MTBiker Member Blog

Well, today was definitely a highlight again.   Arrived at Virginia Farm arund 0745 and because the shed and cottage are booked out this weekend, had the privilege of using the homestead facilities.  This farm is my piece of heaven and has never failed to leave me enchanted with every visit. Having attempted Stoney Hill chute the first time last week I had to go back to try and better the measely 3 switchbacks I managed.  Strategy - park big red and walk it down.  It paid off more than I could have imagined.  Managed all but the first tight turn...

One can only feel sorry for those who did not attend this year’s epic ride up Sani Pass.  You guys really missed out – big time!  Some friends secured a lovely 7 sleeper cottage outside Himeville for the weekend and in the end the headcount was 9.  An idyllic farm setting with a view of the mountains and perfect weather all weekend.   Our weekend organizer, Gavin Grix had some real hard luck when he broke his arm 2 days before the event and had to sit this one out. 4-6 weeks off the bike is going to be tough...

I went back to Lake Eland nearly a month after the classic event to see what I had missed out on.  Had to sit it out last month and watch longingly as everyone else got to ride.  Salt in the wounds to hear everyone rave afterwards.   It was an absolutley AWESOME experience today.  Without the crowds, noise etc, the animals were EVERYWHERE!!  What an awesome sight.  Even saw some Kudu - very rare as they are very shy antelope who prefer the shelter of trees.   Caused a stampede or two of wildebeest, Impala and Zebra (hehe).... The first 5kms was a...

This one gets two thumbs up from me.  For those lucky folk in the midlands where most of the best riding is to be had with endless forest single track and who can afford to be picky – you will have to decide for yourself, but if you like riding Juicy Lucy and Illovo Eston events you will enjoy this unexpected jewel. We set out for Virginia farm in Eston on Saturday afternoon around 2pm.   The farm was recently opened by the farmer, Pete Stainbank and his wife Louise for mountain biking, hiking and horse riding and boasts a well marked...

Had an awesome fast 27km ride this morning in the Illovo Farm area.   After a bit of rain the past 2 days everything seems clean, the air is crisp and life is beautiful :) Did a bit of exploring and as these exploring things go had to push up a very slatey and steep unrideable section.  When you get to the top you feel you're on top of the world!! Nice thing about being on the top - its downhill all the way!!! Rewarded with a nice long downhill section which blended beautifully into the well-used motorbike trail - cranked up...

Back to that necessary evil of spinning classes twice a week to increase fitness.  It would make classes so much more interesting if you could have some mtb trails projected onto a screen. 45 minutes in a spinning class seems longer than 3hrs out there on the trails.  The song "road to nowhere" from Talking Heads comes to mind every time I'm in a spinning class.  Takes a lot of imagination and pretending to be on some forest single track or some such to get me through a class... Standing up on the pedals is about as exciting as it gets...

I feel really lucky to have attended a most incredible performance by Bryan Adams at the ICC on Friday 16th.  ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!.  It did mean that I only awoke with a start at 7:45 am on Saturday morning with the sinusitis that had been creeping up on me all week in full swing.  Too late for the club ride and Giba was no longer an option as my son was attending the funeral of a school friend’s father and we were simply not going to fit everything in.   We headed out from home on our usual local cane farm ride,...

You hunt for an earing and find a powerlink in your jewellery box! ...

Oh boy!  What an awesome 5 days in Munster.  Rode the Pont hill and bullrun finish on Friday - that's all we had time for before hubby's chain broke (just spend R800 fixing stuff on that bike again).  Quick fix by trusty friend camping at the Pont and we were good to go the next day.  Decided to forego the Friday night night ride (too cold and mom's dinner won out).  Hit Clearwater trails instead on Saturday to ride the sections we would miss on Sunday's ride, having entered the 25km.  What a fun, fast ride we had on Saturday -...

The Egyptian flu has done the rounds at Clearwater Trails!  Jan-man's lovely wife Natalie is expecting a bambino.   Congrats!! xx  The storks will be flying over Clearwater come Aug/Sept.......