Full Sus June/July 2016 by Full Sus #MTB

FR EE

full sus

Jun/Jul 2016, Vol 35

www.issuu.com /FullSussa

FullSussa

FullSussa #MTB

@FullSussa

SID

Bike Review Page 16

Winelands MTB Page 10

Full Stride #Trailrunning

Arabella Challenge Page 17

Competition Page 31

Luke Moir Interview FS

Young Gun It’s always tricky to tell if a young ripper has what it takes to become a world beater in the elite ranks. And when the said rider is just 13 it makes it even harder. But when the kid rides a bike like Luke Moir does, a lot of the guess work goes out the window.

Sus the Stats: Luke Moir Age: 13 Height: 157cm Weight: 45kg Bike: Titan Carbon 650B Custom Sponsors: SRAM, RockShox, Vermarc, Kask, Fissik, Bicyclegear. Favourite Trail: Jonkershoek, Black and Red Routes MTB Heroes: Nino Schurter and Simon Andreassen Facebook Fan Page: Luke Moir MTB Kid Instagram: lukemoir_1 holding back though, his times are also regularly faster than the Youth Men who are in the 15-16 older age group. His technical skills are also impressive; he has no concerns about charging A-Line features or cleaning a technical climb. But his most remarkable trait is his ﬁerce

EWALD SADIE

uke Moir is very quiet for a 13 year old. But he’s more than happy to let his riding do the talking. Or rather, given his recent results – his riding is doing the shouting. Sitting down to chat to Luke and his dad Mark about his love for mountain biking, his competitive spirit, his recent stellar results and his plans for the future we were struck by what a normal kid he is. Luke was still sporting a brace on his left arm and was frothing to get back on a bike after his broken arm cut short his European racing trip. But despite the biggest victory of his career, a ﬁrst place in the opening round of the Swiss Bike Cup Luke shows no sign of arrogance. He doesn’t even really want to talk mountain biking – he just wants to get out and ride. Luke started riding competitively as an eight year old and hasn’t looked back. Right from the off he has shown some remarkable traits. He seems to have an almost metronomic ability to pace himself; his lap times are regularly more consistent than anyone else at an event – including the elite men. That’s not to say he’s

competitive streak, for Luke riding his bike is fun but racing his bike is better. And if he’s racing he wants to win. It doesn’t matter if it’s a ride with mates or a National XCO Cup race, it’s a competition and competitions are for winning. So it’s not surprising then that the Moir family decided to invest in Luke’s mountain biking future and send him to Europe to see how he stacks up against the best young riders in the world. The idea was to let Luke gain experience in the ﬁercely competitive environment of European XCO Racing at an early age. When planning the trip Mark got hold of Andreas Seeli, organiser of the Swiss

Bike Cup and former coach of the Swiss national mountain bike team. Fortunately Seeli was in South Africa at the time. So Mark and Luke drove out to Stellenbosch to meet him and proceeded to show him around some of the best trails in the Western Cape for the remainder of Seeli’s South African holiday. Luke’s riding and attitude impressed Seeli and that together with Luke holding his age group South African Champion’s title allowed Seeli to allocate him a wild card for the opening round of the 2016 Swiss Bike Cup. The wild card

turn to page 6

coming along and feature the Cape Winelands Encounter and Arabella Challenge stage races. Meanwhile the contributors focus on ways to stay motivated for winter riding, except the Stirlings who are too busy speccing their dream bikes to care about the shorter hours of daylight. We’ve also reviewed a bunch of thermal tops to help you pick which one(s) will be keeping you toasty on those icy morning rides. For this issue’s bike review we put the Merida One Twenty through its paces, so turn to page 16 to check it out. Looking ahead we’ve got more changes on the horizon with a new layout in the ﬁnal design phases. It’s going to be a slicker and more modern looking Full Sus, so keep an eye on our social media channels for sneak peeks. Don’t let the cold put you off riding this winter, enter a couple of races or use the soft ground to your advantage and work on the skills you’re too

A LITTLE CHANGE, with more to come

o there are a few changes afoot at Full Sus. The ﬁrst one you’re noticing is that it now falls upon me to write this Ed’s Letter and pull the issue together in some sort of succinct fashion. It seems so easy in theory but when you’ve been down the rabbit hole trying to focus on all the little details of producing the issue it’s actually a nifty trick to be able to sit up and take stock of the newspaper as a whole… But ﬁrst let me doff a cap to Shayne. It’s not just on Full Sus and Full Stride where our little publishing company has been manically at work. We’ve got a new title called the Tavern Times, look out for it next time you go to Mzolis

for a shisa nyama. And alongside the launch of the Tavern Times there are a host of other exciting plans which need to be realised while the iron is still hot. Plus there are opportunities for diversifying Full Sus and the original magazine which started it all, Cheers, to take care of. So Shayne’s giving up the responsibility of writing the Editorial Letter, but you’ll still be reading lots of his stories as he’ll be writing ride reports and gear reviews as usual. Back to the copy of Full Sus you’re holding in your hands. In this issue we spoke to the young ripper Luke Moir, visited Tokai to see how the post-ﬁre rehabilitation is

JETLINE ACTION PHOTOS

FS Editorial

scared to practise in summer when the trails are hard baked. Cheers, Seamus

Tweet your thoughts on the June/July issue of Full Sus to: @FullSussa or @SeamusAllardice.

