Pietermaritzburg schoolboy Travis Teasdale may only be 16 years old but he's already competed in many forms of dirt-bike racing, from motocross to Junior Off-Road and enduro. On Thursday 14 November, however, he will step up into a whole new league of endurance riding.
Because, for the first time, the newly crowned SA Junior Off-Road champion will be facing the 'Roof of Africa' extreme enduro in the mountains of Lesotho, renowned as one of the toughest and most gruelling motorcycle competitions in the world.
Teasdale has dreamed about competing in the 'Roof' from an early age, but had to wait until after his sixteenth birthday in July to meet the age requirement. This year, having clinching his second Junior National Off-Road Championship title (he won the 125cc Class in 2012 and the Open class this year, and winning the E2 (200cc) Class at the final round of the SA National Enduro Motorcycle Championship at Matatiele where he finished third overall, he's at last eligible for the big one - the 46th 'Roof of Africa' in Lesotho.
GOLD CLASS
Teasdale will be one of 120 entrants from all over the globe who will tackle the race in the Gold Class where riders have to complete the full race distance.
Last year he had to stand next to the track and watch the riders racing in the streets of Maseru during the traditional 'Around the Houses' racing section. This year he will put his KTM in the ninth row of the second heat on Thursday to ride the street race in front of hundreds of screaming spectators and supporters.
Then he and his crew will move to Bushman's Pass, north on Roma, where all the racing action will happen for the next three days. He'll have to start the time-trial before 2pm - a 36km section that should take about an hour - starting and finishing at Bushman's Pass.
Think about that for a moment.
This is the very first section of the 'Roof' and it is so tough that the world's fastest off-road racers are expected to average no more than 36km/h.
The time-trial results will determine the starting order for Friday's 136km racing section - and Friday's results will set the starting order and times for Saturday's 130km racing section, which includes about a dozen mountain passes. Racing will start at 6am on both days with the start and finish at Bushman's Pass
In 2012 experienced riders averaged about eight hours in the saddle on both Friday and Saturday and they can expect an even tougher route this year, with the possibility of rain.
PROVING HIMSELF
Travis Teasdale is hoping not only to finish this 'mother of hard enduro' but also to prove himself against some of the world's best extreme enduro riders - including 2011 winner from the UK, Graham Jarvis, as well as former triple winner from New Zealand, Chris Birch, not forgetting his friend and rival from Paddock in KwaZulu-Natal, Wade Young, who has made history in 2012 when he became the youngest Roof winner yet at 16.
The 'Roof of Africa' is all about man and machine against some of Africa's most feared mountain passes, where even goats tread with care. Before most of us have had breakfast on Thursday morning, Teasdale will be sitting on his bike, asking himself, "Am I ready for this?"