Our non-adventure Lesotho adventure (RR completed)

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First lie down was shortly before this hill to break the ice (no photo). Thereafter I lost count.

Learnt a lot from you guys, thanks for the patience.
What I enjoyed most was one of you behind me, even though I fell lost my mirrors and did not know where you were it felt like being chased which put out of my comfort zone (a place I really enjoyed being) quickly. Definitely a better rider after this.
 
Day 2 part 2

In pic 1 and 2 is Henk doing the worst step of the trip, and also the only time I found the 1190 not 100% on par with the 990 machines. The 1190 was beached on that step and required a little pushing, while the 990 just scraped and went over rather easy. See the video for a better idea of the step.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/1mXefjR-YwM[/youtube]

Eventually we had a pedestrian bridge to cross, but somehow we missed the road and had to improvise. Actually a lot of improvising happened on the trip, going of the track almost always led to the worst/best technical pieces, depending on how you want to look at it. Somehow I always ended up first on these bad pieces so you wont see me often in the videos. I have a zumo 660 which just showed the offroad track on the map, in other words it wasn’t directing me or calculating or telling me where to turn, it was like a map and it worked well, except for the operator often overshooting or turning to fast when not focusing, with the whole group in tow. The other GPS’s wanted to recalculate or what what, so worked…sort off.
Back to the bridge, it was a rather high hill or mountain we were on and had to go down, I went down with some bad steps and many hair raising moments (which somehow have become the norm) but the others decided there had to be a better way. There was and with some help as seen in the video we all managed to go down with no incidents, this time.

Eventually we got to our lodgings for the night. Very tired but it had been a great day. I had been hearing a bad sound from the front suspension and started giving that attention, of course hearing how the 990 is better suited for this type of riding and blah blah. I had a broken hand guard from the fall the previous day that we tied with a wire, I never tied bolts on my triple clamp on the one shock which caused weird noises, sorted that, lost bolts on my pannier racks so sorted that out and tied my neck bearings as best I could, again. What gives you the idea that I need to invest heavily in Loctite and quality control next time I work on my bike before a trip…. Hehe. Pic to show the support team helping nicely.
And another pic when previously mentioned 990 eventually realized repairs was not only earmarked for 1190 owners!
 

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Molt3n

I love these Lesotho rides. I ride with Losper a lot and these pictures brings a smile to my face. Lesotho never disappoints especially if you use Losper's tracks.

The Zumo 660 can navigate tracks. You have to import the tracks and then let the GPS convert them. The recalculate function must be switched off.
 
Twister said:
Molt3n

I love these Lesotho rides. I ride with Losper a lot and these pictures brings a smile to my face. Lesotho never disappoints especially if you use Losper's tracks.

The Zumo 660 can navigate tracks. You have to import the tracks and then let the GPS convert them. The recalculate function must be switched off.

Valuable lesson learnt  :laughing4:
Also
1. Don't combine sections of the day, I did this and it messed it up. It shows general bearing but not accurate. The ones I left as is worked great and found I could go faster because I could "see/navigate" better.
2. Switch off avoidance's
 
As Twister said above,  never use routes (gdb  files) because they always wants to recalculate and are never accurate, especially in places like Lesotho where one navigates tracks and not roads.
Always use tracks (gpx files) to navigate.
Keep em pic's coming :thumleft:
 
Twister said:
Molt3n

I love these Lesotho rides. I ride with Losper a lot and these pictures brings a smile to my face. Lesotho never disappoints especially if you use Losper's tracks.

The Zumo 660 can navigate tracks. You have to import the tracks and then let the GPS convert them. The recalculate function must be switched off.

It must be awesome staying there in Bloem and being able to do this frequently, almost as day rides. I am jealous.

I assumed my GPS could, like the others did. But liked the way I used it in the end, there was no opportunity for confusion.
The others also had recalculation off, it still didn't work so lekker.
 
looking very lekker so far!!
keen to spend some more time riding similar routes to this on our next trip...
 
