A
Adventure MX
Guest
I was looking forward to this last weekend. It was time to get on the big bike again, although by Wilddog standards it is one of the smaller ones, nevertheless it was going to be a good weekend for riding. I phoned a good friend of mine to see what his plans where. I thought he would be interested in a bit of a technical ride. Anyway he indicated that he was going to the Magaliesburg area and gave me an invite to come along. I really wasnâ??t keen on this ride. I just had this yearning to be in the wild or as close as I could get to it. So I decided I was going solo. This was going to be my day and I was going to make it one that I would remember.
I was excited, I had planned a route towards the Klipvoor Dam. Sunday morning came and I was on my â??Little Twinâ?, and I could feel she was lively, it was almost as if she knew that it was going to be a good days ride. With an easy pace I made my way towards Mamelodi (Major township on the eastern side of Pretoria). Now it was reasonably early but it was good to see how early the local vendors where getting ready for the days trade, and this being on Sunday. In a couple of minutes I had travelled through Mamelodi as the roads where not busy at all. I then turned left on the Cullinan road (which is the ext of Zambezi Rd) and made my in a westerly direction.
Cruising at a leisurely speed of a 100km/h gave me the time to absorb the morning scenery. Doves soaking up the morning sunshine and unaware that you are approaching and suddenly in a frenzy scatter in all directions as you pass them by. Today was different! Why? Pedestrians giving you a morning wave, being able to appreciate your surroundingsâ?¦â?¦.. jeez! I look again and I find myself passing under the N1 freeway. Itâ??s amazing how you loose track of time when you have so much to think about. I donâ??t think itâ??s by choice but you suddenly find yourself in another world. As the day goes on you drift in and out of this parallel world letting you have inner peace and being able to reflect on many issues.
Now I donâ??t like traveling tar roads but I had to get to the starting point of my off road adventure. I knew that when the adventure would start I would need all the time possible to get through certain technical section that lay ahead. To be honest I wasnâ??t entirely sure which trails I was going to follow but I had enough time to think about it as I made my way to the end of Zambezi Rd. I turned right onto Lavender Rd and then took a left on the Rosslyn Rd. Soon enough I found myself at the Total Garages in Rosslyn where I turned right. This road takes you past Rosslyn on the right to the Hebron Rd which goes to Marula Sun. Once you get to the Hebron Rd you turn left and keep going straight. Do not turn left or right, do not pass begin and you will get to the point where I took my first photoâ??s of the day. Some of you may recognize the spot, this was going to be the start of my off road adventure for today.
This would be the first real test of the suspension which I had raised a couple of weeks before. The trail starts off smooth but very quickly I found myself in the middle of a whooped out path. In certain parts the whoops would be so deep that I would bottom out on the shocks â?? front and rear. Now most of you will know that the â??Little Twinâ? has very low ground clearance. I must admit though with the raised suspension I never once bottomed her out on the belly plate. This was somewhat of a consolation as this was the case on many other rides before.
Working my way through the whoops I now find myself fighting rocks too. Suddenly the rear wheel shoots out right, WTF was that? I always try and focus on the trail a reasonable distance in front of me. This must have been a rock that my eyes and my mind must have failed to register. Now it is a matter of making safe or come crashing down. Clenching the bars a bit tighter I twist a little more power out of the â??Little Twinâ? and she grips the edge of the path and shoots me back on track. Wow! What an awesome feeling of being able to recover and in that learn a slight lesson of not being over eager to race the trail. Itâ??s one of those little moments where your little angels warn you to pick up a rhythm first before going all freestyle!
The trail leads to a slight ridge from where you can get a nice view of your surrounding terrain. Once over the ridge the trail goes down the other side. From the top it starts rocky but soon opens up to a path that has been graded. Usually this path is used by the MX bikes to get access to a river called â??3 Fencesâ? but today it was my turn to hear my â??Little Twinâ? growl along a bush path. I had the path all to myself and I was looking for any excuse to left the nose off the ground. It wasnâ??t long and I soon realized that I was drifting quite a bit. Now for those that donâ??t know these paths can be very tricky as the surface is very loose, especially in the dry seasons. The surface of all these paths is river sand which is comprised of tiny little round stones and fine sand. Very often one can feel how your wheels drift from side to side as they roll over these tiny stones. Therefore when cornering you look for every little edge or berm to let you lean into the corners. You soon pick up a rhythm and start enjoying the trail, but as always, all good things come to an end. I land up in a settlement called Madidi. As I make my way through the settlement little kids come running out with shouts of greetings. Itâ??s amazing how just this gesture makes you feel so good. You wave back and every now and then I twist the throttle of the â??Little Twinâ? to give the kids a little roar of appreciation.
