SGB
Race Dog
Our favourite KTM dealer here in KZN periodically takes their customers for an Adventure / Dual Sport ride. Alfie has a very busy calendar, and to find a free weekend with no racing commitments for him or Brad is not the easiest thing. So we applied some pressure and gently persuaded him to set aside 2 & 3 May for a Lesotho ride with the â??big bikesâ?. Yes, a 640 can be very bigâ?¦.. Some further deliberation revealed a vague idea of where we wanted to go. Basically get into Lesotho and ride to Katse Dam, sleep over and get back to Durban the next day. Richard started telling all the guys about the ride, whilst I made the booking at Katse Lodge and detailed some routes with Mapsource®, mainly using previous track logs. About 10 people we thought were a good numberâ?¦.. It was not very long before 20 riders confirmed, and we had to jump quickly to secure the last few available beds at Katse, literally at the eleventh hour. But we managed, only just, seeing it was a long weekend and Katse was going to be very busy. The final route was planned and agreed: Himeville â?? Sani Pass â?? Black Mountain â?? Mokhotlong â?? Tlokoeng â?? Kao Mine â?? Katse for day 1. Day 2: Katse â?? Thaba Tseka â?? Taung â?? Sehonghong â?? Matebeng Pass â?? Sehlabathebe â?? Ramatseliso border â?? Swartberg â?? Himeville.
With all the arrangements made and bikes packed, everyone was ready to roll on Friday morning. The agreed meeting spot was the Himeville Arms hotel. Six 990 Adventures, One 950 Adventure, Two 950 Super Enduroâ??s, One 660 Rallye, Four 640 Adventures, Two 640 Enduroâ??s, One Husky 610, One of the new 690 Enduroâ??s, kindly lent to us by Pro-Action (Thank you to them!
), and last but not least â?? One BMW 800 GS. I convinced Roger of Ryder Motorrad fame that we will not abuse him too much if he was the only BMW rider. ;D
Everyone was there on time and we were on our way to the South African border post at the bottom of Sani Pass by 7:30. The first bit of â??gravel roadâ? towards Sani Pass Hotel was wet and slippery. The road works which are under way in anticipation of tarring this section causes it to become this way when it rains / snows. There seemed to have been quite a bit of rain in the preceding couple of days. (Putting it mildly.) Anyway, we arrived at the border with most bikes still in showroom condition. From the border post, the white capped mountains looked very promisingâ?¦. Passports were stamped by the friendly policemen and off we went.
Sani was uneventful, until we got close to the top where we saw the white caps earlier. The snow was still quite hard in places, causing the road to resemble an ice rink! This resulted in a few more small modifications to the previously mentioned â??showroom conditionâ?â?¦..
We all reached the top before the cars started arriving, bike tracks have to be the first in the new snow, just to show who is the king of Sani. The Lesotho border gate was still locked when we arrived, we had time to take some pictures.
Picture: Gary Nilson
The officials arrived a while later and again we were off in a flash, with freshly stamped passports and road fees paid. The weather was still chilly as we rode over Black Mountain. The BMWâ??s thermometer showed 1 °C and it was about 9:00 by now. The sun takes some time to have an effect up there.
The descend to St James and Mokhotlong was beautiful and without incident. We did not bother to get fuel from Mokhotlong, I knew that Tlokoeng had fuel from an earlier â??phone-a-friendâ? call. The tar road from Mokhotlong to Tlokoeng is in good condition and I could tell from the black knobbly shaped tracks on the tar from braking into the corners that Alfie was having a good time. Could not see him from about 500m from departure, he just tends to disappear in the distance, after the first cornerâ?¦â?¦
We all filled up at Tlokoeng, and rode further along the tar, now one big pothole rather than tar, to the meeting point where we went off towards Kao mine.
We arranged to meet 2 friends here, they came from Fouriesburg and up Moteng pass.
Waited here for everyone to re-group and then we were off for some â??realâ? riding down to Kao mine.
This is a muddy, rocky track which dictates careful but confident riding. There is always something to keep you from falling asleep in boredom; there are mud holes, rocks, ruts and stuff all the way. The weather played along nicely, the sun was out but still a little bite in the air. Good excuse working up a little sweat in the jacketâ?¦. This section was most enjoyable and we all had a great time. A little bit of toiling on a hill here and there was seen, but with a few bike swaps and a push and a shove, things were progressing well. We even noticed a few jackets coming off, and it was not so hot outsideâ?¦..
