friggs
Pack Dog
Hi guys, not so much a ride report as a ride summary (I have no idea how you guys recall all the detail you do when posting Ride Reports lol).
This ride came about as a result of a colleague here at the office owning a house in Sabie and regularly exploring all the dirt roads in the area, he has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to good roads to take both dirt and tar. So on Friday (15th August) myself, my colleague Gary and 1 other guy (a 3rd was a no-show) headed off towards Sabie... the long way, we covered 448KM that day and this took us roughly 10 hours (smoke breaks and a lunch break thrown in of course), throw in the fact that I am very much a novice irt dirt we didn't rush it but truth be told I wouldn't want to anyway, the scenery along the way is part of the enjoyment as far as I'm concerned ;D
We met up around 6:45am on the Delmas road, had a smoke and a chat and then we were off. 1 Tiger 800XC (myself), 1 S10 (Gary) and 1 BMW 650 (DawieNel).
We headed off down the R25 for a bit, nothing exciting but we did pass a guy on the side of the road with the back wheel of his 1200 GS in his lap looking for a puncture (when I slowed down he gave me a thumbs up and huge smile so all seemed well and we carried on).
Quick stop where the tar ends for a smoke and chat, while there we were passed by another group of guys, couple KTM 990's, GS800 and GS1200s with 1 S10 taking up the rear position.
We got onto the dirt, nice road with some ruts and bends but very gentle and very well chosen to ease us into it. About halfway down the road we passed the other group who had pulled over for a break. At the end of the dirt is a T-junction where we stopped for a quick smoke where we were passed by the other group again.
Back on the bikes for a couple KM of tar until the turn off to the next stretch of dirt, this time more rocky than the first road but confidence was up so no worries there. We probably made it about 5KM or so down the road when we came across the S10 rider from the other group (Leon if memory serves) standing next to his bike with a huge oil patch in the road and a little back a dead pooch. We obviously pulled over to see if he was ok and if he needed any help (being the last in his group his mates were all further ahead). Leon had managed to pick his bike up, moved it off the road and picked up bits of fairing and whatnot and considering what had literally just happened, he was in a pretty good mood. He was quite lucky, nothing broken (on him) just some grazes and small cuts, his gear did the job. The bike wasn't as lucky, huge front end damage, handle bars bent so far they dented the tanks, something on the motor punctured (most likely the filter) and all the oil had poured out onto the road so he wasn't going anywhere... He said he had been riding along, some random guy crossed the road (middle of nowhere, nothing around!) and as he got closer this guy turned around and called his dog which came bolting out of the bush and they connected taking out his front end. Unfortunately the dog was a goner but nothing he could have done about that.
Sorry if this pic offends anybody, just shows how far he went, the dog is in the distance and the oily patch his bike made is just out of the pic (basically where I was standing).
His bike, also a goner I reckon:
He managed to phone (I think) Shimwells, gave them his GPS and they sent out a bakkie to collect him and his bike (how is that for service!). One of his mates turned up so we wished him well and got back on the bikes to carry on our ride. Will admit, I slowed down just a little, took it easier on the rest of that road, not nice to see a guy taking a nasty fall but at least he was mostly hundreds. (Hope he doesn't mind me posting the pics, if he does I will take them down).
Turned into a very scenic road, winding up and down for quite a while passing through a village or two. We eventually hit a tar road full of potholes which took us along a fenced nature reserve where I had a baby giraffe running along the fence (dice!) and a family of warthogs among other animals... love that sort of thing spending all my time up in good old Gauteng so don't see many animals on my usual rides :ricky:
Quick smoke break in a now defunct service station:
A bit of tar takes us to the next dirt road, relatively smooth and easy going, and a nice road. This brought us out to a T-junction somewhere, some more tar before pulling over next to a cop-shop for a chat (and smoke) before the next bit.
This next bit was brilliant, started off rather flat and well maintained but Gary had mentioned that further up it did get slightly more technical... he wasn't kidding lol. At one point the road became rather narrow and started winding upwards while covered with a generous helping of large rocks as well as those cement piped that run underneath the road to drain water but have now been exposed and in some instances have massive chunks missing so getting a tyre in there will not be very fun. Very nice little bit to make it just a little more challenging while still very ride-able for a novice like myself. This road eventually came out above Dullstroom somewhere, we found our way toward the centre to find a spot for lunch and a little rest (oh, and some smokes of course!).
