Running through the wild, untamed mountain kingdom of Lesotho, the Roof of Africa is a three-day extreme enduro that takes riders to the very edge of their resilience.
Even the sensible route down Free Fall Pass will scare you. Myriad switchbacks zigzag across a 40-degree slope of loose mountainside rock and sand, before merging into an even steeper boulder-strewn, floodwater-carved ravine.
For the competitors in the Roof Of Africa enduro, Free Fall has always been more of a launch point than path. You practically need a parachute to get down this mountain pass, hence the jokey name. This year, in a wicked twist to mark the 44th running of the legendary Roof, the organisers have chosen to send the riders up Free Fall instead of down. “That’s where you’ll get the real taste of the Roof,” says event organiser Mike Glover, pointing to the inflatable blue arch positioned about 400m below. “That’s where you’ll find your guts and glory stories.”
Sitting next to his bike, slumped in the shade of the arch and slugging a can of Red Bull is Gary Bennett, a chubby bloke in his 30s. It doesn’t look like it’s going to give him wings, but common sense has long flown the coop. “It’s very tough,” he pants, “but I can’t stop now…”
Back in the saddle, Bennett guns his KTM 300. His brother who’s been cheerleading from various points all day, yells: “C’mon boet! Do it for the amputees!” With that Gary bumps off up the track, albeit for only 50m or so. It’s a moment to be dumbstruck.
For the amputees?
The 35-year-old Bennett, who lost a leg above the knee in a motor accident nine years ago, is about to finish the Roof as a Bronze rider (there are three categories of riders, Gold, Silver and Bronze, based on ability). Over two days this warrior has ridden 167 gruelling kilometres across the toughest mountain terrain imaginable. Following his grinding procession upwards. His stops are as frequent as brother Rob’s words of encouragement.
“It’s yours boet!” he implores every time Bennett pauses to suck in air. “It’s yours boet! C’mon it’s yours boet!” And off Bennett roars again. It’s his second Roof after being time-barred in 2008. “I came back because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. That disabled people can also ride the Roof. But I don’t think I’ll do it again…” says Bennett, who nearly didn’t make it to the start after he fell so hard in training three weeks ago that he thought he’d broken his ribs.
Eventually, Bennett pops out of the track onto the red carpet to the finish line. Fittingly, he’s riding the KTM 300 XC-W that last year gave New Zealander Chris Birch his third Roof victory in a row.
The difference, though, is that while the top riders like Birch dance over the steep passes, Bennett and the bulk of the field claw their way over. It’s like watching the last survivors of a damned superheroes convention fight their way out of Dante’s Inferno. Tears in his eyes, Rob’s bursting with pride.
Read the full story in January's issue of The Red Bulletin.
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