Malibu
Bachelor Dog
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2007
- Messages
- 11,161
- Reaction score
- 44
- Bike
- NER-A-CAR
It all started with a post on the forumâ?¦ WDâ??s wanted for filming of promo material for the African Bike Challenge. Smithey and I promptly signed on as this would be a great way to do our First trip in to Lesotho and get some great riding footage! We quickly found out what we needed to take with, not much as BeyondXtreme would be catering for everything if needed. We decided that our own tent would be an advantage and added a few other odds and ends to the bags. I shot down to the Vaal after work on Thursday and did the final pack on our bikes.
Friday morning was the perfect riding day. Smithey and I bailed onto the bikes, excitement running high, and we took off to the meet spot on the highway. Mav was there already, grinning from ear to ear. There is something exciting about not knowing where you are going, how you going to get there and what is going to happen for the next few days. We had just put ourselves out there for an organizer to have fun with. It appeared that some of the guys from the Joâ??burg meet-up were running late, so .
We treated ourselves to breakfast
and pozed with the skaap trailer.
A little later a stunning Africa Twin rode in followed by an antique BMW and a loaded bakkie! Was this who we were riding with? My first impression of Louie (Mudcracker) was a guy larger than lifeâ?¦ with the best twinkling eyes you have ever seen. Eileen, riding the AT was going to be doing her very first dirt ride. I think my eyebrows shot up in surprise when I heard this. That beautiful old bike of Louieâ??s has over 1,2 million kmâ??s on the clockâ?¦ howâ??s that for a bike that has traveled!
After a re-fuel, the little convoy set off to some place near Clocolan for Brunch. Well, that lovely old BMW was not the happiest bike out there. Louie had it in the shop to ensure that all was ok for the trip, but something was missedâ?¦ We stopped a few times to try figure-out what the problem was, thinking the bike was getting no spark to the right piston so the sparkplug was changed. Same problem. Checking the fuel lines revealed a slight blockage to the carb, so that was quickly fixed and onwards we went to the meeting spot. Obviously we were a little late for the brunch and the first group had already left and taken our lunch on ahead to the lodge. A quick leg stretch and we headed off to the lodge for the evening.
A view from the Lodge
What a stunning place. A private game lodge, with views over the river and border into Lesotho, game grazing the fields and a rather fantastic feeling of not being in the city any longer, and donâ??t forget the cold Savanna! Heaven!
After unloading the bikes, we were informed that we would be doing an assessment ride along the Caledon River, riding terrain that would not be nearly as bad as Saturdays, but it would give the camera guys an idea of our skills. We all set off, trucks and 11 bikes! And what a collection of bikes it was.
2 x 800GSâ??s, 1 Yammie Tennere, 2 KDX 200â??s, a KTM950, a KTM640, an Africa Twin, two beautiful old BMWâ??s R80GS and a R100R, and a Dakar. Saturday the R100R was swapped out for a V-Strom.
We had a stunning ride! With very varied terrain, from rock steps, mud crossings, heavily rutted tracks, very stony areas, open veld crossings, sandy areas, negotiating through stands of trees and bushes, we got it all! We got back with the sun, low on the horizon, shining sharply in our eyes, our throats dry and in desperate need for a drink. I was so excited with myself, I had crossed fallen trees, ridden through my nemesis â?? MUD, twice, and survived the test! I just had to celebrate!
A wait break to split the group up for faster riding.
Fortunately, on arrival at the Lodge, Johann, our look-after-all-our-needs-guy, had looked after all our needs! Everything was ready for us. Cold beers, hot showers, dinner on the go! We were positively spoilt. The Lodge is built on the lip of a hill, with outstanding views. Thatched, and built from sandstone, it is magnificent. Most of us slept in the loft dormitory, and the 2 bathrooms were more than adequate for our needs. The fires were lit in the boma and a very enjoyable evening ensued.
The Party shack.
As is usually the case, some crawled into bed early and SOME eventually crashed well after midnight. Only to have the wake-up call sometime before 5am.
