MTB Blog

Well, what a day it was!
Three years ago I entered the The Stellenbosch MTB Challenge, a new event arranged by the Dirtopia team.
Though the route in general was great, the amount of knee-deep mud really got to me and I have since avoided that event.
Now bigger and sponsored by Die Burger, I decided to give it another go.
Rain through-out the week made me wonder whether we’d be having the same type of terrain as 2006 ( and I believe subsequent times as well ).
Now that there are only prepaid entries, I decided that I might as well make the trip out to Stellenbosch with my riding mate, Mark.
We parked at a friend’s house closeby and arrived literally 3 minutes before the start.
Though the air was crisp, it was dry with hints of sunshine breaking through the clouds.
I really cannot recall the minute details of the route, but remember the following:

• All 5 waterpoints had ice-cold drinks ( either Coke, water or Energade) as well as oranges.
• Stop number 2 also offered us a selection of 3 different types of MULE bars. I enjoyed the chocolate-fig one, though struggled to get fig seeds out of my teeth.
• Stop 3 served sparkling wine and I enjoyed some of that while admiring the view.
• Stop 4, on the Delheim wine farm served Delheim port. I gulped that down, only to feel the effect on the next uphill.

The scenery was absolutely great and we had no rain en route. There were large sections of single track, some where the trees were close and dense enough to make it appear dark. Very much like Wales, I was led to believe.
Yip, there was mud, but not at all as bad as 2006. I still got stuck in the mud and had to get off my bike a few times, but certainly nothing unbearable.
Finishing with a fast downhill and then some under the bridge and next to the river sections made this a great ride and a must-do for 2010.
A nice medal and a bottle of Jordan Rose wine made all the more worth it.
To all the organisers and sponsors I say thanks and well done!