SUS THE GROWTH: This is the 35th issue of Full Sus since our launch in April 2013. And so we thought we’d share a few stats with you. We have 255 outlets

NATIONWIDE

OUTLETS PER PROVINCE

1 75

10 1

6 26

16 114

 Plus you can read Full Sus on your tablet, phone or computer for free too. Sus us on Issuu, and at www.fullsus.co.za

And we’ve got a trail running sister publication, Full Stride, inside Full Sus four times a year. But keep an eye on Full Stride we’ve got some interesting plans for it too…

SUS The team

Publishing Editor: Shayne Dowling shayne@integratedmedia.co.za Content Editor: Seamus Allardice seamus@integratedmedia.co.za Assistant Editor: Molly Fitz-Patrick Art Director: Annalie Boshoff Senior Designer: Shannon Flewellen Sales: Eloise Meyer eloise@integratedmedia.co.za PR & Promotions: Ashlee Attwood ash@integratedmedia.co.za Audit Bureau of Circulations of South Africa NPC

Regulars: Stirling Kotze Snr & Jnr, Jacques Marais, Dr Mike Posthumus, Amy Burton, Estelle Pickard, Stefan Garlicki, Erik Kleinhans, Hendrik Lemmer, Joëlle Sleebos & Kathryn Fourie. Rogue Contributor: David Bristow Photography: Ashlee Attwood, Oakpics.com, Red Bull Content Pool, Chris Hitchcock, Volume Photography, Newsport Media and thinkstock.com. 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.

Sus us on the WEB

Head Office | Cape Town Tel: 021 685 0285 Address: Suite WB03 Tannery Park 23 Belmont Road, Rondebosch, 7700 Postal Address: PO Box 259, Rondebosch 7701

Full Sus ALLIANCE PARTNERS

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 closing date 22 July 2016.

s w e n

ANDREAS SEELI

FS Luke Moir Interview from page 1 FS News

Swiss MTB Champ Jolanda Neff poses with Luke’s unused Swiss Bike Cup series leader board.

slot meant that Luke wouldn’t have to start at the back of the 95 rider field as an unseeded rider but rather would start in the fourth row of the grid. Despite neither Mark nor Luke being able to understand any of the pre-race instructions as they were in German, plus with three times the amount of competitors on the start grid, and a course with more technical features than we generally see here in SA, Luke didn’t disappoint. He raced into the lead on the first climb and opened up a little gap when some of the boys faltered on a technical climb. This gap was shortly closed down by the leading Swiss boys during the first lap. During the following laps, the Swiss boys attacked Luke alternatively with Luke managing each time to regain the lead. Luke attacked with 500 metres to go on the final lap to win the race. Not only had he proven he could mix it up in the most competitive junior series around, but he also beat one of Switzerland’s brightest young mountain biking stars Dario Lillo. Impressive stuff. Between the first and the second races of the Swiss Bike Cup Luke and Mark were treated by Seeli to a mountain biking tour of the trails

around Zurich. The key lesson learnt from Andi was to keep trying a technical section until you got it right and not to be afraid of falling. Soaking up as much information as he could Luke was having a jol. But disaster stuck for Luke while on a casual ride with another Swiss family. He crashed on an innocuous section of trail, it was one of those awkward falls and Luke broke his humerus badly – cutting short his European racing trip before he could race with the series leader board on his bike. With the mixed experiences of his European excursion behind him you would think Luke would be hesitant to go back, but it’s not the case at all. He’s itching to get back on his bike and now he’s had a taste of the competitive Swiss MTB scene he can’t wait to go back. Mark is keen for Luke to diversify his experiences though and if they can secure some funding from sponsors they will be looking at scheduling a trip to race in Italy in 2017– where there’s also a strong junior series. So what does the future hold for young Luke Moir? Lots of bike racing and hopefully lots of winning, but just how far his bike will take him is still up to Luke to decide. And that’s just as it should be.

SA’s International Teams The next few months are going

Then the attention shifts to

to be helter-skelter for South

the big event of the year: the Rio

Africans competing internationally

Olympics. At the time of writing

in the green and gold of Team SA

the South African squad was yet

rather than in their professional

to be announced but the South

team’s kits.

