- Joined
- May 30, 2019
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 18
- Location
- Bloemfontein
- Bike
- Honda CRF-1000L Africa Twin
Hey guys,,, :biggrin:
So had this ache for quite some time, even though I have never ridden a scrambler or a enduro or even a dual sport/adventure bike... I did research on bikes and the tenere felt right for the first step or entry into the adventure world...without spending too much. Eventually I found a deal before lockdown and over the months started to stock up on some gear/tools/accessories. Practice and studying off road techniques was number one priority in my free time and I came to a point where I felt confident to take on a trip around Lesotho...
It was a matter of unpaid leave or faking a sick note for work to get a few extra days off over the weekend... :lol8: I had a gut feeling to rather do the right thing,, so I waited and the long weekend looked like the perfect opportunity.. :thumleft:
Checking the route options as well as looking for BnBs I was assured not to get lost on the trip ;D
Day 1 BFN to Rhodes 8 Aug
05:30am ...just outside BFN on the way to Dewetsdorp I drove straight through a T junction over the stop and double highway into a construction site (Turns out google maps are not updated ) it was dark and was going at 100kmh, the GPS took me through a dumping site past the location and I have never driven that side of bloem... :imaposer: I properly shat myself and thought this trip was a shit IDEA... luckily no damage to the rims , did not hit an excavator , or any crossing traffic..
I finally made it to Zastron and head to Lady Grey via Sterkspruit and the mountain ranges started to show ...upon refueling I randomly met 3 riders from BFN at the petrol station in Lady grey, they asked me where I'm heading to? and if I wanna join on a detour through Jouberts pass and a farm named ''vulture...'' something(it was between Barkley and Lady grey) basically on route close to my BnB in Rhodes. After the detour they went back on route to Hogsback...Our roads split in barkly and the solo journey continued...
There was still about 4hours of daylight riding and went from barkly to Lundeans nek,,, certainly one of the top 3 highlights of the trip,,, a lot of gravel twisty incline and decline roads...but so much fun :biggrin: on my way back from lundeans nek I took the wartrail turn off to tiffindell (big mistake) and as soon as I started the incline on the mountain the road got hectic ,,,very rocky , tires packed together over the rough patches,, and eventually got stuck, lost traction and dropped the bike ...to steep to pick up the bike and turn the bike around, to tired and over exhausted for the days ride,,, I rested and enjoyed the view just to regain enough strength to move the rocks and turn around the bike,,, called it a day and headed to Rhodes to book in BnB...
On the way back I took a corner at speed over eager and gatvol/moeg and fell hard and got the bike stuck on my leg and broke my boot clips..I realized its either a hard fall or long way down 30 to 40m down the side slope of the road and made the best out of the situation. Only damage was a broken plastic hand guard... Now properly sore , tired and hungry I took it easy to walkerbouts bnb and arrived just past 6pm .
Some pics of day one..
So had this ache for quite some time, even though I have never ridden a scrambler or a enduro or even a dual sport/adventure bike... I did research on bikes and the tenere felt right for the first step or entry into the adventure world...without spending too much. Eventually I found a deal before lockdown and over the months started to stock up on some gear/tools/accessories. Practice and studying off road techniques was number one priority in my free time and I came to a point where I felt confident to take on a trip around Lesotho...
It was a matter of unpaid leave or faking a sick note for work to get a few extra days off over the weekend... :lol8: I had a gut feeling to rather do the right thing,, so I waited and the long weekend looked like the perfect opportunity.. :thumleft:
Checking the route options as well as looking for BnBs I was assured not to get lost on the trip ;D
Day 1 BFN to Rhodes 8 Aug
05:30am ...just outside BFN on the way to Dewetsdorp I drove straight through a T junction over the stop and double highway into a construction site (Turns out google maps are not updated ) it was dark and was going at 100kmh, the GPS took me through a dumping site past the location and I have never driven that side of bloem... :imaposer: I properly shat myself and thought this trip was a shit IDEA... luckily no damage to the rims , did not hit an excavator , or any crossing traffic..
I finally made it to Zastron and head to Lady Grey via Sterkspruit and the mountain ranges started to show ...upon refueling I randomly met 3 riders from BFN at the petrol station in Lady grey, they asked me where I'm heading to? and if I wanna join on a detour through Jouberts pass and a farm named ''vulture...'' something(it was between Barkley and Lady grey) basically on route close to my BnB in Rhodes. After the detour they went back on route to Hogsback...Our roads split in barkly and the solo journey continued...
There was still about 4hours of daylight riding and went from barkly to Lundeans nek,,, certainly one of the top 3 highlights of the trip,,, a lot of gravel twisty incline and decline roads...but so much fun :biggrin: on my way back from lundeans nek I took the wartrail turn off to tiffindell (big mistake) and as soon as I started the incline on the mountain the road got hectic ,,,very rocky , tires packed together over the rough patches,, and eventually got stuck, lost traction and dropped the bike ...to steep to pick up the bike and turn the bike around, to tired and over exhausted for the days ride,,, I rested and enjoyed the view just to regain enough strength to move the rocks and turn around the bike,,, called it a day and headed to Rhodes to book in BnB...
On the way back I took a corner at speed over eager and gatvol/moeg and fell hard and got the bike stuck on my leg and broke my boot clips..I realized its either a hard fall or long way down 30 to 40m down the side slope of the road and made the best out of the situation. Only damage was a broken plastic hand guard... Now properly sore , tired and hungry I took it easy to walkerbouts bnb and arrived just past 6pm .
Some pics of day one..