While sitting at our table a 1200GS came past slowly, looked very familiar for some reason. He rode past but turned around and came and parked next to us, when he took his helmet off I recognized him as the gent who had been sitting with his back wheel on his lap that morning just as we started. Turns out he had a puncture he couldn't find and figured out in the end it was because it was a sidewall gash (he had been scratching his head for a while trying to find it on the tread side). Ended up getting a new set of tyres and then shooting through on tar to catch up with his group (the same one that we passed and that passed us). We told him about Leon, showed him some picks but let him know he was fine and sorted with a ride. Henry (his name we would learn) chatted to Gary a bit about possible routes he could take to meet up with his mates and we said cheers and we headed off to the next bit of dirt on our route.
After a quick fuel stop we found our next stretch of dirt, I was a little disappointed to discover that the road was busy being worked (probably for tarring) so lots of trucks, stop goes and whatnot but we carried on. We eventually came across some huge security/golf type estate in the middle of nowhere and after that the road works pretty much ended. The road I assumed would be a rather boring one turned out to be quite lekker with some tricky uphills covered with massive rocks and lots of stones as well as ruts and over hanging branches, etc. To be honest, if I wasn't following Gary I would probably have stopped when the fun began (thought he was going to lol) but he just carried on when it got tricky without hesitation so hey, what could I do but follow
Some lekker rutted 2-spoor full of rocks and twists and turns followed, my confidence grew the longer I rode and the more confident I got the more I enjoyed it... Awesome riding, great feeling when you get over that section that looks like it will be super difficult to get over.
At the end we stopped for a smoke (and I sure needed one lol)
Took a right onto the tar road and a couple km later we came to a 4 way stop, left to Lydenberg, right to somewhere else and straight across onto some dirt and the final stretch to Sabie. We stopped again (Gary wanted to just give us a heads up of what was to be expected here, lots of ups and downs, road conditions ranging from smooth dirt to smalls rocks to big rocks to super fine powder a good few CM deep which hid ruts and rocks below. A quick smoke and we were off. Due to the dust we let decent gaps form between ourselves otherwise you couldn't see much and not as much fun riding in the thick dust-trail left by the guy in front of you....
This road was amazing. It started off rather smooth and well used, after a level crossing it got a little rockier but not bad and wound its way among farms and forest plantations. My first little 'skrik' was when riding into a very shaded section of the road and suddenly feeling the front end getting rather loose only to realise I was riding through some rather deep powder/sand - I couldn't see it hidden in the shade - and being that this was the first time I have ridden anything but firm dirt and rocks I was not expecting the feeling lol. All good, carried on and these patches became more frequent, I had at least 3 moments I recall very clearly where I was sure I was going down yet I got through. I simply refused to look down in front of me, kept my momentum (2nd or 3rd most of the time) and standing. The one time the bike lurched to the side after hitting a hidden rock and I have no idea but the second before it dropped it shot back up and righted itself... the bike is luckily a lot more capable than I am lol. You would be riding along, wondering how you survived the last patch while coming up to a slight rise and when getting to the top the road would drop down (not super steep but felt REALLY steep to me!) with these massive "steps" on the other side where the rock sticks out and you basically riding down a huge set of stairs (not sure how else to describe it).
Carried on like this for a while, up and down, deep patches and wobbles and the further I got the bigger the grin. At one point the road opens up to the left and there is a huge valley with rolling hills of forest for as far as you can see. Just as I'm soaking this up I crest the next rise and come across Dawie waving me down, now I wasn't going fast or anything but had to stomp on the break (had the ABS off of course) as Dawie was on the ground literally just around a blind corner. Pulled over and helped him pick up his bike, somehow his pannier flew halfway down the road as well, he knocked is knee somewhere but was otherwise fine. Got the bike up and Dawie did some Macguyvering to attach it back (the retaining clips had snapped off). The obligatory photos were taken and soon enough we were on our way again.
Having a rest:
A little further along the road began twisting downhill, some fun switchbacks and large dirt speed bumps with super soft sand thrown in for fun. The pics don’t really do justice to how steep it was (or felt?) but this was going down:
Looking back up
A couple more KM (I think this road was about 110KM in total) we hit tar close to the caves, some fun twisties and we made it to Sabie!
Tried to get some pics to show how dirty my bike was but they really don't convey the amount of dust and sand in everything
We stayed at Gary's place the weekend while there, very nice spot with an awesome view. Went to the local "country club" for pizza and then an early night... I was out the second my head hit the pillow!