African men have done enough

First up is the XCM World

to justify two riders in the men’s

Championships in Laissac, France.

race according to the UCI Selection

This year it takes place at the

criteria. But sadly the South

Roc Laissagais mountain bike

African women are ranked only

marathon, with the main race

21st, putting them well outside

happening on the 26th of June.

the qualiﬁcation berths of the top

Robyn de Groot is the only South

17 nations. To compound that

African to meet CSA’s selection

SASCOC have ruled that only

criteria and she’ll be racing the

the UCI’s Olympic Qualiﬁcation

best in the world at MTB’s long

Rankings will apply and that

route format across a tough

they won’t be taking athletes

68.9km course which includes

based on the one spot we earned

2 587 meters of climbing.

via the 2015 African Continental

The following weekend the crosscountry specialists will be in action

Championships. The mountain bike races take

in the XCO World Championships

place on the ﬁnal two day of the

at Nové Mēsto na Moravē, Czech

Rio Olympics, so save the date for

Republic. The championships start

20 and 21 August 2016.

mid-week on the 29th of June, but with no elite women in the squad South Africa won’t be racing XCR so the fun and games will only start when Danielle Strydom and Henry Liebenberg race for Junior XCO glory on Friday 1 July. On Saturday the 2nd it’s Alan Hatherly’s turn on track in the Under 23 XCO World Champs, followed by Philip Buys, James MARK MOIR

Reid and Sipho Madolo on Sunday

Luke standing atop the Swiss Bike Cup podium.

the 3rd of July. The Elite races will be live on Red Bull TV so be sure to cheer on our guys!

turn to page 8

FS News

Self-Defence

from page 6

STAGE RACES to keep you ﬁt this winter

In the April Issue of Full Sus

Shayne Dowling wrote about the VENOMIST pepper sprays, designed especially for cyclists and runners. They’ve subsequently expanded their range further to include a range of canisters and

We know it’s diﬃcult to stay motivated to ride your bike when it’s cold,

holsters which you can attach to

dark and in the Western Cape wet, in the winter months. So follow Erik

your wrist or carry in your hand

Kleinhans’ advice and enter a stage race with your friends. Then you’ll

while running. Plus there’s also

have something to train for when you know you should be out riding but

a canister which attaches to the

would rather chill on the couch. Here are a few races we recommend.

shoulder strap of your hydration

iSimangaliso MTB

The U

pack. We still think the top tube

Where: iSimangaliso

Where: Piket-Bo-

are the way most people will go

Wetland Park, northern KZN.

Berg, Western Cape.

in big ﬁve territory.

singletrack.

www.isimangaliso-mtb.co.za

www.piketbobergtrails.com

Why: Four days of mountain biking Website:

Where: In the

Where: Swellendam, WC Why: A chilled tour

Kingdom (AKA

like vibe and amazing

Lesotho)

scenery, it’s the perfect

Website: www.lesothosky.com

In 2015 the Full Sus ladies claimed a Lesotho Sky podium.

30g or 40g canisters which spray either a pink died directional fog or a non-died direct stream.

To ﬁnd out more visit www.venomist.com.

Tallboy Tale

When: 5 – 6 November.

Mountain Bike

no more.

options. VENOMIST is available in

Website:

Swellendam 100

Why: It’s a bucket list event, say

though, but it’s always good to have

Why: 88km of the 92km route is

Lesotho Sky

When: 19 – 24 Sept.

bicycle mount and the bicep strap

When: 14 – 16 Oct.

family weekend. Website:

www.gardenrouteevents.co.za

SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES

When: 18 – 21 August.

We suggest the top tube mounting (above) or the bicep strap (below) for carrying your venomist pepper spray.

Have you seen the video of

entirely but fortunately that’s

Greg Minnaar supposedly missing

not the case. The new Tallboy

the start of a Cape Epic stage and

3 is an updated version of the

deciding to rather just go free-

original with 110mm of VPP

riding on the new Santa Cruz

travel, a longer reach and shorter

Tallboy 3? If not scan the QR Code

chainstays than the Tallboy 2.

and check it out, right now. If

It’s available with 29er or 27.5+

you have, watch it again anyway,

wheels meaning either a 120mm

because it’s pure class.

or 130mm fork. Expect to see it

We were a little worried that

ﬂying past you on the trails and

Santa Cruz might be replacing

looking stylish in local bike shops

the do-it-all Tallboy platform

from September onwards.

tool excellence exclusively available from specialist cycle retailers. 021 4616252 for enquiries

SUPER B has been manufacturing bicycle speciﬁc tools for more than 20 years and their product range embodies this experience. Innovation, functionality and reliability has led to SUPER B tools being the preferred choice for discerning enthusiasts and professional mechanics worldwide. SUPER B tools carry a limited lifetime warranty

FS Ride Report - Cape Winelands Encounter

Winelands Luxury

STAGE

he Cape Winelands Encounter started on Friday the 15th of April from the Maties Cricket Club House on the Coetzenburg sport grounds in Stellenbosch. There’d been an early promise of a jaunt out to G-Spot before attempting the Botmaskop climb in the initial route discussions but as it turned out I’m probably not the only one who was glad that the extra kays were cut out. So the Winelands MTB started with a brief warm-up across the Bergpad and via the Ride In to the imposing Botmaskop climb.