Nice bridge - my partner designed the anchors and we visited it during stressing.
 
Lekker - you ous did well on the big bikes :thumleft:
 
Nice report Martin!  I am enjoying your write up, it is as if I am doing the trip all over again. 

Just for clarification... I did not do repairs on my 990.  I had to adjust the GPS bracket, had to remove the whole screen to do that. :deal: 

My tyres need most of the repairs, seriously damaged after this trip, I have to replace it completely...  :pot: :ricky:
 
Jackol. said:
Nice report Martin!  I am enjoying your write up, it is as if I am doing the trip all over again. 

Just for clarification... I did not do repairs on my 990.  I had to adjust the GPS bracket, had to remove the whole screen to do that. :deal: 

My tyres need most of the repairs, seriously damaged after this trip, I have to replace it completely...  :pot: :ricky:

Potato potatoe! Om skroefies op GPS of op neck bearings vas te maak, spanners word geswaai!
Dit lyk asof my trailer die meeste repairs na die trip gaan kort, sal jou fotos stuur, swak weld plekke sal moet oor gedoen word. scary.

verander jou profile pic meneer!
 
Day 3!

After a surprisingly good breakfast we set off. It was also not far before we were faced with our first nice challenge of the day. And remember how I mentioned I changed sprockets, I believe this also helped a lot here and increasingly more throughout the day.

There was a steep decent and then a climb, no opportunity to build momentum or make sure your balance was right for the attack, one of many such cases but this one caught most of us out, and made for a few funny moments. I took a clip of Henk going up, he had some moments but with his long legs he could handle it all.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/QYAvOwQfMWI[/youtube]
Then it was Johann’s turn. But let me explain,.. Johann is not a tall fellow, tall in character and experience but not in stature! He was the best rider of the group but a 990 R with reworked suspension, not to lower it, is not the best weapon for a short guy in this instance. I helped Johann up a bit, in the clip, and then thought all was fine and started walking back to fetch my bike when I heard Henk calling me to help Johann. He had fallen, dramatically, over the edge! I turned around just in time to see him literally somersault down the edge and land on his feet again, a moment of big fright turned into some laughter for us when we saw him on his feet and seemingly okay, fortunately the bike did not follow.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/s-8lo-kgiqo[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/pretkpU5uio[/youtube]
Tinus was missing during all of this and I walked back to my bike to ride back and see whats up, when Henk said no wait, he can hear him. I couldn’t, so was wondering if Tinus was in Henk’s intercom, he said no, Tinus was calling. I could then also hear him and immediately got a picture of him somewhere trapped beneath his bike. Turns out he was fine, just lost. Very weird to not hear a bike or see anyone but hear a riding buddy call. Anyhow he pitched and did Johann’s Hill also, also took a tumble but with that added noise where you can hear something break on the bike. Strange how that noise drills into your soul. Think it was handguards or mirror that broke. On my side,  I love a difficult clutch control climb and managed this climb with no issues. My turn to break stuff was still to come.

 

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m0lt3n said:
Anyhow he pitched and did Johann’s Hill also, also took a tumble but with that added noise where you can hear something break on the bike. Strange how that noise drills into your soul. Think it was handguards or mirror that broke.

It was both.

And exactly where Johann fell but just towards the rock. This was the day where I fell the most. Nothing like the first fall to break the ice.
 
Well done gents and may I ad that this ain't for me. Gee my enige iets behalwe klippe, ek vries op net om daarna te kyk,
 
Day 3 continued...

Looking at the pics of day 3 it really was a busy and full day. A lot happened! There was a lot of single track wiith some semi tough/challenging pieces, a lot of 'oh shit' moments quickly forgotten as they pale when compared to the next 'oh shit' moment.