I know exactly where I am. I need to get to the next part of my adventure. Itâ??s called â??The Loopâ?. Itâ??s a section of a trail that the MX bikes use for high speed enduro training. In certain parts the sand is very thick and there are plenty of corners that one can overshoot. Seeing that I am solo this was not the time to go high speed. Anyway I start the section but alas, all to soon I am enjoying the ride to much and I need to bring it back under control. Below are pictures of the trail and the thick sand you get.
I now realize that I have been actually working quite hard. Itâ??s on these type of trails that the bikes seem to pick up a mind of their own. One always hears of riders telling you let the bike do the work, donâ??t fight it, let it go where it wants to. Well, if I didnâ??t apply that advice moderately I would have been stuck in a couple of thorn trees for definite. Soon you realize that riding techniques that you gain over time and the experience that is coupled with riding in different terrains start to pay off. Practice makes Perfect!
But lets not get ahead of ourselves as we still have many kilometers to get through.
I am almost at the end of the section and I know that the last piece is a straight of just more then a kilometer and as you start it there is a lovely little yump that you can lift the front wheel off the ground. So I decide to give it stick and the â??Little Twinâ? picks up the vibe and she grips the dirt and catapults me forward. All I am hearing is the tak, tak, tak of all the branches whacking the bike on the left and the right side as she makes here way to the gate at the end.
Oh Shit! From nowhere MX riders appear in front of me. Now according to the â??Laws of De Wildtâ? they are going the wrong way! Well, there was no way I was going in the bushes so I pick the left track and I see they scurry to get into the right track and we pass each other with millimeters to spare. In after thought it must have looked pretty awesome, a dual sport bike, at full pace on a track that is usually reserved for MX bikes.
It was now time for a cold coke and the only place I was going to get that soon was the shop, which we call â??Menlynâ?. This is a resting point that the MX bikes use before going into 3 Fences or after doing 3 Fences. So I pull into the regular spot and park the bike. I say hello to my â??Squeezaâ? who works behind the counter and she remark â??long time no seeâ?! And that was exactly one of my reasons for doing this ride today.
A little history. This little shop is situated in a place called Ramogatla. When I started riding in this area a good couple of years ago you could only get a couple of cool drinks and beers. If you were really hungry then you had a choice of bully beef, bully beef, bully beef and then pilchards, pilchards and some more pilchards. The place is now being developed into a shop and a restaurant. They sell a huge selection of drinks and have many more choices of grub. They even sell fuel at R4-5/litre more then the pump price. As many would say: that is cheap when you are in the middle of nowhere and you need fuel. Well done to the locals for making something out of nothing! :thumleft:
more to follow......
I was excited, I had planned a route towards the Klipvoor Dam. Sunday morning came and I was on my â??Little Twinâ?, and I could feel she was lively, it was almost as if she knew that it was going to be a good days ride. With an easy pace I made my way towards Mamelodi (Major township on the eastern side of Pretoria). Now it was reasonably early but it was good to see how early the local vendors where getting ready for the days trade, and this being on Sunday. In a couple of minutes I had travelled through Mamelodi as the roads where not busy at all. I then turned left on the Cullinan road (which is the ext of Zambezi Rd) and made my in a westerly direction.
Cruising at a leisurely speed of a 100km/h gave me the time to absorb the morning scenery. Doves soaking up the morning sunshine and unaware that you are approaching and suddenly in a frenzy scatter in all directions as you pass them by. Today was different! Why? Pedestrians giving you a morning wave, being able to appreciate your surroundingsâ?¦â?¦.. jeez! I look again and I find myself passing under the N1 freeway. Itâ??s amazing how you loose track of time when you have so much to think about. I donâ??t think itâ??s by choice but you suddenly find yourself in another world. As the day goes on you drift in and out of this parallel world letting you have inner peace and being able to reflect on many issues.
Now I donâ??t like traveling tar roads but I had to get to the starting point of my off road adventure. I knew that when the adventure would start I would need all the time possible to get through certain technical section that lay ahead. To be honest I wasnâ??t entirely sure which trails I was going to follow but I had enough time to think about it as I made my way to the end of Zambezi Rd. I turned right onto Lavender Rd and then took a left on the Rosslyn Rd. Soon enough I found myself at the Total Garages in Rosslyn where I turned right. This road takes you past Rosslyn on the right to the Hebron Rd which goes to Marula Sun. Once you get to the Hebron Rd you turn left and keep going straight. Do not turn left or right, do not pass begin and you will get to the point where I took my first photoâ??s of the day. Some of you may recognize the spot, this was going to be the start of my off road adventure for today.