STAGE ONE Now I’ve ridden up Botmaskop a few times. And it’s always a slog. It’s steep, the surfaces are littered with tiny ball bearing like pebbles and there’s just no easy way up. But somehow Johan Kriegler managed to find the easiest way. For the people who hadn’t been up Botmaskop before, like my riding

partner Warren Fincham, the fact that that’s the easiest of the four routes up Botmaskop I’m been sent up during an event probably comes as no consolation. But the views once we reached the top certainly were! As were the new trails leading to Bartinney Skyfall. In fact if that section of the route wasn’t crowned by Skyfall the new trails would certainly have lived long in the memory of every rider in the Winelands MTB. From the always amazing Skyfall we followed a few more singletracks into the Banhoek Valley proper and after a brief stop at the first water point entered into the technical trails on L’Ormarins. The Banhoek Valley has suddenly become like Elgin with events taking place on a monthly basis, but the trails on L’Ormarins are still exclusive. They

The amazing Skyfall singletrack is always a route highlight.

SEAMUS ALLARDICE

Back in December ASG Events invited the media around for a ride and a briefing on their Liberty Encounter Series at Rhebokskloof. Cast forward nearly five months and Seamus Allardice was on the start line of the Cape Winelands Encounter ready to experience what ASG and MTB Adventures had in store with their stage race series.

EWALD SADIE

SEAMUS ALLARDICE

Chilling on the lawns of the La Franschhoek Hotel for lunch on day one.

used to be easily, though illegally, accessible before but Johann Rupert got fed up with the rogue riding and erected a massive fence. Now the trails are apparently only opened

“The race ticked all the boxes. But the highlight was the riding.”

once a year for an event. And trust me when I tell you that this is a good thing. That 10km stretch of trail was the most tiring bit of riding I’ve possibly ever done – it’s more demanding than anything on Piket-Bo-Berg. There’s no climb to speak of, just constant erratic changes in elevation and direction with the little one meter high climbs

FS Ride Report - Cape Winelands Encounter STAGE

EWALD SADIE

predominantly taking place on soft as talcum powder, rock strewn trails. The guys on 27.5+ shod bikes sounded like they had a better time of it but pretty much everyone else struggled for rhythm and flow. But that’s mountain biking, it can’t be too easy… By the time we reached the Drakenstein Stud Farm at the end of L’Ormarins, Warren and I were pretty tired. We’d badly underestimated the stage and there was still 20km to go. The next notable section was a freshly cut piece of singletrack on the western banks of the Bergriver Dam. The trails have tremendous potential and Johan’s eye for flow is clear in their layout, but a bedding in period is definitely in order still. Nevertheless we reached the second water point without incident and then followed the scenic jeep tracks of the Franschhoek Valley to the stage finish at the La Franschhoek Hotel. As a dusty mountain biker checking into the magnificent La Franschhoek Hotel was a shock to the system. But most of our fellow riders were clearly completely comfortable with traipsing down the plush carpets with their riding shoes on, so we made an effort to acclimatise, mainly by enjoying a Devil’s Peak beer on the loungers around the pool. The luxury experience of the Encounter Series ties in with the premise that riders will stay in the La Franschhoek for the Winelands MTB and in the five star game lodges of Sondela and Zebula for the Waterberg Encounter. And if you can afford it that really would be the way to go. The Winelands MTB riding might not be easy but staying in the lap of luxury after the first stage really took the sting out of the day’s riding.

outside in the sunshine which is where most people wanted to be.

The Liberty Cape Winelands Encounter was won by Chris Wolhuter and Craig Boyes.

we crossed the N1 and passed Cascade Country Manor outside Paarl. The final few kays were mercifully downhill as we headed to Kleinevalleij for the stage finish. The stage might have started flat and fast but the final 15km were pretty tough and we were glad to sink a Devil’s Peak beer

or two before heading into the Kleinevalleij function venue for another delicious meal. I really must commend the Kleinevalleij staff too, their set-up was perfect for mountain bikers, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more slickly run lunch buffet at a stage race and there was also ample seating

STAGE

Stage 2 of the Cape Winelands Encounter started at La Franschhoek and Warren and I managed to arrive pretty late at the start line. Which considering we were sleeping less than 100 meters away was pretty shocking. So we picked our way through the bunch in 3km neutral zone and hit the first racing section on the Robertsvlei gravel road in the second bunch. Putting in some long shifts on the front of the group we were cruising along at a good pace when I chose the wrong track in a jeep track and was brought to a complete stop by a thick patch of sand – while the rest of the group cruised away at over 30kph. Fortunately I caught up when it bottle-necked for the Bergriver crossing and then the pace slacked off a bit for the cruise through the Drakenstein Correctional Centre. From there the route undulated along the foothills of the Haweqwa Mountains before heading viciously skyward once

EWALD SADIE

STAGE TWO

There weren’t too many valley roads during Stage 3 around Wellington’s trails.

