Race to Rhodes ‘24 - Last Day

Trundling along the Pyga Line 

After a good nights sleep Pieter, Daniel and I headed out from Vuvu School and made our way to the last hairpin bend that marks the beginning of the Lehana's Pass portage. It was still dark when we left the school but 35 minutes later when we got to the hairpin our riding lights were extinguished. As we made our way along the rocky track that ran along the Tina river we could see the blue container on the ridge 7km ahead and 900 metres above our current elevation. We opted for the Pyga Line route which, apart from Pieter taking a tumble during one of the few sections we were able to ride, we covered the ground in reasonable time. What is considered reasonable time? It took us 90 mins to cover 3 km. That gives you a sense of how tough that particular portage is. 

Next we took the Tiger Line as we didn't fancy going around under the container and having to plod through the snow covered rocks on the southern path. The final steep plod up the  mountain and scramble up the final cliff took us 45 mins even though it was just over 1 km. It had taken us 3 hours 20 mins to cover the 5.4 km from the road to the top of the mountain next to the blue container. The standard route is 7 km but by combining the Pyga Line and the Tiger Line it’s a bit shorter. Harder but shorter. 

Exhausted but happy to have the Lehana portage behind us we took a few minutes to look back and enjoy the view of the route we had just taken. Next goal was to cover the relatively easy 5 km to get to the Tenahead Lodge. In the way there we were already discussing what we were going to order. Coffee, the first real coffee since leaving Pietermaritzburg a few days earlier, was on the top of our list. 

Tenahead Lodge. Always a welcome sight

Arriving at the Lodge we were warmly welcomed. Aware that we were scruffy and not exactly 5 star establishment fragrant we sat out on the wooden deck overlooking the Bell river where we ordered coffee and toasted sandwiches. The coffee arrived in short order. 

While savouring our coffee we saw race leader Alex Harris pedal past. I for one was not envious of the fact that Alex was less than a quarter of the way through his race. We, on the other hand, had only 35 kilometres to our finish in Rhodes - most of that was downhill. And, while this was a race, race spirit had been ripped out of us 2 days before. I was looking forward to a leisurely ride into Rhodes. 

While waiting for our sandwiches we were ushered into the lodge where a table had been set for us where we were given a complimentary bowl of leek and onion soup. Our toasted sandwiches with chips followed soon after. We looked like street urchins but were treated like royalty. 

In a few short hours we had been transported from the thriving activity of countless villages to a serene postcard setting in the mountains with a population density as close to zero per square kilometre as you can get. In our ride to Rhodes we saw only one vehicle. I stopped to chat to the couple who had stopped to change a flat tyre. 

Daniel had family waiting for him in Rhodes so he scampered off like a dog chasing a postman, while Pieter and I savoured the last couple of hours soft-pedalling into town. 

Race to Rhodes ‘24 - Lehana’s Pass

Lehana's Pass 2012

Lehana's Pass is a fancy name for a footpath between South Africa and Lesotho. I'm told that it was a regular route for people of nefarious intent to ply their dubious wares between Lesotho and Mount Fletcher. Today it's little more than a ragtag collection of sheep tracks that run 7 km from the last villages snuggled up against the Drakensberg mountains climbing nearly 900 metres to the south east corner of Lesotho. At the top of the climb there is a blue container perched above the cliffs. This container is the focus of riders attention as they make their way up the mountain. I say riders, but walkers is a more apt description. A bicycle is superfluous and is in fact a hinderance. 

The container is, or was until recently as I have seen no signs of life over the last decade, used by the stock theft unit of the police to monitor livestock on the slopes below. Being adjacent the Lesotho border stock theft is a constant challenge. I'm told there are a couple of similar containers dotted along the border to the north. Years ago I stopped and spoke to the officers on duty. They would serve time at the container which had a fireplace for cooking and heating as well as somewhere to sleep when they weren't on duty scanning the slopes. As I said, it's been many years since I last saw smoke emanating from the chimney of that container. As it's fallen into disuse so has the access road that comes in from Naudes Nek to the south west. 

The race brief is to make your way over the mountains to get to Naudes Neck. Going up Lehana's Pass is one option, the other is to take a route that lays further east. It is the Mcambalala route. It's a lot further but said to be less taxing. It also serves as an alternate route if Lehana's is snowed over. That said, going over the mountain on the  Lehana's Pass route is iconic. 

There are a number of route options and permutations of route options which makes for good dot watching. The two most common routes to get on to the mountain is to take the "standard route" which is the route shown on the tracking site or the "Pyga Line" which is a more direct but physically demanding route.  The latter term was coined after Oliver Burnett, one of the owners of the Pyga bike brand, skipped the standard route first spur and went up the second spur which is now referred to as the Pyga line. Whether this was deliberate or as a result of poor navigation has never been revealed. In any event, it caught the eye of the race fraternity and subsequently has become the route of choice for many riders. 

