August riding recap in the Cape of Storms

Stormy weather hit Cape Town in full force this month with cold fronts bringing wind, rain and snow. The result - a few less rides to talk about. Still there were a couple of glorious sunny days as well when we took to the hills, forests and farms to ride our bikes.

Tokai and Silvermine

View from Silvermine

Start of the Mamba trail which is currently being rebuilt by Deon and his team and Reto helping when he can

Practicing some jumps on Vasbyt with Tim playing photographer

Cotic BFe skywalker ;)

Last Friday lots of water was already flowing in Tokai...

We were having a blast on the mountain on a fantastic sunny day

View from Silvermine

Tim trying out the steep new line on DH0

Seeing things from a different angle on a trip out of town

Grabouw ride with the Table Mountain Bikers

Last week Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn to drive out to the Grabouw Country Club for 40kms of trail riding.

Stunning view from the Country Club

About 50 riders joined the ride, everyone looked happy to be out on their bikes

Admiring the scenery during a brief wait on the singletrack at the start

Multiple stops and snacking on oranges, apples, sweeties and cooldrinks at the waterpoint -
great organising from the TMB team! 

Enjoying the singetrack

Many scenic views...

...plenty of photo opportunities...

...and a couple of rest stops

Beautiful proteas in bloom and interesting rock formations formed part of the trail

Woolies lunch packs and delicious apple and pear ciders awaited us back at the Country Club as we
reached the end of another great ride

The next day we had a bit of cleaning work to do...

The weekend ahead promises to be an exciting one as Reto will get to ride his new bike for the first time and the World Champs happening in Pietermaritzburg should make for quality viewing on Sunday afternoon. I am also happy to report that after the tree felling at the Fishhoek jumps have been completed everything is still mostly in tact and ridable :)

Sunny winter days in Cape Town

Today we had fantastic weather and it being a public holiday I saw people enjoying many different activities in the great outdoors - from hiking, running, biking, paragliding to good old braai'ing. Reto unfortunately had to work but I opted for a ride in Tokai up to Silvermine, the loop and back down.

Visible snow on the mountain tops explained the bite in the air

Views on the way up to Silvermine

The Eagle's Nest look out always makes the tough climb well worth it

The Silvermine loop is one of my favorite rides on a bright, clear day like this with 360 degrees of good visibility

Left - the stunning King Protea. Right - fuel for the slog :)

Some highlights from last week:

Tokai

On Wednesday our logistics worked out in such a way that we could drop in at Silvermine all kitted up with full face helmets and pads, and do a run down to Tokai parking without slogging through the uphills. Great option as it was a really hot winters day! Fun times bombing down and sessioning some jumps and drops on the DH line.

Haven't ridden with a full face and pads for ages!

Trail building on DH0 and old snake trails

* Reto building, me riding!

Helderberg DH shuttle day

Last week Sunday we headed for Somerset West to check out the new DH track on the beautiful Helderberg Farm.

We were blown away by the stunning views!

I was a bit over excited and took a tumble OTB'ing on a set of rollers on the lower section of the track.. on my way to catch my first shuttle! I bruised my wrist badly and stood watching the action from the side with an ice pack...

Reto mastering the hip jump on his hardtail!

Eventually it felt like I could hang on to the bike to do at least one shuttle to the top and roll down to see what it is all about. Top section is steep, loose and tight. Middle section is fun and more flowy. I also noticed something mad on the side - a HUGE road gap ;)

Photo by Jens Rubow

Photo by Jens Rubow

Looking forward to give the track another go!


Fishhoek Pumptrack

A week ago we had a fun session at the jumps. Yesterday a disturbing sight awaited us - some logging in progress! 

We will have to wait and see what the final damage will be, luckily no trees close to the actual pumptrack :)