As they stare icy death in the face
The snowy mountains in Lesotho, a trip with moments both terrifying and rewarding. By
“We woke up to a cold front and it was drizzling,” says Pinkhard. Cycling towards the popular Afriski resort, 3,300m high, they took on the Moteng mountain pass. Although only 7.9km in distance, it’s steep and reaches 2,820m – and it gets heavy snowfall in winter. Then they went higher still, towards the Mahlasela Pass, which leads to Afriski, where they were planning to stay in a backpacker lodge.
“As we were riding, it started getting dark, and it was probably about zero or minus one degrees, and we’d been wet the whole day. It was insanely challenging,” says Pinkhard.
In the light of their headlamps, they could see snow starting to fall. “I remember a moment where I had to gather my coordination … my ability to operate my phone. I Googled the resort’s emergency number, called it and quickly put it down again, so that if I needed to I could just call quickly,” Pinkhard recounts.
It was at that moment that he thought they might be out of their depth, and called out to Msomi. “For the first time, I understood what adventure, getting out of your comfort zone and pushing your abilities to the max, felt like. This was what we asked for; we were looking for an experience that would change our lives.
“It’s those moments that Wandile and I will always share,” Pinkhard reflects.
Just when they felt they couldn’t go any further, they spotted the shebeen.
Msomi recalls: “We went in and said we’d buy a single beer so they’d let us in. There was a fire but no chimney to let the smoke out, but we were so cold we rushed in anyway. We sat down, warmed up, got dry and comfortable, but we couldn’t stay for long as we needed to get to the backpackers. As we were getting ready to get back on the road, that’s when this soldier asks, ‘So you guys are here to die?’ ”
After a short exchange with the soldier, they carried on cycling to Afriski.
“When we finally made it to the resort, at the brink of hypothermia, they just pulled us in, took our wet clothes off, helped us dry, took our shoes off. We just sat by the heater and took in what we just went through, which is not something I would recommend for anyone to just do,” says Pinkhard.
Lessons from the road
In addition to putting in enough training, both men recommend trying out shorter trips before embarking on a longer one.
“Head out for a day or two. Test your gear: make sure your bike is balanced and everything’s packed correctly. Keep in mind that your bike will have additional load, about 10kg of weight in our case, so it’ll be bigger and there’ll be more wind resistance,” Pinkhard advises.
Msomi adds that it’s important to have put in lots of hours to make it easier to manage moments of panic, such as on days when they felt they weren’t making good time. Says Msomi: “The anguish of that leads to nervousness and so on. That’s why it’s important to put in those saddle hours, so, when panic sets in, it’s not overwhelming.
“I’ve been riding a bike for a very long time, and for over 10 years I rode a single-speed track bike. What that did was it allowed my body to be beaten brutally on a bicycle for over 10 years. So, when things started hurting, or I was not in a great space physically, I could still push through.”
Find the right bike
If doing a trip on mixed road surfaces, Pinkhard recommends going with a gravel bike. “It’s like something between a road bike and a mountain bike. So it has the best of both,” he says.
Nutrition and hydration, the friends advise, are key. Msomi adds: “When it comes to food, realise you might need to leave your city-slicker ideals behind. There are parts of the country where people won’t know what being vegan is.”
Stay kind and curious
A love for and an ease with people is central to a successful trip, the men say.
“There are so many amazing South Africans who are ready to help and open up their doors to you,” says Msomi.
That said, they weren’t naive about the role identity plays in South Africa.
“I told Jonathan, ‘Dude, I’m so happy that I’m doing this trip with you in the Free State.’ Because everyone speaks Afrikaans or understands Afrikaans. Some would see us coming, and seem a bit hesitant, and then once Jonathan spoke to them, they’d be much more at ease,” Msomi explains.
Later, towards the end of the trip in KwaZulu-Natal, they ran into a protest, where Pinkhard was shouted at, with reference to his race, and Msomi had to step in.
“Not only did our unique strengths get us through this trip, but occasionally we also had to lean towards our identities,” he says.
Those incidents didn’t define the trip for the friends, both of whom found people in South Africa and Lesotho overwhelmingly friendly and hospitable. A stranger in Lesotho allowed them to camp on his lawn, and in the Free State a B&B owner charged them a camping rate, but gave them a room and a lot of conversation.
“Go out there with an open mind and an open attitude,” says Msomi.
It was at that moment that he thought they might be out of their depth, and called out to Msomi, whose eventual response
reminded him that this was what they’d asked for