Plothond
Race Dog
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 4,929
- Reaction score
- 10
- Location
- Pretoria East - Home of Jameson
- Bike
- KTM 1090 Adventure R
Words are going to be difficult to describe the ride we have just been on
With De-Wildt being my usual stomping ground, a trip to Lesotho and an Enduro World tour to Qwa Qwa under the belt, we awaited our ride in nervous anticipation.
It did not help much either when Michnus, upon hearing that Hennie was to be our guide for the day, commented: â??Oâ?¦.. Hennie, heh heh heh (only those that know Michnus will know that laugh), julle gaan BAIE moeg wees more aand. (okâ?¦ he used other colourful words as well)
I had picked up more weight than I care to admit on this holiday and maybe this is what I needed
So it happened that we (Jag(s)hond and myself) got up early and picked Hennie and Russel up from Hennieâ??s place. We drove to our starting point at Kei Bridge which was approx 35km further on up the N2
Here we are at Kei Bridge kitting up for the ride
The first bit of the ride was along a dirt road and my 3 fellow riders, Jaghond, Russel and Hennie
Already we could see that this ride would be a humdinger. The hills and valleyâ??s ahead promised some challenges and we were not to be disappointed
Soon enough, the evil monster of downhills presented itself. Goeie #@%&# is all I could muster before it hit us full in the face.
Hennie shot down like a rock rabbit ahead of a pack of baying hounds with Russel hot on his heels.
Although my confidence built throughout the day, it took a serious hammering here and Jaghond and I took caution to a new level â?? we walked (WTF â?? you might sayâ?¦.. Well there you have it â?? we did).
It might not look steep on the pics but dammit this was not what we expected
Here are some pics of the decent
Jaghond making his way down the last bit. He was physically buggered and mentally I suspect a bit strained as well.
We were later to conclude that his bike was too high for him and on these type of decents, the law of gravity ruled supreme. If you cannot touch the ground â?? DOWN YOU GO â?? simple: JAGHOND'S LAW
Rest break at the bottom.
This when we found out that there is an easier way down.
Hennie, with a smirk on his face, was non-committal and his comment to Russel was simplyâ?¦ â??Nee, hierdie is mos die pad af, die ander een is net vir OPâ? - Bliksim !!!
Russel showing us how it should be done
Myself and Jaghond coming up one of the many surprises that Hennie had lined up for the day
Jaghondâ??s LAW ;D (a variation on the theme)
However, not one to dwell on past issues and full of smiles
Practice makes perfect ;D ;D â?? Jaghonds LAW again ;D
â?¦and once again, the ever present smile
Taking a short break up one of the hills. Russel and Hennie posing for the camera.
What a privilege to be riding here and it was an honour to be in the company of other passionate riders who loved riding and knew the area so well. Thanks guys
Destination left and �. UP ��. !!!!!!
After a short Zamelek break��.
Ah wait â?¦. Now my friend Jaghond, he likes his Zamelek and maybe the break would help with a bit of carbo-loading. Hennie walks out of the Shebeen with 4 quarts in his hand and presents one to Jaghond. Jaghond declined and threatened to upload his breakfast on us. Ooops, maybe he wasnâ??t joking when he said he was a little tiredâ?¦..
All in all, we had a good rest and off we went
So, after the short break there we were â?¦.. on top of yet another hill ;D
See the ridge below and the route we were to follow â?? AWESOME, is the only way to describe it
Jaghonds LAW againâ?¦ !!! â?? and this time I take full responsibility.
The bush was incredibly dense in places and at once stage a branch snagged my goggles and ripped them off. Stupidly I stopped on a turn to fix them. Jaghond came shooting around the corner and saw me too late, put his foot down and â?¦.. aaaaaaarrgghhhhhhhh
Unfortunately MetalJockeyâ??s rule (If there is no separation, it is NOT a fall) could not be applied here. This was definite separation
I first saved the bike (fuel is precious), then took a pic (Wilddog credo) and then helped my friend :ricky:
Looking further down the trail
Hennie, ever the fearless leader, often came walking back up the trail to see it he could help on the technical bits and then took the photographic responsibilities up as well
Myself coming down a rocky bit
Another scenic view
Russel and Jaghond had swopped bikes and suddenly Jaghondâ??s whole ride changed. Russel had lowered his own bike and also put on handlebar raisers. What a difference it made.
