Full Sus Dec/Jan 2015

@FullSussa

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Fat Bike SHOOTOUT GR 300

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Mankele, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga

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INSIDE Full Stride Running mag!

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hat makes a great trail destination? It’s easy – really great trails and lots of them.

A few nice amenities like a restaurant don’t hurt either, but the idea behind this guide is to give you options of places to ride where you’ll have fun

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Win with Junglenow RECM interview

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Take your ride on vacation

In December many South Africans pack up and head to the coast for the school holidays. So Seamus Allardice thought we’d put together a guide to some great trail destinations on the coast. But so as to not leave those of you out who have to stay inland and keep the economy going, we threw in a few inland gems too. and maybe push your riding to a new height too. Which is a particularly good thing if you’re overindulging on the tasty treats this festive season because at least you’ll come out faster downhill even if your climbing suffers under the weight of the Christmas pounds.

Dec/Jan 2015, Vol 20

FullSussa #MTB

WESTERN CAPE

JONKERSHOEK – STELLENBOSCH Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Cape Town or Strand/Somerset West.

Non-riding activities: Lots of wine tasting, farmers markets and hiking options Grab a post-ride bite at: The Ride In Café More info: without a dedicated website for Jonkershoek your best bet is either www.ridein.co.za or www.dirtopia.co.za.

I’m biased, but I don’t care. I love Jonkers. From Canary on the Northern slopes to the Fire Hut

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trail on the Southern Slopes via Never Ending Story, Lower Ellis and the Valley Trail with a bit of doubling back to race Ellis and Valley Trail 1 again, before crossing the valley floor to climb to the Fire Hut trail. Now that’s a lekker ride. It’s tough mind you – the climb up the Canary singletrack in particular is a technical and tiring test. But it’s worth it! And best of all there is so much more to riding around Stellenbosch than just Jonkershoek. Explore the trails of Eden (above Paradyskloof), rip it down G-Spot (above Brandwacht), check out the new trail network in the Simonsberg Conservancy or venture out into the winelands of the Bottelary Hills. The options are virtually endless – you’ll want to relocate for sure.

WELVANPAS – WELLINGTON Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Wellington is 75km from the Cape Town CBD or 126km from Langebaan so it’s a ride you’ll have to plan well if you’re holidaying in Cape Town or on the Weskus.

Non-riding activities: Wine tasting or kloofing in Bainskloof Grab a post-ride bite at: Die ou Meul coffee shop on the Welvanpas farm More info: www.welvanpas.co.za Not many places can lure the Cape Epic back again and again, but Welvanpas will be hosting the Epic for the second time in three years in 2015.

So if you’d like to familiarise yourself with the trails you’ll be riding in the

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FS Editorial

Time to chill out, look up and slow down!

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hew what a whirlwind of a year. Just when you think you have seen or experienced it all along comes a new year and a whole basket of unexpected, different and new.

Isn’t that just life? Pretty much like downhill riding: you think you are in control… and hey this doesn’t mean it isn’t fun! 2014 was loads of fun – the riding has been spectacular, trails just keep getting better, bikes and gear improve every year, events are better organised and along with this Full Sus becomes more entrenched and hopefully gets better with each issue. We have grown in circulation, have bumper issues that have grown the size of the paper and have now launched Full Stride – our trail running companion. Phew talk about “trapping our mielies af”! I am sure you will enjoy it and support Seamus who is the editor of Full Stride.

Thank you to all the LBS’s and outlets that carry Full Sus, we appreciate your efforts to ensure that your customers pick up a copy on their visits to your stores. Also a big thanks to the FS team which includes all our regular contributors, you guys are brilliant and certainly ensure that Full Sus has the superb content we publish! Finally to all our readers a huge THANK YOU! For accepting us, keeping us on our toes, all the good and bad comments and for picking the paper up and enjoying it! Keep sending in your stories, your

ideas, sharing, following and entering – there is a lot more to come next year. Be safe these holidays, SLOW DOWN! – on the roads and on the trails. Chill out, pedal slowly, look up, take pics and remember why we do this awesome sport!

Happy New Year and see you on the trails!

Cheers Arnold!

We have all met great people while riding our bikes. I certainly made one of my best mates through mountain biking and unlike a lot of friends you make in life, the mates I have made on my bike have been sincere, passionate and very “real”! So it is always a shock when one of your friends is taken away suddenly: Arnold Bettendorf was one such guy, friendly, sincere and completely genuine. He was the owner of the well known and popular restaurant Arnolds on Kloof. Always quick to laugh and share a story he was a great character who you could not help liking. He will be sorely missed and my sincere condolences go to his family in particular Gilly and Oliver; Ben and Nina. We’ll miss you on the trails Arnie – ride those singletracks in the sky hard my friend! (from Braam, Craig, Scott, Andrew, Nic, Auric, Jed, Paul, Rich and Shayne)

m crossing ld and Braa o rn A : e v o 2W 2014.

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Arnold at the top of Gantouw Pass

SUS the winner JJ Maritz decided to rather donate his Axis A40 prize to a worthy cause.

And the Axis A40 MTB goes to… the ACE - The Sufferfest Lesotho MTB Team! The prize was actually won by JJ Maritz, but he graciously suggested that the A40 would be better put to use by the Lesotho MTB Team he read about in Full Sus. The guys from the team were thrilled by the news and would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to JJ and Axis Bikes!

JJ’s favourite LBS is: BUDGET BICYCLES (084 236 2959) in Despatch (ECape). Look out for JJ’s reasons in the February issue of Full Sus. The ACE – The Sufferfest Lesotho MTB Team will be receiving a brand new Axis A40 MTB!

SUS The team Publishing Editor: Shayne Dowling shayne@integratedmedia.co.za Content Editor: Seamus Allardice seamus@integratedmedia.co.za Art Director: Megan Knox megan@integratedmedia.co.za Advertising: Jess Nosworthy jess@integratedmedia.co.za PR & Promotions: Ashley Attwood ash@integratedmedia.co.za Regulars: Meurant Botha, Stirling Kotze Snr & Jnr, Jacques Marais,

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Dr Mike Posthumus, Rochez O’Grady, Sarah Walker, Jeanne-Louise Wiese, Erik Kleinhans.

Rogue Contributor: David Bristow Photography: Ashley Attwood, Oakpics.com, Cherie Vale Newsport Media and thinkstock.com.

Contributors: Anriette Schoeman Printing: Paarl Coldset (Pty) Ltd Published by: Integrated Media Disclaimer: The views expressed by the contributors and columnists do not necessarily represent the views of Full Sus or Integrated Media.

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COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONS: The Prize/s is as indicated, no alternatives or cash will be provided. The decision of Integrated Media will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. Under no circumstances shall Integrated Media or its appointed representatives and the prize donors be liable to anyone who enters these Prize Draws for an indirect or consequential loss howsoever arising which may be suffered in relation to the Prize Draws. By entering these competitions you make yourself subject to receiving promotional information. Entrants are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions. Prize Draw Rules: The prize draw is only open to residents in South Africa. Employees of Integrated Media and their respective advertising, media and PR agencies, as well as the family members, consultants, directors, associates and trading partners of such organisations and persons are ineligible for the draw. Prize style and colour may vary. Competition entries close on 20 January 2015.

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biggest race of the year you might like to go recce them in December. Stage Five of the Epic will take in the new black route, including the Full Monty climb, and the amazing Cool Runnings and Cool Runnings Too sections.

Then Stage Six tackles more of the Welvanpas singletrack including a mix of trails to keep riders challenged. So we’d suggest you spend a good few days exploring the farm’s epic trails.

Pick hot days for Epic acclimatisation purposes or if you’re not entered in the Epic and just want to see what Dr Evil has thrown at those dedicated few go sus out Welvanpas in a more relaxed state of mind – we’re sure you’ll love the riding.

GARDEN ROUTE

GARDEN ROUTE TRAIL PARK – BARRINGTON (NEAR KNYSNA) Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Knysna Non-riding activities: Trail running, relaxing on the beach, fishing, paddling or just chilling Grab a post-ride bite at: Trail Café in the GRTP More info: www.gardenroutetrailpark.com This is a real must visit spot and it’s in the heart of SA’s holiday mecca.

The Garden Route Trail Park, or GRPT for short, has been garnering rave reviews since it opened with the trails described as extended versions of Stellenbosch’s G-Spot, with climbs

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KELVIN TRAUTMAN|CAPE EPIC|SPORTZPICS

included. It’s not surprising as Mark Gordon is the trail builder of both.

There are currently four routes on offer and with the Garden Route Trail Series taking place on the 21st and the 28th of December 2014 you can either go ride at your own leisure or enter one of the races.

HARKERVILLE – PLETT Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Plett Non-riding activities: Monkey World, Birds of Eden, hiking in the indigenous forests or a visit to the Knysna Elephant Park.

Grab a post-ride bite at: Harkerville Saturday Market More info: www.knysnacycles.co.za Probably one of the better known trail destinations in SA the Harkerville Forest has something for everyone.

Its four routes provide singletrack options for any skill level and the mixture of indigenous forests, plantations and coastal fynbos will have the nature fundi in you excited too. It’s also super close to the holiday heaven that is Plettenberg Bay so you can drive out for a ride, smash a quick loop and be back on the beach before the family has tired of beach bats and sun tanning.

EASTERN CAPE

3 SILOS – EAST LONDON Perfect if you’re holidaying in: East London or Gonubie Non-riding activities: Trail running,

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Sus it out at www.atta.co.za and follow the action live on the day by following @attakwas on Twitter.

Even foreign pros, like Team Bulls, use the Atta to kick-start their season.

January is a funny old month event wise, especially if you’re putting in the training for that big race in March. You should be coming to the end of the phase where you’ve been laying down the base miles and you should be looking for a test of just how far along you are. With the threadbare events calendar for the month that means simulating a very long ride in race conditions or entering one of three events: Race 1 of the National MTB Series (31 January), the Barberton XCM (also 31 January) or the Fairview Attakwas Extreme Challenge (17 January).

The Atta is the race many of the pros choose to kick off their racing year and with its 121km distance, rugged terrain and 2 900 meters of climbing it’s a tough test of where your legs are for the upcoming stage races.

Test the Altitude Training Studio opens in Sea Point

Not one to take things easy, Full Sus contributor Kate Slegrova has decided that the best time to open her new business is when she’s pregnant… Kate’s new business baby is called Concept Studio and is opening in January 2015. It will offer altitude training and yoga classes, with the ability to simulate an altitude of up to 3 000 meters above sea level.

The studio will be kitted out with Wattbikes and Science2Sport have specifically designed altitude training programmes for Concept Studio’s daily classes. The studio will also be offering race-specific programmes leading up to events like the Cape Epic and the Cycle Tour.

The yoga side of the business will offer traditional yoga and dynamic body movement classes. All class sizes will be limited to ensure you get the best possible personal attention from yoga instructors who understand the demands placed on the body by cycling.

Visit www.conceptstudio.co.za to find out more.

BEST

If you’re in the market for a new bike in 2015 do yourself a favour and get down to a Specialized Test the Best day at a trail location near you. There you’ll be able to test the full range of Specialized bikes, from the Epic to the Enduro, and the Era to the Rumor. For more details speak to your local Specialized dealer, and remember it’s first come first serve.

Test the Best dates and venues: 6 & 7 Dec:

Hero Adventure Park, Heia Safaris 13 & 14 Dec: Giba Gorge 17 & 18 Jan: Port Elizabeth 24 & 25 Jan: Bloemfontein 31 Jan & 1 Feb: Garden Route Trail Park 14 & 15 Feb: Tokai 28 Feb & 1 Mar: Meerendal 4 & 5 Apr: Windhoek 18 & 19 Apr: Jonkershoek Test ride the amazing S-Works Enduro at a Test the Best session near you.

CHERIE VALE | NEWSPORT MEDIA

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3 Silos, East London

Attakwas Extreme Challenge

3 SILOS

Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch

CHERIE VALE | NEWSPORT MEDIA

Welvanpas, Wellington

ZOON CRONJE | NIKON

FS News

FS Holiday MTB Destinations

Find out more at www.like2bike.co.za

2015 Me-Nuts Like2Bike Series Dates 25 January:

Big Red Barn, Olifantsfontein 22 March: Heia Safari Lodge, Fourways 17 May: Rosemary Hill, Pretoria East 19 July: Heia Safari Lodge, Fourways 20 September: Big Red Barn, Olifantsfontein 1 November: Monaghan Farm, Lanseria

EVENT ACTIVE

Not to let the grown-ups have all the fun, there is a series for the kids in 2015 too. With all the events taking place in Gauteng the Me-Nuts Like2Bike Series is a standalone (just for the little ones) series of MTB races for 2 to 14 year olds. The distances are age group appropriate and there are even mini-duathlons at three of the six events if you’ve got a budding multisport athlete in your family.

There are goodie bags, medals for each finisher and a limited edition cycling top for the kids who take part in at least three of the races. Sounds fun, we’re jealous that there wasn’t anything like it around when we were sprogs.

Ashburton Investments National MTB Series

Get your kiddies loving their riding with the Like2Bike series in 2015.

