Impendle with JonW

[JonW]

Jon, thank you very much for making this ride happen for me. Joke goes that the most important thing to bring to a knife fight is a gun. In this case the most important thing to bring to this adventure bike ride was my 250! I was really struck by the size and tranquillity of the source of the Umgeni/vlei. Amazing that those frogs can make that much noise!

Hey Ian

for me the best part was meeting all you Durban guys for the first time and getting to put names to faces. Great to meet Trevorwb, Zacapa, 777, Mr G, Bushcat, KTM11 and others who were there

You guys rock

 

[JonW]

On to the Rocky technical section

The sun was by this time high in the sky and the temperature was hitting the upper 30's

I led the group to the start of the track, then pulled over and let Alfie and some of the faster riders past, no way was I going to try stay ahead of them through this section  

Re-grouped at the end of the section, waiting for Outthere to arrive with the backmarkers. Hats off to Trevor wb for getting on his bike to go look for them, I was just too buggered, easier to lie on the ground next to my bike trying to recover.

From there we headed back up past Impendle and onto a privately owned piece of track crossing some farmland. I had got permission from the farmer to ride here, but had told him there would probably be 3 or 4 of us, so I was quite glad the group had dropped in size to about 10.

The route goes past the Umgeni Vlei and it is incredible awesome. I.m sure my point and shoot pics don't do it justice

From there we came out on the Lotheni road, had a boring tar ride through Nottingham Road and back to CrossWays, where the beers were sweet and the company great.

 

[777]

Txs to all who helped , picked , pushed us along. My riding fitness is non existence. I have a few video clips I will post on Wednesday, think I even got Neil Scott Williams drooping his R300k Dakar bike .

 

[wilddoc]

I see myself  in the pics looks like I am praying that the rock will not be there when I look up.
But no Struggle on

 

[Haplo]

Fantastic photos!! Looked like a fun day

 

[KTM11]

What a GREAT ride !!!

I had planned on doing a ride on Sunday and had mentioned it to a few mates who were keen to join me, then Alfie said he was also free on Sunday and was keen to go on a ride, so he told a few guys and we were ready to go.....then I saw JonW "Impendle Technical" ride was also on Sunday so we decided we would all join JonW and meet at Crossways in Hilton,  well by the time everyone was there including a group of guys who had travelled up from Durbs we were 23 bikes in total.....I think JonW was a bit shocked when he saw 23 bikes ready to go.

We headed out to Impendle where we re-grouped

and then headed to the fuel station for a top up, where Alfie and Niel were sharing Dakar stories.

From there we headed through the Impendle Nature reserve on what was 1 of the Routes from the Alfie Cox Dual sport weekend.

We had a break at the river crossing while we waited for the other to arrive

and then it was on to the 1st technical climb of the day ....most guys got up without a problem but Bushcat decided it would be a good place to lay his KTM down for a while.

From there it was a good flowing ride till we turned off onto the part of the ride we were all waiting for.

A few hundred meters into the "Technical" section and the fun was starting already for Cachetty
(Richard) , Wilddoc looking for a easier route.

I was now riding at the back with Outthere and we were pulling a few of the guys through the mud and helping them to lift their bikes up.

Eventually I left this group to try and catch up with some of the guys who had gone on ahead, that's when I came across JonW down off the left of the path looking a little worn out on the side of the mountain from trying to kick start his XR650, so we pushed his bike back onto the path and I eventually got it fired up and we were on our way, with Wilddoc just behind us.

By now the route had got a lot easier and we were nearing the river crossing where some of the other guys were waiting for us. By this time the 1st group of 9 riders had decided to carry on and were now having lunch at Nottingham road while the riders at the back were starting to trickle in.

By the time Cachetty arrived his BMW was looking a little worse for wear.

From there on the "Technical" part of the ride was over and we decided to head along the last part of the route that JonW had set for us.....we were now down to 9 riders as some of the other riders decided that they had done enough pushing and pulling for 1 day.

