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full sus

Feb 2016, Vol 31

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Laikipia XC Page 10

Win: USN Vouchers Page 27

Bike Review Page 16

Rift Valley Odyssey Page 11

Gear Page 28

Out in Africa: Lesotho FS

#MountainBikeKingdom

CHERIE VALE

The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho has a new hashtag - #MountainBikeKingdom and Mark West reckons it’s a fitting description.

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ompletely surrounded by South Africa, our tiny nation is renowned for high mountains and rough roads. These tracks used to be the exclusive domain of intrepid 4x4 drivers, but now more and more adventurous mountain bike riders are experiencing the delight of exploring Lesotho.

The most recognised of the MTB activities inside our borders is the annual Lesotho Sky stage race.

However, the MTB bug has also spread amongst the indigenous Basotho people leading to the

formation of the first ever African UCI MTB Team outside of RSA (ACE-The Sufferfest Lesotho MTB Team) with a goal of taking Lesotho’s finest riders to races all over the globe.

Every year more and more opportunities are opening up, and 2016 looks to be a great year for Lesotho MTB with the hosting of the African Continental MTB Championships at the Afriski Mountain Resort.

Cycling, as an organised sport, is still in its infancy in Lesotho. Back in the early 2000s the big attraction

was the annual Tour de Lesotho road race, which featured the cream of South African and world riders, such as Malcolm Lange, Nic White, the Velits brothers and a very young Chris Froome! We soon realised how high the standard was (and how unfriendly the riders) in the professional peloton. Even training was a problem because it was difficult to find a long flat road to practise group riding. It was almost by accident that we discovered that our riders were actually pretty good at MTB and switching disciplines made perfect sense considering the landscape of Lesotho.

The switch to MTB also coincided with the emergence of the Lesotho Sky race as a major annual focus and

the rest, as they say, is history.

Alongside Lesotho Sky, the AfriSki Mountain Resort in the north of the country is also working hard to develop mountain biking. As the names suggests, the resort was developed to take advantage of the alpine conditions in winter. Now the resort boasts a myriad of wonderful trails – from exhilarating downhill tracks (making great use of the ski-lift to get up to the top again) to sweeping XC trails and longer routes to the top of the Drakensberg Escarpment. The last weekend of each summer month is set aside as MTB Weekends and are very popular with riders from South Africa.

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FS Out in Africa: Lesotho

Mark West is a Welshman living in Lesotho. He manages the ACE-The Sufferfest Lesotho MTB Team.

Follow him on Twitter @lesothocycling.

A rider taking on the AfriSki XC course.

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FS News

#1BikeShootout cont...

We must apologise to Silverback Bicycles for incorrectly placing their ultimate race bike in the #1BikeShootout feature in the previous issue of Full Sus. We also apologise for any misconception our introduction for Silverback may have caused. The bike suggested by Silverback in our last issue was as a result of an incorrect brief on our side.

AFRISKI

AfriSki’s MTB trails cater superbly to DH and Enduro riders.

Uriante conseca eriamet rem doloruptatem

Silverback Sprada 1 RRP R45 999 www.silverbacklab.com

Full Su

sF

The ID rame High S Re ligh linkage vo suspensio t: n w it h its link concen age tric wit h t he bo brack functio et is both sup ttom nal and e looks s rbly uper co ol.

Frame

Silverback Intelligent Design System (IDS) Revo Technology, Exclusive Suspension Science, 29”, Hydroformed 6061 Alloy Custom Butted Tubing.

Travel

110mm

Wheel Size

29er

Drivetrain

SRAM GX (1 x 11)

Brakes

Shimano SLX

Wheels

Stan’s Arch EX Alloy 29

Fork

RockShox Reba RLT 29”, 120mm

Rear Shock

Fox Float DPS, 3 position Adjustment

Seatpost

SBC Dropper Post

Silverback say: “The Sprada is perfectly suited for the rider wanting a slightly more aggressive 29er for trail riding. IDS Revo suspension technology is used on this platform yielding superior frame rigidity while resulting in a supple, yet progressive suspension feel with great pedalling stability.”

Earthworks in the GRTP

Sam Reynolds surveying the remnants of the 2015 build.

JASON MAY

One thing that cycling in Lesotho highlights is that you don’t need a carbon fibre, dual suspension, 100k bike to ride. In fact, one of the jokes at the most recent Lesotho Sky was the failure of electronic shifting systems leading to very expensive single-speed bikes on some of the hardest stages. More and more cheap, second-hand bicycles are arriving in Lesotho, thanks to projects such as Mikes Bikes Africa, Bikes for Lesotho and Bicycles 4 Humanity. As a result, it is not unusual to be riding out in the middle of nowhere and suddenly be joined by one or two village riders pedalling like crazy to keep up and this has also led to a few ‘Spaza’ bike shops springing up. The newest is Teboho’s Bike Shop situated adjacent to Maseru Mall with plans to develop BMX and MTB tracks for children.

The Cycling Federation of Lesotho manages the sport of cycling in the country. The cycling calendar of events is actually quite busy, although many of the races do not reach sufficient an organisational standard to be worthy of involving visitors. These informal races do, however, provide a fertile breeding ground for young riders and that’s where the ACE Lesotho MTB Team comes in.

ACE Lesotho, or to give it its full title, ACE - The Sufferfest - Lesotho MTB Team powered by Unitrans was formed as a consequence of Team Lesotho’s participation in the 2013 MTB World Championships in Pietermaritzburg. It was such an honour for Lesotho riders to perform on such a big stage and there was undoubtedly a lot of raw potential, but it was obvious that they were lacking in basic MTB skills and the only way to address the deficiencies was to get to more races. We took a cue from teams we had met and realised that what Lesotho needed was a pro-mountain bike team.

In many ways, we try to emulate other pro teams – we have registered as an official UCI MTB Team, we endeavour to maintain a professional look and keep a high profile on social media. In that respect, I think we offer great value for money for sponsors as our operational costs 4 are a small fraction of other

pro-teams. However, we do not allow ourselves to be dwarfed by the bigger teams and hold our own in the UCI World Rankings by being smart and focused. Despite having little operational cash at our disposal, we have built up a great range of product sponsors (who we call our #DreamMakers) from suppliers all over the globe.

At the heart of the team is the underlying goal to give these young Lesotho riders an opportunity they would not normally have been given. Most of the team are from very disadvantaged communities and have experienced the hardship of losing parents at a young age and having to fend for themselves.

Instead of being sucked into the despair and hopelessness that many of their peers have encountered, cycling gives them an immense sense of self-belief and hope. They not only become better cyclists, but they also become better citizens.

Visiting Lesotho is not as difficult or adventurous as you may think.

We can certainly encourage anyone to come and visit us and guarantee you a warm welcome and an unforgettable experience.

Hopefully we will see you soon in our #MountainBikeKingdom and until we do, Lesotho wishes you “Tsela Tsoeu!” (pleasant trail!)

@THOMAS.SANDELL

from page 1

There’s something big on the go in the Garden Route Trail Park.

The Pure Darkness crew of Sam Reynolds and Matt MacDuff are back building onto the world’s biggest step-up and this time it won’t just be a straight roll-in.

Under the watchful eye of the GRTP’s owner Rob Dormehl, who keeps encouraging them to build the jumps bigger, and Monster Energy’s Ryan Franklin, who has been compelled to become

the voice of reason, the build is well underway. By the time you read this the jumps should be taking shape nicely, so go check out the progress on Instagram by following @puredarkness_, @monsterenergy and @thetrailpark. And then wait with baited breath for Pure Darkness 3.0 to drop later in the year.

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Riding the Kingdom of the Sky

Sarah Sawers overlooking one of Lesotho’s innumerable valleys on a RAD Ride Tour.

Kath in Motion FS

Kath Fourie interviews Sarah Sawers of Detour Trails to find out what makes Lesotho a place worth visiting for mountain bikers.

KF: How did Detour Trails become interested in running riding tours in Lesotho?