ZOON CRONJE | NIKON

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Me-Nuts Like2Bike Series

SUS The Ashburton Investments National MTB Series 2015 Dates

ever linked to cases of theft, cases cannot be solved.

In the cases where owners have fitted cycles with the DataDot protection system, the register will record this and allow owners to change or transfer ownership, query owner and bicycle details on the register or flag a bicycle as stolen.

DataDot members will also be able to view the service history of their bicycle which is completed by the partner retailers at times of service.

DataDots contain a unique 10 digit pin laser etched onto each of the 0.5mm in diameter dots. Up to 3 000 DataDots will be fitted to each bicycle; frame, wheels, stem, bars and seat post; thereby making the bicycle or any of its parts easily identifiable.

31 Jan: Meerendal, Western Cape

7 June: Van Gaalen, North West (SA

(UCI Cat3)

XCM Champs)

21 & 22 February: Sabie,

26 July: Ballito, KZN

Mpumalanga (UCI World Series)

8 August: Rooiberg, Limpopo

18 &19 April: Clarens, Free State

12 & 13 September: Dullstroom,

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(UCI World Series)

Di’s Lauf Fork equipped bike.

DIANA CAROLIN

TO REGISTER your bike(s) on the National Cycle Registry, for free, visit www.cycleregister.co.za.

Theft Deterrent & Recovery System

The National MTB Series will be returning to Rooiberg in 2015.

For 2015 the National MTB Series has a new title sponsor in the form of the FirstRand Group’s investment management arm Ashburton Investments, but that’s not the only change. Advendurance have shuffled the event calendar around a bit, freshened up the race locations and secured the South African XCM Championships for their Van Gaalen race in June. They’ve also ensured UCI status for three of the other events, ensuring an international field will be taking part in the Sabie and Clarens legs of the series in particular.

Find out more at www.nationalmtbseries.com.

National Cycle Register Launched

With bike theft on the rise a national cycle register has been launched to help counter the epidemic. The initiative is sponsored by DataDot, the market leader in vehicle microdot protection, which is gaining popularity in cycling circles as a way of micro-tagging bicycles to aid in the identification and recovery process.

The national cycle register aims to create a central database of bicycle serial numbers, where bicycle owners can create a profile, upload and manage their bicycle information. The current lack of a database makes it easier for thieves, who know that proof of ownership of stolen and then recovered bicycles can be extremely hard to establish. And, as recovered bicycles are hardly

News FS

Mpumalanga

Lauf Forks

The weird and wonderful Lauf Forks are now in SA. Or at least two of them that we know of. Diana Carolin and the guys from The Epic Bike Shop, Lance Stephenson and Neville Cragg have got a couple from the Icelandic manufacturers. Di has put hers to the test already and she’s been chuffed with her initial riding experiences.

At 990g the full carbon fork is feather light and the 60mm of travel might sound equally miniscule but it’s reported to be more than sufficient for many types of riding – perfect for those gravel road ultra-marathons in particular we’d think.

If you’re keen on finding out more, drop in at The Epic Bike Shop in Plumstead or follow @EPICbikeshop and @di_carolin for their postride updates on how the forks are holding up to SA conditions. Full Sus will be following up with them in the coming months too so keep an eye on www.fullsus.co.za!

Umtamvuna River Gorge, Clearwater trails, Port Edward

chilling on the beach or get a bit of culture and visit the Ann Bryant Art Gallery or the East London Museum where you can check the coelacanth Grab a post-ride bite at: The 3 Silos Café (if it’s finished in time) More info: Find them on Facebook by searching 3 Silos MTB Adventure Trails We covered the opening of the 3 Silos trails in the very first issue of Full Sus so we’ve got a soft spot for them. But sentimentality aside the 3 Silos trails are well worth a visit. Think natural veld, loads of singletrack, styles and river crossings. They’re also in the process of building a coffee shop for your pre- and post-ride refreshment needs and there’s a kiddies MTB loop too so you can get the little ones into mountain biking this December – or let them work off some excess energy.

3 RIVER TRAILS– J-BAY Perfect if you’re holidaying in: J-Bay, St Francis or PE Non-riding activities: Bird Watching, game viewing, surfing and sailing Grab a post-ride bite at: Crossways Country Kitchen at the J-Bay Zebra Lodge More info: www.3riverstrails.co.za J-Bay isn’t just about surfing any more with the 200km massive 3 River Trails network nearby. You’ll be able to get some serious riding in if you’re holidaying in the area too. Starting and finishing at the J-Bay Zebra

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Magaliesberg Trails, North West

Lodge just off the R101 is the J-Bay Bike Park. It’s probably the place to start your holiday riding with six routes on offer, with four easy routes, an intermediate and an advanced route. Once you’ve got those under your belt it’s time to head across the N2 and take in the two short and two long Crossways trails. And to top it all, there’s the 20km Woodridge School trail in PE too.

KZN MIDLANDS

KARKLOOF – HOWICK Perfect if you’re holidaying in: The KZN Midlands (or just book your holiday to ride Karkloof) Non-riding activities: Canopy tours, birding, or treat yourself to a spa day at Indigo Fields or the Fordoun Hotel Grab a post-ride bite at: Tumble Downs Café and Restaurant More info: www.karkloofmtbtrails.co.za The trail riding destination in SA, hands down. If you plan to spend your vacation in KZN make a plan to spend some time riding in the Karkloof. There are 10km, 20km, and 30km routes plus an Olympic style cross country course to ride all packed with berms and features sculpted for your enjoyment by the one and only Hylton Turvey. It all starts at the Karkloof Country Club where you can purchase a day permit to ride and tell your post-ride war stories over a bite to eat. We probably should mention it was voted SA’s top trail by a rival publication so it’s not just Full Sus telling you to go ride there.

HOLLA MTB TRAILS

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3 River trails, J-Bay

3 RIVER TRAILS

Karkloof - Howick

WWW.JACQUESMARAIS.CO.ZA | SONY

ZOON CRONJE | NIKON

CLEARWATER TRAILS

FS Holiday MTB Destinations

KZN SOUTH COAST

CLEARWATER TRAILS – PORT EDWARD Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Southbroom or Margate Non-riding activities: Hiking, trail running, bass fishing and sightseeing on one of SA’s most beautiful stretches of coastline Grab a post-ride bite at: The Clearwater Café More info: www.clearwatertrails.co.za It’s only just-just in KZN as the trails are on the KZN banks of the Eastern Cape border forming Mtamvuna River. Starting and finishing at the Clearwater Café the longer trails take in the Beaver Creek Coffee Estate and Crags View Wild Care Centre too and all the trails offer stunning Indian Ocean views as an added bonus.

There is also the spectacular Gorge View deck which overlooks the

Holla MTB Trails, Balito Mtamvuna River gorge which is sure to take what little post-ride breath you have away.

KZN NORTH COAST

HOLLA MTB TRAILS – BALLITO Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Ballito or Umhlanga Non-riding activities: Chill on the beach, learn to surf or visit uShaka Marine World.

Grab a post-ride bite at: Fiamma Grill (in Ballito) More info: www.hollatrails.co.za Blast your way along any one of the three hundred and thirty kilometres of riding on offer in and around Holla Trails. There are ten routes on offer with the longest and toughest one, the black route, offering a further three choices so you’re unlikely

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bicycle company Feel the wind in your hair & the sun on your back.

Summer’s nearly here!

Classic cruiser style bikes comfortable & easy to ride available at an Avalanche dealer near you .

GET ACTIVE www.avalanchebicycles.co.za

FS Holiday MTB Destinations

network of singletracks that can offer you massively long rides if you’re not scared to venture onto the maze of gravel roads connecting the farms South West of the dam (take a GPS to help you find your way home). The area and trails are also very popular with riders of the equine steeds and you should keep in mind that horses have right of way on the Magaliesberg Trails.

ZOON CRONJE | NIKON

CAMELROC – FOURIESBURG (FREE STATE)

Rider’s tackling the Clarens MTB Marathon near Camelroc

from page 6 to get bored at Holla Trails. The agricultural landscape of the area is dominated by sugar cane fields and the trails take in a fair amount of ‘cane’ trails, but there’s also some great forest paths and testing farm roads. If you do one of the longer rides make sure you take a map if you’re not familiar with the area.

INLAND

The Mankele Trails near Nelspruit are some of SA’s best loved. Riders rave about them and with events like the Isuzu 3 Towers and the Mankele Avalanche acting as great advertisements for the trails they’re sure to be a popular trail riding destination this festive season. There are ten route options encompassing everything from beginner to full throttle downhill and most of the routes have short “black dot” technical detours to add some extra excitement to your ride. All routes start and finish at the Mankele Reception and there’s a coffee shop and swimming pool too so you’ll be able to grab a post-ride refreshment and have a dip to cool off.

MAGALIESBERG TRAILS/ VAN GAALEN’S – SKEERPOORT (NORTH WEST) Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Staying

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AfriSki, Oxbow, Lesotho

For those of you going somewhere completely different for your holidays, the Rooiberge of the Eastern Free State offer some amazing mountain biking opportunities. You might know the area a bit from the National MTB Series race in Clarens which is 40km away from the Camelroc Guest Farm, and its MTB trails, near the Caledonspoort Border Post.

Camelroc boast a short 10km route on the property and a tough 30km route, with options to cut it shorter to 10 or 20km. With views of the Maluti Mountains, the two Caledon rivers and rural Lesotho on offer you will want to pace yourself when you tackle the climbs so as to not exhaust yourself to the point where you can’t take in the scenery. There are also great hiking trails in the area which take in the San rock paintings in the mysterious “Grot Woning”.

AFRISKI – OXBOW (LESOTHO)

WWW.JACQUESMARAIS.CO.ZA | SONY

Perfect if you’re holidaying in: The Lowveld, or for a stop on your way to Mozam or Kruger Non-riding activities: Visit the Sudwala caves, tube down the river or chill in the pool Grab a post-ride bite at: The Mankele coffee shop is open throughout the school holidays More info: www.mankele.co.za

JASON MAY

MANKELE – NELSPRUIT (MPUMALANGA)

Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Lesotho, Eastern Free State or Golden Gate National Park Non-riding activities: 4x4 trails, hiking, bird and game viewing Grab a post-ride bite at: The Rose House (Between Clarens and Fouriesburg) More info: www.camelroc.co.za

Mankele, Nelspruit, Mpumalanga in Jozi for the holiday or venturing down to the Hartbeespoort Dam. Non-riding activities: Horse riding, trail running enjoying the relaxed country living atmosphere.

Grab a post-ride bite at: Van Gaalen’s Cheese Farm Restaurant More info: www.vangaalen.co.za

If you’re not fortunate enough to get out of the big smoke of Jozi or Pretoria for the December holidays you should plan a weekend or day trip to Hartbeespoort to go ride the Magaliesberg Trails. The trails were developed by Erik Schipper, who negotiated access over 30 private properties to set-up an extensive

Perfect if you’re holidaying in: Lesotho Non-riding activities: Hiking, sky running, 4x4 or motor biking, fly fishing and Abseiling Grab a post-ride bite at: Gondola Café More info: www.afriski.net Reading AfriSki you might be forgiven for thinking we’ve lost it a bit – but the lack of year round snow in the mountain kingdom (it’s the Drakensberg not the Himalayas) has encouraged the AfriSki folks to embrace mountain biking in the summer months. They’ve put in an ever expanding network of trails with the idea of turning the summer months in Lesotho into a mountain biker’s dream. There are five downhill trails and an Enduro route, plus kays and kays of district roads if you’re keen on getting some altitude training in. Best of all though is the ski-lift which takes all the hassle (read pedalling) out of getting back to the top of the runs. Could you ask for more? It’s like a mini, local, Morzine just across our border.

FS RECM Interview

Regarding MTB Sponsorship You might recognise the name RECM from the MTB Team featuring Erik and Ariane Kleinhans, Nico Bell, Lourens Luus and Cherise Stander but how much do you know about the company behind the team sponsorship? Full Sus spoke to RECM coowner and CEO, Jan van Niekerk about mountain biking, sponsorships and investing (in sport and the stock market).

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or RECM as a relatively small asset manager, the rationale behind sponsoring a mountain bike team was quite simple. It is a fantastic way of creating brand awareness with its existing and potential investor base - and yes the fact that most of the senior management are passionate about cycling did play its part in the decision.

The MTB team’s genesis story involves the conversion of Neil MacDonald and Waylon Woolcock from the road to the mountain for the 2011 season. They proved immediately successful with the pair claiming the 2011 joBerg2c title in their first MTB race! Waylon added the overall National MTB Series champion’s title to their impressive 2011. For 2012 Luke Roberts was added to the team as they expanded their scope. It was in 2013 though that Team RECM really came to prominence with Erik and Ariane Kleinhans defending their ABSA Cape Epic Mixed Category title in the RECM colours. The squad then went on to the Bridge Cape

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Pioneer double with Erik and Waylon claiming the men’s GC victory and Ariane teaming up with Danish cyclist Annika Langvad to win the ladies’ title for RECM. Like many companies involved in mountain biking, RECM identified the mountain biking community as potential clients. They track the column inches and online coverage the team generates for them – but at the end of the day the success of the sponsorship comes down to how many people respond when people hear about RECM these days. Their first comment normally is: “Are you the guys involved with the mountain

The pair claimed the 2011 joBerg2c title in their first MTB race! biking team?” Jan was quick to point out though that while the name recognition of RECM gained by the association with mountain biking is

JULIE ANN PHOTOGRAPHY

Erik Kleinhans leading a Cape Epic pace line.