Sus the Liberty Cape Winelands Encounter STAGES: 3 DISTANCE: ±160km DATES: 14 April - 16 April 2017 SISTER RACE: Liberty Waterberg Encounter 10 June – 12 June 2016 WEBSITE: www.encountermtbseries.co.za DAILY REPORTS:

www.fullsus.co.za/tag/winelands-encounter/

STAGE THREE Heading into Stage 3 everyone knew it was going to be short but tough. Welvanpas and the Wellington trails are always great fun to ride, but they’re no breeze and having been caught off-guard by the surprisingly tough first day I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I managed to lose Warren within the first five kays though and decided to just push on and wait at the first water point rather than give up my space on the trail – which could lead to getting stuck behind someone slow on the amazing singletrack we’d been promised. As it turned out I managed to catch two very hesitant riders on the way down Rollercoaster, but still it was one of the highlights of the route. At water point one Warren caught up and we set off towards the day’s real climbing. Soon my back was locked in a spasm and my left knee was hurting badly too. All I could do was suffer through the climbs and disappointingly coast the downhills towards water point two where a friendly medic denied my request for morphine but happily supplied me with a non-opiate painkiller instead. Feeling better and with Warren getting stronger all the time (as is his stage race style) we raced through the Welvanpas trails trying to take them at maximum speed to ensure we got all we possibly could out of them. Crossing the line at Kleinevalleij to complete the Liberty Cape Winelands Encounter we were greeted for the final time with beers for recovery drinks before heading off for a last great race meal for lunch.

“As a dusty mountain biker checking into the magnificent La Franschhoek Hotel was a shock to the system.” The race ticked all the boxes as far as great organisation, perfect route marking, well stocked water points (complete with High5 products), fantastic meals and a lekker social vibe at the venues and on the trails. But the highlight was the riding. The routes were tougher than I expected but they varied tremendously daily, the climbs weren’t too long and the singletracks – while providing the sternest tests of skill and fitness – were more than enough to ensure that I’d be back for the 2017 Liberty Cape Winelands Encounter in a heart-beat.

San Parks FS

AFTER - When Full Sus went to survey the Tokai trails this is what remained of Fairy Garden, which two weeks before had seemed rideable.

Tokai Update Recently there’s been a fuss about the MTB trails in Tokai still being closed. But while we’re still six months from SANParks’ December 2016 opening date David Bristow went to ﬁnd out what the prospects of an early opening are.

ust about everything that could be done in order to gain early access to Upper Tokai has been done, now we just wait, sort of. Opening Tokai early is just one half of the picture; the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is going to be quite something so I hope you got your comments in. About opening early… the problem is, the more people I speak with and the more meetings I attend, the more complicated things seem. Take SANParks for instance. In principle they are all for it – I promise you – but it is not just one department. There is an operations or “on the

to cover us. Now we wait for the SANParks legal department to sign it. At the request of the loggers, we’ve been kept out for a year or more but many of the SANParks staff are working hard to try to speed things up, I have met with some of them. There is also the local community who is chomping at the bit and some who just don’t believe anything that comes out of the collective mouth of SANParks. That’s a pity since we cannot do anything in the park without their say-so, so building relationships and maintaining them is critical. Add to this heady mix the “1%” maverick mountain bikers, and you have a recipe for conﬂict. Besides the plantation felling, there are trees waiting to fall on us that are outside the commercial logging areas. Working for Water is supposed to deal with them but they seem to be having admin issues, so the trees and the threats

ground” section, there are technical, planning, admin and legal divisions. Each has its own timetables and priorities. Rehab and safety are some of the main priorities now and mountain biking, or running or horse riding, in Tokai is not always top of the pile. After the Big Fire, Tokai was declared a disaster area and lots of conditions (legal and practical) have to be met in order for it to be re-opened. For instance, insurance cover because there are still lots of dangers lurking. AmaRider assisting TokaiMTB, stepped into that gap and has put a contract on the table

Before - Fairy Garden 14 months after the ﬁre, but a week later the ﬁrst Cape winter storm rolled through uprooting seemingly stable trees. This showcases just how dangerous some sections of Tokai remain.

remain. There are slopes in danger of collapsing and huge eruptions of wattle that still have to be dealt with are among the issues. And ﬁnally there is the not so small matter to complete a rationalisation process that works with the environmental baseline study to determine where we will and will not be able to ride (tick box). Once that is accepted by SANParks, rehabilitation of the existing tracks that have been churned up will allow the volunteers of Tokai to step in and do the actual, physical hard work for us again. Parallel to this is the EMP process that closed for comment in May, that will open up all kinds of wondrous new riding areas on the mountain. After the current tracks are sorted, when it comes to building new tracks in Upper Tokai to create the riding destination of our dreams, that’ll still be a few years in the making. As a wise man once said, the earth is slow but the ox is patient.