Shows how important it is to ride various terrain and to get to know your bike. Eventually your set-up will be just right for you
The bike being higher than what he was used to, Russel walked the â??loanâ? KDX across
Crossing the river
A short photo break after the river crossing
Another crossing
We entered a grassy plain interspersed with trees, different to the very hilly, rocky and dense thorn scrub from where we had come
Russel and Jaghond
On a particularly steep uphill, I lost the plot a bit and went farming. Here we are at our second and last Zamelek break doing some adjustments
The hand guards had shifted up from the fall and needed to be re-aligned
What a different place this is. The people are friendly and interesting
None of those â??issuesâ? we are so used to dealing with up at the Big Smoke
â?¦. And itâ??s reciprocal. The chap comes up to us and asks for â??solutionâ?. "No problem" says Hennie and digs into his bag and GIVES the guy his patches and puncture solution.
I loaned tyre levers, Russel his pump and Hennie his smile and expertise :thumleft:
Hennieâ??s bike â?? GASGAS300
Another steep gulley, one where I flipped my bike completely over my head. Thankfully it did not land on me
Only damaged was my ego and a broken tailpiece. Luckily the sticker held it on ;D
I was starting to have an intermittent fuel problem and we later suspected a blocked breather
Checking out my bike and the GPS
Finally, and after an absolutely brilliant day of riding we reach our destination â?? The Kei Mouth, and the Ferry that would take us across the river
With almost 9 hours in the saddle, we could smell the beers at the Bushpig bar.
On the Ferry
The family and kids excited to see us
The BUSHPIG and the mini party inside
Jaghond and his bruise. Looks eina
Thanks Hennie, Russel and Jaghond. This ride will go down as yet another perfect memory in my riding career
Till we ride again ��
With De-Wildt being my usual stomping ground, a trip to Lesotho and an Enduro World tour to Qwa Qwa under the belt, we awaited our ride in nervous anticipation.
It did not help much either when Michnus, upon hearing that Hennie was to be our guide for the day, commented: â??Oâ?¦.. Hennie, heh heh heh (only those that know Michnus will know that laugh), julle gaan BAIE moeg wees more aand. (okâ?¦ he used other colourful words as well)
I had picked up more weight than I care to admit on this holiday and maybe this is what I needed
So it happened that we (Jag(s)hond and myself) got up early and picked Hennie and Russel up from Hennieâ??s place. We drove to our starting point at Kei Bridge which was approx 35km further on up the N2
Here we are at Kei Bridge kitting up for the ride
The first bit of the ride was along a dirt road and my 3 fellow riders, Jaghond, Russel and Hennie
Already we could see that this ride would be a humdinger. The hills and valleyâ??s ahead promised some challenges and we were not to be disappointed
Soon enough, the evil monster of downhills presented itself. Goeie #@%&# is all I could muster before it hit us full in the face.
Hennie shot down like a rock rabbit ahead of a pack of baying hounds with Russel hot on his heels.
Although my confidence built throughout the day, it took a serious hammering here and Jaghond and I took caution to a new level â?? we walked (WTF â?? you might sayâ?¦.. Well there you have it â?? we did).
It might not look steep on the pics but dammit this was not what we expected
Here are some pics of the decent
Jaghond making his way down the last bit. He was physically buggered and mentally I suspect a bit strained as well.
We were later to conclude that his bike was too high for him and on these type of decents, the law of gravity ruled supreme. If you cannot touch the ground â?? DOWN YOU GO â?? simple: JAGHOND'S LAW
Rest break at the bottom.
This when we found out that there is an easier way down.