NICK MUZIK/CAPE EPIC/SPORTZPICS

ZOON CRONJE | NIKON

The ever popular Cherise Stander will once again be donning the RECM kit in 2015

RECM staffers enjoying some R&R at the RECM Knysna 200.

great, it’s their investment record that really brings in the clients.

RECM is a global value-based investment manager, based in Cape Town. They look to invest in companies where the share price does not reflect the true underlying value. Most of the time, these opportunities arise because of some temporary bad news. They’ve got a fairly focused range of funds (but you can read the Financial Mail or visit their website for more information on that front.)

Back to mountain biking, RECM also sponsors the RECM Knysna 200, a 3-day stage race hosted in and around Knysna in early June each year. Where the MTB team offers mass exposure and the chance for more people to become aware of the company, the RECM Knysna 200 offers them the opportunity to interact, socialize and most importantly ride with potential RECM clients and friends of the business.

For 2015 there are a few changes afoot for Team RECM, with one notable change in personnel and the expiration of the Lange Sports contract. With Lange Sports no longer managing the team, 2014 team captain and Full Sus columnist Erik Kleinhans is set to take over the management role, in addition to remaining on the riding roster. The new rider on the squad for 2015 is an exciting signing… but you’ll have to read Erik’s column to find out who he or she is…

For would-be MTB team, or event, sponsors the lesson to

be learnt from RECM is one of consistency, clear goal setting, absolute professionalism and careful association. RECM don’t expect Erik and the team to sell unit trusts.

“Their role is to represent RECM and our co-sponsors and gain exposure in the media.” says van Niekerk.

“We have been thrilled at the professionalism of the riders. The manner in which the team riders conduct themselves on and off the bikes has helped build the RECM brand.” This, coupled with the success of the team on the bikes, mean that the only reason Jan can foresee RECM discontinuing their team sponsorship is if the team gets bought out by a higher bidder.

If you’ve got a story of how you “Followed your conviction” you can submit it to RECM’s Follow Your Conviction Competition and stand a chance to win R10 000 in unit trusts every month. Visit www.followyourconviction.com to find out more.

Jan van Niekerk is the co-owner and CEO of RECM. He served as the CIO of Citadel and the CEO of Peregrine Holdings before joining RECM in 2013, where he heads up the company’s strategic management.

Outside of the boardroom he’s a keen cyclist and endurance sport enthusiast.

Follow him on Twitter at @janvnrecm.

FS Trails

Enjoy your very own wines (…minus the Whales) Headline

The Paul CluverThandi MTB Trails are part of the PPA & W2W funded trails and are open to the public. And they are awesome; just ask any Wines2Whales finisher! Photographs and words by Jacques Marais.

Local Buzz: You may think Paul Cluver is just another Cape wine estate, with scenic views and great wines, but you’d be wrong. Not about the wines and the views, of course, but about all the other stuff that happens on this expansive estate set within the stunning Elgin Valley. This is where Tri-Active started out, making Paul Cluver arguably the first estate to buy into the concept of outdoor lifestyle supplementing wine making and sales. Add to this their stunning outdoor amphitheatre with regular music concerts and drama performances, and you certainly have a destination that covers all bases.

Trail Low-Down:

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Velocipede visitors to Paul Cluver Estate are in for a treat. The Elgin Valley boasts what locals like to call a ‘benevolent’ climate. There is

a hint of the European summer for much of the year, with little wind and most of the foulness of winter confined to July and August.

The advent of the annual Wines2Whales Stage Race has seen a complete overhaul of the mountain biking trails here, meaning the ride is now on par with that of Oak Valley, and that says a lot. Bermed ‘barrel’ bridges, sweeping single-track, river crossings and gravel roads linking all the above make for a kick-ass ride.

The best way to get to know the trails are to start (and finish) at The Amphitheatre. This is where you get your trial permit, pay for, and fix the bike board to your handle-bars. The ‘No board = No Ride’ rule is strictly enforced by the landowners, so be aware.

HERE’S A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF SOME KEY ROUTES: Short Red (8km) – Start at Amphitheatre and ride to the Skaapsteker turn off, turn right and cross over the Olifants Dam wall before returning to the start.

Blue Route (12km) – Start at the Amphitheatre and ride to the

"Bermed, barrel, bridges, sweeping single-track, river crossings and gravel roads linking all the above make for a kick-ass ride."

Skaapsteker turn off, turn right and cross the Olifants Dam wall. Turn left here to meander through the orchard hills before returning to the Amphitheatre.

Long Red (34km) – Start at the Amphitheatre and continue to Skaapsteker turn off; keep going straight along past Saaldam, Boomslang and the Switch-Backs past Thandi, and on to Huppelland.

Gordon’s Kitchen is a perfect stopover for refreshments, before taking on the Switch-Backs and Thandi Loop once again as an encore on your way back to the finish.

Black (43km) – Start of exactly as per the Long Red Route, but at the Saaldam turnoff, klap a left via Kroondam, Rietvlei, Kili Hill (yup, both #1 and #2), then Witklippieskloof, Saaldam and finally back onto the Long Red route for the crank home.

BIKE PARK SECTIONS (THREE SECTIONS): Come check it out, they all start and finish at the same spot near the Amphitheatre.

7km XC Loop – includes the likes of Ball Wall, Raka, Kransvoël, Ark, Cobra, Mamba and Skaapsteker.

In total, you will negotiate no less than 17 bridges, varying in distance from around 2m to a fabulous 40m, and ranging in height from 1m to an impressive 8m!

1km Technical Play Park – also known as the ‘Slangpark’ (or

FS

Trails

Getting there: Travelling on the N2 from Cape Town side, continue over Sir Lowry’s Pass. After Orchard Farm stall on the left and the Peregrine Farm stall on your right, you will see the KROMCO Warehouse on the left. Turn left at the sign to Paul Cluver and continue to Amphitheatre.

where are we?

The award winning Paul Cluver estate is situated off the N2 amongst the vineyard and orchards of Elgin. The area is famed for its apples in particular with every child’s favourite restaurant treat drink, Appletiser, based across the national road from Paul Cluver.

U SO

T H AF R I

CA

Snake Park, if you want the Soutie translation). This purpose-built track includes a number of unique climbs, drops and jumps, as well as a see-saw (teeter-totter) and a few hairy, horizontal tree rides.

N1

Western Cape Paul Cluver N2 ◆ wines

SUS the Paul Cluver/Thandi MTB Trail

www.mapstudio.co.za

Grading: Intermediate Duration: 1 – 3.5 hours Configuration:

Cell Reception: Good reception

Thandi loop (10km) /

Post-Ride Beer:

Paul Cluver loop (20km)

Gordon’s Kitchen or Fresh

non-PPA members R50 per day. along most of route

Start Point: Paul Cluver

Restaurant at Paul Cluver

Amphitheatre

Accommodation:

Terrain: Single-track and

Stone Mountain

gravel roads

Peak 083 4542254

Must-Do Event:

stonepeakmtb@gmail.co.za

SPUR Adventure Duo

Local Contact: Sharon

www.quantumadventures.co.za

(Paul Cluver) 021 844 0605

Access: PPA members R30,

GPS: S34° 9’31.38” E19° 0’45.44”

Jacques Marais is the South African trail guru.

If he’s not scouting a new MTB trail he’s trail running a new route in the Drakensberg.

His new book More Top MTB Trails has just hit the shelves of all good book shops and you can purchase a copy for R250. Follow him on Twitter @JacqMaraisPhoto

FS GR300

In February you have a choice of two epic three day stage races. There’s the Du Toit Tankwa Trek in mid Feb and at the end of the month there’s the Garden Route 300. The races are very different – but for many the primary draw card is the same, race training for the Cape Epic.

But what if you aren’t training for the Epic?

I

f you’re not training for the biggest race on the SA MTB calendar your riding goals in February are going to understandably be a bit different.

You don’t need to be acclimatising to long days in the saddle or the extreme heat. Yes, the Tankwa Trek offers exceptional riding in a unique area, it is bucket list stuff, but it’s a hot, hard ride.

If you’re looking for something challenging, but fun, with the creature comforts of B&B or hotel accommodation in Knysna, the singletracks of Harkerville and the spectacular coastal forests of the Garden Route National Park, then you should sus out the Garden Route 300.

Popularly known as the GR300, it’s a 270km long three day stage race which runs in a clover leaf format (apart from Stage Two which starts in Rheenedal) out of the Knysna lagoon–side race village, offering entries to solo riders and teams of two. With 6 050m of climbing in the 270km route it is no easy ride though and you’ll have to put in some proper training kays if you’re to enjoy this proper MTB experience packed with real indigenous forest singletrack riding rather than just survive it.

Stage One Stage One kicks off the 2015 race on Friday the 27th of February from the race village at Quay Four on

The Full Sus team will be lining up in the exclusively small field at Quay Four for the 2015 GR300 and with a route like that we didn’t even need to delve into the attractions of Knysna to convince ourselves that it’d be worth ramping up the training. But we’re sure that the Knysna race village will help convince the support crews (read wife and kids) to tag along… no car load of glamping accessories needed, just the Knysna tourism guide.

14

ALL PHOTOS BY JULIE ANN PHOTOGRAPHY

A GREAT Forest Riding Adventure The GR300 offers team and solo entries – ideal for chilling together or racing solo (or vice versa) The route is packed with indigenous forest singletracks.

Thesen Island. The route takes in the Scorpion and Boomslang climbs before thrilling with the Petrus se’ Brand Downhill as it makes it way towards the Harkerville Forest. Once in the forest the race follows much of the epic Harkerville Red Route with a few sharp climbs to test the legs before the Pine Cone Dodge and The Ridge downhills lead riders back into Knysna after 90km of riding and 1 950m of climbing. If you don’t quite have 90 kays in your legs there is a shorter route on offer which cuts out a significant amount of climbing too.

Stage Two Stage Two starts in Rheenendal, 24km away from the race village at Quay Four. Garden Route Events suggest you drive to the race start and make use of the shuttle back to pick up your car after the stage – but if you’re feeling super strong and keen you can add more kays to the 100km stage. If 100km with 2 400m of climbing is a bit beyond you there is the option to cut out 20km on Stage Two, meaning you miss out on the Leopard Crawl climb and some exceptionally scenic riding in the Garden Route National Park, but at 80km and 2 000m of climbing it might well be worth it if you’re more interested in having fun on the trails.

Leopard Crawl aside, the day’s trails also feature Jubilee Creek, Bush Pig Alley and the famed Phantom Pass Singletrack before crossing the lagoon and following the main road back into Knysna for the stage finish. Perfect for a sprint finish for the race snakes and an easy coast home if you’re a rider cut from a more social cloth.

"From there it's happy times down Cool Running's, Bush Pig Alley and Phantom Pass - just to give you a second chance to better your Strava segments" will attest) followed by a serious climb into the Cape Pine plantations and the 1-2-3 Jump descent towards the Hydro before the last big climb of the race up to water point two.

Stage Three For the final day’s racing, Stage Three offers the shortest route with the least climbing of the three days.

Measuring in at 80km with 1 700m of climbing the first test of the day comes on the infamous Simola Climb (it’s much easier to run down it as any Knysna Marathon runner

Sus out the GR300 at www.gardenrouteevents.co.za

From there it’s happy times down Cool Running’s, Bush Pig Alley and Phantom Pass – just to give you a second chance to better your Strava segments…

F O RMUL A 1 ME E T S M TB This is for real. Formula 1 suspension repackaged for mountain bikes. RE:aktiv suspension is Penske Racing Shocks, Trek and FOX going all in on something completely different. Something that will change your expectations of suspension and mountain bikes forever. Available on the new Fuel EX now.

Fu el E X | trekbikes.com/fuelex

D istributed by D H B Di s tri bu ti o n (P T Y ) Ltd Email: info@d hbd i s tri bu ti o n .co.za Tel : 021 2 02 27 3 0

FS Coaching

POWER TRAINING – Get the most out of your powermeter

Dr. Mike Posthumus is an accomplished academic with UCT’s Exercise Science and Sports Medicine faculty and a coach with Science 2 Sport.

He was a provincial rugby player before switching togs for cleats and taking up competitive mountain biking. He has an exceptional knowledge of training periodisation and scientific training principles. Find out more at www. sciencetosport.com

In this issue Dr Mike Posthumus briefly discusses how to get the most out of your powermeter.

I

t has become impossible to read anything about training these days without coming across the terminology: “power training”.

This is a term very loosely used to specifically describe the process of training with a powermeter. In my own personal experience, I have

FS Nutrition

Do your genes affect your weight?

Have you ever heard of Nutrigenomics?

It sounds like some kind of futuristic movie concept, but it is real and defined as the study of the interaction between nutrition and genes, writes Rochez O’Grady.

