- Joined
- Jul 31, 2015
- Messages
- 9
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- Bike
- Husqvarna (all models)
Hi All,
Im planning a December Holiday solo bike trip. Planning on spending all 4 weeks riding every day. I've toured our country and seen the sights so I am looking for a biking holiday.
I have found a lot of routes (GPS files) on this forum and I'm busy working through it all, mapping and planning. I've never taken on such a big or long trip before and was wondering if anybody has some good tips to share or an opinion on my game plan.
I'm starting in Gauteng and need to be in Montagu/Robertson for X-mas. X-mas will be 2 weeks into the trip, 2 weeks left to head back.
I'm thinking of heading north west to Botswana border and then making my way across to the West Coast. Down the coast and across the Karoo to Montagu. I've found some great ride reports of places along West Coast, the Cederberg Mountains etc. Considering if I should then after x-mas aim for Lesotho and Swaziland as I haven't really been there before.
I know doing this solo has its risks, I am also aware that my mechanical knowledge of my bike is not what it should be. Is going alone through Lesotho and Swaziland a super bad idea (thinking emergencies and such).
My riding experience is 2006 - 2012 Superbikes (Hyabusa -> GSXR '06 -> Honda HRC). Bought my current Husqvarna TR650 in 2016 (my adventure bike) and have a 2012 KTM 300 2T XCW and have been an enduro weekend warrior on that since '17.
My challenges of planning are now:
Where to ride / route. I have had a N1 ride from CPT to PTA and it was the 2 most boring days of my life. So I want to avoid tar at all costs.
What to pack for camping and any mechanical problems.
Buy a GPS or use cellphone?
My bike only has a 14 litre capacity, that's about 250km range at highway speeds. Definitely going to have to strap on 5 to 10 litre's?
I have a set of Karoo3 tires on, the rear is finished. Suggestion for a new rear?
I've never actually camped from a bike trip so ja, please let me know if all of this is a kak idea or anything I can do to better prepare myself. Definitely going to do a bike camp and return over a weekend before I go.
Thanks for any tips / comments
Im planning a December Holiday solo bike trip. Planning on spending all 4 weeks riding every day. I've toured our country and seen the sights so I am looking for a biking holiday.
I have found a lot of routes (GPS files) on this forum and I'm busy working through it all, mapping and planning. I've never taken on such a big or long trip before and was wondering if anybody has some good tips to share or an opinion on my game plan.
I'm starting in Gauteng and need to be in Montagu/Robertson for X-mas. X-mas will be 2 weeks into the trip, 2 weeks left to head back.
I'm thinking of heading north west to Botswana border and then making my way across to the West Coast. Down the coast and across the Karoo to Montagu. I've found some great ride reports of places along West Coast, the Cederberg Mountains etc. Considering if I should then after x-mas aim for Lesotho and Swaziland as I haven't really been there before.
I know doing this solo has its risks, I am also aware that my mechanical knowledge of my bike is not what it should be. Is going alone through Lesotho and Swaziland a super bad idea (thinking emergencies and such).
My riding experience is 2006 - 2012 Superbikes (Hyabusa -> GSXR '06 -> Honda HRC). Bought my current Husqvarna TR650 in 2016 (my adventure bike) and have a 2012 KTM 300 2T XCW and have been an enduro weekend warrior on that since '17.
My challenges of planning are now:
Where to ride / route. I have had a N1 ride from CPT to PTA and it was the 2 most boring days of my life. So I want to avoid tar at all costs.
What to pack for camping and any mechanical problems.
Buy a GPS or use cellphone?
My bike only has a 14 litre capacity, that's about 250km range at highway speeds. Definitely going to have to strap on 5 to 10 litre's?
I have a set of Karoo3 tires on, the rear is finished. Suggestion for a new rear?
I've never actually camped from a bike trip so ja, please let me know if all of this is a kak idea or anything I can do to better prepare myself. Definitely going to do a bike camp and return over a weekend before I go.
Thanks for any tips / comments
