An interesting ride. Not sure it really qualifies as a Wild Dog ride as there were only two Dogs, myself and SlashBack among the ten or so bikes, but since it was advertised on the Forum, I suppose it was.
From my point of view it was a ride of two parts. A pleasant first half, and then a second half that made me so peeâ??d off that by the time I got back to the B&B I swore Iâ??d never try to organise a ride ever again â?? but Iâ??ll get to that.
The way the network worked resulted in a few bikes that were not really suitable for the route I had planned pitching for the ride. The first was a Triumph Tiger in full street gear, and the second was a little Indian (KTM?) road thing. I was not particularly concerned as I felt that the two guys were experienced enough to decide themselves and there were a few tar options.
First leg was to the top of Mtabatula next to the Inanda Dam wall. Found that recent rains had damaged the road a bit, and some of the sand patches were a lot longer and deeper than I remembered. Bit of fall-and-giggle but no damage to bikes or riders. The rains had also lengthened the grass a bit and in some places we had to tack back and forward like a lost yacht until we could find what serves as a track. Luckily the top of the mountain has only fairly meek-and-mild ant-heap monsters and no serious rock-monsters.
Cappuccino break and off to the Mphophoma (which means simply â??Waterfallâ? in siZulu) and from there to the top of Nanda mountain where the view is truly spectacular.
From there the ride went seriously pear-shaped and my enjoyment turned to pretty hostile anger. As the Valley at that point is a rabbit warren of twisty roads and tracks, and there are many intersections, I had pleaded with all to not break the chain and to back-track if they lost contact with the rider behind. At one point I fell back for the last two, the roadies hit the tar and headed for the pub and the chain broke 7 front and 3 back. We waited for a half-hour at an intersection they had missed for them to realize there was no-one behind, but they never did and by the time we made cell-contact they were at an intersection 10Kâ??s ahead and had decided to push pub-wards and write off the last third of my carefully planned route.
It was their loss as the last bit was a really nice piece of road with some stunning views and some weird rock outcrops.
I was not really in the mood for the company of the others by the time I got to the pub, had one soft drink, and headed to my B&B and then to watch the MotoGP the local Italian restaurant.
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A question people always ask is â??Is the Valley safe?â? There a quite a few riders in KZN who will never venture in and tell stories about bikes being stoned and there is even a story that locals have strung wires across the road. In my fifteen or so trips I have never encountered anything remotely threatening. Today a bunch of youths saw us coming and just sat in a row across the road and I just smiled and rode through them. I think they were just trying to impress their girl-friends, or as Crocodile Dundee said â??Just a bunch of kids having funâ? I am starting to believe that the stories of hostility are just urban legend and have grown in the telling. I still donâ??t think it is too wise to go in to the Valley alone, although I have on quite a few occasions without problems.
To me, from a biking perspective, the fact that it is tribal ground had great advantages â?? no fences, gates or â??Private Roadâ? signs. Just miles and miles of roads, and some stunning scenery.
Go For It !
From my point of view it was a ride of two parts. A pleasant first half, and then a second half that made me so peeâ??d off that by the time I got back to the B&B I swore Iâ??d never try to organise a ride ever again â?? but Iâ??ll get to that.
The way the network worked resulted in a few bikes that were not really suitable for the route I had planned pitching for the ride. The first was a Triumph Tiger in full street gear, and the second was a little Indian (KTM?) road thing. I was not particularly concerned as I felt that the two guys were experienced enough to decide themselves and there were a few tar options.
First leg was to the top of Mtabatula next to the Inanda Dam wall. Found that recent rains had damaged the road a bit, and some of the sand patches were a lot longer and deeper than I remembered. Bit of fall-and-giggle but no damage to bikes or riders. The rains had also lengthened the grass a bit and in some places we had to tack back and forward like a lost yacht until we could find what serves as a track. Luckily the top of the mountain has only fairly meek-and-mild ant-heap monsters and no serious rock-monsters.
Cappuccino break and off to the Mphophoma (which means simply â??Waterfallâ? in siZulu) and from there to the top of Nanda mountain where the view is truly spectacular.
From there the ride went seriously pear-shaped and my enjoyment turned to pretty hostile anger. As the Valley at that point is a rabbit warren of twisty roads and tracks, and there are many intersections, I had pleaded with all to not break the chain and to back-track if they lost contact with the rider behind. At one point I fell back for the last two, the roadies hit the tar and headed for the pub and the chain broke 7 front and 3 back. We waited for a half-hour at an intersection they had missed for them to realize there was no-one behind, but they never did and by the time we made cell-contact they were at an intersection 10Kâ??s ahead and had decided to push pub-wards and write off the last third of my carefully planned route.
It was their loss as the last bit was a really nice piece of road with some stunning views and some weird rock outcrops.
I was not really in the mood for the company of the others by the time I got to the pub, had one soft drink, and headed to my B&B and then to watch the MotoGP the local Italian restaurant.
--
A question people always ask is â??Is the Valley safe?â? There a quite a few riders in KZN who will never venture in and tell stories about bikes being stoned and there is even a story that locals have strung wires across the road. In my fifteen or so trips I have never encountered anything remotely threatening. Today a bunch of youths saw us coming and just sat in a row across the road and I just smiled and rode through them. I think they were just trying to impress their girl-friends, or as Crocodile Dundee said â??Just a bunch of kids having funâ? I am starting to believe that the stories of hostility are just urban legend and have grown in the telling. I still donâ??t think it is too wise to go in to the Valley alone, although I have on quite a few occasions without problems.
To me, from a biking perspective, the fact that it is tribal ground had great advantages â?? no fences, gates or â??Private Roadâ? signs. Just miles and miles of roads, and some stunning scenery.
Go For It !