W

hy do people experience different health outcomes even though they eat pretty much the same diets and practice similar lifestyles? This is

FS Physio

You’ve got to look the part on the bike too!

And that means no takkies and always wearing a helmet!

however witnessed several coaches and athletes making some simple errors, which may results in them not making the optimal gains. I like to explain to athletes that during most interval sessions (and I say most because there are exceptions), a powermeter should not be used to simply perform each interval at a specific power output. A powermeter should mostly be used to set a target or goal for specific key workouts.

This way we are not simply ticking boxes, we are striving to improve on each specific key interval session.

Now to those readers, which have not read much about power training, I’m sure the above sounds pretty straight forward and not too controversial. The reason it may be controversial is because when we read about power training we are told, for example, that we should perform a 4 minute interval session at 110% of our FTP (for those that

do not know power training terminology, your FTP is the maximum average power you can sustain for 60 minutes).

Now what I am saying is perform your workout of 6 x 4 minute intervals at the absolute maximum you can sustain for 6 intervals. The primary goal should be to attain the highest session average (The average of each interval’s average watts). This should be the carrot at the end of the stick. It may initially be prescribed at a % of FTP, but this target, or carrot, needs to increase each session to ensure that the athlete continues to stress their system and creates a sufficient physiological perbutation, which will result in far greater results. I therefore always try and explain to athletes to not train to power, but rather train towards power.

Always strive to push your limits.

an important question that has long plagued nutrition and other healthcare experts. It’s thought that genetics affect how a person responds to dietary intake. Only recently, research in the field of nutrigenetics has shown this.

And it is especially relevant to the prevention and treatment of disease.

Did you know most people are approximately 99% genetically identical? This 1% genetic variation leads to differences of health outcomes, depending on dietary intake and other environmental factors.

A common example is when you compare two men of the same age both have a diet low in fruits and vegetables and high in salt and unhealthy fats. One develops high blood pressure and high cholesterol which leads to heart problems, while the other lives a long, disease free life.

An individual’s genetic sequence affects his or her nutrient requirements, energy utilisation, appetite and taste, as well as risk of chronic disease in response to diet. Chronic illnesses, like heart disease, diabetes and cancer, are bordering on an epidemic currently, with the numbers skyrocketing over the last 100 years. This increase has been linked to lifestyle and environmental factors though as our genes haven’t changed much over that time.

Our genes don’t necessarily control our destiny when it comes to health, but what has been a topic for research is looking in diet and lifestyle’s ability to change our genetic outcome. These have been shown to be a powerful preventative tool to avoid disease

Are you to cool for school??

Wines2whales 2014 was a great success.

But Sarah Walker did cast her fashion conscious eye over the riding field and wonder about a few things she saw.

T

he two W2W weeks were full of massage oil and tired legs, oak trees and wind, braai smoke and generators. Physio’s with tired and swollen fingers, wrists and hands but many happy riders, adventurers and racing snakes crossed the finish line in Onrus, which makes it all worth it for us! Being a part of these stage races is always fun, the banter that goes on amongst riders lying on the table and those waiting in line is magic entertainment!

16

Having not mountain biked for years, I thought I would check in and get up to date with what’s in and what’s not when it comes to gear. Look, if you can’t get over a style at least look stylish! I noticed a few riders with camelbacks.

Hmmmmm. Some have peaks on their helmets. Oh white socks, really? Baggies?? No way.

So we put it to the floor amongst the various physios, biokineticists and masseuses, but mountain biking ladies and gents please tell us please... are we wrong?

Here’s the style low down, see if you agree: Camelbacks – a big style no-no. (Ed: Sarah, sometimes style has to take a back seat for practicality.)

Peaked helmets–you need to have trail shredding skills to allow

If you are not pushing your limits, you are not training optimally. It is also important that your goal (carrot) is constantly moving to ensure that you are constantly striving to perform better than your previous session.

Simply performing session after session at the same target power will not create optimal adaptation.

Take Home Messages: • Also strive to improve from session to session. Calculate the average power you produced across all your intervals.

If you are not improving, your recovery may not be optimal. Try and increase the recovery between sessions.

• The goal of each interval session should be to attain the highest possible average power you produced across all your intervals.

• Each time you reach a goal, increase that goal by 5-10 watts the next time you do that specific interval.

development. Rather than focusing on treatment, people can improve their quality of life and longevity by following a healthy diet.

From personal experience with clients, it is clear that everyone reacts differently to healthy dietary changes. I am excited to have done an intensive course with DNAlysis, which makes me a certified practitioner who will be able to send client’s DNA to be tested. What an exciting step forward in giving us in the nutrition field a sure way of making recommendations that are even more individualised. It is as simple as brushing the inside of your cheeks with an earbud and sending it off to the lab.

Results usually take between 2-3 weeks, with an extensive report.

Got a powermeter, try this at home (or on the road): Perform the following session: Warm up 30 min zone 2 and 3: Followed by 6 x 4 minutes (zone 5 heart rate) with 2.5 minutes rest between reps. Warm down with 30 minutes in zone 2.

After the session, write down the average watts you produced for each 4-minute interval. Divide the sum of the averages by 6 to calculate your session average.

Ensure 3 days of quality rest, which includes 2 easy 90 minute recovery rides and 1 complete rest day.

After 3 days of quality rest, complete the exact same session again, this time aim to increase your session average by 10 watts.

Simply achieving this means that you have improved your performance by approximately 3%, which in cycling terms is very significant!

There are different sets of genes that can be tested. It is important to take note that we are not helpless in affecting the outcome of these genes that are tested. You will be able to make a change to the outcome of how they are expressed. You can do this through specific lifestyle and environmental changes.

DNAlysis offers four sets of tests: DNA diet, DNA health, DNA sport and DNA oestrogen.

Here is some insight around the DNA diet test: It can be determined what genetic mutations are influencing your efforts to lose weight. The results of the test tells us exactly what type of diet will be the most suitable for weight loss and explains exactly why you might

Have a great biking December, and try to be safe on the holiday trails. I also like to ease into the new year rather than work overtime patching injured mountain bikers up all January. us to let it pass. Peak cap under helmet a definite no. (Ed: you can get away with a peaked helmet, and there are very specific rules governing when you can wear a casquette – but you should never wear a baseball cap under your helmet.)

Baggies – now for this to pass you need to be a super-hot rider.

(Ed: Sarah if you mean super-hot as in skilful then I tend to agree, you need to back your baggies up with trail skills. But they are becoming increasingly common with riders who don’t like the

idea of skin tight lycra – and perhaps that’s not a bad thing style wise.)

One’sie suit (on a mountain bike yes) – a super super-hot rider otherwise forget it. (Ed: Really?

Unless it’s for charity I’d agree.)

White socks – seriously? (Ed: Dirt Roadies… tut tut tut.)

Knee warmers – can pass, better than wearing full length tights. (Ed: That’s harsh, what if it’s cold?)

Overshoes – nope, rather freeze (Ed: Again function over fashion, wet shoes for days two and three make overshoes a must in the rain on a stage race, as long as you’re

Coaching

FS

Nutrition

FS

“ I therefore always try and explain to athletes to not train to power, but rather train towards power.

Always strive to push your limits. If you are not pushing your limits, you are not training optimally. optimally.”

have struggled in the past to lose weight and keep it off. Your unique DNA plays a vital role in determining whether you will do best on one of the following three diets: Low Carbohydrate, Low Fat or Mediterranean.

According to the DNA test results, we then work out a diet plan that will work the best for your body.

DNA diet also provides you with recommendations for type, intensity, and duration of exercise sessions that will help mobilise your fat stores the best.

What exactly does the DNA diet test for? This test looks at 4 diet and lifestyle factors: • Exercise sensitivity • Risk of obesity • Carbohydrate sensitivity • Saturated fat sensitivity

not wearing them for aerodynamic purposes…)

Bar ends – no! I thought they were great personally, but apparently not cool. (Ed: Not cool at all!)

Takkies – oh my word where are you from? (Ed: No, no, no. Unless you’re in the first three months of your mountain biking career.)

Bib over your top – go home. (Ed: Seriously, Sarah you must have seen this on the Rondebosch Common.)

A physio session each day – definitely but don’t tell anyone.

(Ed: not a style issue surely but it could be bad for your race village street cred.)

And if you are over 50, all of the above can pass!

Have a great biking December, and try to be safe on the holiday trails. I also like to ease into the new year rather than work overtime patching injured mountain bikers up all January.

REFERENCES: For further reading you can visit www.dnalysis.co.za or scan the QR code to read an article on Today’s Dietician (todaysdietician.com).

Rochez O’Grady (pronounced r-OH-shay) is a registered Dietitian and runs her own practice called MunchWize.She focuses on educating and motivating her clients in practical ways to follow a healthy lifestyle and achieve personal health goals. You can find out more about MunchWize at www.munchwize.co.za or ask Rochez your nutrition related questions at rochez@munchwize.co.za.

Physio

FS

Tweet us the biggest MTB fashion faux pas you’ve witness, include pics if you can, to @FullSussa.

Sarah Walker is a is a sports physiotherapist who has been involved with treating cyclists for 15 years. She’s worked at many MTB stage races around the country and from her Cape Town practice sees many a sports person. She teaches Pilates and is a fitness trainer for tennis academy. Sarah believes that a thorough sports specific assessment followed by a well-planned exercise programme to treat the cause of the problem is the key to gtting her patients back to full health and sporting success.

Go to www.walkerphysiotherapy.co.za for more info or send your questions to sarah@walkerphysiotherapy.co.za

17

full sus FAT BIK E

FS Fat Bike Shoot Out

SHOOT OUT Fad or fabulous? Fat Bikes are the talk of the mountain biking community right now. Full Sus went on a fact finding mission and organised a Fat Bike Shoot Out and Test Day on the trails of Table Mountain – here’s what we found.

Photos by Ashlee Attwood and Jessica Nosworthy. pert to

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Fat Bike Shoot Out FS The Origin Story Fat Bikes as you should all know are designed to chew up the kays on soft surfaces like snow and sand. The original fat bike was apparently ridden across a section of the Sahara desert in 1980, but it wasn’t until 1987 with the inception of the mental sounding Iditabikerace in Alaska that they started to gain traction.

In order to complete the Iditabike riders searched for ways of making their wheels and tyres wider and initially made do with a thoroughly agricultural solution. Simon Rakower of All-Weather Sports, who offered technical support to the Iditabike, came up with the ingenious wide contact patch creating solution of welding two sets of bicycle rims together and trimming away the two now defunct inner walls of the joined rims. The tedious task of cutting and sewing two tyres together to fit the rims was left to the individual Iditabike entrants.

Thus the Snow Cat rim was born, but at 44mm wide they were more chubby bikes than today’s 80 – 100mm wide rimed fat bikes. So in 1999 Mark Gronewald abandoned the cannibalism of an existing bike and built his own true fat bike.

Making use of an extra wide bottom bracket and an offset rear hub to keep the chain running straight, and producing his own frame from double-butted chromo steel to accommodate the fat 3.7-inch wide tyres. In 2004 Bill Fleming and Jamey Stull knocked valuable kilograms off the fat bike by producing the first aluminium fat bikes under the name that would become synonymous with fat bikes: 9:Zero:7 (Alaska’s dialling code).

Then in 2005 Surly made fat bikes commonly available with the release of their Pugsley. In the nine years since, fat bikes slowly gained in popularity until they reached massive mass media appeal culminating with virtually every bike manufacturer at Euro Bike displaying a fat bike option in 2014.

Full Sus Fatties For the Full Sus Fat Bike Shoot Out we invited all the local importers of fat bikes to join us at Rhodes Memorial for a test day. With stock constraints (if you want a fat bike you could well have to order one now) being a major issue for most dealers the shoot-out was contested by the Specialized Fat Boy, it’s RockShox Bluto air sprung forked Fat Boy Pro sibling, the Trek Farley, the Mongoose Argus and Mannie Heymans’ ABSA Cape Epic finishing 9:Zero:7 Whiteout. Mannie also brought his new Whiteout along but given its stunning custom paint job and Mannie never leaving its side – we didn’t put it to the test on the trails.

Trail builder fat bike shoot-out: Bennet Nel on the Argus chasing Meurant Botha on the Fat Boy Expert.

SUS the findings

In trail riding conditions the tyre pressure is key to extracting a

suspension effect from the high volume, fat bike tyres. Riding with the tyres pumped too hard leads to a bouncy ride, but letting too much air out leads to snake bite punctures if you’re still running tubes or burping if you’ve done a tubeless conversion. Getting the pressure just right for the terrain can require mid-ride adjustments so a good high-volume pump is an essential accessory.

That being said, fat bikes are less than ideal for trail riding. They’re hard work when climbing and feel faster than they actually are (perhaps not a bad thing) descending.

They are far more fun on the terrain they were designed for: sand and snow.

Shoot Out Route

The lack of snow in SA means you’re most likely to be putting the fat bikes to use on the dunes and beaches of Mzansi. For sand riding you can let the tyre pressure down to 0.5 bar and not have to worry about rolling resistance or tyres We’d suggest you go with the lightest bike you can afford if you’re going to be riding on sand, especially if you’re planning long rides or if you’d like to ride up sand dunes (because coming down sand dunes looks like a heck of a lot of fun).

JOHAN BADENHORST

bouncing off rocky sections.

Rather than potter about on a Mother City beach we decided to push the fat bikes outside of their comfort zones and put them to the test on the trails around Rhodes Mem. The route featured a short steep technical climb, complete with lose rocks and slippery tufts of wild grass, a fun singletrack descent and a deceptively long singletrack climb along a dusty path where grip is an issue on a hard tail mountain bike.

19

FS Fat Bike Review SPECIALIZED FAT BOY EXPERT The Fat Boy Expert was the less popular of the two Specialized fat bikes on offer for the day due to its rigid fork compared to the Pro’s RockShox Bluto. The initial perception of “suspension is better” aside the Expert and the Pro offered the opportunity for an interesting side by side test. The Expert out-climbed the Pro comfortably be it down to the lower weight or the 2 x 10 gearing. But on the descent the Expert provided the impression of tremendous speed as it bounced from rock to rock. When the trail levelled out you realised that you had actually not been travelling at light-speed, but rather it was just the noise of bouncing around which provided the impression.

Specs: Rigid, fully butted M4 Premium Aluminium frame, rigid FACT carbon fork, 90mm rims, 26x4.6” tyres, and 2 x 10 drivetrain.

Price: R24 999 Website: www.specialized.com Test rider quote: “Much better on sandy climbs” – Gary Kroukamp

ON THE DESCENT THE EXPERT PROVIDED THE IMPRESSION OF TREMENDOUS SPEED SPECIALIZED FAT BOY PRO The Pro with its Bluto fork meanwhile provided a tough test on the climbs with the added front end weight making the already difficult task of precisely picking a route on the first technical climb even harder. But it came into its own on the descent. The front suspension created a bit more room for error when setting tyre pressure, meaning you could run it a bit harder – for less rolling resistance – but still be able to stay on the trail when descending rather than bouncing off like an astronaut on the moon. If you’ll be riding a fat bike on trails the Fat Boy Pro proved that

ON THE TRAILS THE FAT BOY PRO PROVED THAT SUSPENSION IS A MUST! suspension is a must. It would be interesting to ride a full suspension fat bike… tough climbing would be a nightmare.

Specs: Rigid, fully butted M4 Premium Aluminium frame, RockShox Bluto, 90mm rims, 26 x 4.6” tyres, and 1 x 11 drivetrain.

Price: R49 999 Website: www.specialized.com Test rider quote: “Felt the closest to riding a full suspension bike, I felt more confident to ride the trails” – Judy Scheepers

MONGOOSE ARGUS

At 11.5K the Mongoose Argus was the cheapest bike in the shoot-out and as with virtually every other bicycle style around one of the first things a higher price brings is a lower weight. On a fat bike the weight penalty can be crucial or negligible – depending on where you want to ride it. For cruising on the beach the Argus won’t disappoint and as Chris Akrigg showed in his tidal pool bunny hopping video “The Shore Line” the Argus can take anything you throw at it. It was the least happy of the fat bikes we tested on the trail, due to its steep head angle which made it feel exceptionally twitchy especially at slow speeds, but then we wouldn’t suggest you buy a fat bike to ride trails anyway so it’s not a massive failing.

Specs: Fully rigid alloy frame and fork, 93mm rims, 26 x 4” tyres, and 2 x 10 drivetrain.

Pricing: R11 495 Website: www.mongoose.com Test rider quote: “More tyre pressure for aggressive riding” – Bennet Nel

CRUISING ON THE BEACH THE ARGUS WON’T DISAPPOINT 9:ZERO:7 WHITEOUT Mannie’s Epic finishing machine, complete with broken break lever, was a popular choice of ride on the day. A deceptively light bike (under 11kg) fitted with R18 000 HED Carbon rims it was the top climbing bike. The low weight also made it easier to flick, if flick is the correct word for it, through the corners. The Whiteout was also the only bike that had been converted to tubeless, as you’d expect for an Epic finishing bike, so snake bike punctures weren’t an issue and under Mannie’s watchful eye the tyre pressure was a little more dialled – though to be fair it still provided a bouncy ride. If you’re going to be covering significant distances, on any terrain, light is the way to go – so being the only carbon fat bike, currently locally available, the Whiteout is the bike to choose.

Specs: Mannie’s custom build for the Epic featuring a fully rigid carbon frame and fork, 85mm HED Carbon rims, 26 x 3.8 tyres, and 1 x 11 drivetrain.

Price: from R25 500 for aluminium model and R45 000 for the carbon model.

Website: www.mbm.com.na Test rider quote: “Very light carbon frame, better climbing and more agile” – Robert Vogel.

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THE 9:ZERO:7 IS EXTREMELY LIGHT AND THE ONLY FULL CARBON FAT BIKE LOCALLY AVAILABLE

Fat Bike Review FS WITH ITS TAPERED HEAD TUBE THE FARLEY IS DESIGNED TO UPGRADE TO A FAT BIKE SUSPENSION FORK TREK FARLEY The Farley offered a more controlled feeling platform than Argus on the trails and with its 2 by 10 gearing the climbing – though not easy – was manageable.

The trick when cornering, apparently, is to really lean the bike down hard, like you would on a motorbike superbike. It takes some confidence in the ability of the tyres to hold their grip. But with aggressive knobblies extending a fair way down the sides of the tyres it’s just a matter of finding the correct tyre pressure and you’re sure to have all the grip you’ll ever need. The Farley may come standard with a rigid fork but if you’re keen on riding trails with it you should know that it’s designed with an upgrade in mind and its tapered head tube will work with a fat bike suspension fork like the RockShox Bluto.

Specs: Fully rigid aluminium frame and fork, 80mm rims, 26 x 3.8” tyres, and 2 x 10 drivetrain.

Pricing: R20 000 Website: www.trekbikes.com Test rider quote: “Cornering was not too bad!” – Swen Lauer (we should explain that that’s almost as demonstrative as you’re going to get from Swen.)

Mannie Heymans’ new baby, a custom Mr Africa detailed 9:Zero:7 Whiteout.

SUS The Test Crew Swen Lauer – The only UCI accredited MTB skills coach in SA and Full Sus’s new technical guru.

Meurant Botha – Mr AmaRider, holds a wealth of MTB trail building, riding and race organising experience.

Robert Vogel – Founder of Table Mountain Bikers and the day’s Strava King

Bennet Nel – Ace of Spades’s trail builder and trail shredder.

Karl Ebel – Home from the Alps and looking for a ski-lift (the day’s puncture king) and downhill nutter.

Gary Kroukamp – ENT specialist and super competitive rider, whenever he can sneak out of the surgery.

Judy Scheepers – 2000 Swiss Camel Trophy team member, surfer, windsurfer, skier, snowboarder and cyclist.

Full Sus would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who attended our Fat Bike Shoot Out. We hope you enjoyed the day of playing on the trails.

See you at the Trail Bike Shoot Out in 2015!

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all developed for some technical XC or DH event. These trails were almost all fairly technical and built to introduce challenges to these race routes.

The advent of fun-rides and marathons after 2000 has caused builders to focus on connectivity rather than challenge. This is obviously because the routes needed to traverse various properties to make up distance and

in many cases these connections had to be purpose built. Invariably these connections were constructed as contour trails to eliminate erratic grade reversals, as the average participant rarely enjoys steep ups and downs.

With this change of event types, the sport is now way more accessible to less technically proficient riders and organisers realised that the risk of breaknecks were simply too high, further driving this ‘taming’ of race routes. I always remind people that Knysna’s MTB race was a 42km humdinger in the early 90’s - and we trained for it! Now that distance would be considered as easy.

The bulk of new trail construction is geared to facilitate eventing and where this is not the case, trails have to be built to cater for the masses to

passed we acquired brand spanking new bottom-of-the-range Giant bicycle to cater for everyone’s needs on holiday. Nobody else really got a chance to try it out though since I would be up before dawn and on a bike heading for the hills.

The road from Klein Brak heads over the N2 highway, and if you turn right at the T-junction, carry on past a dairy farm, cross the Klein Brak River and follow the signs to Botlierskop Private Game Reserve, from there your riding options are endless.

The area was recently hit by a succession of storms which caused immense flooding and damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructures. The road has been closed for several months, following such a flood but has recently been repaired and reinstated from the tar road along the Moordkuil River

up to Botlierskop Reserve. The Eden District Municipality made a huge effort to prepare the roads in this area, following proper environmental authorisation processes and implementing preventative measures to prevent future floods damaging road infrastructures. This section of the gravel road is currently in such a good condition that you could ride a road bike up to the Reserve’s gate.

From there though, it’s a different story. The rest of the road is currently closed to normal traffic, except the occasional 4X4 enthusiast (and of course mountain bikers). It crosses the Moordkuil River and then starts winding through a valley which leads to Yellowood’s Restaurant and wedding venue. I would suggest taking a local map along

Why trails are probably less technical today than 10-15 years ago…

Recently an article called “The McDonalds of Trail Building” circulated on the web. The article bemoans the fact that singletrack is being homogenised to the point where there is a lack of variation and challenge, writes Meurant Botha.

Meurant Botha is the founder and director of AmaRider.

AmaRider is a South African non-profit company with the aim of improving MTB opportunities on the African continent. Contact them at 021 8844547 or info@amarider.co.za or visit the website at www.amarider.co.za

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guess in Europe and the States this can be an even larger problem, due to the large number of trails built with machines, but here in South Africa we’re not seeing a lot of technical trails developed either. Here are some of the reasons why I think this tendency is prevalent.

Looking at a town like Stellenbosch, I can safely say that 95% of the historic singletracks were

FS Conservation

Garden Route exploration

BY BIKE OR ELEPHANT When Jeanne-Louise Wiese was growing up her family used to visit her grandparents in Klein Brak River near Mosselbay every December holiday.

On rainy or windy (read non-beach) days the family would often go for drives in the Outeniqua Mountains, which planted the conservation seed for Full Sus’s resident conservation columnist.

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remember driving through forest covered hills, wishing I had my horse with me or was old enough to be allowed to take a bike and ride these winding roads. There was

always something new to discover and the landscape transformed from forestry plantation to wide open grasslands to dense natural forests around every turn. As the years

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Sipho Modolo, van die Songo.info projek in aksie met Erik in the W2W wedren.

Oor die algemeen word die maand van November “roomys- en bierseisoen” genoem in die bergfietskringe.

Dit, sê Erik Kleinhans, is die tydperk tussen die laaste resies van die jaar, normaalweg die Cape Pioneer Trek of die Wines2Whales, en voor al die ryers weer begin oefen vir die nuwe seisoen êrens in Desember.

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CHERIE VALE | NEWSPORT MEDIA

Roomys en bierseisoen

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s dit my gunsteling tydperk van die jaar? Dit voel altyd so! Maar as Desember sy kop begin uitsteek dan voel mens altyd reg om die malva-poeding opsy te skuif en ewe

skielik is die lang ure in die saal weer die beste ding ooit. Dan kom ons eerste wedren van die nuwe seisoen, Attakwas, en dan klop die hart weer hard vir ’n bietjie resies jaag! So het

alles sy tyd, maar vir November glimlag ons breed vir roomys en bier.

Sommige fietsryers vergeet van hulle fietse in hierdie tyd en los hulle om stof te vergader, terwyl ek in die groep val wat nooit regtig my fiets kan uitlos nie. Inteendeel geniet ek amper my fietsry in die af-seisoen meer met geen druk om my watts dop te hou teen Franschhoek-pas nie, gaan maak ek amper elke dag ’n draai by een van my geliefde Stellenboschroetes, G-Spot en Jonkershoek.

Natuurlik is ’n bietjie afwisseling ook altyd op die tafel met ’n drafstap uit teen Lions Head in die Moederstad of ’n fiets-nagrit wat ons gereeld vermaak.

Resies jaag is glad nie hoog op die agenda in November nie, maar te danke aan Stillwater Sports het ons twee wonderlike bergfietswedrenne wat gemaak is

ensure economically sustainable traffic volumes.

The cost of developing technical trails is high and the expected traffic volumes are low. We recently developed around 15-17km of trails in the Stellenbosch area and our first aim was to make the terrain accessible using a network of contour trails that are cut wide and are non-technical.

This allows the venue to be accessible to the widest market as well as making it usable for general events. Events bring budget and budget builds trails. While we might dream of a high-tech trail network, we’ll have to develop these options as second or third phases in this project.

In the old days we built trails because they’d be fun to ride and improve our local riding spots. But 10 years ago was the good old days – before recessions, fuel price spikes and the major invasive time gobbler

in the form of the internet and the plethora of distractions that were initially designed to make our lives easier. Everybody is busier.

The recession caused society to re-think where money gets spent and on what, and everything, across the board, has gotten dramatically more expensive labour, tools, time.

In the trail building environment there is the added component of the development of trail building as an industry, adding credibility and generating trail professionals.