We headed out to the Umgeni Vlei and then around towards Nottingham road and back down to Hilton.

Nice to meet a few new guys from Durban

Thanks JonW for a great ride .....can't wait to go back !!!

 

[wilddoc]

Thanks KTM 11 for helping me out of the mud.

 

[777]

Ja me too, thanks Jarno, when he said to me to gas it over the mud obstacle my body cried no more and  had to be pulled out.
Here are two pics I took with my cell while waiting for other to catch up. Some locals, one though he was my sponsor , see his shirt and my tank  ;D

 

[Mr G (David)]

Now that I caught up at the work place.....if I could award additional stars to the WD members I would give one to the trail Boss (JonW) for an aw-sum loop :thumleft: and two stars go to the Sweeper...Outhere...(respect) :3some:

Good to meet some new faces from the forum.......and looking forward to future rides. :mwink:

Here is a couple pics I got along the way.

 

[JonW]

Eventually I left this group to try and catch up with some of the guys who had gone on ahead, that's when I came across JonW down off the left of the path looking a little worn out on the side of the mountain from trying to kick start his XR650, so we pushed his bike back onto the path and I eventually got it fired up and we were on our way, with Wilddoc just behind us.

Hey Jarno

Good to meet you and thanks for helping me get my bike back up to the track.

I was well and truly fooked when you saw me  :biggrin:

 

[Rock On]

Thanks for sharing..looks awesome

 

[Cachetty]

Thanks for a good days riding. I was aliitle tired and bent by the time we got to the bottom of rocky road. Thanks to JonW for organizing the ride and thanks to Kevin for the help and advice down the hill. The bike needs some loving but its all minor.  :ricky:

 

[goingnowherequickly]

Looks like a great ride!
Thanks for posting... :thumleft:
been following this one with interest, unfortunately had commitments on Sunday...

 

[BIGMAC]

Sorry I missed this, but will be there next time. Well done Jon, Kevin and Jarno for putting in together and helping all on the day.

Diarise 16th Dec for the Father Christmas ride to Zingela

 

[Rynet]

Very nice , looks like tough going , but rewarding. :thumleft:

And very pretty , so green in the valley.  :thumleft:

 

[wilddoc]

Sorry I missed this, but will be there next time. Well done Jon, Kevin and Jarno for putting in together and helping all on the day.

Diarise 16th Dec for the Father Christmas ride to Zingela

I am in .
My Honda likes these trips

 

[GundaGunda]

. . . .  I was really struck by the size and tranquillity of the source of the Umgeni/vlei. Amazing that those frogs can make that much noise!

Is there a Gunda-friendly to get there ? It looks like a spectacular wetland in Google earth.

. . . and great RR guys - spectacular. 

 

[JonW]

. . . .  I was really struck by the size and tranquillity of the source of the Umgeni/vlei. Amazing that those frogs can make that much noise!

Is there a Gunda-friendly to get there ? It looks like a spectacular wetland in Google earth.

. . . and great RR guys - spectacular. 

Hi Gunda

The ride through there is pretty easy, and it is IMHO totally spectacular. Only problem is that the route we took is all on private property. I am sure that there is a public road in there somewhere though, will play on GE for a bit and send you something.

 

[Freddy]

Thanks for the great ride chaps, and the DongaHonda400 had a real ball. I was quite enjoying the slogging sweeping with the "survivors" with Kevin, made the trip all the more memorable. I've got some pics ready, catch ya later.

 

[GundaGunda]

. . . .
The ride through there is pretty easy, and it is IMHO totally spectacular. Only problem is that the route we took is all on private property. I am sure that there is a public road in there somewhere though, will play on GE for a bit and send you something.

Thanks  :thumleft:

I have found the easiest way to get onto private land is to phone the closest guest house/farm or B&B. They always seem to know the folks in the area, and often give contact details.

In my experience a phone call to a farmer to ask permission to ride through gets a "yes"  more times than a "no" - maybe is just my friendly voice !!

. . . just not cane or timber farmers in the dry season - they see bikes as fire starters.