The Great Trail Debate
Bicycling South Africa|May 2017

So – which province boasts the best/gnarliest/smoothest/ scariest MTB trails in SA? Who better to ask than Chris and Tim Whitfield, who’ve just spent the last year researching the subject for their newly-released book, On Your Bike.

The Great Trail Debate

Twenty years ago, in 1997, Paul Leger wrote A Guide to Mountain Bike Trails: Western Cape. It was essentially a booklet – about 10cm wide, 20cm from top to bottom, and no thicker than this magazine – because back then, there wasn’t a lot to talk about.

In the Cape peninsula, Leger highlighted Tokai Forest, Silvermine (when the south side was open to mountain bikers, not the north as is now the case), and Deer Park. In his “Trail Description” for all three, he doesn’t mention the word ‘single track’ at all. Trails, by the definition of the time, were mainly “dirt roads and secondary tracks”.

Further afield, Leger alludes to some “legal single track with challenging technical sections” at Jonkershoek; and even then, Harkerville’s red route had “mile upon mile of weaving single track”.

But there’s not much else; evidently, the major impetus for mountain biking at the time was getting out into nature, and tooling around country areas on jeep tracks or gravel roads.

Today, we’re spoilt for choice. Want to hit some pretty technical stuff without leaving Cape Town? The new network of single track in Tokai will do just fine. Or drive 30 minutes, and spend hours on the trail network in Tygerberg.

And a little further afield there is Somerset West; or Grabouw, home to the fabulous ‘A-to-Z’ trail. In 1997, Leger informs us, the best part of the Grabouw experience was “a pacey plantation track with a few tightish bends to test your technical skills”. By which he means ‘a road through the forest’.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2017 من Bicycling South Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2017 من Bicycling South Africa.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من BICYCLING SOUTH AFRICA مشاهدة الكل
GEAR FOR THE AGES
Bicycling South Africa

GEAR FOR THE AGES

Some bicycle components, tools and accessories - by design, luck or a bit of both - become icons of performance, reliability and permanence in cycling.

time-read
3 mins  |
July/August 2024
A RACE LIKE NO OTHER
Bicycling South Africa

A RACE LIKE NO OTHER

IN KENYA'S MAASAI MARA, KNOWN MORE FOR SAFARIS THAN CYCLING, THE MIGRATION GRAVEL RACE CHALLENGES RIDERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THE WORLD WHILE FORGING A FUTURE FOR BIKE RACING IN AFRICA.

time-read
10+ mins  |
July/August 2024
WAR ON WHEELS
Bicycling South Africa

WAR ON WHEELS

IF YOU GO FOR A RIDE IN CAPE TOWN AT THE WRONG TIME, YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A CYCLING GANG WAR, WHERE THE WEAPONS OF CHOICE ARE STRAVA RECORDS AND SALTY COMMENTS ON INSTAGRAM. THIS IS THE TALE OF THREE RIVAL ROADIE CREWS AND A REMINDER THAT CYCLING IS A SPORT BEST TAKEN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR.

time-read
7 mins  |
July/August 2024
GET TOUR DE FRANCE FAST IN FOUR WEEKS
Bicycling South Africa

GET TOUR DE FRANCE FAST IN FOUR WEEKS

HAVE YOU GOT TOUR FEVER? If you have a good fitness base, let the pros inspire you to take your riding to the next level.

time-read
4 mins  |
July/August 2024
THE SECRET TO MAKING A COMEBACK? JUST START
Bicycling South Africa

THE SECRET TO MAKING A COMEBACK? JUST START

\"THIS IS WHAT DECONDITIONING LOOKS LIKE,\" I said out loud to no one, as I looked at the heart-rate reading on my phone and gasped for breath. \"This shouldn't be so hard.\"

time-read
3 mins  |
July/August 2024
DEAR MARK CAVENDISH
Bicycling South Africa

DEAR MARK CAVENDISH

WHEN I FIRST STARTED FOLLOWING professional road cycling around 2014, you were at the top of your game.

time-read
3 mins  |
July/August 2024
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR POWER-TOWEIGHT RATIO
Bicycling South Africa

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR POWER-TOWEIGHT RATIO

POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO IS one of the most telling metrics in cycling - and thanks to indoor trainers, many more cyclists are now familiar with it. Right now it's never been easier to calculate your power-to-weight ratio and use it to improve your performance.

time-read
5 mins  |
July/August 2024
EASY RIDER
Bicycling South Africa

EASY RIDER

A FEW YEARS AGO, my wife and I along with her parents, brother and his wife-cycled down the Danube River in Europe.

time-read
2 mins  |
July/August 2024
LEADING THE WAY - RYAN GIBBONS, 29, SA PRO RIDER, MULTIPLE SA & AFRICAN ROAD CHAMP
Bicycling South Africa

LEADING THE WAY - RYAN GIBBONS, 29, SA PRO RIDER, MULTIPLE SA & AFRICAN ROAD CHAMP

AFTER JOINING LIDLTREK from UAE Team Emirates, South African national champ Ryan Gibbons aims to be the best lead-out man he can be - while also helping his new team in their quest to climb the World Tour rankings.

time-read
7 mins  |
July/August 2024
6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER
Bicycling South Africa

6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER

TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.

time-read
3 mins  |
January / February 2024