Couple this professionalization of the industry with the increased costs of everything, and it is no surprise that trail building has become 70-100% more expensive when compared to 2005.

Certain popular venues have invested in trail infrastructure with the primary reason being to host commercial events.

Events bring in decent foot (and tyre) traffic, allowing peripheral business opportunities to flourish, creates good public relations opportunities, and most importantly brings in the revenue needed to sustain the trail system.

But it is not all doom and gloom for those who enjoy the tech stuff.

Thankfully Enduro has come along and I foresee a change in trail design where routes will be developed to cater for this niche.

Instead of gradual grades, Enduro riders don’t mind the steep ups to get to proper descents.

Where in the past we avoided

AmaRider

erratic grade reversals, these riders accept this type of elevation profile to be the norm. But again, it is a potential economy that drives trail development, pointing back to the fact that the type of trails we ride will almost always be driven by supply and demand.

Read the McDonalds of Trail Building article on www.singletracks. com by scanning this QR code.

“I always remind people that Knysna’s MTB race was a 42km humdinger in the early 90’s - and we trained for it!”

The flood damaged road to the Botlierskop Reserve has now been immaculately repaired. reserve, amongst others.

The area is protected and conservation efforts have resulted in large scale game reserves, conservancies and protected area expansion strategies being established throughout the Garden Route. It’s also blessed with vast and diverse botanical communities including coastal fynbos, mountain fynbos, renosterveld and woodlands,

“Inteendeel geniet ek amper my fietsry in die af-seisoen meer met geen druk om my watts dop te hou teen Franschhoek-pas nie.” vir pret en plesier. Hulle resep vir die Wines2Whales en Origin of Trails aan die einde van die jaar is perfek met die roetes gebou rondom enkelspoorpaadjies en goeie vermaak en kos aan die einde van die dag is amper meer belangrik! Ek moes wel my spiere bietjie rek tydens die W2W met my spanmaat, Sipho Modolo, van die Songo.info projek, wat die pas gedruk het elke nou en dan!

Dit is wel nie net alles speletjies nie, want vir die 2015 seisoen het ek bietjie meer verantwoordelikheid op my

skouers met betrekking tot ons RECM-fietsryspan en dit kos so bietjie organisering van my kant af.

Ek het dit al vantevore gedoen, en geniet die ekstra uitdaging, maar dit is verbasend hoe baie organisering in die uitvoer van so ’n projek ingaan.

RECM Unit Trusts stap die toekoms nog steeds saam met ons. Dit is ’n fantastiese besigheid met goeie, sout van die aarde mense wat natuurlik almal ook gek is oor fietsry en sport!

USN vervul nog steeds ’n groot rol met Westvaal wat bykom as ons grootste vennote. Daar is natuurlik nog ’n klomp ander wat almal saamspan om

JEANNE-LOUISE WIESE

Conservation

since the gravel roads in this area tend to twist and turn and head off in different directions. For the adventurers out there you can be assured that you will not get lost, eventually you will either end up in Great Brak River, George or Mosselbay. Along the way you can visit the Jonkersberg State Forest, Doringrivier Wilderness Area or the Ruitersbos Nature

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which creates ideal habitats for a rich diversity of bird species. Plant species include proteas, ericas, restios and gephytes that cover this mountain catchment area and contribute to the supply of clean water to the region.

San rock art can also be seen here, although sandstone is not the best substrate for rock art. In the Botlierskop Reserve there are paintings of over 2000 years old,

preserved on the rock face. Next time you are in the area, head out to Botlierskop and choose your mode of transport... be it trail shoes, mountain bike, a game viewing vehicle or one of the friendly elephants in the reserve and take a closer look. Personally I would opt for the bike…

Jeanne-Louise Wiese is a Senior Environmental Practitioner for engineering, management and specialist technical services giant Aurecon. As an avid MTBer she has the good fortune of consulting on the Provincial Department of Transport to upgrade and maintenance programme for gravel roads, so she gets to visit secluded areas and take her bike along.

Kleinhans Muesli

die jaar ’n sukses te maak.

Vir die 2015 seisoen verander daar nie te veel aan ons span nie. Saam met my is daar natuurlik vroulief Ariane, Nico Bell, Cherise Stander en een nuwe gesig, SA Nasionale Marathonkampioen, James Reid.

Lourens Luus verlaat ons span en vorm saam met Adriaan Louw iets nuut waar die twee van hulle kan saamspan in skofwedrenne.

Terwyl ons span dominerend op Marathonwedrenne gefokus het die vorige jare met marathonsterre soos Ariane en Nico, het ons vir Cherise wat groot padwedrenne soos die Kaapstad Fietstoer kan verower en nou ook vir James wat nog steeds op die korter, vinniger XCO wedrenne gaan fokus. Hy het redelik vrye teuels deur die jaar om UCI punte in te samel wat broodnodig is vir Olimpiese keuring. Natuurlik is dit ook goed vir ons span om die minder gewilde aspek van fietsry in SA te

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ondersteun. Maar vir nou begroet ons eers die bier- en wynseisoen!

Want in Desember skop ons die eerste lang ure in die saal af!

Scan this QR code to read the article in English on www.fullsus.co.za

RECM se Erik Kleinhans is een van SuidAfrika se gewildste bergfietsjaers.

Hy het sy vrou, Ariane, diep in die Kammanassieberge op die 2010 Cape Pioneer Trek ontmoet. Volg hom op Twitter by @erikkleinhans.

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ALL PHOTOS BY CHERIE VALE | NEWSPORT MEDIA

FS Ride Report Wine2Whales

WINE2WHALES

– firmly on the bucket list!

The South African MTB scene is dominated by multi-stage events and there are just so many to choose from. They all offer something unique, cover the most challenging and beautiful terrain possible and offer an exceptional experience – well that’s what the brochure would have us believe, writes Shayne Dowling.

where are we?

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The FNB Wines2Whales takes in some of the Western Cape’s best MTB trails as it crosses the Hottentots Holland Mountains from the Lourensford Wine Estate, in Somerset West, to Onrus near Hermanus. Entries for the 2015 W2W events open on 16 February 2015.

Cape Town

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A F R I CA Northern Cape

Western Cape

◆Lourensford ◆Onrus River

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ut putting the brochure together is the easy part, and while all events have great intentions, executing and putting all the pieces together to make the magic the brochures promised work, is another story. Putting together an event is damn hard work, it requires dedication, passion, skill, knowledge and buy-in from all involved. Most importantly when the event happens the participants don’t want to see the “wires” – they want everything the brochure promised and more! When all the pieces do come together the result is MTB magic! There are a handful of these top class performers and without a doubt W2W is one of them.

From the minute you enter the opulent Lourensford wine estate to register (yip even registration is an event!) you realise you are in a different league. No matter what W2W event you choose to take part in, from the Adventure to the

Race you are treated equally. It’s not unusual to be picking up your coveted W2W jacket and goodies alongside elite riders and celebs.

Everyone is chilled and chatting up a storm about the excitement of crossing Hottentots Holland Mountains and riding their bikes on some of the country’s best singletracks all the way to Hermanus.

It’s just brilliant.

JK (Johan Kriegler and I’m not trying to be familiar here but that’s how everyone, including all the riders know him) and the Stillwater team knock it out the park at W2W offering every rider a spectacular journey – it’s tough but not overly so; it’s technical but manageable; it’s beautiful and then some! JK and his team of trail builders know this area like the back of their hands and are busy all year round, improving and building – not only better trails but also the relationships with the farmers, parks boards and the local communities.

This is not just lip service but real and very apparent.

There is a buzz in the Elgin Valley when its W2W time. While I am telling you that there is nothing quite as satisfying as reaching the top of Gantouw Pass, which is a compulsory portage nearly 3kms long that takes you over the top of the Hottentots Holland Mountains – except maybe… looking back over the entire False Bay with Table Mountain in the distance. Racing down the seemingly

(Left) Bonginkosi Mthethwa looking good leading his bunch on the midweek W2W Ride Despite a tough day at the office, Elzette Henn (Above) is a champion as she crosses the finish line!

endless singletracks on the other side. Tackling the Paul Cluver bike park, Pofadder and all the amazing bridges of day two. The surprise bike park constructed amongst the fruit crate skyscrapers at the Kromco Apple Factory. Making the switchbacks above Houw Hoek Inn. Screaming for the hell of it while hurtling down the old Houw Hoek Pass to Bot River. The joy of seeing the final water table at Hamilton Russell (knowing you are about to tackle the little “beatch” that is the “white road” up to the lookout overlooking Walker Bay and the beautiful town of Hermanus).Or the relief and euphoria of hitting the wine pallets and flying over the Peri scaffolding bridge on Onrus beach just before the finish. All of these amazing scenes are equally met by the amazing organisation and hospitality of W2W. W2W is slick, it boasts one of, if not the best race villages. Yes there are tents, but then there are also luxury tents. Yes there is a huge decked out dinner and presentation marquee, but then there are also chill rooms; VIP lounges; sponsor specific venues; a beer tent; coffee vendors; bike manufacturer and gear displays; a myriad of brand specific workshops and a smaller village with its own eatery offering personalised bike services and massages. It is it’s a mountain biking fiesta.

It’s absolutely no wonder that the three events are sold out in days. It’s a three day experience that inevitably has you cursing, cramping, swearing at some stage, but I promise it also will have you exhilarated, smiling, laughing and celebrating on every stage! If W2W isn’t on you bucket list put it on now!

JK and the Stillwater team knock it out the park at W2W offering every rider a spectacular journey.

Conrad Moolman stoked to reach the top with a little help from his Wise Guy partner Heinrich Grobbelaar and fellow competitor Nicolaas Van der Merwe.

Ride Report Wine2Whales

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W2W Power Nutrition My riding partner Richard Pieterse and I took five hours off our time from last year. This was undoubtedly as a result of more training and favourable weather conditions, and also what we used to sustain ourselves with on the bikes. PowerBar supplied us with a detailed run-down of their products while we were training and we used them as advised during the race. They proved tasty, easy to use and digest as well as effective. We are not in any way race snakes, we spend a lot of time on the bike and so our gas tanks certainly require filling up to sustain us on our marathon rides. We were certainly impressed with what we got out of our PowerBar products.

WHAT we used:

◆ IsoMax Sports Drink – before and during the ride. ◆ Protein Plus – post ride. ◆ Energize Bar –

Richard and I at the top of Gantouw Pass compulsory portage. A reason on its own to do W2W!

during the ride . ◆ PowerGel Hydro Max as our energy backup.

NOW IN SOUTH AFRICA

For more information contact sales@uniortools.co.za

www.uniortools.co.za

Eastern Cape Racing When you conquer a tough challenge and it leaves you with a sense of achievement, that’s when you know you’ve grown. For Anriette Schoeman that challenge was the 2014 PE<<Plett…

Day Two Day Two took us from Kareedouw cutting through three games farms across the beautiful Suurveld before winding across the Kouga Mountains

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Eastern Cape

Western Cape N2

The ladies champs Jennie Stenerhag and Robyn de Groot on their way to victory.

Day One With both of us being competitive by nature we were a bit nervous on the start line of Day One, which started at the magnificent venue of Kurland just outside Plettenberg Bay. The start was fast and furious and took us through the most spectacular vegetation the Garden Route has to offer. But we didn’t have much time to soak in the scenery, it was strictly business. The route then took us through Nature’s Valley with some adventurous singletrack and significantly less portage than the 2013 edition. Being proper roadies we knew we had to make up as much as possible time on the gravel road and not take too many risks on the singletrack. With a total ascent of 2400m it was a tough day out for everyone. We had made up some solid time on the mixed pair of Coach One, before we had our first mechanical incident when Roger’s cleat came loose and got stuck in his pedal. When we eventually got it out the one screw was missing, so unclipping was not an option for Roger for the rest of the day. Needless to say I saw some spectacular wipe-outs from Roger on the singletrack which followed and we were both pretty grateful when the last 10kms to the finish were mostly on tar road even though it was uphill. We managed to finish the day in the lead, but it was a huge effort to reach the first overnight stop at “Die Stoor” in Kareedouw.

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Port Elizabeth

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Plettenberg Bay

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ALL PHOTOS BY MIKE HOLMES

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was given the amazing opportunity by Red Cherry to race with equally novice, roadie turned mountain biker, Roger Pheiffer and once we accepted the challenge we decided to push for the podium, if not stand on the top step, at the end of the four days of racing.

Anriette Schoeman cresting a style and heading for the singletrack.

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Rewarding and Challenging

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FS Ride Report PE<<Plett

Joel Stransky and Philip Vermeulen racing the Cabinet Designers team for bragging rights.

"It was made extra special by the fact that no one has ever ridden these trails before on a mountain bike." into the Hankey area. It was made extra special by the fact that no one has ever ridden these trails before on a mountain bike, but it also made it extremely tough for those of us without duel suspension. Although the stage was only 91kms with 1890m of elevation the terrain made it one of the most brutal days I’ve ever experienced on a bike. We ended the day with some adventurous singletrack riding downhill into Hankey and finished at Hankey School for our next overnight stay.

