Tjops
Puppy
Well, thought the time was right with the long weekend to try some off road riding on my uncle's farm here in Mpumalanga.
Some of the routes were just plain old dirt roads with some loose sand here and there, and of course the occasional low dip pond.
From there, me and my cousin ventured into some more 'testing' terrain - he lead on his ATV, while I had to follow. More loose sand, with more 'ponds' in the road to cross, together with some grasspolle and 'bakkie road tracks'.
Here the inevitable happened: my first 'bike put-down'. It was down a slope with sand in one of the 'bakkie tracks', and being the fool of not using clutch control, I accidentally revved the bike when I panicked (front wheel was swerving side to side) and ended up down in the dirt, bike facing 180 degrees from where I wanted to go with me lying flat on my back stunned.
Yip, we even neuked into the harvested corn fields - was interesting to say the least. We also ventured into the fire protection road, but after maybe 20 meters I decided to go on the grass - I couldn't maneuver through that, felt if the bike was being tossed from one side to the other.
This is the second place where I had a 'bike put-down'. It is not so clear in the picture, but the area around the pond is very 'swampy'. I tried riding with a decent speed through the pond, but had a nasty surprise after traversing the water where the mud and water made the exit slippery. So once again bike ended up on its side facing 180 degrees away from traveling direction, with both of us lying in mud and water. Fortunately, had my safety gear on as the front wheel of the bike hit my head as we came down. :-\
Picture of the valley were did some more riding:
So, all in all, it was a very fun and exciting weekend for me - got some bruises and sore muscles, and my one crash bar is now a bit higher than the other one . I can see now why many people enjoy the off road aspect of biking, as thinking of maybe getting a dedicated off-road bike. Another thing is, I think I better get that off-road training before I kill myself. :thumleft:
Oh, and as some other forum members suggested, the kattoom got dirty. Well, actually in the pictures it is a lot cleaner after I had my second put down. :biggrin:
Some of the routes were just plain old dirt roads with some loose sand here and there, and of course the occasional low dip pond.
From there, me and my cousin ventured into some more 'testing' terrain - he lead on his ATV, while I had to follow. More loose sand, with more 'ponds' in the road to cross, together with some grasspolle and 'bakkie road tracks'.
Here the inevitable happened: my first 'bike put-down'. It was down a slope with sand in one of the 'bakkie tracks', and being the fool of not using clutch control, I accidentally revved the bike when I panicked (front wheel was swerving side to side) and ended up down in the dirt, bike facing 180 degrees from where I wanted to go with me lying flat on my back stunned.
Yip, we even neuked into the harvested corn fields - was interesting to say the least. We also ventured into the fire protection road, but after maybe 20 meters I decided to go on the grass - I couldn't maneuver through that, felt if the bike was being tossed from one side to the other.
This is the second place where I had a 'bike put-down'. It is not so clear in the picture, but the area around the pond is very 'swampy'. I tried riding with a decent speed through the pond, but had a nasty surprise after traversing the water where the mud and water made the exit slippery. So once again bike ended up on its side facing 180 degrees away from traveling direction, with both of us lying in mud and water. Fortunately, had my safety gear on as the front wheel of the bike hit my head as we came down. :-\
Picture of the valley were did some more riding:
So, all in all, it was a very fun and exciting weekend for me - got some bruises and sore muscles, and my one crash bar is now a bit higher than the other one
. I can see now why many people enjoy the off road aspect of biking, as thinking of maybe getting a dedicated off-road bike. Another thing is, I think I better get that off-road training before I kill myself. :thumleft:Oh, and as some other forum members suggested, the kattoom got dirty. Well, actually in the pictures it is a lot cleaner after I had my second put down. :biggrin:
