy!

DS bikes through that mud. Plain craziness but fun in the end!

Well done.

 

[letsgofishing]

Awesome ride guys! - well at least the sales of Prepsol went up ;D

 

[Ou Ryperd]

It was FUN!!!!  I was lekker moeg after the ride.  Sort of glad I turned around earlier...

 

[Plothond]

You guys are MAD

I know De-Wildt - that's just crazy - but well done anyway  ;D

 

[blazes]

And Then there are the THORNS that are stuck in the MUD under the mudguard's I remember how EINA that can be. Cool one, Well done all. Mud is NEVER easy no matter what.

 

[ROOI]

Gr8 man what time did u guys go out ? I was there on my ship on Monday morning ass-well  ;D

 

[shark_za]

Ryperd
In

Mind the rocks

Out
[

Another river crossing that had a nice deep hole just before the other bank to throw you off your intended line.

I had to stop in a few places and take a look, normally I just blast down this riverbed with the 2-stroke wailing.
Its so different when its wet and I needed to think about the lines very carefully.

We then got to the secret shabeen, it was so secret I was happy Ryperd had it on his GPS from the last time I took him there,
I battled to find it. All the shacks look the same!

We then hit the tar to go get food at Harties, but I thought the quickest way is the most direct way.
Not over the water tower mountain, that bit leading there is unrideable but that long dirt road we call "Lauters Landing Strip" leads to a village where we could get on the road to the dam again.
I knew it was "red sand" along pipeline road and I have been stuck in "black sands" to the right of this road before.
When I rode black sands in the wet I got so stuck with mud that my clutch on the KDX gave up and overheated.
Thats how thick the stuff is, the engine turned but the wheel was locked.

So hoping to avoid the black bits we caught a small section that dealt us a TKO.
Me and groenie got through to where the ground was firmer again, the low mudguard and the fork brace stopping Voodoo and Kilroy in thier tracks.
 
Here is the view back towards Groenie when I realised that they were not following me.

This is what lay ahead, and just beyond this the hardpack road to freedom.

I rode back and helped Voodoo get loose, once his mudguard was released he turned around and rode back to where we started.
Once he was going I rode my bike back to the harder bit as well. I then took a long walk all the way to Groenies bike, with his and Kilroys help we turned the greenie and I rode this one to the hardpack as well.
In this sort of mud you need to keep going to free the wheels of mud. If not it cakes up and you are dead in the water.
Having a front wheel that doesn't turn makes to stop and spin, game over.
I know a certian KTM rider who is getting a high fender modification today or tomorrow. Voodoo is like that with his bikes.

This was what we were riding on. Great when you are moving, hell when you stop.

But Kilroy was baptised with a bang, and its North West Province not Gauteng.

ps Middle Management rode on Saturday and could not make it yesterday, I'm a specialist.

 

[LeonDude]

MADNESS!

But what use is a bit of lunacy if you can't enjoy it?

;D

 

[ROOI]

Fark DUDES. Luckily runner took us around most of that black stuff that is SO bad  ???

 

[Kev]

Eish, don't like that sticky slippery stuff. Cool pics though! :thumleft: