Lesotho, the hard way.(Complete)

[MrBig]

Michiel do you know that it'll be JUNE next week?  >

 

[fat b]

: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.

Hey bru !!! That's fucking fantastic !! I am speechless !! Ja I must admit I am probably You and Altus's greatest fan , because your trips epitomise true adventure !!! I have even been inspired to start getting fit again so that I may also start doing more streneous trips in the near future !
Thanx again !!
Now when can you send it ?????? Or what must I do to get it ????  :drif:

 

[madmike999]

: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.

me tooo me tooo me tooo asb.

were to get?

 

[Riaanrw]

Waar en wanne?

 

[Rynet]

Welcome back to the Forum ou sieke  :thumleft:

And please I also want a copy of the video  :3some:

 

[CAR6850]

Can't believe I am only reading this now :ricky:

Well done, you ous are ysters atch:

 

[Michiel]

Can't believe I am only reading this now :ricky:

Well done, you ous are ysters atch:

Hold on now, the best is still coming. We just have to get the HPN started.

Kom nou Dusty :whip2: wikkel daai fingers.

 

[Michiel]

Ok gents, hold on a bit. Rynet, don't worry...  

If I'm going to be sending the "box set" out in any numbers I will have to get the logistics
sorted first. For now fat b will get his earnings and the rest of you will have to wait and hear
what he thinks of it. The other very important matter is that of copyright. Dustdevil owns a
significant part of the footage. I would go as far as to say he shot the majority of the key
footage. We will have to wait to hear what he makes of all this.

My only expectation is to be able to share our "art" with the public. Dusty though has
expectations of making this venture more sustainable by generating an income as to fund
the next adventure video. Non profitable organizations gets away with lots of copyright
issues because they don't make money of it. As long as I stay poor nobody will care what I
do. Making money complicates matters. My "first cut" will fail because of copyrighted music
I used.

I am awaiting a reply from the forum moderator regarding the non-profit distribution of the
video using this forum. As you can imagine, at small scale, just producing the paper and
plastic that makes up the box set costs around R30. Then there will also be postage and
packaging. I would love to hand these out for free as my reward lies in sharing our "art" but
then I will be broke and the KLR will starve. We don't want that...

 

[madmike999]

:thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft: :thumleft:


can't wait!!!

 

[vellies]

Hey Michiel. Daardie eerste trip van jou en "moerige" John het ek aangegee na Thump en ek glo die ou het dit al met ander makkers gedeel. Geen disrespek John dit was net classic as jy so die vieste in geraak het vir die vallery. Julle trips en moeite met die kykgenot word opreg waardeer en ek dink daar is min threads wat met soveel afwagting dopgehou word. Terloops ek hoop nie julle het daar by ou Derek by Mulomong dieselfde fout as ek gemaak om die berg medisyne te administreer nie. Die goed het my voete en lippe gevat maar ek het 'n salige glimlag op my gesig gekry wat 'n hele ruk in stilte gehou het  :ricky:

 

[MrBig]

Hey Michiel. Daardie eerste trip van jou en "moerige" John het ek aangegee na Thump en ek glo die ou het dit al met ander makkers gedeel. Geen disrespek John dit was net classic as jy so die vieste in geraak het vir die vallery. Julle trips en moeite met die kykgenot word opreg waardeer en ek dink daar is min threads wat met soveel afwagting dopgehou word. Terloops ek hoop nie julle het daar by ou Derek by Mulomong dieselfde fout as ek gemaak om die berg medisyne te administreer nie. Die goed het my voete en lippe gevat maar ek het 'n salige glimlag op my gesig gekry wat 'n hele ruk in stilte gehou het  :ricky:

Dis nou nog n favourite line van my vrou as ek aanhou fotos neem
"Michiel... ek gaan daai kamera uit jou hand uit BLIKSEM!"
:biggrin:

 

[Michiel]

:imaposer: Take it easy on poor old John, Lesotho can make for a very stressful ride.
As specially if you don't want your bike to fall over and get scratched.

 

[Dustdevil]

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.

What Stefan is referring to is that I recommended to him a luggage system from Giant Loop. The bag is called the Great Basin and holds app. 50 L of luggage in different removable compartments.
The main advantages of this kind of luggage system is that it provide the ultimate spread of weight over the rear frame reducing damage due to stresses, improve handling of the bike especially when standing while riding real technical terrain and last but very important, it keeps the luggage out of harms way in case of dropping the bike.
On the Lesotho trip I used the stuff from Bacbones and although it was very good and also met those three key requirements for a trip of this nature I found the loose fitting central bag nerve wrecking and the flimsy clips also did not instill a lot of confidence. The Bacbones bags are four separate bags and can be a pain to install and remove. Dust and water also get in very easily where as the Great Basin is made from waterproof canvas with a waterproof zipper keeping most of the elements out of the bag.(It is not completely waterproof due to stitching.)

The Great Basin and it's smaller cousin will fit any dual purpose bike and sit very securely, and completely out of the way of legs and feet as you move around on the bike while standing.

I recently tested the Great Basin on a Namibian ride of over 6000 km with BIG sand, lots of offs and rough gravel surfaces and if Stefan only knew how well this bag was handling and holding up he will kick himself one more time.

Stefan's Kappa bags and frames. Low centre of gravity, but not good when the going gets tough as the bags takes a lot of abuse when falling over and because they are not well supported they put a lot of strain on the pannier frames when hitting potholes and stones. The fact that they are loose fitting cause a lot of movement that will interfere with the bikes handling and feel.

Giant Loop, Great Basin. The bags I recommended to Stefan for the trip.

Giant Loop on the HPN; Perfect.

From the back it is clear that the Great Basin is very streamlined where it does not interfere with the riders position and when the bike is dropped.

