Funny story for those with some time, especially if you have an Adventure motorcycle.
I was looking for a scenic place to go adventuring on my Tiger 800 XCX. I found Breedtsnek, a dirt road "mountain pass" on Google maps when I was looking for a route a month earlier. Off I went by myself on Sunday morning, I left quite late and only got to Breedtsnek at 10:45. As soon as I found the road, I stopped and prepared: Wet my neck scarf, turn off traction control and switch abs to offroad mode, I then softened my rebound and preload, lowered my tyre pressure, re-watched twist of the wrist, phoned my mom and made sure my insurance was up to date.
The beautiful road leading up to the pass had some unexpected ruts in the road and some pot holes, clearly this sand road is not maintained. I knew I was at the start when the rocks looked bigger than tennis balls and the uphill started, things got serious when the rocks were the size of soccer balls. I almost stalled twice, due to the long first gear (obviously not my fault) and I never once had a moment thinking "we going down". I took it much slower than someone in perhaps a KTM or GS Adv could go, but I blame my tyres Tourance Next (98.5% road bias). It couldnt have been my 220kg Triumph Adventure motorcycle, all the ads show the thing offroad, it has spokes for goodness sake and a "offroad" mode. I also stood most of the way up, in case someone on a GS saw me and I looked cool.
I made it up the south side without any problems, the road is narrow at some points and there were cages driving around as well as many friendly cyclists. I would recommend keeping an eye out for traffic and seeing what they do, there are some places were there is a cliff off the side of the road, so be careful. There are maybe 4-6 places going up that needs a little thinking and good approach, nowhere is there place to get proper stuck (unless you didnt plan). The top is incredibly scenic and has some lovely views, there is 0 shade.
I dare not carry on north after reaching the summit, the "steps" which is more like 1 step is only tough in one spot, but I was just too hot and decided to explore the private property road which has waaaaaay more adventure on it than the pass. There is another road turning off from the pass that had more hardcore offroading, I had to turn around. Next time I'll take friends and more water.
It gets hot, so take plenty of water. There is a shop on the northern side, but they dont take cards(or they didnt in September), I've also read that they are sometimes just closed.
Seriously the road is not tough, you can sit most of the way up, walk and look at the steps before trying, but they bark louder than they bite. Take a friend, go slow, feel better about those spokes, I know I do.
XPOST: I posted this on a local offroad forum, let me know if something doesnt make sense
I was looking for a scenic place to go adventuring on my Tiger 800 XCX. I found Breedtsnek, a dirt road "mountain pass" on Google maps when I was looking for a route a month earlier. Off I went by myself on Sunday morning, I left quite late and only got to Breedtsnek at 10:45. As soon as I found the road, I stopped and prepared: Wet my neck scarf, turn off traction control and switch abs to offroad mode, I then softened my rebound and preload, lowered my tyre pressure, re-watched twist of the wrist, phoned my mom and made sure my insurance was up to date.
The beautiful road leading up to the pass had some unexpected ruts in the road and some pot holes, clearly this sand road is not maintained. I knew I was at the start when the rocks looked bigger than tennis balls and the uphill started, things got serious when the rocks were the size of soccer balls. I almost stalled twice, due to the long first gear (obviously not my fault) and I never once had a moment thinking "we going down". I took it much slower than someone in perhaps a KTM or GS Adv could go, but I blame my tyres Tourance Next (98.5% road bias). It couldnt have been my 220kg Triumph Adventure motorcycle, all the ads show the thing offroad, it has spokes for goodness sake and a "offroad" mode. I also stood most of the way up, in case someone on a GS saw me and I looked cool.
I made it up the south side without any problems, the road is narrow at some points and there were cages driving around as well as many friendly cyclists. I would recommend keeping an eye out for traffic and seeing what they do, there are some places were there is a cliff off the side of the road, so be careful. There are maybe 4-6 places going up that needs a little thinking and good approach, nowhere is there place to get proper stuck (unless you didnt plan). The top is incredibly scenic and has some lovely views, there is 0 shade.
I dare not carry on north after reaching the summit, the "steps" which is more like 1 step is only tough in one spot, but I was just too hot and decided to explore the private property road which has waaaaaay more adventure on it than the pass. There is another road turning off from the pass that had more hardcore offroading, I had to turn around. Next time I'll take friends and more water.
It gets hot, so take plenty of water. There is a shop on the northern side, but they dont take cards(or they didnt in September), I've also read that they are sometimes just closed.
Seriously the road is not tough, you can sit most of the way up, walk and look at the steps before trying, but they bark louder than they bite. Take a friend, go slow, feel better about those spokes, I know I do.
XPOST: I posted this on a local offroad forum, let me know if something doesnt make sense