Hennie, with a smirk on his face, was non-committal and his comment to Russel was simplyâ?¦ â??Nee, hierdie is mos die pad af, die ander een is net vir OPâ? - Bliksim !!!
Russel showing us how it should be done
Myself and Jaghond coming up one of the many surprises that Hennie had lined up for the day
Jaghondâ??s LAW ;D (a variation on the theme)
However, not one to dwell on past issues and full of smiles
Practice makes perfect ;D ;D â?? Jaghonds LAW again ;D
â?¦and once again, the ever present smile
Taking a short break up one of the hills. Russel and Hennie posing for the camera.
What a privilege to be riding here and it was an honour to be in the company of other passionate riders who loved riding and knew the area so well. Thanks guys
Destination left and �. UP ��. !!!!!!
After a short Zamelek break��.
Ah wait â?¦. Now my friend Jaghond, he likes his Zamelek and maybe the break would help with a bit of carbo-loading. Hennie walks out of the Shebeen with 4 quarts in his hand and presents one to Jaghond. Jaghond declined and threatened to upload his breakfast on us. Ooops, maybe he wasnâ??t joking when he said he was a little tiredâ?¦..
All in all, we had a good rest and off we went
So, after the short break there we were â?¦.. on top of yet another hill ;D
See the ridge below and the route we were to follow â?? AWESOME, is the only way to describe it
Jaghonds LAW againâ?¦ !!! â?? and this time I take full responsibility.
The bush was incredibly dense in places and at once stage a branch snagged my goggles and ripped them off. Stupidly I stopped on a turn to fix them. Jaghond came shooting around the corner and saw me too late, put his foot down and â?¦.. aaaaaaarrgghhhhhhhh
Unfortunately MetalJockeyâ??s rule (If there is no separation, it is NOT a fall) could not be applied here. This was definite separation
I first saved the bike (fuel is precious), then took a pic (Wilddog credo) and then helped my friend :ricky:
Looking further down the trail
Hennie, ever the fearless leader, often came walking back up the trail to see it he could help on the technical bits and then took the photographic responsibilities up as well
Myself coming down a rocky bit
Another scenic view
Russel and Jaghond had swopped bikes and suddenly Jaghondâ??s whole ride changed. Russel had lowered his own bike and also put on handlebar raisers. What a difference it made.
Shows how important it is to ride various terrain and to get to know your bike. Eventually your set-up will be just right for you
The bike being higher than what he was used to, Russel walked the â??loanâ? KDX across
Crossing the river
A short photo break after the river crossing
Another crossing
We entered a grassy plain interspersed with trees, different to the very hilly, rocky and dense thorn scrub from where we had come
Russel and Jaghond
On a particularly steep uphill, I lost the plot a bit and went farming. Here we are at our second and last Zamelek break doing some adjustments
The hand guards had shifted up from the fall and needed to be re-aligned
What a different place this is. The people are friendly and interesting
None of those â??issuesâ? we are so used to dealing with up at the Big Smoke
â?¦. And itâ??s reciprocal. The chap comes up to us and asks for â??solutionâ?. "No problem" says Hennie and digs into his bag and GIVES the guy his patches and puncture solution.
I loaned tyre levers, Russel his pump and Hennie his smile and expertise :thumleft:
Hennieâ??s bike â?? GASGAS300
Another steep gulley, one where I flipped my bike completely over my head. Thankfully it did not land on me
Only damaged was my ego and a broken tailpiece. Luckily the sticker held it on ;D
I was starting to have an intermittent fuel problem and we later suspected a blocked breather
Checking out my bike and the GPS
Finally, and after an absolutely brilliant day of riding we reach our destination â?? The Kei Mouth, and the Ferry that would take us across the river
With almost 9 hours in the saddle, we could smell the beers at the Bushpig bar.
On the Ferry
The family and kids excited to see us
The BUSHPIG and the mini party inside
Jaghond and his bruise. Looks eina
Thanks Hennie, Russel and Jaghond. This ride will go down as yet another perfect memory in my riding career
Till we ride again ��
