a Gentle Saturday Ride in Inanda (NOT)

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MadDog

Pack Dog
Joined
Dec 10, 2010
Messages
335
Reaction score
3
Location
Durban North
Bike
Yamaha XT 660 Z
I decided somewhat hastily and foolishly to join some mates on a ride in Inanda this Saturday and what I was told would be a calm and not too technical ride turned out to be a ride through heaven and hell simultaneously.

I should have been worried when the bikes that showed up at the meeting point were three 450cc Quads, a CR250F and a YZ250 2 smoke. I felt a little intimidated in their company but the Z held its head high and looked the part at least although I didn't in my adventure gear versus their MX gear :(

The scenery along the ride was nothing short of spectacular and following the MX bikes results in using trails that no GPS has listed and normal riders would not even see. I struggled to maintain pace with them but the etiquette was good and they were always close enough to help me lift the beast whenever I decided to take a break and lie down (I did that a lot, but surprisingly I was still tired :( )

The mud and sand monsters both made many appearances and neither could stake their claim on me with my new Mitas C02 rear and C17 front. I kicked their collective arses and then met 2 new monsters. River monster and Rock monster. In 1 instance they combined to make a River rock monster, not a very friendly fellow and I took a swim with him :(

I was not the only casualty of the day either, one of the quads showed me its belly as I rode past, I think it wanted a belly rub but I was frozen to my bike in fear at the time.

All in all I had a fantastic ride, albeit a little too technical for my skills. I got away unscathed but a little sore in all my tender spots. The bike was not so lucky and ended the day with a broken rear view mirror, bent gear lever, bent barkbuster, scratched rims and a very tired clutch :( oh, and almost all the plastics now have some form of rash or scratches :)

Just the clutch left to sort now though, so all is well.

I have attached a few pics taken while I could still hold my phone, more will follow as I get them from the other riders.

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Overlooking the dam wall early in the morning

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The Z holding its head high and blissfully unaware of the trials that lie ahead

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One of the monstrously noisy mud slinging quads (a Yamaha of course)

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The River rock monster :(

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The Z Showing off its rash on the plastic tank guards and the now very bent left Barkbuster

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All the toys taking a break at a local watering hole, there was a local brew on the fire that smelled like WitBlitz

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The meanest quad there taking a nap or waiting for its belly rub ;)
 
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