Day Three Day Three was made tough by the fact that although the stage was only 73kms in length it had the most

climbing for the shortest distance and on weary legs it was character testing. We were once again spoiled with some magnificent riding through the Longmore Forests which was amazing for me as I live so close and I’ve never had the opportunity to explore this mountain biking heaven. The riding was slightly more technical but always doable, even for someone with only basic skills, like myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of the singletrack which led to our last overnight stay at Woodridge School with a fantastic vibe and great facilities! The friendly staff and kids went out of their way to make our stay a memorable one!

The IsuzuTrucks PE<<Plett route runs between Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape, and Plettenberg Bay, in the Western Cape. Each year it alternates in direction, with the 2014 race being the ‘up’ ride from Plett to PE. Next year the route switches direction, but that doesn’t mean the race will be any easier…

Final Stage Our journey was coming to an end with our last stage from Woodridge School to the Port Elizabeth beachfront where the spectacular finish at the Boardwalk Casino and Hotel Complex awaited us. But first we had one last challenge, climbing the notorious Huff Puff Hill before running alongside the coast past Maitlands and Seaview followed by the fynbos trail through Baakens Valley towards the finish. The stage was only 67km but the total ascent was still a sting in the tail at 1 410m, after three hard days of racing.

It was an incredibly tough, challenging but rewarding four day journey taking us through the most spectacular and sometimes even unexplored areas that the Garden Route and the Eastern Cape has to offer. It left me with a sense of satisfaction and achievement to say I conquered “the Tough one” from both sides and managed to finish on the top step of the podium with my incredibly patient partner, Roger, in the colours of Red Cherry and Africa Silks. I’d like to also give a huge shout out to Isuzu Trucks for coming on board in such a bold way to support such a magnificent Eastern Cape event and Red Cherry for giving MTB’ers magic memories and lots to talk about!

A pro roadie by trade Anriette Schoeman has been putting more and more time in on her mountain bike recently, following her PE<<Plett success with a 3rd place in the Wines2Whales Race with Yolandi Du Toit for Africa Silks Garmin. Follow her on Twitter at @Anriettes.

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STRAVA PSYCHOSIS

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V A R T S

If you are a Mountain Biker and you haven’t heard of Strava, what rock have you been stuck under? It’s long been the Full Sus view that Strava makes you a better rider, but a worse human being. But what do the Stirling’s have to say on the matter?

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known for claiming that their times are actually faster than the KOM but because their ride is being kept private, their phenomenal time does not show up on the leader board.

And in a similar vein there is the Name Faker. In order to protect their anonymity, some Strava users select fake names to throw the authorities off their trail. But it does make it damn hard for their actual friends to find and follow them. And then when they try to follow you, you wonder who the hell Massimo Corleoni is… stalker!

There is the Constant Congratulator. This is the rider in your circle that gives you Kudos for almost every ride you do. I can’t make up my mind which is worse – the Facebook “Like” or the Strava “Kudos” – actually they’re both terrible because they both prompt an irritating email you have to delete.

And of course there is the Friendly Follower. This is the rider that tries to follow everyone, even if they have only ever ridden with you once. It is pretty flattering to have strangers wanting to follow you, but it is also pretty creepy.

"You are only allowed a quantity of beers, after a ride, equal to or less than the number of Strava trophies you earned."

There is the Immediate Uploader.

This is the guy who is glued to his phone straight after the ride making sure everything is uploaded and checking how many cups and medals he has earned. This is also the guy who is most likely to leave some gear behind in the car park.

And don’t forget the Undercover Brother. This is the guy who claims he only uses Strava to track his ride statistics but isn’t interested in the competitive segment time comparisons, PR’s, cups and leader boards. The truth is that behind closed doors, this guy is seething that his best mate is 5 seconds faster than him on his favourite bit of singletrack, lying awake at night envisaging “where does he find those extra 5 seconds!?”.

We have all been the Tantrum Thrower. This is simply when you forgot to switch on Strava (even

phone application since the torch app, and if you haven’t downloaded it yet, what the hell are you waiting for?

Strava is a great tool for everyone to set some goals (both up and down hills), compete with others, challenge yourself, compare your skills, and follow your mates, plus the fact that you also get to statistically track all your riding is a nice bonus.

And always remember the first rule of Strava: You are only allowed a quantity of beers, after a ride, equal to or less than the number of Strava trophies you earned during the ride.

WWW.MTBR.COM

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riefly, Strava is a free mobile phone app that tracks your rides via GPS (or you can upload to Stava.com using your Garmin/Suunto/Bryton device).

But wait, there is more. Not only do you get your ride time, distance, map, elevation gain and elevation graph, but Strava throws in some competitive spirit by giving you your position against other riders (and your friends) on user created segments for both uphill and downhill tracks on all your favourite trails.

What started as an easy and cheap way of tracking all your rides has become bigger than any other rider tech that has come before it – all because of our naturally competitive spirit. Mountain biking is essentially a solo sport and like golf or running, there is no team to rely on, disappoint or celebrate with. It is you and the bike. Measuring your skill, speed, fitness and fortitude used to be a matter of entering a couple of races and seeing how well you could do. But now, with Strava, every ride is a competition. Every ride gives you results, cups, and medals and hopefully (every now and then) some KOM/QOMs. And this Strava Psychosis brings out some funny quirks in your group of riding friends. I have been on Strava for a couple of years and have noted a number of Strava Stereotypes that exist in all riding circles.

There is the KOM/QOM Hunter.

Their mission is to get as many ‘King of the Mountain’ titles as possible. They study the start and finish of segments before the ride to get their timing spot-on. They ride on their own not inviting anyone else and they shout “STRAVA!!” at unsuspecting riders, runners, walkers and wildlife.

Then there is the Privateer. They are the paranoid few that fear the authorities are using Strava to find and prosecute riders who ride the illegal tracks, so they keep all their rides private. They are also well-

if you are late), or it switches off unexplainably during the ride without you noticing, or your phone battery dies, or it crashes when you try to save and upload. All of the above will truly test your patience, and not smashing your phone against the nearest rock takes serious willpower.

And last but not least, is the Phoney Phone Protester. This is the guy that blames his poor segment times on his inaccurate iPhone 4s, which according to various forums he has read, definitely adds time to Strava runs. And then he’ll attribute all your leader board times to your overly generous HTC Android, and not to the fact that you clearly pulled away from him on the segment.

Strange though how accurate his phone was when he did set a good time that made it onto a leader board.

Whichever Strava’er you are, you’ll agree that Strava is the best cell

Tweet us at @FullSussa and let us know what type of #StravaPsychosis you suffer from.

The Stirling Revolution column is penned by the father and son, LBS owning, pair of Stirling “Senior” and Stirling James (SJ) “Junior” Kotze. With years of industry insider knowledge they’re your, and our, link to the retail side of the bicycle trade – and while they might upset the odd sensitive reader their insights prove invaluable time and time again.

MAKE YOUR BIKE

UNTOUCHABLE TO THIEVES

STEP1: REGISTER ON THE SA C YC L E R E G I S T E R www.cycleregister.co.za

Load bicycle details, change ownership, flag bicycle as stolen and view your service history. It’s Free!

STEP2: APPLY THOUSANDS OF UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS, MAKING YOUR BIKE TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

Theft Deterrent & Recovery System

STAND A CHANCE TO WIN A THULE BIKE RACK

Like the SA Cycle Register Facebook page and post the word ‘Register’ plus the name of your favourite bike race on our Facebook page. www.facebook.com/sacycleregister

0861 1000 10 | info@datadot.co.za | www.datadot.co.za

GEAR Christmas Gift Ideas

Here’s how it works… are you worried about getting terrible gifts this Christmas? Worry no more, leave Full Sus lying open on this page on the coffee table with your favourite MTB inspired gift circled and hope that your family members are intuitive enough to pick up what you’re putting down. If subtlety doesn’t work just show them what you want and say: “This is cool, and it’d make a good Christmas present.”

Garmin Edge 1000

Kit yourself out with the ultimate cycling data gathering machine, the Garmin Edge 1000. It does everything, including syncing with your phone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi so you can read your text messages on the bike and upload your activities immediately to Garmin Connect. It can also sync with all ANT+ enabled devices, so you’ll be able to read your power meter data or connect to your Shimano Di2 electronic shifting system.

The Edge 1000 features a 3-inch high resolution colour touch-screen, which automatically adjusts to changing light conditions so you can always see what’s going on. It also features GPS navigation either from maps and routes which come loaded on the device, via routes you upload yourself or from routes you create on the Edge 1000 before your ride. For more info go to www.garmin.co.za, or to purchase the Garmin Edge 1000 bundle, including a premium heart rate monitor and Garmin’s speed and cadence sensor, drop by your nearest Sportsmans Warehouse store.

RRP R10 000.

USN Enduro

Part of USN’s new Pure Fit range of products with no artificial colourants, flavourants or sweeteners and no preservatives, the Enduro sports drink has been scientifically formulated to provide athletes with a light, refreshing and functional pre- and during exercise drink. It’s designed to see to your hydration and energy needs by supplying threestage Glycomatrix carbohydrates. The serving suggestion recommends that you consume 200ml every 30 minutes during a ride of 90 minutes or longer. The Enduro is great for training and then when you need to amp it up for racing you can switch to the USN Ultra-Premium Epic Pro drink. The 1kg tub is available in three subtle flavours: Light Strawberry, Light Tangerine and an Unflavoured option. To find out more about the Pure Fit range visit www.usn.co.za.

Specialized Comp Duffel Bag

Look the part in transit this holiday with a Specialized Comp Duffel bag. Even without your bike in tow you’ll look like a cyclist. It’ll allow you to pack all the riding gear and casual wear you’ll need for your vacation into its impressive 30cm x 35cm x 71cm storage hold. The bag is constructed from a heavy, durable nylon fabric, which is coated for water resistance and includes a detachable padded shoulder strap. It also features two zippered side compartments to keep things like shoes or toiletries separate and a dirty/wet clothes stuff bag to ensure your clean kit doesn’t end up smelling like you’ve just ridden a 60km training ride in the mid-December sun in it.

For more information and a guide of where to find the Comp Duffel Bag visit www.specialized.com.

At Extreme LightsTM , we love outdoor living and know that time is valuable. Like you we like to get out more, whether it’s early in the morning or long after sunset. Extreme LightsTM makes sure you have access to the most reliable cycling lights at affordable prices. With a dedicated team ensuring all our customers are happy and receive excellent after-sales support, we endeavor to provide you with a solution within 48hrs of any comebacks or queries. All of our products, including our batteries, come with a full 12 month warranty.

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Escape the summer heat and enjoy the cool of night!

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Extreme 1200 900 lumens, 4hr run time and a head mount strap this verstile light gets the job done.

CONTACT US: Resellers are welcome to sign up! www.facebook.com/Extremelights www.twitter/ExtremeLightsZA +27 21 886 5479 info@extremelights.co.za

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STOCKED IN ONLY THE BEST LOCAL BIKE SHOPS OR VISIT OUR EFFECTIVE ONLINE STORE.

Giant Control Tower 2 Floor Pump

Take the endless hassle out of pumping up your tyres, as they leak air in transit through worn tubeless valves or worse because of punctures picked up exploring new trails, with a Giant Control Tower 2 Floor Pump. If you need to generate the air pressure needed to seal a tubeless tyre and don’t want to bankrupt yourself by using a CO2 bomb every time or hassle with going down to the local petrol station to use their compressor, then a good floor pump should do the trick (some tyres are tricky buggers though and won’t seal that easily – if you’re running a set like that, sorry for you…). Back to the Giant Control Tower 2 though, it can pump up to 120 psi, includes a precision pressure gauge and an auto-head adjustment to suit different valve types, including Presta valves and Schrader valves.

0cm Go to www.giant-bicycles.com for on more on the Control Tower pumps.

RRP 480.

Crank Brothers Candy

Gear

FS

Glam up your bike with a set of Crank Brothers Candy pedals, available in a bunch of colours to best match your bike. Featuring the epic Crank Brothers’ four entry point system as seen on the iconic Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals and stamped steel wings. The Candy pedals also feature a 21 day money back trial period, so if you’re not happy with them you can simply take them back and your money will be refunded, no questions asked – well as long as you bought them before the 31st of December that’s it, but what type of Christmas present would they be if you got them after Christmas anyway? To check out the colours and for more on the Crank Brothers products visit www.crankbrothers.com. RRP R900.

Pedro’s Mini Pit Kit

Get yourself the essential bicycle maintenance tool kit from Pedro’s tools. It’s the ideal go to all-in-one product for keeping your bike clean, adjusted and running properly.

With everything kept in a bucket, which doubles as a bike wash bucket (as all buckets can do), you’ll never misplace a thing. The Mini Pit Kit features a logo bag for separate storage of dry and wet items, a frame and wheel brush, a toothbrush (ideal for cogs, derailleurs, and chainrings), a large durable sponge, a microfiber towel for drying and polishing, 2 tyre levers, a folding mini-tool (2.5, 3, 4, 5 and 6mm hex wrenches, plus flat-blade and Philips screwdrivers) and a Pedro’s “bike care and cleaning guide”. It’s perfect to take with you on holiday so you can keep your bike running smoothly while it’s far away from the helping hands of your local bike shop.

