Dirt and Trail May 2020

With our tar photographic
obligations met, we set forth to
find some dirt, a trivial task on the
surface because dirt roads dart
off in every direction out here.
Sadly, most of them soon ended
in a gate, some guarded by big,
mean-looking men with guns.
Eventually, we made our way
back towards Bidon, thinking
we would have to make the
journey towards Magaliesberg
and hope we didn’t run out of
daylight. However, before the
bistro, there was one more
quite interesting looking road,
surfaced with martian-red sand
and not showing any promise of
adventure glory.
The first kilometre or two
didn’t help as it seemed to drop
into a farmyard, and would
undoubtedly conclude in a gate
and probably a shotgun.
Yet it didn’t. The road made
a sharp right and descended
into a Tolkien Shire of rolling
greens, a willow-lined river and
the looming peaks of the Cradle
Moon Reserve. As it progresses,
it narrowed, got rougher and got
windier. We are not suggesting
that the V85 is a prime candidate
for an MXGP title, but it handled it
all really well.
The progressive damping on the
suspension is obviously dialled in
extremely well because even with
only 170mm of travel there was
very little clunking and juddering.
The stable tar handling translated
to a confident off-road ride as the
road made its way further into the
valley, ending at the river next to
Bergsig Trout Farm.
Truthfully, the road was over in
a few kilometres, and this is not
a day trip for adventure riders.
Still, we had been exploring
trails in search of photographic
opportunities and reached a
series of disappointments. After
that, to find a gem like this is an
adventure success. Seeing new
places, experiencing new things
and discovering new routes is the
epicentre of the adventure ethos,
even if they are not that far away.
The V85 isn’t terribly quick
nor overly kitted for hardcore
“We are not suggesting that the V85
is a prime candidate for an MXGP title,
but it handled it all really well.”
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