Then disaster struck! Alfieâ??s old faithful Dakar machine stopped, and would just not fire up again. Checked a few things, but could not find any obvious issues. In the end, the tow strap came out, and the bike was very ably towed out by Alfie and Richard. If it was me, there would have been blood, for sureâ?¦. Having arrived at Kao Mine, Richard was also a little sweaty, but he agreed that it still beats a good day at the office, just a pity he still had to put up with the same crowd! Alfie just complained that Richard brakes too muchâ?¦..
Picture: Gary Nilson
As we departed from Kao, Ian had a hard landing when his bike landed in a cross-rut position and he lost it. His ankle got hurt, and he did very well to continue the ride in some serious pain. The scenery along this stretch of good gravel road is amazingly pretty, and we had opportunity to look around, seeing the road was non-threatening. A few river crossings was thrown in just for good measure, we experienced some real pleasant riding as we approached the top end of the Katse dam. The interaction with the locals was very interesting, they all try and make a living from the limited resources at their disposal. A simple, but peaceful life â?? In fact much a more peaceful and purposeful than many rat race running city slickers.
We found fuel again just before Katse on the tar road. The fuel availability has been great, we had no problem with that up to this point. Full tanks at Katse, a new experienceâ?¦.. Katse Lodge was a welcome sight, and we pulled in for a warm bath.
We found a whole lot of Harley riders here, some even put nylon covers over the bikes at nightâ?¦. And they look the partâ?¦. We did not carry too many clothes, we went to dinner in riding gear, just dusted off a little. We were hungry and not too fussed with the slow service, and still waiting for food when the Harley riders could not take it any longer and left. We eventually had a good meal, and we needed it. We did not have lunch at Ficksburg and we did a bit more than a 200 km tar only rideâ?¦.. We had all that was on offer, from the butternut soup, through the steak and chips to chocolate moose and the fruit salad that our friends did not eat. We tried to look at the blue bike again, and had to give up â?? no ways she was going to fire up. Pity, and the prospect of towing her all the way back did not appeal to us, and we started thinking of ways to get her a lift home.
Eventually we ran out of plans, not even the â??cream of the cropâ? in the pub was able to help, so we all went to bed and had a good nightâ??s sleep. I slept like a baby, and the same feedback was heard from everybody else. Alfie and Richard shared a double bed, the last we heard Richard say was something like â??I have a headacheâ?, then I fell asleep.
All were up bright and early, and we remembered about a group camping at the dam wall. It turned out that they were from Underberg and Matatiele, and they had a bakkie with space to take the broken bike back. Great! Now we had a man too many, and Alfie was on the back, with Richard riding from Katse to Thaba Tseka. Another very pleasant ride. The road is a little bumpy in places, and careful riding is dictated by sheep, donkeys, vehicles, people, geese and other creatures. Our Johannesburg friends and â??Road Racerâ? Norman decided to take the tar to Fouriesburg and headed home from there.
At Thaba Tseka, we had a bit of a setback. No fuel!
I was really bargaining on getting fuel here, as the Chinese shop at Sehlabathebe is never very reliable. But we had no option, just had to push along. Reg and Ian decided to head back to Sani, they had arranged a vehicle to collect them as Ianâ??s ankle was not doing too well. The rest departed on the planned route. As predicted, the punctures also started from here. The sharp rocks in the road, and higher speed riding caused quite a few in the Sehonghong section. We were barely out of Thaba Tseka when Johnâ??s 990 had the first one. Tyre weld lasted for 2 km and then the wheel had to come out. Robâ??s spare tube turned out to also have a hole in it and the job was done once more. It held second time around, and we arrived at the Senqu crossing a bit behind the group.
Turned right at Taung, and went along towards Sehonghong. This road is in fairly poor condition after all the rain and we saw quite a few more punctures. The count was four by the time we arrived at the Bob Philips camp site at the bottom of Matebeng pass.
Bruce was now in the pillion seat with Richard riding on Carlâ??s 990, Alfie was riding Goldie, and Carl had the 690. This is another excellent ride, again you could not think too much about last nightâ??s dinner, because if you did, the bike wanted to jump down the valley on the side of the track. And some rocks, ruts and ditches thrown in for good measure too. We re-grouped at the bottom of Matebeng, and some fuel lights were now on.
