KTM Jagermeister
Pack Dog
After weeks of anticipation the weekend finally arrived. We all departed to Pongola for what we knew would be a proper enduro ride. Five hundred kilometers of sand, rocks, sweat and tears to be completed in twelve hours.
The rain started pouring down soon after arrival. Seventy millimeters of rain within two hours…life on the bike was doomed to be interesting. People arrived from all over. The super heroes, namely Alfie Cox, Ron Baily and Wouter Moll would set the pace.
We had a lovely meal that evening. As a matter of fact every meal was exquisite. The French could certainly learn a lot from tannie Susan. The service was stunning and the waitresses both warmed our hearts. Dok kept us happy from behind the bar. Must say, Dok does enjoy his rugby!
The next morning it was still dribbling a bit. Nothing too bad. Only Dalie and Cobus dressed up in black bags. We departed at about 8h00. A bit of tar, then the first dirt .. red and slippery. Amazingly everybody stayed on top. Then I must also say that it was perhaps not the average rider that showed up. There were twenty three hardcore riders on KTM 950 Super Enduro’s, 690 R’s, the odd Adventure and one BMW. Oh yes … and then there was our journalist, Anton. A friendly, very quiet chap with lots of hours in the saddle … of his road bike. He simply could not do the whole 500 but he gave his all.
Jozini Dam
The first obstacles were after a short stop at Jozini dam. A bit of rocks, slippery to snotty hills and stunning scenery was followed by a river bed ride. The general rule applied, more speed is directly proportionate to the ability to jump bigger holes, but not even the Super Heroes could fly over all of them. It was hectic but lekker!
The 1st Fuel stop
The first fuel stop was in the river bed. Just in time. We all filled up with compliments of Total Kozi-Bay. After a cold energy drink we departed for the second leg. If you don’t like riding sand this was definitely not the ride you were hoping for. Fortunately the rain hardened the sand a bit and there was almost no dust. It was a 100km of serious sand riding, really lovely tweespoor paadjies and an endless section next to the border fence over dunes and dunes and more dunes.
Eventually we stopped at the Total in Kozi-bay. Everything was once again sponsored, hamburgers, the fuel, Monster energy drinks and even B12 and Voltaren injections. What a stunning resting point. Thanks oom Jan!
Some of the riders having a break : Charl, Vaughn, Wouter Dalie and Ron
Leg three was a bit easier, still lots of sand, but mostly fast and furious riding on open dirt roads. The scenery was once again stunning. Children from the community lined the roads and cheered us as we passed through. This just encouraged us to go even faster … and faster … and then Wouter, Alfie or Ron comes blasting past you … and you once again realize that you are mortal.
The last section was probably the most scenic and the most diverse. As yet I don’t know if the grey stuff was mud or sand? There was huge water puddles, a pebble road straight from the Roman era and a ‘little hill’ called the Lebombo mountains just to finish it all off. We simply looked up, stood up and opened up. What a stunning ride! Unfortunately we had to endure about 50km of tar – bugger.
Thanks a lot to Dalie and his beautiful wife, all the farmers from the community, the sponsors, Toyota Pongola, Total …. , Roost Racing for the prizes, Lobatsi Canvas for the t-shirts, everybody from the lodge and the riders that made this the best endure ride ever.
The mortals ...
The rain started pouring down soon after arrival. Seventy millimeters of rain within two hours…life on the bike was doomed to be interesting. People arrived from all over. The super heroes, namely Alfie Cox, Ron Baily and Wouter Moll would set the pace.
We had a lovely meal that evening. As a matter of fact every meal was exquisite. The French could certainly learn a lot from tannie Susan. The service was stunning and the waitresses both warmed our hearts. Dok kept us happy from behind the bar. Must say, Dok does enjoy his rugby!
The next morning it was still dribbling a bit. Nothing too bad. Only Dalie and Cobus dressed up in black bags. We departed at about 8h00. A bit of tar, then the first dirt .. red and slippery. Amazingly everybody stayed on top. Then I must also say that it was perhaps not the average rider that showed up. There were twenty three hardcore riders on KTM 950 Super Enduro’s, 690 R’s, the odd Adventure and one BMW. Oh yes … and then there was our journalist, Anton. A friendly, very quiet chap with lots of hours in the saddle … of his road bike. He simply could not do the whole 500 but he gave his all.
Jozini Dam
The first obstacles were after a short stop at Jozini dam. A bit of rocks, slippery to snotty hills and stunning scenery was followed by a river bed ride. The general rule applied, more speed is directly proportionate to the ability to jump bigger holes, but not even the Super Heroes could fly over all of them. It was hectic but lekker!
The 1st Fuel stop
The first fuel stop was in the river bed. Just in time. We all filled up with compliments of Total Kozi-Bay. After a cold energy drink we departed for the second leg. If you don’t like riding sand this was definitely not the ride you were hoping for. Fortunately the rain hardened the sand a bit and there was almost no dust. It was a 100km of serious sand riding, really lovely tweespoor paadjies and an endless section next to the border fence over dunes and dunes and more dunes.
Eventually we stopped at the Total in Kozi-bay. Everything was once again sponsored, hamburgers, the fuel, Monster energy drinks and even B12 and Voltaren injections. What a stunning resting point. Thanks oom Jan!
Some of the riders having a break : Charl, Vaughn, Wouter Dalie and Ron
Leg three was a bit easier, still lots of sand, but mostly fast and furious riding on open dirt roads. The scenery was once again stunning. Children from the community lined the roads and cheered us as we passed through. This just encouraged us to go even faster … and faster … and then Wouter, Alfie or Ron comes blasting past you … and you once again realize that you are mortal.
The last section was probably the most scenic and the most diverse. As yet I don’t know if the grey stuff was mud or sand? There was huge water puddles, a pebble road straight from the Roman era and a ‘little hill’ called the Lebombo mountains just to finish it all off. We simply looked up, stood up and opened up. What a stunning ride! Unfortunately we had to endure about 50km of tar – bugger.
Thanks a lot to Dalie and his beautiful wife, all the farmers from the community, the sponsors, Toyota Pongola, Total …. , Roost Racing for the prizes, Lobatsi Canvas for the t-shirts, everybody from the lodge and the riders that made this the best endure ride ever.
The mortals ...