So after the tough climb there was some more single track. We again lost Tinus, turned around and found he had a flat rear. We set about sorting that with the obligatory bouncing of the wheel to make sure the tube is seated correctly. But every time this was we forgot to take out the sprocket and cush rubbers, so you will see these flying everywhere. Funny stuff.

We rode hard with little time for pics. I would stop and take some and then have a tough time to catch up again with the group. Or rather, I would have to ride with full confidence and in the 'zone' to catch up, otherwise I will find the group waiting for me later on. It was really exhilerating to push hard though. See some of these moments in the pics...

 

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Amidst our travels we got to one particularly steep hill. No space to get momentum and almost no traction. Every time you get some hope you will spin out and fall or almost do. There was a camber and the rear will come out instantly. We had to push the bikes up. Or pull, pulling them worked better. We really struggled a lot here so there is not a lot of pics, it was all hands on deck. One had to ride, one had to push and two was pulling. Tying a tow rope to one side on the crashbars and the other end on the other side two guys could be teamed up like oxen and pull with all their weight. It worked brilliantly and exhaustingly.

Video clip is of me riding Tinus's bike. He had a rough time just before this incline where he already had to work very hard to pic up the bike so he was catching his breath still. The intercom between us was working at the time and we thought he was dying, it sounded like the blood curdling sound a man would make at his last moments!
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Ko7zIeuHAJk[/youtube]

Pic is of henk again deadlifting on the first still rideable half of the incline. 2nd pic we were on top, myself minus a mirror.

After this we were a bit behind schedule but rode on. Again doing some single track I came over a heap of sand when I saw there was a chunk cut out of it and taking the wrong line could end up in nasty spill. (Typing this I am feeling guilty here for not stopping and warning the others, apologies guys). We rode on in and out of the river with some sand patches when we realised we were only 3. Tinus was missing.

Henk rode back, expecting another flat and found Tinus where he had had a slight off, but had also had enough. He was turning back. I actully still dont know what triggered hin to call it a day, guessing it was just genereral fatigue or was it the sand.... Tinus? Pic 3 was what I saw, he had almost fallen in aforementioned hole.

In hindsight we shoukd also have turned around there...
We rode on on terrain getting progressively more difficult. Confidence between us 3 was high and we were doing well untill it got tougher and tougher and tougher. There was a very steep incline to do with some challenging rocks inbetween the locals' houses where we were halted. There wasnt really any way to get through it plus the locals were putting up a scene on how we were off route. Sure enough, gps confirmed it and we had to turn back.

Turning back we climbed back on the route but did not find it much better. We continued on and made super slow progress and again found we were slightly off track. We had some spills and big oh shit moments. I fell twice further than 90degrees and really believed for a moment that either myself or the bike would break something important at any moment. Back on track a few meters further on we again were faced with a big and extremely rocky climb. It was not going to happen and we set off on a slight detour to get around it where this time Johann fell quite dramatically further than 90 degrees. We were not in a good space and the bike was stuck in first with a bend handguard. It was stuck on a very steep hill and the clutch couldnt be pulled in. Henk joined in stripping and balancing the bike and it was soon sorted.

We decided here to turn back. Pic 4 is the only one I have here and it says nothing, a few paces backwards from where Johann's bike is standing is where it was stuck in first after the tumble.
For all we know there was a huge rock cljmb still to do and we couldnt really trust the locals on how long it was, we were entertainment for them so they did not care much how much we suffered.

We turned around and took tar home.
That night was camping time. Again there was coldish showers but we had a good time. I must say again, for my part, I was very happy to have the support guys doing the braai and generally just being helpfull. Tinus was struggling to sort something on his intercom...or finishing the day's ride or something... :)
 

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m0lt3n said:
it sounded like the blood curdling sound a man would make at his last moments!

he had had a slight off, but had also had enough. He was turning back. I actully still dont know what triggered him to call it a day, guessing it was just genereral fatigue or was it the sand.... Tinus? Pic 3 was what I saw, he had almost fallen in aforementioned hole.