SS: Detour started taking some tours to Lesotho in 2006/7, but it really started after Rohan and I got involved with the Riding the Dragon’s Spine team in 2011. We were helping to recce the route, for a book by David Bristow and Steven Thomas, that covers a traverse of Lesotho from top to bottom on their 4 000km journey from Beit Bridge to Cape Point. The experience catalysed our ideas to start running more tours in Lesotho. Now we offer tailored tours, a four day Eastern Highlands tour and our RAD riding tours (shuttle assisted, Enduro style).

KF: It must have required a huge amount of effort to do all the recce work that’s gone into producing those tours?

SS: It’s been quite a journey over the past few years (literally), finding trails and piecing them together to create the tours we offer. A lot of trial and error but also some incredible finds.

The average rider would be really surprised by what it takes to create a tour with an interesting mix of trails.

Our best tours are journeys that start

at one place and end at another, as tough as that is on the crew it’s the most rewarding way to experience a country, especially Lesotho.

KF: Why Lesotho though? Surely South Africa offers similar experiences?

SS: Lesotho is indescribably different from South Africa in general. It’s not called the Mountain Kingdom for nothing; it’s either up or down with very few flat sections so the riding is quite challenging. The trails are all natural, formed over the years by ponies, shepherds and their livestock. Its raw, rugged trail riding at its best. Lesotho is the ultimate mountain biker’s playground. You just have to make sure you’re fit enough to enjoy it because the altitude and climbs can be gruelling.

KF: If you could sum up the riding experience in Lesotho in 5 words, how would you describe it?

SS: Wild, raw, rugged, mind-blowing and breathtaking.

KF: What should people expect when coming to ride in Lesotho?

SS: Accommodation can be very basic, depending on where we go – so don’t expect four or five star. Altitude – the air is thin, it’ll take a few days to acclimatise. The landscape is incredibly beautiful and in stark contrast to anything in South Africa. The riding is challenging but immensely rewarding – you’ll come away with more skill and confidence than any skills course could give you.

KF: What type of bike/equipment should people have when planning a riding trip to Lesotho?

DETOUR TRAILS

I

first met Sarah Sawers at Giba Gorge riding an Enduro event, and I noticed her because she was one of the few ladies wearing baggies.

Red Royal ladies baggies I recall, and she was tall, lanky and sporting an interesting tattoo on her arm. I subsequently discovered she was a MTB tour operator, working with a chap called Rohan Surridge. Together they run Detour Trails and one of the places they run tours outside of South Africa to is Lesotho.

SS: Preferably full sus bikes but any good quality mountain bike is fine.

We had some Austrians come with their hard tails – but realised they would have been better off with some suspension! Full face helmets and body armour is only for our RAD Ride tours.

KF: What skills should people brush up on before they attempt riding in Lesotho?

SS: As our tours tend to be predominantly trail, having the skill to ride singletrack and rocks is always good. But as we always say there’s no shame in walking what you can’t ride and by the time you leave Lesotho your skills will have improved massively!

KF: What are Detours plans for riding in Lesotho in the future?

SS: Our plans are to encourage more riders to join us on tours in Lesotho, which cater to a wide range of skills and fitness. Our journey type tours in Lesotho are perfectly suited for all types of marathon and crosscountry riders; while we have a few scheduled tours, these are best customised. We ran our inaugural Lesotho Extreme Trail Festival in November last year; the feedback

from everyone was incredible. So we definitely plan to build on this and make it an annual RAD Riding event. Other than that, we’ll keep exploring and piecing together new tours over the next few years, so watch this space.

TOURS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2016: 23rd – 27th April: Lesotho Eastern Highlands Tour 6th – 9th October: Lesotho Extreme Trail Festival Custom tours anytime!: www.detourtrails.co.za Detour Trails Sarah 079 529 5857 Rohan 082 896 0392 Kath Fourie is a project manager, a Masters student, a double UCI Masters World Champs medal winner and now a regular contributor to Full Sus. She can be found on the trails of Howick with her little pack of trail dogs, and Mark Millar, chasing down KOMs.