The Bacbones is also very streamlined.

A great advantage of the Giant Loop bags is that it does not need pannier frames, it only needs a pillion rider spot and footpegs + small rear carrier for attachment.

 

[Dustdevil]

The Ride back up Sani proofed easier than getting down the previous day.

Broken down taxi.

The surface was rough enough and the switch-backs tight enough but with some confidence, standing on the pegs it is not at all to hard.

At the top of Sani we did not waste time at the usual watering holes and such but hit the border post and got going in the direction of Mulumong as soon as possible.

Black Mountain pass was wet and slippery but the road is in good condition.

Michiel knew about a short cut to the backpackers and just as we turned of on this little rough and ready track Stefan became concerned with the temperature gauge on the 800GS that went up into the red for the third time now with the bike spewing liquids from the radiator expansion bottle.
Suddenly things look very dark for a moment, this could mean the end of the trip. :-\

Low and behold we had cell reception and I called a BMW mechanic in Cape Town. I was not very hopeful because this is like calling your GP expecting him to make a diagnoses without seeing the patient and even if he knows what is wrong he will simply tell you to bring the bike in as it will require parts or special tools to fix the problem.

Alf, always being the helpful self casually let me know that we are dealing with a common problem on these models, there is an airlock in the radiator system and in minutes he explained what we need to do to fix the problem.

Thanks Alf, your a star.

Only problem was that it did not take minutes to fix the problem as the side covers need to come of in order to get to the radiator and this took for ever. At least long enough that it was now dark by the time we were finished.
In the meanwhile we had some local interest offering help and assistance but Stefan was on top of things and before long the bike was primed and running with now problem. Now only waiting patiently while the covers are bolted back on.

 

[fat b]

Looking good Dusty !!  :thumleft: Keep it coming , I don't know which part of this RR I like the best , the text , the scenery or the pics of your mouth watering HPN ??? Maybe it's the combination of all of the above that makes this RR so great ! 
PS... I'm counting the minutes till I receive my dvd's of the trip !  :thumleft:

 

[fat b]

Hey hey hey !!!!! The courier just dropped of my dvd's !!! I was expecting a couple of plain unprofessional re written DVD's but just check this professional looking box set out !!!
Thanx a million Michiel  :thumleft:

Just looking at the cover makes you want to watch it !!! This set will take pride of place in my collection , I can't wait to watch it this afternoon ... fuck the rugby I know what I will be watching this afternoon !!

 

[Rynet]

Thanks a million Michiel for giving me a copy of the DVD  :3some:  ,  what a NICE surprise  :thumleft: :thumleft:

Am having a soup and drinks evening with 3 other biker chicks tonite, and we going to watch the DVD's, can't wait  :biggrin:

 

[fat b]

man o man , what a nice adventure ! I enjoyed every minute of it and felt like I was part of the action !! Well done Michiel and Altus , this was a great adventure !!! .... mmm I think I will watch it again tonight ! Thanx again ! :thumleft:

 

[Michiel]

The normal road to Molumong Backpackers Lodge is straight forward but I noticed on Google Earth that
there is a little shortcut. Nearing our destination with Sack in the lead I realize he won't know where to
turn off as the shortcut isn't well marked. As a stroke of luck, all be it bad luck the 800 started overheating
leaving Sack no other option but to stop... a 100m after he should have turned... Luckily I could now wave
him back but as he pulled up to myself and Dustdevil the bad news came. The bike has been running hot
for a while and now it's properly overheating. Sack explained the instrument panel lit up like a christmas
tree with warning lights flashing!

My heart sank... This is a state of the art modern motorcycle so chances are that, unlike the old HPN or
simple KLR, we won't be able to do a roadside fix. Dustdevil stayed calm and collected, as usual. I already
saw how we were limping back home without riding what would have been the most exiting part op the trip.

By now we were already a good part into the 2nd half of the afternoon. On top of the mountains the sun
shines for the longest time but where we are, somewhat in a valley, we were already in shadow. Along the
mountain ridges towards the East the falling rays made for a dramatic display. More luck, this time good luck,
came in the form of a cellphone signal. Dustdevil could now phone a friend. Long story short, the 800 is
known to make a air-lock in the cooling system which can be cured by bleeding the system. An easy little job
but since Sack has to remove the side cover panels it took a while. And another while to "put Humpty Dumpty
back together again" as Sack commented.

It was the most beautiful peaceful evening. Not a breath of wind in the air. In the distance we could see the
smoke from a dung fire rising and then hanging still. Contrasting those in the East the mountains in the West
were now etched into a silhouette upon the horizon.

While we stood there we obviously became a point of interest for the nearby villagers and bypassers. Some
offered their help, afterwards while translating the Sotho for the video, I realized that one young man offered
to fetch some water from the river. We can't speak Sotho but they understood when I said the bike was "too hot".
As night fell our torches drew more attention. I still laugh when I look at the video footage. This one teenager
loved my little cheap torch for when I switch it on the whole thing lights up, as in the torch body. He kept on
saying/asking: "give me my torch" just like that.

As the veil of darkness silently pulled over us I couldn't help but to feel a tiny bit frightened. Here are no street lights.
What the bike produce in light is all you have to go by. Humpty Dumpty back together again and running well we
left this memorable spot to complete the last 15km to Molumong and the Backpackers accommodation. I'm leading
with the other two a hesitant distance behind.

Riding has now become a bit precarious as one can't see any hole or rut in the road until you actually hit it. Hills and
bumps in the road obscure what is to follow them as well. All of this while sliding around in the mud. Not 5km down
I lost my following... What the hell! Now I was getting frustrated! What's happened now?

 

[madmike999]

no please don't stop