Cross Country and Downhill at George:
Here are the results for both the Cross Country and Downhill at George this weekend.
The final in the Mazda National MTB Cup Series will be held at Mount Rozier Estate, Somerset West, on the 4th and 5th November 2006.
SA%20Downhill%204-2006%20V01.xls
SA%20Downhill%204-2006%20V01.xls
About time for a new bike!
Okay, so it has been 2yrs and 1o months since my Trek was stolen. With the insurance payout I bought a Schwinn. I have been very happy with it and of course serviced it regularly.
There comes a time of course when the cost of the services stops making sense. That’s if you use a mountain bike for what it was intended for. So, that time has come for me.
The big question though: what brand?
I am not sponsored to ride any particular brand and therefore decide with my common sense and wallet of course.
Kona seemed interesting, Scott very value driven and too many others to mention.
My motto has always been to buy my bike from the place that will service it. Of course it helps if they are in my neighborhood, if the shop owner is a mountain biker and more-over if he rides that same bike that I intend to purchase.
So,that’s exactly what I did.
Leon, the pressure is on! That MERIDA must deliver! And if it doesn’t, you’ll be seeing me often.
Once the bike is ready I will post some pictures and ongoing bike specific comments. I may become a sponosred rider yet!
The Stellenbosch ride will be my first!
Stellenbosch MTB challenge on 5 August.
I was thinking about doing this ride next week-end. Not knowing what to expect and not wanting just to believe the flyer I got on my car windshield at Franschhoek or the details on the web site, I decided to contact Arina ( of Dirtopia fame ) to ask her direct input on this event, as they are organising it.
So,here it is:
Hi Japie
The Stellenbosch MTB Challenge is a new event on the calendar organized by
Dirtopia, the Cycle Tour team and the Adventure Centre in Stellenbosch. The
routes will showcase some of the best riding in Stellenbosch (excluding Jonkershoek) and the long route will cross a lot of the wine estates that will have their wines for tasting at the Stellenbosch Wine Festival from the 3-6th of August.
All entrants for the MTB event will receive a R10 discount to enter the Wine
Festival and a medal.
Route descriptions and info on the website. The 60km will be about the same
as the 55km at Boschendal, but the scenery will be more spectacular.
Most info available on the website www.mtbchallenge.co.za.
I wouldn’t miss this one as a mountain biker. They’ll be riding through
farms they can not normally ride through and the atmosphere should be fun.
Not a lot of events in July/August, so expereince the winter weather on your
bike!
Cheers
Arina
Cathedral Peak
So, on Tuesday last week ( 18 July ) I attempted the mighty Mike’s Pass. This is a 7km bad dirt road leading from the entrance of Cathedral Peak to the highest point on the mountain. This is about 40km oustide Winterton in KZN. Once again a long hard slog to the top. This is a very old pass of which I cant seem to find the history.
There is a longer trail 32 km trail located in the Cathedral Peak section of the northern Drakensberg. It includes some steep climbs and a hair-raising 7km downhill on the pass. Contact KZN Wildlife for details and booking. This trail is listed in the Engen Guide to Adventure Travel in Southern Africa.
Contact: Hermin Dikobe
036 4881332
Web Address: www.kznwildlife.com
Coffee Bay
After 2 days in the car getting to Coffee Bay, it was time to dust off the bike and get out there for a ride. Well the 5km from the Coffee Bay hotel to the view point was absolutely awesome. Rolling hills, people living in small mud huts and kids that only know one English word…sweets! The view is just breathtaking. As you climb, and climb you do, the view back over the hills down to the sea just keeps getting better.
From there the road to to the Whole in the Wall is all downhill and fast. There is about a 15 minute walk from the local hotel to the Whole in the Wall. Well worth the effort.
In fact the 4 day Imana Wild Ride passes through that area this week, from 25 to 28 July.
See www.wildride.co.za for more.
Away I go…..!
Time for that July break, yeah!
This year I am going on a bit of a trek with my wife and 2 kids. And bike, of course.
How much cycling I’ll get to do remains to be seen. But with PE, Coffee Bay, Drakensberg, Gariep Dam and Karoo National Park, I sure have enough opportunity to put that MTB to good use.
So, let’s see what I can discover in that period.
I’ll report back of course,but this may only be on 25 July.
Lemme know if you have any info. on trails in the areas mentioned.
cheers vir eers
The Dewdale Results
It is great to see how many riders actually participated in this event:
For the full results see the attached file:
Dewdale%20Classic%202006%20Results%201.xls
What a ride!
The Dewdale MTB event yesterday was just great!
The weather, the course and the views all contributed to a great ride.
The uphills were bearable and the downhills were very fast.
The suspension bridge over the river was a first for me in a MTB event. The 25km lap had a great mix of up and downhills, with plenty of mud and stream crossings en route.
Most of the bottom section of the route will disappear in a few years when the dam they are building will be complete. Credit must go to Geddan and his team for organising a great event!
If you are a paid up Pedalpower member and had your timing chip on, your results are out on Pedalpower’s web site .
I will post the other results as soon as I get them.
I have take a number of pics on my cell and will add them to this post.
What to do this week-end?
Okay,it’s Friday morning 07h30 and I am sitting in a News Cafe in Edenvale, Jhb. All I can think about right now is what riding I can do this week-end. So, after some quick “research” this is what I found:
Dewdale MTB Classic in Franschhoek on Sunday morning. Done this one before and really enjoyed it. The 50km is 2 laps of 25km in the mountains outside Franschhoek. See Raceday
That’s all I could find.
So, it’s this or just going for a easy cruise.
see you out there.
The Tour de Scandal
Ai, when are these guys gonna get it right?
Jan Ulrich, Ivor Basso and the 2 other riders that made up last year’s 4th and 5th positions were all suspended from participation in this year’s Tour deFrance that started yesterday.
Having won once and getting 5 second positions, one would think that this was the year that Ulrich was gonna get the fame and fortune of that number one position.
Alas, the drugs were lurking and he fell for it.
How much of this is going on out there?
Is it happening in MTB too?
What about South Africa?