Bike
MTB
Hear the stories behind the photos from Rob Warner's Wild Rides in Lesotho
Stories from Lesotho, as adventure photographer Tyrone Bradley shares his best images and tales from the trip documenting Rob Warner and Matt Jones on their Rob Warner's Wild Rides expedition.
In the latest Rob Warner's Wild Rides episode, Rob Warner and Matt Joneshead to the high-altitude, mountainous kingdom of Lesotho. There they get to experience incredible trails, tribes and a different kind of racing. Watch the episode below and then scroll down to see the best photos and hear behind the scenes tales from adventure photographer Tyrone Bradley.
24 min
Lesotho
Mountain bikers Rob Warner and Matt Jones, head to Lesotho to experience a very different kind of racing.
The purpose of the trip was to explore foreign countries, cultures, foods and trails and see how much the two wheels of a mountain bike could expose us to. I've just got back from an expedition in the mountainous region of Lesotho with Rob Warner and Matt Jones. We travelled from Roma to Semonkong, following the route of the Kingdom Enduro.
My role was to document two of the most entertaining men in mountain biking on a journey through the Lesotho mountains.
Putting things together
© Tyrone Bradley
At the start of our journey we were sheltered from bad weather by a local chief and his family. That night, he gifted Rob a magic spear that he said could control the weather. The following morning Rob pointed the spear to the sky, parting the rain clouds and revealing blue skies.
After we left the community, Rob and Matt raced each other down part of the Kingdom Enduro trails.
Oh no! This video is currently not available.
The challenge on shoots like this is that you only have one chance to get the shot as the guys come past you. They're riding the course blind, they don't know what's coming up and as a photographer you're having to anticipate what they’re going to do and where, and you only have one opportunity to get it right.
Matt getting air
© Tyrone Bradley
Views that have to be enjoyed
© Tyrone Bradley
Trail chasers
© Tyrone Bradley
Trails surrounded by lush green foliage
© Tyrone Bradley
Matt brings the Backflip
The trail ended at Roma trading post, which has a Velosolutions Pumptrack where a lot of the local community are learning to ride. None of the locals had ever seen a Backflip and Matt obliged to become the first person to do a Backflip here on the pumptrack. The locals understandably went crazy.
Entertaining the locals
© Tyrone Bradley
One of the greatest rewards of adventuring is the connections you form with local people and sharing in experiences together and one of the rewards of adventure photography is documenting firsts. In this case it was the youngsters witnessing Matt doing a Backflip for the first time.
The kids were blown away by Matt's backflip
© Tyrone Bradley
Matt's such a sincere guy and he was really touched by the impact that he'd had on the kids. He kept saying about how rewarding it is to have such an influence and he was feeling really pumped that he'd brightened the children's days and had hopefully encouraged them to push their limits.
Rob Warner doesn't need a porter... or does he?
The next morning was quite a hike to one of the highest peaks in the region, where Rob was offered a porter to take his bike up. He thought it was quite cheeky and that he could do it himself, but 20 minutes in he was cursing his decision.
Maybe he should've taken the horse
© Tyrone Bradley
What was supposed to be a 20-minute walk ended up being over an hour to the top. There were spectacular views of all the different peaks and even more spectacular riding waiting, though, fast flowing sections with some technical off-camber bits as well.
All kinds of horsepower on show in Semonkong
© Tyrone Bradley
Warner overcomes his biggest fear
After Roma, we voyaged about two hours to Semenkong, which has the highest abseil in the world. Rob has an intense fear of heights and one of the challenges in adventures is overcoming fears and the reward that comes with it.
Dropping down at Maletsunyane
© Tyrone Bradley
One of the challenges in adventures is overcoming fears and the reward that comes with it
Rob expands his palate
After the abseil, we ended up meeting a race horse breeder, who took us back to his place and exposed us to some real local cuisine. Rob, who isn't the most adventurous eater, knew he was in for a shock. When the plate of food was presented, I managed to capture him totally freaking out.
Rob isn't known for his adventurous eating
© Tyrone Bradley
Fresh and local
© Tyrone Bradley
From the horse's mouth
Semonkong is known for its horse racing and the horse breeder showed us around his stables and introduced us to his award-winning horses, which were going to be racing the following day at the Semonkong Races.
Horse racer in the traditional Lesotho racing attire
© Tyrone Bradley
This was a local gathering of all the herdsmen and their horses, where they compete for money – winner takes all. the breeder invited us to come to the races the following day and assured us we should bet for his horses.
Ponies are your ticket to many a location in Lesotho
© Tyrone Bradley
While we were there, we offered to give a lending hand. Matt got tasked with shovelling horse shit out the stables and Rob got the job of grooming the prize horse.
Matt got to work shovelling the manure
© Tyrone Bradley
The Semonkong riders are well known for wearing Lesotho blankets, a trademark of theirs. It's a woollen blanket with very iconic prints worn because it's so cold and so high.
Nowhere else do you get to see guys racing horses just in blankets, with no protection and going as fast and as far as they are
We were shown the prize horses
© Tyrone Bradley
Lesotho is a country that's landlocked by South Africa and even though it's inside of South Africa, its customs and cultures are completely different. Nowhere else do you get to see guys racing horses just in blankets, with no protection and going as fast and as far as they are.
A day at the races
Once we got to the racing fields, the bookies and the local riders gave us such a warm welcome and to make us feel at home. They dressed us in Lesotho blankets and balaclavas, which, once put on to Rob and Matt, almost transformed them into old British knights going into battle.
Matt and Rob welcomed into the clan
© Tyrone Bradley
Rob, being the commentator that he is, grabbed the loudspeaker and started calling all the bets and commentating the race. I guess it's in his blood, the man's got a lot to say. He's such a natural commentator that it doesn’t matter what he's witnessing, he can commentate. He was as comfortable and funny commentating horse racing as he is mountain biking.
Horse racing is a big part of Lesotho life
© Tyrone Bradley
The horse racing was a photographer's dream. It was pretty frightening at first laying down on the grass, waiting for the horses to come and not knowing what lines the guys were going to take.
The ground was shaking from the impact of the hooves
© Tyrone Bradley
As they were coming over the horizon, the pace and the ground was shaking from the impact of the hooves – it's so fast. I'd actually seen photos of the Semonkong racing many years ago and it was one of the things I hoped I'd get to witness myself, but little did I know that I'd get to photograph it on this trip. It was a welcome surprise and it was just as crazy and as exciting to photograph as I thought it would be.
Matt is adorned in a traditional Lesotho blanket that keeps the riders warm
© Tyrone Bradley
Composing the photos was a bit tricky, as I didn't know what line the horses were going to take and there's only two races. Photographing the horses, I was on the track laying on the ground and just hoping I was in the right spot. It was exhilarating being that close to the action and I was super psyched on getting the shot with the horse with all four legs off the ground.
People gather from far and wide to watch the action
© Tyrone Bradley
One thing that my travels always reaffirm is just how welcoming humans are. The cultures and languages may be different, but generally people are really welcoming and really excited to share their customs and cultures with you, which is one of the most rewarding parts of travelling.
Welcomed by Lesotho hospitality
© Tyrone Bradley
Getting to share in different cultures and have a different frame of reference through which to see my own culture and beliefs is what I find most rewarding. With travelling and adventuring I'm constantly reminded that the world is one big family. No matter where you are you're always so welcomed and even in different cultures and different languages people are willing to share and show you the best parts of themselves.