Tinus was struggling to sort something on his intercom...or finishing the day's ride or something... :)

I'll never forget this day. It was, least for me, extremely tough and not a day after being back home I want to do this again. That hill sitting like a block in front of me and I don't do well with blocks...I have to get over them and I will get over them...in time.

That said I trained everyday since invited because just looking at Losper's photos I knew this was never going to be a walk in the park so I had to give myself the best chance to finish. Didn't want to be the proverbial 3rd wheel keeping the group up or back and I guess every man had his own objectives for the trip, me, I just wanted to finish it, learn as much as I could and have fun. Knowing this day was going to be hardest so far and we are pressed for time. I could not stay behind. Keeping up with either Henk or Johann (can't remember) I soon felt something wrong at the back, flat wheel. On the horn, nothing. 1190 does not have a good horn but perhaps it was full of dust, I needed a ship's horn. Time was of the essence and at first I couldn't see nail, the vale in tact. Ok try and pump it, Henk gets there, says it won't work take wheel off. When the others returned the wheel was off and we made quick progress changing the tube. I've now joined Henk in the flat tyre accolade taking second place. This would not be the last Lesotho ordered from us.

Riding and objective - all boxes were ticked except for finishing this stretch of the track. Confidence growing.

Relatively comfortable in sand, it was general fatigue. My arms pumped from the many "oh shit" moments on this day and still a bit sore from earlier riding. Think Henk gave me some of his bladder mix and got some bioplus sachets from Jean (support). The mix worked well, so did the bioplus amidst disgusting when warm.

I was trying to figure out the intercom because it kept "bouncing around". The stretch to Malealea was long, boring, windy and mostly straight and couldn't play some music.
 
^^ never complained. So we were very surprised when he said he had had enough.
And on being a third wheel, that never happened and as the week progressed I at times missed the slower Tinus we had at the beginning. Someone needs to be the slowest, in a group ride in a hike in anything, it brings back the reality of the situation. To stop for someone forces you to appreciate where you are and what you have. We did not stop much.

Okay, we did, no one wanted to be the slowest so we were forced back to reality by punctures haha!

The rest of the trip was a lot less eventful/stressed. Hopefully the updates can come quicker now.
 
Day 4 would be our last day in Lesotho, not the original plan but that’s life.

Johann was not in a good space after the last day. Actually he wasn’t really in a good space the whole trip says Henk and I agree. If you can keep up with Mr Speedy Gonzales something is wrong. The original plan with both the 990 riders was for them both to go home on day 5, but if someone says he will ride to the border and decide there whether he will continue…but his bags go on the bike and not on the support then you know. So Johann went home today, always great riding with Johann!

Its here where I must also mention we were all a lot of softies. We were missing the family, almost all of us had toddlers at home. My brother remarked the previous night how weird it was that when we arrived in camp the first thing we discussed after taking of the helmets was the children at home. Manly men that we are!

Tinus was also taking a break today and did mostly tar to South Africa before doing Lundeans Neck and then Wartrail/Bidstone to Tiffendell to Rhodes. So much for resting, Bidstone was actually a tiring pass. Looooooong rocky climb. Henk and myself rode together the whole day and with the intercoms finally working it was nice to catch up again with an old friend. We did some gravel to Tele border which was another typical Losper special. It was nothing like the previous day though, just one or two tough pieces. Or like we explained later to Tinus, it was only about a 20cm tough piece, problem is if you miss it you will need a chopper to recover your bike from the ditch next to the 20cm crossing!

Tele border was quick quick to get our stamps, again you could just see the professionalism/antagonism dissolve the moment Henk (previously Johann) speaks Sotho with the locals. Of course returning to the bikes we found Henk had a flat rear again. This one we managed to replace the tube in record time (record for us, 40min!). Our guess is the previous patch came off and then the hard riding on a flat broke the valve. Tubes suck, don’t know if I have mentioned it yet…
 

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