Lesotho, the hard way.(Complete)

[Michiel]

This RR is like national geographic slow but worth the wait for the awesome pics. :thumleft:
>

  :imaposer: Glad you're enjoying it.

Thanks for everyone's support.

I will keep you lot updated but in the meantime here are some pictures to remember Dustdevil by.

 

[Outhere]

Very sorry to hear .

Keep you and yours in our pray's.

Get well soon.

 

[Rynet]

Very sorry to hear .

Keep you and yours in our pray's.

Get well soon.

There is now also a thread open about his accident on Bike Banter , see here  https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=49626.0

ps great pics Michiel  :thumleft:

 

[eikeboom]

Ok Michiel now what is the good news?

 

[Michiel]

Ah! At last somebody is asking. The good news is that Dustdevil's fingers are still intact so now
that he's got lots of time lying around he will have no more excuses to make us wait for more
entries on this ride report.  I asked him about his fingers to which he confusingly replied: "uh,
they're fine..." When he realized where I'm going with the question he quickly added that he does
have bad bruising/burns on his one hand.  ;D

Picture compliments of Jughead. Thanks.

 

[pierre repinz]

I love those pics of Pampoensport at night....awsome !!!!!

 

[Michiel]

Thanks for the audience.

Dusty just sms'ed me to tell he has been discharged from hospital and on his way home. He said his ribbetjies
is quite painfull and he think it might be a while before he can look that HPN in the eye.

Come on Dusty, put us out of misery and post something...

 

[fat b]

Thanks for the audience.

Dusty just sms'ed me to tell he has been discharged from hospital and on his way home. He said his ribbetjies
is quite painfull and he think it might be a while before he can look that HPN in the eye.

Come on Dusty, put us out of misery and post something...

:laughing4: + 1 !! Tell Dusty I will look after that HPN for him !

 

[Dustdevil]

Laying down at night still results in an awful crunchy feeling as broken ribs and cartilage rub against each other with every move I make.
As Michiel would put it "there's nothing wrong with your fingers" so practically I should have all the time in the world to get this RR finished. Only problem is that I need to be mentally there as well and the severe discomfort leads to a constant state of exhaustion. Sleep does not come easy and I can't maintain it for very long. When you wake up because of the discomfort there is not much I can do to relieve it as I can't turn on my sides at all.
Getting up is quite painful but sometimes doing that for a few minutes and then trying to get back to sleep in the same position is the only way to break the cycle. The result though is that I wake up tired in the mornings.

All excuses to an end, the report must go on so here goes...

We got through customs real fast while one of the officials asked if we could bring back a MTN prepaid voucher when he heard we will be coming back the following day. By now it is drizzling constantly and although not muddy the road surface is soaked, not the best conditions for descending the infamous Sani for the first time.

I was awe struck by the sheer beauty of the Drakensberg mountain cliffs and lush green slopes and valleys.
I could not take to much of this in as the treacherous road surface requires all of ones attention and before you know it you are down in the valley approaching the SA border-post.

Our journey to Pietermaritzburg ended up in a night time race through driving rain and really bad visibility. To top this I was unaware of Stefan's predicament riding behind me, my tail light was blown and the dirt covering my number-plate made it near impossible for him to see where I was in front of him. The possibility of crashing into each other in the dark and rain was a real threat and I could sense his frustration when we finally arrived at the destination. I made a point of fixing this first thing the next morning.

We spend the night with Michiels family sharing some of our experiences so far. It was a welcome stop over to get our gear washed and cleaned and to do a few minor repairs on the bikes before we were of after lunch the following day.

I am amazed that I have no images of this part of the trip although there is lots of video footage. :

 

[fat b]

Welcome back boet ! Thanx for the effort !  :thumleft:

 

[madmike999]

glad your doing well there DD!!!


THANKS FOR POSTING

 

[Michiel]

Hallelujah brother, praise the Lord!

The remaining few km's to Sani rolled on quickly. Making the Sani Top border post stop I saw Sack
already waiting, ready to make the descent. This will be both his and Dustdevil's first time to ride the
famous Sani Pass. The rain has a constant presence although it hasn't actually come down hard, not yet.

Descending Sani in the wet is slightly tricky but we make fast progress and without incident. The whole
Sani valley is covered in a misty veil with super bright green mountain sides stretching out of sight. Now
and then a beam of sunlight makes it to the ground with rainbow effect. Waterfalls beside and streams
crossing the road.

Nothing unusual about the South African border post. Realizing how late it has become we now hurry
along to Heimville where we stop to inflate our tires to highway pressures. After a quick phone call to
my Aunt, who is already expecting us, we head off to complete the final stretch of today's ride. By the
time we're past Underberg I realize we're in for it. My Aunt warned that it is pissing down in Pietermaritzburg.
The remaining 120km odd we struggle along a busy road in heavy rain. Visibility is just about down to a
couple of meters. Leading the pack, I don't mind "feeling" my way along a road but I can tell the other two
are having a hard time. Dustdevil's tail light got damaged by his heavy luggage and now Sack has to ride
close behind to protect his arse. By the time we get to the N3 Sack has had it! He can't see Dustdevil and
nearly connected with the HPN a couple of times. Neither of them know where we're going so I have to lead.