Picture: Gary Nilson
The Chinese shop was now under serious prayer, and we crossed the pass again admiring the pretty countryside. Made a quick photo stop at the top of the pass and then down the road to the Chinese shop. We were very happy to learn that fuel was available, and R11 per litre was a bargain! We filled the bikes from the drums and cans they sell from (it says Jet A1 on the drumâ?¦.) and had some cooldrinks and stuff, and we were in high spirits again!
We departed happily and made the last stretch in Lesotho to the Ramatseliso border in no time.
Another puncture repair later we left, and had another very enjoyable, mildly technical ride down the mountain towards Swartberg.
It was now raining lightly, and quite cool with a little breeze coming off the snowy mountains. Alfie had a quick encounter with a local bakkie â?? there was just not enough space for both in the corner. The bakkie was just going too fast! â?? ja rightâ?¦..
From the T junction into the Matatiele â?? Swartberg road, we upped the pace slightly on that long straight smooth gravel road. You can wind that throttle on this stretch, Swartberg was there in a flash! Re-grouped again in Swartberg, and took the tar road for the last stretch. Some of us had a long day.... ;D
And fixed another flat 40 km from Underberg! It is not over until it is overâ?¦. We had no more front tubes, and stuck a rear into the front wheel, it works too â?? will get you home!
We all arrived back at the Himeville Arms, each with a story to tell. The couple of small â??lay-downsâ?, punctures, snow, cold, rocks and the scenery gave everyone something to take home. A very enjoyable ride with a bunch of great guys. Thank you to everyone who made this one of the memorable ones.
Some statistics / final thoughts:
â?¢ We covered just over 600 km, Himeville to Himeville, excluding the ride to and from home.
â?¢ This game is like golf â?? we all hit a white ball, but Ernie Els really does not play the same game as me. Go ride with Alfie, Richard and a couple of others and you will see that it applies to our game too. Respect boys, and thanks for putting up with us weekend golfers!
â?¢ All the punctures were front wheels with thin tubes. No punctures on 4mm thick â??Enduroâ? tubesâ?¦. Goes to showâ?¦.
â?¢ The 690 is more of a 525 on steroids than a miniature 950 SE. Very capable in the rocks and very smooth motor and gearbox. Good, solid, well built machine!
â?¢ The 800 BMW is a very capable bike, in the right hands. And well done to Roger for putting up with all the â??lipâ? from the KTM crowd. Brave man. And that 800 is FAST.
â?¢ But I still love my 990! Can think of nothing better to do whilst riding this puppy.
Which one? You choose! ??? ???
Can I end off with my old saying: â??Lesotho has its little momentsâ?¦..â? 8)
Thank you for the opportunity!
With all the arrangements made and bikes packed, everyone was ready to roll on Friday morning. The agreed meeting spot was the Himeville Arms hotel. Six 990 Adventures, One 950 Adventure, Two 950 Super Enduroâ??s, One 660 Rallye, Four 640 Adventures, Two 640 Enduroâ??s, One Husky 610, One of the new 690 Enduroâ??s, kindly lent to us by Pro-Action (Thank you to them!
), and last but not least â?? One BMW 800 GS. I convinced Roger of Ryder Motorrad fame that we will not abuse him too much if he was the only BMW rider. ;D
Everyone was there on time and we were on our way to the South African border post at the bottom of Sani Pass by 7:30. The first bit of â??gravel roadâ? towards Sani Pass Hotel was wet and slippery. The road works which are under way in anticipation of tarring this section causes it to become this way when it rains / snows. There seemed to have been quite a bit of rain in the preceding couple of days. (Putting it mildly.) Anyway, we arrived at the border with most bikes still in showroom condition. From the border post, the white capped mountains looked very promisingâ?¦. Passports were stamped by the friendly policemen and off we went.
Sani was uneventful, until we got close to the top where we saw the white caps earlier. The snow was still quite hard in places, causing the road to resemble an ice rink! This resulted in a few more small modifications to the previously mentioned â??showroom conditionâ?â?¦..
We all reached the top before the cars started arriving, bike tracks have to be the first in the new snow, just to show who is the king of Sani. The Lesotho border gate was still locked when we arrived, we had time to take some pictures.