Total distance for Day 1: 448KM, 10hrs+ of glorious riding... This is why I bought a DS and not another "fast-bike-chaaaana" ;D :ricky: :biggrin: :ricky:
Hopefully this wasn't too long-winded and boring, I do tend to go on when I typeeepwall:.... So if you read this far, wow! Hahahaha
This ride came about as a result of a colleague here at the office owning a house in Sabie and regularly exploring all the dirt roads in the area, he has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to good roads to take both dirt and tar. So on Friday (15th August) myself, my colleague Gary and 1 other guy (a 3rd was a no-show) headed off towards Sabie... the long way, we covered 448KM that day and this took us roughly 10 hours (smoke breaks and a lunch break thrown in of course), throw in the fact that I am very much a novice irt dirt we didn't rush it but truth be told I wouldn't want to anyway, the scenery along the way is part of the enjoyment as far as I'm concerned ;D
We met up around 6:45am on the Delmas road, had a smoke and a chat and then we were off. 1 Tiger 800XC (myself), 1 S10 (Gary) and 1 BMW 650 (DawieNel).
We headed off down the R25 for a bit, nothing exciting but we did pass a guy on the side of the road with the back wheel of his 1200 GS in his lap looking for a puncture (when I slowed down he gave me a thumbs up and huge smile so all seemed well and we carried on).
Quick stop where the tar ends for a smoke and chat, while there we were passed by another group of guys, couple KTM 990's, GS800 and GS1200s with 1 S10 taking up the rear position.
We got onto the dirt, nice road with some ruts and bends but very gentle and very well chosen to ease us into it. About halfway down the road we passed the other group who had pulled over for a break. At the end of the dirt is a T-junction where we stopped for a quick smoke where we were passed by the other group again.
Back on the bikes for a couple KM of tar until the turn off to the next stretch of dirt, this time more rocky than the first road but confidence was up so no worries there. We probably made it about 5KM or so down the road when we came across the S10 rider from the other group (Leon if memory serves) standing next to his bike with a huge oil patch in the road and a little back a dead pooch. We obviously pulled over to see if he was ok and if he needed any help (being the last in his group his mates were all further ahead). Leon had managed to pick his bike up, moved it off the road and picked up bits of fairing and whatnot and considering what had literally just happened, he was in a pretty good mood. He was quite lucky, nothing broken (on him) just some grazes and small cuts, his gear did the job. The bike wasn't as lucky, huge front end damage, handle bars bent so far they dented the tanks, something on the motor punctured (most likely the filter) and all the oil had poured out onto the road so he wasn't going anywhere... He said he had been riding along, some random guy crossed the road (middle of nowhere, nothing around!) and as he got closer this guy turned around and called his dog which came bolting out of the bush and they connected taking out his front end. Unfortunately the dog was a goner but nothing he could have done about that.
Sorry if this pic offends anybody, just shows how far he went, the dog is in the distance and the oily patch his bike made is just out of the pic (basically where I was standing).
His bike, also a goner I reckon:
He managed to phone (I think) Shimwells, gave them his GPS and they sent out a bakkie to collect him and his bike (how is that for service!). One of his mates turned up so we wished him well and got back on the bikes to carry on our ride. Will admit, I slowed down just a little, took it easier on the rest of that road, not nice to see a guy taking a nasty fall but at least he was mostly hundreds. (Hope he doesn't mind me posting the pics, if he does I will take them down).
Turned into a very scenic road, winding up and down for quite a while passing through a village or two. We eventually hit a tar road full of potholes which took us along a fenced nature reserve where I had a baby giraffe running along the fence (dice!) and a family of warthogs among other animals... love that sort of thing spending all my time up in good old Gauteng so don't see many animals on my usual rides :ricky:
Quick smoke break in a now defunct service station:
A bit of tar takes us to the next dirt road, relatively smooth and easy going, and a nice road. This brought us out to a T-junction somewhere, some more tar before pulling over next to a cop-shop for a chat (and smoke) before the next bit.
This next bit was brilliant, started off rather flat and well maintained but Gary had mentioned that further up it did get slightly more technical... he wasn't kidding lol. At one point the road became rather narrow and started winding upwards while covered with a generous helping of large rocks as well as those cement piped that run underneath the road to drain water but have now been exposed and in some instances have massive chunks missing so getting a tyre in there will not be very fun. Very nice little bit to make it just a little more challenging while still very ride-able for a novice like myself. This road eventually came out above Dullstroom somewhere, we found our way toward the centre to find a spot for lunch and a little rest (oh, and some smokes of course!).
