The planned route
The Lesotho mountain bike crossing is planned for early March 2025. As I am planning to cycle without any seconding I need to carry everything I need. This means I have to add bike packing features to my mountain bike. I also would like to keep my backpack as light as possible.
The route from Semonkong is based on Logan Watts’ The Lesotho Traverse Bikepacking Route. I will start in Matatiele with a short warmup to Qacha’s Nek.
The journey will end at the bottom of Sani Pass, where my South African holiday will begin. The Lesotho crossing covers about 500 km, with an ascent of 12,147 m and a descent of 12,039 m.
I’m currently planning the routes and details. After the trip, I’ll upload the recorded tracks and all relevant information. I am very excited and hope the Lesotho mountain bike crossing will live up to the expectations that the planning is building.
I’ll try to blog each day to share my impressions—find the link in the menu at the top of this page. Every morning, I’ll also post a live tracking link so you can follow my daily progress. However the cellular coverage in Lesotho is mainly voice and GSM, coverage map, so this may be a bit of a challenge.
The stages as shown in the table below are not necessary fixed to the days. I may do more or less than a stage in any one day. It is easier to do planning in smaller chunks. The Stages however normally have an end point in a larger settlement.
The general plan is to carry enough food for two days and refill whenever there is an opportunity.
| Stage | Start | End | km | Ascent (m) | Descent (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 0 | Matatiele | Qacha’s Nek | 34,9 | 750 | 270 |
| Stage 1 | Qacha’s Nek | Pitsaneng | 70,3 | 1810 | 2180 |
| Stage 2 | Pitsaneng | Semonkong | 44,6 | 1710 | 1110 |
| Stage 3 | Semonkong | Nyane | 59,1 | 1720 | 1650 |
| Stage 4 | Nyane | Thaba Tseka | 68,5 | 1510 | 1560 |
| Stage 5 | Thaba Tseka | Semenanyane | 51,4 | 1067 | 889 |
| Stage 6 | Semenanyane | Mapholaneng | 57,8 | 1260 | 1480 |
| Stage 7 | Mapholaneng | Mokhotlong | 46,7 | 1010 | 950 |
| Stage 8 | Mokhotlong | Sani Pass | 66,4 | 1310 | 1950 |
| Totals | 499,7 | 12147 | 12039 |