Lesotho Meander

[myni]

The plan was as follows:

Day 1 – Johannesburg / Pretoria to Winburg (afternoon ride)
Day 2 – Winburg to Rhodes, via Lundean’s Nek
Day 3 – Rhodes to Himeville, via Naude’s Nek, Pitseng and the dirt road to Swartberg
Day 4 – Himeville to Fouriesburg, via Sani Pass and the A1 over the Roof
Day 5 – Fouriesburg to Johannesburg / Pretoria

However, it turned out quite differently ... and as soon as I can figure out how to [easily] paste my MS-Word doc into the forum ... I will tell you all about it!

 

[letsgofishing]

Ctrl C, Ctrl V!  ;D - seriously.
Use Photbucket or similar for the pics

 

[nreyneke]

:thumleft:

 

[myni]

Wild Dog Ride Report: Part 1
Lesotho Meander – October 2010
_______________________________________________________________________________

It started with a dream that I must think that every Dog has: to do Sani and Lesotho.

Idle chatter and a few conversations over a beer or two ended up in a plan to combine a longer trip around Lesotho with Sani and riding the Roof.  However, as most of the guys were fairly new and inexperienced DS bikers, we chose to take it slow and leisurely.  Therefore we planned a five day trip:

Day 1 – Johannesburg / Pretoria to Winburg (afternoon ride)
Day 2 – Winburg to Rhodes, via Lundean’s Nek
Day 3 – Rhodes to Himeville, via Naude’s Nek, Pitseng and the dirt road to Swartberg
Day 4 – Himeville to Fouriesburg, via Sani Pass and the A1 over the Roof
Day 5 – Fouriesburg to Johannesburg / Pretoria

We started off as a group of seven guys, but ended up as only three that did the whole trip:


From left to right:  Mynhardt (myni); La-Cell (TheDuke); and Mias (Taurus).

Our trusty steeds:


L-t-r:  TheDuke on the GS1200 Adventure, myni on the F800GS and Taurus on the GS1200R (with front mud guard).

It started off on a balmy Thursday afternoon when we met up at World Wear in Fairland, and rode through to Winburg in the Freestate.  A good many pints and chunk of red meat later, we were as ready as can be to take on what may come our way.

On the Friday morning we had an eventless ride from Winburg, via Excelsior to Zastron, on to Sterkspruit.  We were itching to take the bikes into the mountains and the passes – and to leave civilisation behind.

The scenery was beautiful – albeit that the road was not in a good condition: very rocky, with loose gravel (excellent riding conditions!).  Soon we were skidding up the passes, headed for Lundean’s Nek ... rain an ever threat at our backs.










Getting into Rhodes we were astounded by the beauty and simplicity of the place, and just how friendly the people were.  It was also pleasant to meet up with some fellow bikers – some of which were Dogs as well (unfortunately, not being very good with names ...?).

The Hotel sorted us out with accommodation (highly recommended) but soon our attention was focused else where ...




... which was followed by an excellent braai (best lamb chops this year!), as done by the proprietor himself, with Leon at the bar keeping our glasses charged!

 

[myni]

Wild Dog Ride Report: Part 2
Lesotho Meander – October 2010
_______________________________________________________________________________

The next day dawned and already the air was heavy with moisture, thunder and lighting:




However, we were keen to get on with it and as soon as there was a break in the rain (and after a lovely breakfast), we saddled up and rode out.  We were joined by Reinald and Edzard who drove down the previous day via Maseru and the A2 to Telle Bridge, before arriving in Rhodes.  They were planning to ride through to Himeville with us and on the Sunday, back to Johannesburg.

The day started off very pleasantly – riding up Naude’s Nek – and had a lot of promise.






But we started to get an inkling of what was lying in wait for us, as the mist started to sweep across the mountain top and the wind speed increasing ever so slightly.

The top of the pass confirmed this:




After a quick rest – and chased by the rain that was coming down harder now, we pressed on, down the pass to our next via point at Elands Height, where we would turn left to go down the Pitseng Pass.

At the split we took a quick leg stretch and smoke-break ... before the rain rushed us on again.

However, it was not long before we had our first “down” when Mias used the left pivot on his 1200 to point his headlight at the rest of us.  Soon after, Reinald came down rather hard after going down a slope that would excite children at a water park.  A frustrating day lay ahead ...




To make matters worse, was the fact (which we did not know) that the combination of the clay, mud and poorly deflated tyres on the 1200’s, ensured that the front wheels clogged up and stopped turning (about every 50 – 100 meters!).  This caused a few more “offs” and much exercise to pick these heavy machines up.








This stick became La-Cell’s keepsake and grand memoir (needs a special mention in dispatches!) of the trip ... which was extensively used in an attempt to clear the mud out of his mud guard (I think he has it framed above his fire place by now):

 

[myni]

Wild Dog Ride Report: Part 3
Lesotho Meander – October 2010
_______________________________________________________________________________

An interlude:  The kindness of strangers can not be over stated ... in our case, we were in the road, helping Reinald up after a hard fall, when a farmer passed (slipped) by and offered us a break and refuge on his farm (just down the road).  When we got there (Vrederus), his wife was waiting for us, with the kettle boiling already.  It must have been the best coffee had by all for a long time.  The mood soon lifted and the weather looked a little more promising – which was not to last.  But at least for those 30 minutes we could relax and laugh at our maladies; and gain courage from each other to push on.




Into the wild again ... and we had an epic struggle with the mud and elements once more:








A few other casualties resulted from this ... like La-Cell breaking his spot light; Mias eventually ripping his front mudguard off to escape the sticky clutches of the Pitseng mud! ... and gloves combined with lots of rain changes the colour of your hands ... who knew?!