The standard route and Pyga line come together just before a feature called the first kraal. This kraal, like the others you encounter further up the mountain, are a combination of a small walled in area for overnighting livestock, which are primarily sheep, and a small low roofed structure that the shepherds use for sleeping. The shepherds spend many days on the mountain. The structures they build are drab affairs but if you have a good look you'll notice that they are built entirely of rocks that have been rounded up. The roof of these structures is made from galvanised sheeting. 

The first time I went over the mountain there were two cairns, the larger of which was a perfect spot for a photograph overlooking the Lesotho mountains in the near distance. The last picture I had taken at that cairn was in 2009 when we hauled a tandem over that mountain.  Soon after that the rocks that formed the cairns were repurposed into kraals to house livestock and shepherds. What's remarkable about these structures is the size of the rocks that have been placed on top of each other. Some of them are massive—not Pyramid big or Stonehenge big. But big enough that it would take a least a few people to manhandle the rocks into place. The rocks are tight packed so as to keep out the wind which often reaches gale force up on the mountain. The roof sheets are often tied down with thick fencing wire. They are attached to rocks or the occasional steel fence post that has been driven into the ground. 

Once passed the last of the kraals there are options for getting to the cliff top. Once again there is the standard route or a more aggressive line knows as the Tiger Line. The Tiger Line is shorter and potentially faster but it exacts a heavy toll on your energy reserves. 

Once over the top the two routes merge. A few kilometres later the magnificent Tena Head Mountain Lodge comes into view. Race Snakes typically ride on without stopping while the more sensibly minded avail themselves of the food and coffee on offer. There's nothing quite like sitting on the wooden deck overlooking the Bell river and tipping the first cup of real coffee that'd you've had for the last 4 or 5 days down your throat. 

Race to Rhodes ‘24 - Eight Short Kilometres

Vuvu to the start of Lehana's Pass is only 8 km but it is packed with wow moments as well as moments that give you pause to reflect on your own privilege. Those moments start as you leave the school in predawn darkness. It's as remote a region as you'll find in South Africa tucked up against the mountain barriers that define the Lesotho border. 

As you pedal along from the school to the start of Lehana's Pass you're likely to pass shadowy figures dressed against the cold waiting patiently next to the road for their transport to arrive. A raised hand or a gentle yebo of acknowledgement as you pass. You'll see the headlights of School buses scything through the many switchbacks as they start the task of getting scholars to school. 

Pinpricks of light and the lazy swirl of smoke from houses informs you the sleepy mantle of night has been shed. You might even see a gogo carefully dip a cup into a shallow depression she has dug into a roadside cutting where water has seeped in overnight. She will patiently scoop water into a 20 litre bucket before covering the hole with a rusty sheet of corrugated iron to protect it from contamination before hauling her bucket of water to her dwelling on the mountainside above the road.

Banter is shared between children as they get ready for school, their voices carried many hundreds of metres across the valley as they call out to each other from their houses. As it gets lighter you'll see scholars dressed in an array of school uniforms make their way down to the road. Some to wait for a bus and others make their way to school on foot. 

Next to the road the occasional sullen donkey waits patiently for the sun to rise. The sound of distant cow bells echo across the craggy mountains. As you round a corner, to the west you'll catch sight of the snow peaked mountains of Lesotho. The glimmer of which signals the sun is edging above the horizon to the east. 

Speeding down sweeping descents your bike tyres splash through low level river crossings before crawling up the steep inclines that follow—the crunch of gravel and the pop of stones bounce off the steep sides of the cuttings where the road has been hewed through the mountains. Roads that connect these small villages to the larger world. Roads that bring food and supplies from far away. The same roads that carry people far from home in search of work and income. These same roads that bring them home occasionally where they share stories of life elsewhere. 

The 8 km out of a Vuvu are a time to reflect on the last few days. The pace of life is probably slower than you're used to but don't be fooled by the slower metronomic tick of life. Those valleys with their scattering of villages pulse with the warmth of life. Apart from the willingness and warmth of the support stations along the way, many a wayward rider has knocked on a strangers door and been welcomed inside. 

Leaving the Vuvu to Mount Fletcher gravel road at the hairpin bend that marks the start of the Lehana's Pass portage you start the transition into a different part of the country. A part so different from what you've experienced over the last 400 km that it's akin to passing through a wormhole. You'll leave behind the myriad villages, the countless greetings offered as you ride by and are shouted from fields, the constant stream of vehicles rattling down tired roads, spaza shops and dogs that attentively follow their horse mounted masters. You'll catch your last glimpse of people draped in colourful Basotho blankets. You'll say goodbye to a region of the trail so far removed from your day to day that it'll leave an indelible mark on your soul.