PHOTOS BY DEON DE VILLIERS

SUS THE TOKAI SITUATION Full Sus took a drive around what remains of the old Tokai Plantations with representatives from SANParks and TokaiMTB. Both parties were keen to point out that Tokai will never be what it once was. The riding experience has changed for good. When Tokai ﬁrst reopens there will be very few, if any, singletracks accessible to mountain bikers. As the danger areas are cleared some of the old trails will be reopened and then construction on new trails can start. But the SANParks priority is to allow fynbos to re-establish on the slopes of Tokai. The problem is that in some areas there hasn’t been fynbos for 120 years, so there is no seed bank in the soil. It’s going to be a slow and potentially expensive process which will have to go hand-in-hand with the constant clearing of alien vegetation. Because of this your Tokai rides will no longer be forest rides, but what you lose in shade you’ll make up for in views. Eventually the fynbos will grow tall, and in valleys and on water courses fynbos forest clumps will form, but it’ll never provide the forest riding experience of before. Different isn’t necessarily worse though, it’s better for conservation, better for the water table and it’ll provide a more authentic Table Mountain wilderness experience.

FS Trails

5 SISTERS AND A SINGLETRACK It’s that time of year again, with Jacques Marais still sandy from his #DesertKnights ride up in / Ai/Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. The good news is that he’s discovered even more singletrack up in the desert. Photographs and words by Jacques Marais. Local Buzz: Here’s the short version: Desert Knights is a ﬁve-day MTB Stage Tour, with an extra (not-so-much) rest-day of white-water river kayaking thrown in for good measure. This makes for mind-expanding cranking along remote back roads, and supreme wilderness camping within one of the most ancient deserts on Planet Earth. The Richtersveld unfolds like a bizarre landscape copied from the psychedelic dreams of Tim Burton, with spiky euphorbias and gnarled kokerbooms clawing at the sky. It makes for a botanical fantasy world seeping into the surreal, like an alien realm populated by giant scorpions, trapdoor spiders, unblinking horned adders and the full gamut of weird and wonderful creatures.

The good news is that the /Ai/ Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is open for mountain biking exploration any time of the year. You can either do it solo or book through an adventure operator like Richtersveld Tours or otherwise sign up for one of the #DesertKnights events in either April or September. Whichever way – just go get spaced out in this brilliant place!

Trail Low-Down: Last time I wrote about the Richtersveld, the focus was very much on the Donkey Trail, a gritty section of singletrack set halfway between De Hoop Camp Site and Hakkiesdoring Hiking Camp. This

crooked and meandering mountain bike track has been upgraded since then, and with an additional segment of 3km added to the left of the main reserve road as you descend from Maerpoort Pass. The new section trips through some low scrub before dog-legging into the low outcrops, then pops back over the reserve road to link up with the Donkey Trail. This remains a topclass night ride, side-winding amidst

rock outcrops and contorted quiver trees ghosting upon the fuzzy edge of your light beam. The odd gnarly drop and loads of clattering descents blast via the midst of a chaotic jumble of volcanic shale and dolerite, delivering a rocking ride for adventurous souls. Gravel road gangstas will revel in the roughshod reserve roads crisscrossing Richtersveld, with more than 300km worth of mountain biking (plus heaps

“The Richtersveld unfolds like a bizarre landscape copied from the psychedelic dreams of Tim Burton, with spiky euphorbias and gnarled kokerbooms clawing at the sky.” Gravel road gangstas rejoice.

Where are we? |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld National Park is ﬁlled with rugged kloofs, high mountains and dramatic landscapes. It’s jointly managed by the local Nama people and SANParks, straddling the border between South Africa and Namibia. Much of the vast mountain desert’s moisture is gleaned from an early morning fog off the cold Atlantic Ocean, which is called Ihuries’ or ‘Malmokkies’ by the local people.

Trails FS

A lonely trail side Aloe Dichotoma – or quiver tree.