Hilton is a little town on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg and finally we arrive to a dry warm house at my
Aunt's. Good food and wine followed and my Aunt did miracles by washing our smelly swaety kit. We all
slept like babies only stirring later the following morning.

Today we will only have to ride back up Sani and to Molumong, about 80km into Lesotho.

 

[SACK]

Welcome back Altus! Good to hear from you.

So far I've been lousy at adding to this ride report but I plan on chipping in occasionally from here on in. Even if it is only to make pathetic excuses for falling so much.

At the risk of getting ahead of myself I plan on blaming most of it on the way I packed my luggage. Too much weight too far back, and my whole setup was much too wide. I should have listened to Altus.

 

[Michiel]

Sack, I know you got some pictures of Sani going down in the rain. Give it up!  :deal:

Sack let me ride that 800 in Atlantis over the weekend. Boy, was that fun! Unlike my farm
implement the 800 delivers so much power over such a long reff range that I just couldn't
get enough of doing or trying to do power-slides. Although in sand it makes no difference I
did notice that "snatchy throttle" thing everybody talks about.

Unlike my farm implement, which has a very sluggish reaction, the 800 jumps from idle to
pulling hard with the slightest turn of the throttle. While the KLR can "tractor" along in idle
without stalling the 800 does need a bit more throttle to keep it going over obstacles.

I guess you can see where I'm going with this... All I have to say at this stage is that I was
very fortunate to be riding my KLR on the 2nd leg of the journey and Sack, yea, I still take
my hat off for you persisting till we made it all the way through... You and Dusty just didn't
know the full extent of what we were in for.

 

[fat b]

:drif: :drif: :drif: :drif:  Come on now guys , my salivary glands are starting to work overtime again in anticipation of this RR getting going again !!! Don't keep us waiting to long pleeezzzzeeee !!!

 

[faniesmith]

:bounce:

 

[Michiel]

Kom nou Dusty! :whip2:

 

[Michiel]

By midday we managed to get Dusty back on to the HPN and off we went. My uncle is an old accomplished
Engineer and Lawyer always hungry to learn more, a keen listener and Dusty is a keen talker. A time-consuming
combination as you can imagine. We only need to get to Molumong today. This village is well known for there is a
Backpackers Lodge situated within the old Trading Post residence.

We make speed along the same road we came yesterday. I actually know a delightful little dirt road winding
through the forests that will cut out most of the highway riding but that will take up too much time.
Near the SA Border Post a 4x4 came round a tight corner completely on the wrong side of the road. He wanted to
avoid a big puddle of mud. Here Leon’s Country Tracks training came in handy as I had to do an emergency stop.
Locking the back wheel, as Leon taught us, I made the rear end swerve left and right and left again coming to a
stop a safe distance from the 4x4. The driver must have got twice the fright I got as he apologised profusely.

A year ago I can remember being truly tensed up before making the ascend to Sani Top. This time we all make
small change of the pass, stopping often but for photograph and video purposes. We really made an effort to
practise our “mountain riding” skills during the months leading up to the trip. Helderberg 4x4, Matroosberg,
Elandskloof 4x4 and the Cederberg.

Look at my trusty steed! She seem to have been cut out of the landscape, like Eve from Adam's rib.

Near the top we find a deserted taxi. The front wheel tore from it’s mounts, just a reminder of the condition of
the roads we travel.

A quick picture taken at the famous Sani sign, Border Post formalities and off we go.

I am really exited for, by this time tomorrow,  we will be in the part of Lesotho that scares the hell out of me.
For now though we have it easy as we scoot along beautiful mountains on a smooth winding road.

 

[fat b]

:drif: This is better than coffee in the morning !  :thumleft:

 

[Michiel]

:drif: This is better than coffee in the morning !  :thumleft:

Fat b, you know, you've become our most loyal viewer. I think you've just earned yourself a copy of the video.
I am exited to announce that I've completed the "first cut", my personal edit of the trip. This feature consists of
4 episodes each +- 40min long. It builds up beautifully to a climax at the last episode. Since I didn't have to
adhere to the rules and restrictions for commercial films I put in all the footage I felt helped to tell the story or
that I just liked. We did this trip with more emphasis on video than photographs so the images in the ride report
only serves as a trailer to the video.

The idea was that Dustdevil and I would then work on a more commercially acceptable cut or edit to be broadcasted
and sold if it got to that. Given circumstances I should add that there is no guarantee this will actually happen.