Durban - A dad and three sons from Hillcrest know every bump of the way across the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho and from the Berg to the beach in KZN.
Having become the first such quartet to complete the Sani2c pedalling through the hills of southern KZN, in June, the Camp family flock of dad Martin, 57, Nicholas, 25, Matthew, 21, and Timothy, 20, crossed the Drakensberg recently to earn the same status on the Roof of Africa, “the mother of hard enduros”.
Dad had been a motorcycle pro in his day, earning a name for himself in South Africa and the Middle East where the family lived for 12 years.
Back home, Martin switched from petrol to pedal after suffering a bizarre but serious fall while on a motorbike ride in the Valley of 1000 Hills.
“Five years ago, I was down in the Valley of 1000 Hills, and while off my bike, I tripped on a rock. I broke my neck and back and temporarily lost use of my legs. It lasted a couple of weeks. I did not know whether I would recover. After having lots of metal in my neck and back I did not ride motorcycles for four years,” says Martin.
So, he got into cycling.
His sons, meanwhile, got into the sport too, focussing on downhill racing while attending Kearsney College.
“My (non-threatening) deal with them was that I didn’t mind paying for them but we would all have to do the Sani2c,” Martin joked.
Then came the idea of going in the direction of motorcycling.
“We decided four months ago to do the ‘Roof’ – one of the toughest rides.”
Martin had last competed in it 24 years before.
He rode a Yamaha 250 WR. His boys were on Husqvarnas while their mom Alyson and friend Dave “Buddy” Turner provided backup as pit crew.
The family fun began when their iron class in which they entered – for averagely good riders – along with the bronze class performed the “Round the House” event around the streets of Maseru, capital of the “mountain kingdom” of Lesotho.
“There was lots of revving. The locals loved it,” Martin recalled
Then came the mountain adventure from Bushman’s Pass which entailed days of tackling mud, steepness and rocks.
“We all rode together as a family. We agreed to help one another.”
In no time, the cold and wet set in.
Comparing the Sani2c and the “Roof”, Martin said: “When it comes to logistics, it’s big. Sani2c is just about a back wheel and a front wheel. For motorbikes, there must be fresh tyres, extra tyres and all sorts of equipment.”
“There was a lot more logistics. It worked well.”
Timothy compared the scenery.
“For a long time we never saw anybody on the Sani2c. But in Lesotho, even in the mountains, there were always people cheering you on.”
The University of Pretoria student was positive about the bottlenecks that might normally be seen as more of an obstacle, forcing slow movement, often across difficult terrain.
“They were very sociable. You would have a bunch of guys struggling up a hill. We would give and receive lots of advice when we fell. There was lots of chatting.”
Matthew, who operates crop-spraying drones and confesses to being a “petrol head” who prefers motor bikes to bicycles, said he noticed how quickly Lesotho rivers rise.
His dad elaborated: “The rivers fill up quickly there. Among the gold class (professional) riders, the first five didn’t make it across a river. They just floated away. We were pushing and pulling in the rain. Waist deep.”
Martin last competed in the “Roof” 24 years beforehand. He said that with two or three more “Roofs”, he was reaching the end of his riding career while his sons were at the beginning of theirs.
He said that during his absence from the Lesotho event GPSes had replaced maps. “Kick-starting is also a thing of the past, so when Nicholas’s clutch gave him uphill, an electronic jumping kit had to be used.
“It was good for 15 consecutive starts. Then it died.”
The four, and Martin’s “lifetime support crew”, Alyson, all plan to return to do the “Roof” next year.
The Independent on Saturday