Get your riding down in the early morning, late afternoon or at night because the temperatures can become brutal. more on the Namibian side of this vast Transfrontier Park). From Hakkiesdoring, make your way west to where the devilish ascent up Helskloof awaits; this is a proper 6km climb along a gritty surface with a challenging gradient. Just before the summit, there’s a hard core footpath descent for skilled riders, or Plan B would be to bomb the sketchy switchbacks onto the Sendelingsdrif plains below along the Helskloof road itself. Loose gravel and erosion ruts are the name of the game, so you had better look sharp. Around 2km onto the plains, a dual-track to your right leads you

“It makes for a botanical fantasy world seeping into the surreal, like an alien realm populated by giant scorpions, trapdoor spiders, unblinking horned adders and the full gamut of weird and wonderful creatures.” onto undulating alluvial ﬂat lands, and this is where you will get to enjoy congress with the 5 Sisters. A sublime and high-speed ride awaits those who can get their mind out of the gutter,

with looping curves tripping amidst the rock-splintered kopjes shrugging up from a barren landscape, dotted here and there by the occasional giant aloe dichotoma.

The 3 Silo trails offer plenty of man-made features like bridges and styles to add to the riding experience. the Richtersveld MTB Trail: SUS

Grading: Intermediate (sand and corrugations) Duration: 4-8hrs (dependent on ﬁtness)

The ﬁnal run in to Sendelingsdrif is back on corrugated gravel roads, unfortunately, but you have the option of diverting onto the Halfmens Pass road, which is a beauty of a ride. Remember one thing: the Richtersveld is a true mountain desert, and for much of the year you are bound to suffer from extreme temperatures. Early morning, late afternoon and night riding is the solution, with the rest of the day spent chilling in camp.

Getting there: From Springbok (Google it if you’re confused), head via Steinkopf to Port Nolloth (Café Vespetti is your last proper coffee for 300km). It will take at least a couple more hours to navigate the 80km gravel to Sendelingsdrift; allow 2-3hrs more to get to De Hoop (access to the park is limited to 4x4 vehicles).

Conﬁguration: Point-to-Point: 56km Start Point: Hakkiesdoring Camp Terrain: Reserve roads, jeep-track and single-track Post-Ride Beer: BYO. It’s the desert, after all. Must Do Event: Desert Knights MTB Tour – www.desertknights-mtb.com Tour Operator: Richtersveld Tours www.richtersveldtours.com Access: Only paying park visitors allowed Cell Reception: Only Tweets are those from the Kalahari scrub robins Accommodation: Full list of accommodation options at www.sanparks.org Local Contact: Brent Whittington (027) 831 1506 More Info: www.sanparks.org GPS Co-Ordinates: Hakkiesdoring Camp 28.393988 S / 17.169516 E

15-16 October 2016 6

ENTER ONLINE:

www.piketbobergtrails.com

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 Top MTB Trails 2 has just hit the shelves of all good book shops and you can purchase a copy for R250. Follow him on Twitter @ JacqMaraisPhoto

10 1 September 2016 Join us for our annual Fundraising Event sponsored by

2 Days Complete Race Village @ the Summer Place 100 Teams 92.8 km 2346m Elevation 95% Single Track Technical Score 8

Farm W Worker Development ffor F k D l t MTB Distances: 63km, 37km, 27km, 10km Trail Run Distances: 16km, 8km

presents prese ents

FS Bike Review

More.Bike for your money When Seamus Allardice got back form a weekend in Secunda (don’t ask) the first thing he did was pick up the Merida One Twenty 9.600 test bike and hit the trails of Stellenbosch. Photos by Seamus Allardice.

he One Twenty 9.600 is Merida’s 120mm travel trail bike equipped with 29er wheels. It’s the second bike in the One Twenty range after the entry level One Twenty 500 and features a triple butted 6066 aluminium frame, a Shimano SLX groupo and a range of Merida’s in-house components to finish the bike off. The deep blue colour with light blue decaling makes it an eyecatching bike. As I sized it up ahead of my first ride my initial thoughts revolved around how big the large framed bike looked and how high the bars were. So before heading out on my first ride I flipped the stem and removed the spacers between the stem and the headtube. That dropped the front end a bit, but with a 130mm RockShox Sektor fork it still felt pretty tall. By the time I’d rolled the 500 meters down the farm road to the gardens where we took the photos my concerns about the bike’s size had dissipated.