This would be the first real test of the suspension which I had raised a couple of weeks before. The trail starts off smooth but very quickly I found myself in the middle of a whooped out path. In certain parts the whoops would be so deep that I would bottom out on the shocks â?? front and rear. Now most of you will know that the â??Little Twinâ? has very low ground clearance. I must admit though with the raised suspension I never once bottomed her out on the belly plate. This was somewhat of a consolation as this was the case on many other rides before.
Working my way through the whoops I now find myself fighting rocks too. Suddenly the rear wheel shoots out right, WTF was that? I always try and focus on the trail a reasonable distance in front of me. This must have been a rock that my eyes and my mind must have failed to register. Now it is a matter of making safe or come crashing down. Clenching the bars a bit tighter I twist a little more power out of the â??Little Twinâ? and she grips the edge of the path and shoots me back on track. Wow! What an awesome feeling of being able to recover and in that learn a slight lesson of not being over eager to race the trail. Itâ??s one of those little moments where your little angels warn you to pick up a rhythm first before going all freestyle!
The trail leads to a slight ridge from where you can get a nice view of your surrounding terrain. Once over the ridge the trail goes down the other side. From the top it starts rocky but soon opens up to a path that has been graded. Usually this path is used by the MX bikes to get access to a river called â??3 Fencesâ? but today it was my turn to hear my â??Little Twinâ? growl along a bush path. I had the path all to myself and I was looking for any excuse to left the nose off the ground. It wasnâ??t long and I soon realized that I was drifting quite a bit. Now for those that donâ??t know these paths can be very tricky as the surface is very loose, especially in the dry seasons. The surface of all these paths is river sand which is comprised of tiny little round stones and fine sand. Very often one can feel how your wheels drift from side to side as they roll over these tiny stones. Therefore when cornering you look for every little edge or berm to let you lean into the corners. You soon pick up a rhythm and start enjoying the trail, but as always, all good things come to an end. I land up in a settlement called Madidi. As I make my way through the settlement little kids come running out with shouts of greetings. Itâ??s amazing how just this gesture makes you feel so good. You wave back and every now and then I twist the throttle of the â??Little Twinâ? to give the kids a little roar of appreciation.
I know exactly where I am. I need to get to the next part of my adventure. Itâ??s called â??The Loopâ?. Itâ??s a section of a trail that the MX bikes use for high speed enduro training. In certain parts the sand is very thick and there are plenty of corners that one can overshoot. Seeing that I am solo this was not the time to go high speed. Anyway I start the section but alas, all to soon I am enjoying the ride to much and I need to bring it back under control. Below are pictures of the trail and the thick sand you get.
I now realize that I have been actually working quite hard. Itâ??s on these type of trails that the bikes seem to pick up a mind of their own. One always hears of riders telling you let the bike do the work, donâ??t fight it, let it go where it wants to. Well, if I didnâ??t apply that advice moderately I would have been stuck in a couple of thorn trees for definite. Soon you realize that riding techniques that you gain over time and the experience that is coupled with riding in different terrains start to pay off. Practice makes Perfect!
But lets not get ahead of ourselves as we still have many kilometers to get through.
I am almost at the end of the section and I know that the last piece is a straight of just more then a kilometer and as you start it there is a lovely little yump that you can lift the front wheel off the ground. So I decide to give it stick and the â??Little Twinâ? picks up the vibe and she grips the dirt and catapults me forward. All I am hearing is the tak, tak, tak of all the branches whacking the bike on the left and the right side as she makes here way to the gate at the end.
Oh Shit! From nowhere MX riders appear in front of me. Now according to the â??Laws of De Wildtâ? they are going the wrong way! Well, there was no way I was going in the bushes so I pick the left track and I see they scurry to get into the right track and we pass each other with millimeters to spare. In after thought it must have looked pretty awesome, a dual sport bike, at full pace on a track that is usually reserved for MX bikes.
It was now time for a cold coke and the only place I was going to get that soon was the shop, which we call â??Menlynâ?. This is a resting point that the MX bikes use before going into 3 Fences or after doing 3 Fences. So I pull into the regular spot and park the bike. I say hello to my â??Squeezaâ? who works behind the counter and she remark â??long time no seeâ?! And that was exactly one of my reasons for doing this ride today.
A little history. This little shop is situated in a place called Ramogatla. When I started riding in this area a good couple of years ago you could only get a couple of cool drinks and beers. If you were really hungry then you had a choice of bully beef, bully beef, bully beef and then pilchards, pilchards and some more pilchards. The place is now being developed into a shop and a restaurant. They sell a huge selection of drinks and have many more choices of grub. They even sell fuel at R4-5/litre more then the pump price. As many would say: that is cheap when you are in the middle of nowhere and you need fuel. Well done to the locals for making something out of nothing! :thumleft:
more to follow......