While sitting at our table a 1200GS came past slowly, looked very familiar for some reason. He rode past but turned around and came and parked next to us, when he took his helmet off I recognized him as the gent who had been sitting with his back wheel on his lap that morning just as we started. Turns out he had a puncture he couldn't find and figured out in the end it was because it was a sidewall gash (he had been scratching his head for a while trying to find it on the tread side). Ended up getting a new set of tyres and then shooting through on tar to catch up with his group (the same one that we passed and that passed us). We told him about Leon, showed him some picks but let him know he was fine and sorted with a ride. Henry (his name we would learn) chatted to Gary a bit about possible routes he could take to meet up with his mates and we said cheers and we headed off to the next bit of dirt on our route.
After a quick fuel stop we found our next stretch of dirt, I was a little disappointed to discover that the road was busy being worked (probably for tarring) so lots of trucks, stop goes and whatnot but we carried on. We eventually came across some huge security/golf type estate in the middle of nowhere and after that the road works pretty much ended. The road I assumed would be a rather boring one turned out to be quite lekker with some tricky uphills covered with massive rocks and lots of stones as well as ruts and over hanging branches, etc. To be honest, if I wasn't following Gary I would probably have stopped when the fun began (thought he was going to lol) but he just carried on when it got tricky without hesitation so hey, what could I do but follow
Some lekker rutted 2-spoor full of rocks and twists and turns followed, my confidence grew the longer I rode and the more confident I got the more I enjoyed it... Awesome riding, great feeling when you get over that section that looks like it will be super difficult to get over.At the end we stopped for a smoke (and I sure needed one lol)
Took a right onto the tar road and a couple km later we came to a 4 way stop, left to Lydenberg, right to somewhere else and straight across onto some dirt and the final stretch to Sabie. We stopped again (Gary wanted to just give us a heads up of what was to be expected here, lots of ups and downs, road conditions ranging from smooth dirt to smalls rocks to big rocks to super fine powder a good few CM deep which hid ruts and rocks below. A quick smoke and we were off. Due to the dust we let decent gaps form between ourselves otherwise you couldn't see much and not as much fun riding in the thick dust-trail left by the guy in front of you....
This road was amazing. It started off rather smooth and well used, after a level crossing it got a little rockier but not bad and wound its way among farms and forest plantations. My first little 'skrik' was when riding into a very shaded section of the road and suddenly feeling the front end getting rather loose only to realise I was riding through some rather deep powder/sand - I couldn't see it hidden in the shade - and being that this was the first time I have ridden anything but firm dirt and rocks I was not expecting the feeling lol. All good, carried on and these patches became more frequent, I had at least 3 moments I recall very clearly where I was sure I was going down yet I got through. I simply refused to look down in front of me, kept my momentum (2nd or 3rd most of the time) and standing. The one time the bike lurched to the side after hitting a hidden rock and I have no idea but the second before it dropped it shot back up and righted itself... the bike is luckily a lot more capable than I am lol. You would be riding along, wondering how you survived the last patch while coming up to a slight rise and when getting to the top the road would drop down (not super steep but felt REALLY steep to me!) with these massive "steps" on the other side where the rock sticks out and you basically riding down a huge set of stairs (not sure how else to describe it).
Carried on like this for a while, up and down, deep patches and wobbles and the further I got the bigger the grin. At one point the road opens up to the left and there is a huge valley with rolling hills of forest for as far as you can see. Just as I'm soaking this up I crest the next rise and come across Dawie waving me down, now I wasn't going fast or anything but had to stomp on the break (had the ABS off of course) as Dawie was on the ground literally just around a blind corner. Pulled over and helped him pick up his bike, somehow his pannier flew halfway down the road as well, he knocked is knee somewhere but was otherwise fine. Got the bike up and Dawie did some Macguyvering to attach it back (the retaining clips had snapped off). The obligatory photos were taken and soon enough we were on our way again.
Having a rest:
A little further along the road began twisting downhill, some fun switchbacks and large dirt speed bumps with super soft sand thrown in for fun. The pics don’t really do justice to how steep it was (or felt?) but this was going down:
Looking back up
A couple more KM (I think this road was about 110KM in total) we hit tar close to the caves, some fun twisties and we made it to Sabie!
Tried to get some pics to show how dirty my bike was but they really don't convey the amount of dust and sand in everything
We stayed at Gary's place the weekend while there, very nice spot with an awesome view. Went to the local "country club" for pizza and then an early night... I was out the second my head hit the pillow!
Total distance for Day 1: 448KM, 10hrs+ of glorious riding... This is why I bought a DS and not another "fast-bike-chaaaana" ;D :ricky: :biggrin: :ricky:
Hopefully this wasn't too long-winded and boring, I do tend to go on when I type
eepwall:.... So if you read this far, wow! Hahahaha
