CHRIS BIRCH SCALING A SEEMINGLY VERTICAL ROCK FACE
EVEN CHRIS BIRCH NEEDS ASSISTANCE TO RIDE
SOME IMPASSABLE SECTIONS OF THE ROOF 2010
A HUGE CROWD GATHERS AT THE FINISH LINE
“I AM VERY SORRY SIR,
BUT THAT IS THE KING OF
LESOTHO AND HE DOES
WHAT HE WANTS!
“When I got to South Africa, Mark had done
something incredible. He had harassed all
his mates into sponsoring me through their
respective businesses. A bearings
wholesaler, a pet shop, a liquor store, a
slumlord and the local KTM shop that
described themselves as a drinking team
with a riding habit! We borrowed a 2008
KTM 300 EXC from another mate of Mark’s
(what was he thinking?), loaded up Mark’s
van and headed off to Lesotho.
“I remember the van was so overloaded that
the passenger doors would spring open every
time we hit a bump as the chassis flexed
under the load.
“The plan was to meet the guys from the
KTM dealership at 3pm in Lesotho to get the
bike jetted and set up. They showed up in the
dark, barely sober enough to walk after
stopping at every pub along the way. We set
up our pits in the dark, far away from all the
factory teams and I started to wonder what
I had gotten myself into.
“The first day of the Roof of Africa is the
time trial, a 100km stage in the lowlands
that’s pretty fast and flowing. As soon as we
got out to the start area there were huge
flashes of lightning and it started pounding
rain and hail. I couldn’t have been happier as
it made it just like riding in Riverhead Forest
(west of Auckland), but with rocks instead of
tree roots. As soon as I set off, I started
passing riders.
“Back then, the South African guys had no
clue how to ride in the mud and I was giving
them a lesson. I caught up to Lawrence
Mahoney who had won it the past three
years, followed him for a bit then thought
‘screw it, I’m out of here’, passed him and took
off. I won the time trial by about 12 minutes.
“I remember half the team being stoked
and the other half looking a bit put out. They
were here to drink, not race, and the skinny
Kiwi was messing up the plan!
KIWI RIDER 31