Picture: Gary Nilson
The officials arrived a while later and again we were off in a flash, with freshly stamped passports and road fees paid. The weather was still chilly as we rode over Black Mountain. The BMWâ??s thermometer showed 1 °C and it was about 9:00 by now. The sun takes some time to have an effect up there.
The descend to St James and Mokhotlong was beautiful and without incident. We did not bother to get fuel from Mokhotlong, I knew that Tlokoeng had fuel from an earlier â??phone-a-friendâ? call. The tar road from Mokhotlong to Tlokoeng is in good condition and I could tell from the black knobbly shaped tracks on the tar from braking into the corners that Alfie was having a good time. Could not see him from about 500m from departure, he just tends to disappear in the distance, after the first cornerâ?¦â?¦
We all filled up at Tlokoeng, and rode further along the tar, now one big pothole rather than tar, to the meeting point where we went off towards Kao mine.
We arranged to meet 2 friends here, they came from Fouriesburg and up Moteng pass.
Waited here for everyone to re-group and then we were off for some â??realâ? riding down to Kao mine.
This is a muddy, rocky track which dictates careful but confident riding. There is always something to keep you from falling asleep in boredom; there are mud holes, rocks, ruts and stuff all the way. The weather played along nicely, the sun was out but still a little bite in the air. Good excuse working up a little sweat in the jacketâ?¦. This section was most enjoyable and we all had a great time. A little bit of toiling on a hill here and there was seen, but with a few bike swaps and a push and a shove, things were progressing well. We even noticed a few jackets coming off, and it was not so hot outsideâ?¦..
Then disaster struck! Alfieâ??s old faithful Dakar machine stopped, and would just not fire up again. Checked a few things, but could not find any obvious issues. In the end, the tow strap came out, and the bike was very ably towed out by Alfie and Richard. If it was me, there would have been blood, for sureâ?¦. Having arrived at Kao Mine, Richard was also a little sweaty, but he agreed that it still beats a good day at the office, just a pity he still had to put up with the same crowd! Alfie just complained that Richard brakes too muchâ?¦..
Picture: Gary Nilson
As we departed from Kao, Ian had a hard landing when his bike landed in a cross-rut position and he lost it. His ankle got hurt, and he did very well to continue the ride in some serious pain. The scenery along this stretch of good gravel road is amazingly pretty, and we had opportunity to look around, seeing the road was non-threatening. A few river crossings was thrown in just for good measure, we experienced some real pleasant riding as we approached the top end of the Katse dam. The interaction with the locals was very interesting, they all try and make a living from the limited resources at their disposal. A simple, but peaceful life â?? In fact much a more peaceful and purposeful than many rat race running city slickers.
We found fuel again just before Katse on the tar road. The fuel availability has been great, we had no problem with that up to this point. Full tanks at Katse, a new experienceâ?¦.. Katse Lodge was a welcome sight, and we pulled in for a warm bath.
We found a whole lot of Harley riders here, some even put nylon covers over the bikes at nightâ?¦. And they look the partâ?¦. We did not carry too many clothes, we went to dinner in riding gear, just dusted off a little. We were hungry and not too fussed with the slow service, and still waiting for food when the Harley riders could not take it any longer and left. We eventually had a good meal, and we needed it. We did not have lunch at Ficksburg and we did a bit more than a 200 km tar only rideâ?¦.. We had all that was on offer, from the butternut soup, through the steak and chips to chocolate moose and the fruit salad that our friends did not eat. We tried to look at the blue bike again, and had to give up â?? no ways she was going to fire up. Pity, and the prospect of towing her all the way back did not appeal to us, and we started thinking of ways to get her a lift home.
Eventually we ran out of plans, not even the â??cream of the cropâ? in the pub was able to help, so we all went to bed and had a good nightâ??s sleep. I slept like a baby, and the same feedback was heard from everybody else. Alfie and Richard shared a double bed, the last we heard Richard say was something like â??I have a headacheâ?, then I fell asleep.
All were up bright and early, and we remembered about a group camping at the dam wall. It turned out that they were from Underberg and Matatiele, and they had a bakkie with space to take the broken bike back. Great! Now we had a man too many, and Alfie was on the back, with Richard riding from Katse to Thaba Tseka. Another very pleasant ride. The road is a little bumpy in places, and careful riding is dictated by sheep, donkeys, vehicles, people, geese and other creatures. Our Johannesburg friends and â??Road Racerâ? Norman decided to take the tar to Fouriesburg and headed home from there.
