Staking my claim on some dirt in Haenertsburg

[skydiver]

Last week I decided to ride to Haenertsburg to look at the water level of the Ebenezer Dam
My first stop was the cemetary in Haenertsburg. The view from up there is always nice and you can see for miles and miles

 

[skydiver]

I then drove towards Ebenezer Dam. Several yachts were tied to buoys with nobody around. I expected to see some people as it was still school holidays however the entire yacht club was quiet and deserted

 

[skydiver]

I have Scorpion road tyres on the bike but on a whim I decided to ride some of the gravel roads which run along the edge of the dam. It was a perfect day to be out in nature and just enjoy the outdoors. Some of the roads are used by logging trucks but the condition was manageable. On one or two sections, paving bricks were used to strengthen the gravel.

 

[skydiver]

Whilst riding through some plantations I noticed little white boards which pointed to mountain biking routes in the area

 

[skydiver]

Some plantation roads

 

[skydiver]

Whilst driving past Haenertsburg on the way home, I decided to take a gravel road that ran past some of the farms in the area. At one uphill section I decided to take some photos of the view behind me. As I stopped on the incline, I put my left leg out to get off the bike and I suddenly could not reach the ground below my left foot. Everything then happened in slow motion. I felt the bike leaning more and more over to the left. By the time my left leg touched the ground (there was a slight dip in the road just where I wanted to put my left foot), the leaning angle of the bike was too much for me to keep her upright. I felt my left knee bending at an akward angle when the weight of the bike pushed against it. The next moment both the bike and I were lying in the dust. I kept very still for a while and then tried to move my left leg. It moved but the pain in my knee was excruciating. I later managed to get up and hopped around on my right leg. After a few minutes I could put some weight on my left leg and then looked around for some help which of course there were none. I then realised I had to pick the bike up by myself eventhough it was lying at a very akward angle on the sloped hill. I did not manage to pick it up during the first attempt due to the pain in my left knee. Thanks to the adrenaline pumping, I picked up the F800 on the second attempt and managed to slide some stones closer which I positioned under the side stand to better the lean angle of the bike. Through the throbbing pain, I quickly assessed the damage on the bike. I only noticed some scratch marks on the crash bars and hand guard.....thank goodness for that. It took some effort to get back on the bike and then I had to concentrate as I had about 10km of gravel road to ride before reaching the tar. When I got to the tar, I could not put my left leg on the ground as it was too stiff and could not go straight. From there it was a painfull 65km home. The next day I visited the doctor and he drained a lot of blood out of my swollen knee. No fractures according to the X-rays but a lot of soft tissue damage so I am on crutches for a few weeks.
Moral of the story.....look where you stop and make sure your feet reach the ground before the lean angle of the bike becomes too much to handle. 
     

 

[ButtSlider]

Eina. Happy healing.  :thumleft:

 

[armpump]

When these things start going over........... hit eject.

Take it easy on that leg

 

[skydiver]

Eina. Happy healing.  :thumleft:

Thank you....patience is not my strong point
Very frustrated at the moment

 

[skydiver]

When these things start going over........... hit eject.

Take it easy on that leg

Next time I will just jump off and not try and save the bike again  :deal:

 

[Dorsland]

Eina!  Looks quite dry up there too.  There is always such a sense of calm and serenity about those plantations, especially the pine plantations when the winds sighs through the trees.  And they always smell so nice too.

Hope your knee heals up, you will remember the fall from about age 55.  All the accidents come with their reminders.  Something to look forward to 

 

[Ri]

Glad the damage wasn't worse!

Thanks for the RR

 

[skydiver]

Eina!  Looks quite dry up there too.  There is always such a sense of calm and serenity about those plantations, especially the pine plantations when the winds sighs through the trees.  And they always smell so nice too.

Hope your knee heals up, you will remember the fall from about age 55.  All the accidents come with their reminders.  Something to look forward to 

Yes, the rain is scarce here in Limpopo. Fortunately we were blessed with some rain on Friday and Saturday.

I think I will remember this fall for some time still....not easy to stand on left leg at all.
 

 

[skydiver]

Glad the damage wasn't worse!

Thanks for the RR

Hi Ri, I am also glad that nothing broke on the bike and I guess the knee could have been worse, so I am grateful 

 

[EssBee]

Glad you are "ok"...kak injury considering it such a silly incident! Amazed you actually managed to pick the scoot up!

 

[skydiver]

Glad you are "ok"...kak injury considering it such a silly incident! Amazed you actually managed to pick the scoot up!

I agree....silly accident.
I think adrenaline and the knowledge that I was on quite a deserted road, contributed in me being able to pick up the bike however this worsened my injury no doubt