Eventually – that is seven (7) hours after leaving Rhodes in the morning; and 98 km further – we breached the snotty mud road and landed safely on the tar ... where some were a little more than ecstatic than others:




We were wet and chilled to the bone ... with the rain just not letting up.

Low on fuel we stopped at Mount Fletcher and were shocked to see that it was already 17:30!  We had originally planned to be in the Himeville Arms Pub at that time ... which now seemed a tad unlikely.  Our friends, Reinald and Edzard, who were about an hour ahead of us, sent a SMS that they were booked into a hotel in Matatiele.  An hour (or so later), stiff as sticks, we followed suit and joined them.  Not a very pleasant place (Matatiele), with not much to offer in terms of restaurants or pubs – but at least it was roof over our heads and as soon as we figured out how the showers worked, we could have a semblance of warmth and comfort.

 

[myni]

Wild Dog Ride Report: Part 4
Lesotho Meander – October 2010
_______________________________________________________________________________

Sunday was supposed to be our big day – going up Sani and over the Roof.

But, we had to wake up in a grey, gloomy, and rainy Matatiele – still 250 km from Himeville.  There was no way that we would make it ... but perhaps we could just “go and see”.  So off we headed for Himeville.

More rain, but a comfortable ride – albeit that every cage was intent on killing us (along with the cattle in the road and many pedestrians – seemingly oblivious to any traffic whatsoever!).  The rain also helped to clean the bikes a little – so that there was a semblance of propriety when we stopped in Himeville for lunch:



Although blessed with sun shine during lunch, a new thunder storm drove us out of town with a change of plan.  We would head for Fouriesburg by riding around Lesotho and over the Oliviershoek Pass.  All hopes of Sani were dashed by heavy rain and strong winds – sanity prevailed in the end: live to ride another day!  We would do Sani next year (February perhaps the best time?) ...

It was a beautiful, albeit busy, road through Bulwer to Howick, where (in order to make up time) we jumped on to the N3 and headed north.  But Lady Luck deserted us again: gale force cross winds, two thunder storms, two hail storms and a cloud burst (total white out) dampened our spirits and progress.




The thick fog all the way up (a very busy) Van Reenens Pass was the cherry on top.  So by the time we reached Harrismith – all plans to do Oliviershoek were washed away after the first hail storm – at 17:30; there was little support to push through to Fouriesburg in the inclement weather, with tired bodies, frayed nerves and tense muscles.

So for a second time our plans went awry.  But after booking into the Country Inn at Harrismith, we headed to the Spur for some fine steaks, red wine and the old Safrican stalwart: “B&C”, “polisie koffie”, “spook en diesel” ... call it what you will, but it warms the cockles and your heart!

On the Monday – when we were expecting to have celebrated our victorious emergence from the Roof of Africa – we had to settle for a gentle meander from Harrismith, through Golden Gate to Clarens.  The consolation however was the beauty of the park ... and a cold beer at the Clarens Brewery (at La-Cell’s insistence!).








As the beer was running out, there was a feeling that our trip was coming to an end as well.  From Clarens we left for Bethlehem and passed through Reitz, Heilbron, Sasolburg and Vanderbijlpark before connecting with the N1 again to ride home.  As a final farewell to the ever present elements – the wind once again entertained us with its wistful twists and turns, and unexpected lulls and spurts – causing some heart palpitations from time-to-time.

Conflicting emotions in the end: disappointed that we could not reach our ultimate goal of “doing” Lesotho, but elated that we survived what could only be described as an epic adventure.  As the old saying goes: “life happens when you are making other plans.”  ... and this is just what happened with us!  There is no count of the number of times we changed our minds and made new decisions, new routes, new plans.

We did not ride half as much off road as we intended (and wanted to) and ended up on too much tar and too many busy highways.

But in the end; an adventure it was and the experience and lessons learnt from this trip could not be bought.

Last thought:  ad-ven-ture: n. (Lat: res adventura – a thing about to happen) an unusual or exciting experience.

ooo0ooo​

Lessons Learnt:

1. The weather report for KZN and Lesotho is 100% correct.
2. October is not a good time for KZN or Lesotho.
3. Book only your first night, there after find place where you get to.
4. Be flexible and adaptable to your changing circumstances.
5. Choose the people that you are going to ride with, with great care.  When things go wrong, you need people you can depend on and who are there to help.
6. Do not tinker with your trip meter whilst riding on a muddy road – the end is inevitable!
7. Fitness and stamina are very important.
8. Some off-road training will stand us all in good stead.
9. Enjoy and live the moment – it all builds experience ... and character.
10. Be bold and never stop learning from your mistakes.
11. Always maintain an even keel and positive attitude.

 

[KTM Jagermeister]

Rain, hail and the foggen mud ... certainly a character building ride. 

 

[nreyneke]

Eish...  :thumleft:

 

[letsgofishing]

Awesome ride, but obviously you upset the weather gods! ;D
Your summary of lessons learned is excellent!

 

[funacide]

Really nice report, I have fixed the pic's that they are not showing Thumbnails...

 

[JonW]

Nice report myni, really enjoyed reading it.

That section from naude's Nek through Lower Pitseng to the tar can be awful when it is wet. What should normally be an easy fun 40 minute ride when it is dry turns into 5 hours of wrestling your bike through the slimy mud when it is wet.

 

[myni]

Really nice report, I have fixed the pic's that they are not showing Thumbnails...

Thank you for making it look better ... what did you do?

 

[KTM Jagermeister]

Nou lyk dit my daar was nog meer modder!  Hou van die manier wat die bakkie skeef oor die pad staan, sekerlik n storie op sy eie.