At Thaba Tseka, we had a bit of a setback. No fuel!
I was really bargaining on getting fuel here, as the Chinese shop at Sehlabathebe is never very reliable. But we had no option, just had to push along. Reg and Ian decided to head back to Sani, they had arranged a vehicle to collect them as Ianâ??s ankle was not doing too well. The rest departed on the planned route. As predicted, the punctures also started from here. The sharp rocks in the road, and higher speed riding caused quite a few in the Sehonghong section. We were barely out of Thaba Tseka when Johnâ??s 990 had the first one. Tyre weld lasted for 2 km and then the wheel had to come out. Robâ??s spare tube turned out to also have a hole in it and the job was done once more. It held second time around, and we arrived at the Senqu crossing a bit behind the group.
Turned right at Taung, and went along towards Sehonghong. This road is in fairly poor condition after all the rain and we saw quite a few more punctures. The count was four by the time we arrived at the Bob Philips camp site at the bottom of Matebeng pass.
Bruce was now in the pillion seat with Richard riding on Carlâ??s 990, Alfie was riding Goldie, and Carl had the 690. This is another excellent ride, again you could not think too much about last nightâ??s dinner, because if you did, the bike wanted to jump down the valley on the side of the track. And some rocks, ruts and ditches thrown in for good measure too. We re-grouped at the bottom of Matebeng, and some fuel lights were now on.
Picture: Gary Nilson
The Chinese shop was now under serious prayer, and we crossed the pass again admiring the pretty countryside. Made a quick photo stop at the top of the pass and then down the road to the Chinese shop. We were very happy to learn that fuel was available, and R11 per litre was a bargain! We filled the bikes from the drums and cans they sell from (it says Jet A1 on the drumâ?¦.) and had some cooldrinks and stuff, and we were in high spirits again!
We departed happily and made the last stretch in Lesotho to the Ramatseliso border in no time.
Another puncture repair later we left, and had another very enjoyable, mildly technical ride down the mountain towards Swartberg.
It was now raining lightly, and quite cool with a little breeze coming off the snowy mountains. Alfie had a quick encounter with a local bakkie â?? there was just not enough space for both in the corner. The bakkie was just going too fast! â?? ja rightâ?¦..
From the T junction into the Matatiele â?? Swartberg road, we upped the pace slightly on that long straight smooth gravel road. You can wind that throttle on this stretch, Swartberg was there in a flash! Re-grouped again in Swartberg, and took the tar road for the last stretch. Some of us had a long day.... ;D
And fixed another flat 40 km from Underberg! It is not over until it is overâ?¦. We had no more front tubes, and stuck a rear into the front wheel, it works too â?? will get you home!
We all arrived back at the Himeville Arms, each with a story to tell. The couple of small â??lay-downsâ?, punctures, snow, cold, rocks and the scenery gave everyone something to take home. A very enjoyable ride with a bunch of great guys. Thank you to everyone who made this one of the memorable ones.
Some statistics / final thoughts:
â?¢ We covered just over 600 km, Himeville to Himeville, excluding the ride to and from home.
â?¢ This game is like golf â?? we all hit a white ball, but Ernie Els really does not play the same game as me. Go ride with Alfie, Richard and a couple of others and you will see that it applies to our game too. Respect boys, and thanks for putting up with us weekend golfers!
â?¢ All the punctures were front wheels with thin tubes. No punctures on 4mm thick â??Enduroâ? tubesâ?¦. Goes to showâ?¦.
â?¢ The 690 is more of a 525 on steroids than a miniature 950 SE. Very capable in the rocks and very smooth motor and gearbox. Good, solid, well built machine!
â?¢ The 800 BMW is a very capable bike, in the right hands. And well done to Roger for putting up with all the â??lipâ? from the KTM crowd. Brave man. And that 800 is FAST.
â?¢ But I still love my 990! Can think of nothing better to do whilst riding this puppy.
Which one? You choose! ??? ???
Can I end off with my old saying: â??Lesotho has its little momentsâ?¦..â? 8)
Thank you for the opportunity!