Breakfast
One of the late night revelars
We dressed and helped pack the back-up truck and the film-crew truck. All our luggage was loaded onto the trucks and after a few interviews, a ride briefing and some more photos, we set off. The border formalities were handled by the organizers, so that was a breeze! 40 kmâ??s of tar and thenâ?¦. The DIRT!
Friday morning was the perfect riding day. Smithey and I bailed onto the bikes, excitement running high, and we took off to the meet spot on the highway. Mav was there already, grinning from ear to ear. There is something exciting about not knowing where you are going, how you going to get there and what is going to happen for the next few days. We had just put ourselves out there for an organizer to have fun with. It appeared that some of the guys from the Joâ??burg meet-up were running late, so .
We treated ourselves to breakfast
and pozed with the skaap trailer.
A little later a stunning Africa Twin rode in followed by an antique BMW and a loaded bakkie! Was this who we were riding with? My first impression of Louie (Mudcracker) was a guy larger than lifeâ?¦ with the best twinkling eyes you have ever seen. Eileen, riding the AT was going to be doing her very first dirt ride. I think my eyebrows shot up in surprise when I heard this. That beautiful old bike of Louieâ??s has over 1,2 million kmâ??s on the clockâ?¦ howâ??s that for a bike that has traveled!
After a re-fuel, the little convoy set off to some place near Clocolan for Brunch. Well, that lovely old BMW was not the happiest bike out there. Louie had it in the shop to ensure that all was ok for the trip, but something was missedâ?¦ We stopped a few times to try figure-out what the problem was, thinking the bike was getting no spark to the right piston so the sparkplug was changed. Same problem. Checking the fuel lines revealed a slight blockage to the carb, so that was quickly fixed and onwards we went to the meeting spot. Obviously we were a little late for the brunch and the first group had already left and taken our lunch on ahead to the lodge. A quick leg stretch and we headed off to the lodge for the evening.
A view from the Lodge
What a stunning place. A private game lodge, with views over the river and border into Lesotho, game grazing the fields and a rather fantastic feeling of not being in the city any longer, and donâ??t forget the cold Savanna! Heaven!
After unloading the bikes, we were informed that we would be doing an assessment ride along the Caledon River, riding terrain that would not be nearly as bad as Saturdays, but it would give the camera guys an idea of our skills. We all set off, trucks and 11 bikes! And what a collection of bikes it was.
2 x 800GSâ??s, 1 Yammie Tennere, 2 KDX 200â??s, a KTM950, a KTM640, an Africa Twin, two beautiful old BMWâ??s R80GS and a R100R, and a Dakar. Saturday the R100R was swapped out for a V-Strom.
We had a stunning ride! With very varied terrain, from rock steps, mud crossings, heavily rutted tracks, very stony areas, open veld crossings, sandy areas, negotiating through stands of trees and bushes, we got it all! We got back with the sun, low on the horizon, shining sharply in our eyes, our throats dry and in desperate need for a drink. I was so excited with myself, I had crossed fallen trees, ridden through my nemesis â?? MUD, twice, and survived the test! I just had to celebrate!
A wait break to split the group up for faster riding.
Fortunately, on arrival at the Lodge, Johann, our look-after-all-our-needs-guy, had looked after all our needs! Everything was ready for us. Cold beers, hot showers, dinner on the go! We were positively spoilt. The Lodge is built on the lip of a hill, with outstanding views. Thatched, and built from sandstone, it is magnificent. Most of us slept in the loft dormitory, and the 2 bathrooms were more than adequate for our needs. The fires were lit in the boma and a very enjoyable evening ensued.
The Party shack.
As is usually the case, some crawled into bed early and SOME eventually crashed well after midnight. Only to have the wake-up call sometime before 5am.
Breakfast
One of the late night revelars
We dressed and helped pack the back-up truck and the film-crew truck. All our luggage was loaded onto the trucks and after a few interviews, a ride briefing and some more photos, we set off. The border formalities were handled by the organizers, so that was a breeze! 40 kmâ??s of tar and thenâ?¦. The DIRT!