Visit www.cycleman.co.za for more info or purchase it online from www.bikegoodies.co.za. RRP R590.

BY Electrically assisted Go anywhere No sweat Huge fun Commute Up to 90km per charge

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Ideal commuter bike.

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Rob Vogel

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FS Comp

in

w

Win a Junglenow Hamper

Live your love of cycling this summer in a Junglenow, urban wear for cyclists t-shirt. All you have to do is tell us where your favourite place to ride was this festive season to stand a chance to win two awesome Junglenow T’s.

THE PRIZE:

Win one of five Junglenow, urban wear for cyclists hampers, each containing two riding inspired t-shirts.

Junglenow is an exciting new clothing brand, producing the kind of core cycling inspired casual wear you’ve come to expect from other lifestyle sports like surfing or the snow sports. Their designs strive to capture the emotions evoked by riding, be it agony or ecstasy and call upon you to “Pedal Harder” or boost for the sky.

The t-shirts are made from 100% high thread count cotton, making them both comfortable and durable. Check out the website at www.junglenow.com or follow them on Twitter at @junglenowAfrica to check out all their designs.

And remember to keep an eye out for their t-shirts and hoodies in your local bike shop.

HOW TO WIN: Send us an email to comp@fullsus.co.za, by no later than 20 January 2015, with the subject line: My favourite holiday trail destination. In the body of your email, tell us where you enjoyed the mountain bike trails the most this festive season, include your day time contact number, your ID number, an address where we can courier your prize to and most importantly, your t-shirt size.

and out your t e G e on or tive expl this fes bike eason! s

Oakpics is a Strand based photographic company.

They shoot a vast array of events, covering everything from wild horses to weddings. But it’s in MTB that they’ve carved out a niche as one of the leaders in the field. If you spot them on the trails, usually when you’re picking yourself up after an unexpected brush with the ground, you can purchase the photos directly from their website.

Or book them to shoot your event. Call them on 021 854 8723 or visit www.oakpics.com.

32

If you need holiday trail destination inspiration read this issue’s main feature.

And visit www.junglenow.com for t-shirt sizing information. Good luck!

FS

photo of the month

January:

5 1 0 NG

2RAINAIMME T

GR O R P

Here’s your 2015 stage race calendar, pull it out, stick it up and makes notes. Good luck for all your 2015 riding goals, from the Full Sus team!

What to Do: Pull out the page, mark the races you’re doing this year, fill in your training schedule and stick it up on the wall. Then you can tick off your achievements as the year progresses or add your single day events to keep track of your year of riding.

With no stage races, January is the month for base miles for the busy month of February. If you need a race to sharpen your skills consider the Fairview Attakwas Extreme Challenge (17 Jan), the first leg of the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series (31 Jan), or the Barberton XCM (also 31 Jan).

2015 Stage Race Calendar

February: 6 – 8: Skyride (www.skyrider.co.za) 7 – 8: Lighthouse To Lighthouse (www.discovercapeagulhas.co.za) 13 – 15: Du Toit Tankwa Trek (www.tankwatrek.co.za) 27 Feb – 1 March: Garden Route 300 (www.gardenrouteevents.co.za) 8 – 14: TransCape MTB (www.transcapemtb.co.za) 20 – 22: The Trans Outeniqua MTB (www.trisport.co.za)

February:

The Dietician Says: Keep it natural whenever you can. Eat and hydrate smart, before, during and after a ride. Try to stick to ‘real foods’ to reduce food boredom on longer rides and drink a 500ml bottle of sports drink every hour on a three hour plus ride.

Nutrition: Scan the QR code to access the archives or visit www.fullsus. co.za and click on the Regulars dropdown menu.

Coaching: Scan the QR code to access the archives or visit www.fullsus.co.za and click on the Regulars dropdown menu.

Help with Race Choices: Full Sus has an extensive list of Ride Reports on www.fullsus.co.za. If you’re not sure if you should be entering a race or not give the report on the 2014 race a read.

Ride Reports: Either scan the QR code or visit www.fullsus.co.za and click on the Reviews dropdown menu.

With no major stage races in SA in July it’s a great time to take a mid-season break, or work on your technical riding skills.

Take a trip, visit a trail Jacques Marais has featured in his Trail Column and reassess your riding goals for the rest of 2015. Or hop aboard a flight for Kenya and do the Laikipia XC. 7 – 12: Laikipia XC (Kenya) (www.laikipiaxc.com)

July

August: 8 – 9: Potberg & De Hoop MTB (www.gardenrouteevents.co.za) 8 – 10: Storms River Traverse (www.stormsrivertraverse.co.za) 13 – 18: Nedbank Tour de Tuli (www.childreninthewilderness.com) 22 – 28: Altech Autopage Jozi2Kozi (www.jozi2kozi.co.za) 30 – 31: Greyton MTB Tour (www.mtb-adventures.co.za)

March: 19 – 22: 3 Mountains Challenge (www.3mountains.co.za) 23 – 30: ABSA Cape Epic (www.cape-epic.com)

March:

September: 3 – 6: PE>>Plett (www.peplett.co.za) 9 – 13: Momentum Pondo Pedal Adventure (www.pondopedal.com) 11 – 13: Ride2Nowhere (www.ride2nowhere.co.za) 17 – 19: Dr Evil Classic (www.drevilclassic.com) TBC: Resolution Ride the Rhino (www.renosterveldmtb.co.za)

April:

September:

17 - 19: 36One Challenge (www.the36one.com) 24 April – 2 May: Old Mutual joBerg2c (www.joberg2c.co.za) 26 - 27: 7 Passes (www.gardenrouteevents.co.za)

April:

October:

Refresh Your Memory: The Coaching and Nutrition Columns are archived online at www.fullsus.co.za.

FS

August:

The Coach Says: Periodise your training by dividing your training time into a base phase, intermediate intensity phase, high intensity phase and a tapering phase. Train smart by setting heart rate training zones and then polarising your training.

July:

May: 2 – 3: Houw Hoek Tour (www.mtb-adventures.co.za) 12 - 14: Sani2c Trail (www.sani2c.co.za) 13 - 15: Sani2c Adventure (www.sani2c.co.za) 14 - 16: Sani2c Race (www.sani2c.co.za) 24 – 29: Windhoek Namib Quest (www.africanextremepromotions.com)

2 – 4: ISUZU 3 Towers (www.3towers.co.za) 9 – 11: Berg & Bush Descent (www.bergandbush.co.za) 13 – 15: Berg & Bush Great Trek (www.bergandbush.co.za) 17 – 18: Berg & Bush 2 Day (www.bergandbush.co.za) 18 – 24: Bridge Cape Pioneer Trek (www.capepioneer.co.za) 30 Oct – 1 Nov: Wines2Whales Adventure (www.wines2whales.co.za)

October:

May:

November: 2 – 4: Wines2Whales Ride (www.wines2whales.co.za) 6 – 8: Wines2Whales Race (www.wines2whales.co.za) 14 – 15: To Hell and Back (www.tohellandback.co.za) 27 - 28: Pennypinchers Origin of Trails (www.originoftrails.co.za)

June: 3 – 7: Grindrod Bank Pondo Pedal (www.pondopedal.com) 13 – 15: RECM Knysna 200 (www.recmknysna200.co.za) 15 – 18: Vic Falls MTB Challenge (www.vicfallsmtbchallenge.com) 20 – 21: Dusi2c (www.dusi2c.co.za) 28 June – 3 July: Cape Country Tour (www.mtb-adventures.co.za)

June:

November:

December: TBC: Sabie Xperience (www.sabieexperience.co.za)

December

33

FS Calendar SUS THE BEST OF January 2015 MPUMALANGA 31 Barberton XCM LIMPOPO 11 Druiwe Fees Fietswedren MTB 2015 GAUTENG

4 Babbas Lodge MTB Super Series 2015 – Event #1

11 Summer Fast One MTB 2015 25 Me-Nuts Like2Bike #1 25 Monthly Funky Monkey MTB Race

Advertise your event in Full Sus and we will send you copies of the paper for your goodie bags or registration table. Call Jessica on 021 685 0285/6 WESTERN CAPE

8 Day Trippers Official Cape Epic Training Camp #2

17 Attakwas Extreme Challenge 18 Spur Adventure Sprint & Duo 24 Jakkalsvlei MTB Challenge 25 Bouckaert Soenen MTB Race 24 Hour of Oak Valley 31 Ashburton Investments National MTB Series #1 Meerendal (W’ Cape) KZN 24 EurosteelDrak MTB Descent NORTH WEST

EASTERN CAPE 24 VW Herald MTB

24 Xterra Full Buffelspoort 25 Xterra Lite Buffelspoort

February 2015 RACE CALENDAR MPUMALANGA

21 Ashburton Investments National MTB Series #2 Sabie GAUTENG

7 Momentum Health OatWellDualX#1 Hakahana 13 Bridgestone Route 66 MTB Experience 2015 EASTERN CAPE

28 SA Cup Series XCO #1 FREE STATE 6 Skyride 2015

WESTERN CAPE

7 Trans Cape MTB Stage Race 8 Spur Adventure Duo & Sprint 13 Du Toit Tankwa Trek 21 SA Cup Series DHI #1 21 Totalsports XTERRA Grabouw 27 Garden Route 300 KZN

1 Subaru Classic 7 KZN Provincial DHI & Enduro Series #1

14 Freedom Race 15 Intaba Ridge Classic 15 Newcastle MTB Family Series #1 21 KZN Provincial XCO #1 22 Big Wheel Cycles Enduro 28 Illovo Wartburg MTB Classic

FS DECEMBER Must do events ■ 7 December:

Rockman Triathlon Triathlons are awesome. Fact! And adding gravel, or singletracks, makes everything better (except road rash).

So off-road or cross triathlons are just about as good as it gets. The Rockman triathlons offer something for everyone, from the epic Ultra (2000m swim, 70km MTB and 18km trail run), to the manageable Rock Dash (500m swim, 17km MTB and 5km trail run) and the children friendly Rock-Kids Adventure Challenge (with appropriate

CALENDAR KEY Mpumalanga

Free State

Limpopo

Western Cape

Northern Cape

KZN

Gauteng

North West

Eastern Cape

Out in Africa

distances for various age groups). If you haven’t booked your spot in the starting line-up down at the Peninsula on Vaal get on your computer now and type in www.cycleevents.co.za. Or if you need more convincing visit the event website: www.rockmanxtri.co.za.

■ 14 December: KZN Midlands Experience MTB Race

Get down to the Midmar Dam, outside Howick for a lekker day of December mountain biking in the KZN Midlands Experience MTB Race. There are 20km and 40km route options starting at the respectably lazy summer time of 08:30 and 09:00 respectively. Entry fees are R120 (R140 for on the day) for the 20km and R150 (R170 on the day) for the 40km and the event forms part of the wider festive season activity programme organised by the KZN Midlands Experience. To sus out all the

activities check out the official website, www.kznmidlandsexperience.co.za or to enter the MTB race online go to www.roag.co.za.

■ 13 - 16 December: SabieXperience

Four days of amazing riding in one of SA’s best MTB destinations. What’s not to love? It’s like a Christmas present to yourself! There are team and solo options, and the option to only do two or three of the four days. Plus new for 2014 there is the Reconciliation Ride for riders who can’t make (or manage) the full stage race. It’s a 60km ride along much of the Stage Four route on the Reconciliation Day public holiday, designed to wet your appetite for doing the full race in 2015. All the information is up on the www.sabiexperience.co.za website and you can enter online from there too, so get to it.

■ 21 & 28 December: PSG Garden Route Trail Series

Go sus out the amazing trails of the Garden Route Trail Park on foot or on your bike in the Garden Route Trail Series this December. There are two event dates to choose from, either side of Christmas – which make it perfect for burning off or working up an appetite for that massive lunch.

The trail running routes offer 10km or 13km options, while on the bike there are 10km, 20km and 30km rides. If you’re feeling particularly fit you can even do a 13km trail run and 30km trail ride. The distances might be shorter than you’d expect from a normal race, but given the massive amount of singletrack it’s sure to leave you super satisfied. For online entries and all the info go to www.gardenroutetrailpark.com.

FS Classifieds Calling all event organisers, local bike shops or small businesses offering services to mountain bikers. Advertise here!

Reach 45 000 potential clients across South Africa through Full Sus’s network of 220 distribution outlets. Call Jess on 021 685 0285 or drop her an email to jess@integratedmedia.co.za to book your space today.

www.cycleman.co.za Official SA Distributor of Pedro’s Bike Care Products

Cell: 072 051 7459 Phone: 021 461 0881 Email: sales @ cycleman.co.za DEALER/RESELLER ENQUIRIES ARE WELCOME!

Directory

FS

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www.bikegoodies.co.za

Your new online cycling product store stocking Bern Helmets, Pedro’s Bike Care Products, Bike Head Lights and Sports Cameras. Use coupon code “fullsusxmas” to get an extra 7.5% discount off our prices (valid until 24/12/2014, applicable to one order per customer, excludes Bern Helmets). Free delivery for Cape Town and surrounding areas.