“Despite looking like a big bike it handles with the agility of a much smaller machine.” I’m usually in the grey area between manufacturer’s recommended frame sizes but I normally go for the medium option rather than the large. You might think that’s because the medium frames tend to be lighter and stiffer, but it’s actually because I’ve always liked the feeling of a more compact bike. Regardless, the large One Twenty felt pretty good immediately under me and I soon forgot it was a size bigger than I’m used to. What is impossible to ignore though is the weight… Merida says it weighs in at 14.3kg and picking it up over the garden wall I became acutely aware of how heavy it is. But you should remember that at R26 999 it’s very well priced and Merida have clearly chosen to spend their cash on getting the drivetrain and brakes spot-on and then relying on heavier in-house components to complete the build. I’ll 16

Merida have being making bikes since 1972, and as Merida since 1988.

return to the weight issue later, but it’s not the end of the world. The other issue I noticed with the One Twenty was the relatively steep 69° head angle for a trail bike. My go-to comparison for 120mm travel bikes is the Camber which has a 68.5° head angle. Now I know it’s only .5 of a degree but trust me it makes a difference. At speed the steeper head angle isn’t an issue, which is partly down to the longer fork which produces a confidence inspiring wheelbase of 1 167mm on the large framed model. But at low speed, especially while climbing it can feel very twitchy. This is something to keep in mind on technical climbs, because while it makes picking your line a synch if you clip a rock and veer off-line it takes some snappy handling to get it back on track. That said, despite the weight the One Twenty climbs technical climbs superbly. The 24 tooth small chainring provides ample gear inches and the float link suspension set-up keeps the rear wheel driving you onwards and upwards regardless of the terrain. Even in the open setting it doesn’t feel like the bike is losing propulsion to suspension bob. It’s once I reached the top of the hill that the bike came alive. I’ve ridden it down rooty and neglected forest trails, rooty and well-maintained forest trails and the hard-packed racetrack which is G-Spot and loved it on all

The 9 in 9.600 denotes the wheels size as the One Twenty is also available with 650B wheels.

of them. The bike in particular excelled on the neglected forest trails of Jonkershoek where the Sektor fork, float link suspension and RockShox Monarch rear shock combined to devour the bumpy trail. Even the tight corners between pine trees or avoiding fallen trees gave it no problems, despite looking like a big bike it

handles with the agility of a much smaller machine going downhill. My last remaining mission is to put it to the test on a loose rocky downhill, but I’m sure it’ll handle with aplomb. I appreciated the full Shimano SLX drivetrain and Shimano M506 brake build. One often sees manufactures mixing and

Bike Review FS

Niner’s award winning CVA virtual pivot.

A RockShox Monarch shock soaks up the hits.

The bike is equipped with remote lockout for the RockShox Sektor fork.

SUS the Merida One Twenty 9.600 Geometry RRP R26 999 Frame size

595mm

Seat tube

450mm

Chain stays

445mm

Head tube angle Seat tube angle Bottom bracket drop

The 9.600 features a Shimano SLX drivetrain and a floating suspension set-up.

matching components to hit a price point. Though we all know this happens having a standard across the key areas of drivetrain and brakes minimises the feeling that the manufacturer is trying to save money. Full Shimano or full SRAM also makes the bike look neater, I always feel. Other things I liked on the One Twenty 9.600 were

Stopping power is provided by Shimano M506 brakes with 180mm rotors.

the Maxis Ardent tyres, Merida’s smooth-welds and the quick release seat clamp. While dropper posts are king, if you can’t spec a dropper on a trail bike at least fit the seat clamp with a quick release – it just shows some consideration to the rider who’ll be manually dropping the saddle for gnarly sections. The only detraction to the Merida

9.600 is the weight, which I was always aware of on longer climbs. If you’re not the type of rider who does many 50km plus rides then the weight shouldn’t be too much of a concern. Geometry, frame, drivetrain and brakes wise it’s a more than capable do-it-all bike – but for marathon riders looking for a fun bike I’d suggest spending the extra

Top tube

69° 75° 40mm

Head tube length

95mm

Reach

431mm

Stack

615mm

Wheel base

1 144mm

Stand over height

740mm

cash (R39 999) on the Merida One Twenty 9.800. The other option is to ride the 9.600 and gradually replace components to make the bike lighter – starting with the wheels. That said it’s a lot of bike for the amount you’re spending and every time I see a Merida’s spec to price ratio I’m surprised I don’t see more of them on the trails.

Ride Report - Arabella Challenge FS

ATY P I CA L

spa weekend TOBIAS GINSBERG

eading out to Kleinmond on Friday afternoon for the Cell C Arabella Challenge things didn’t look promising for a weekend on the bike and the much vaunted pool party. It was bucketing down as we left Stellenbosch and the weather kept getting worse as we drove through Somerset West and over Sir Lowry’s Pass. But the howling wind was playing its part and the weather forecast turned out to be correct – the rain blew over in the early hours of Saturday morning and the sun rose for Stage 1 on a drying Arabella Hotel and Spa. As it turned out the torrential rain was not only much needed for the Western Cape in general but also for the sandy tracks and trails which route director Lance Stevenson had picked for the two day stage race. Lining up in B Batch I was happy to note a bunch of familiar faces, mainly in the form of super fit, fast and highly competitive female riders; Amy Burton and Robyn Williams. Also in the start chute was the Bike Hub’s Matt Eagar. Matt

SEAMUS ALLARDICE

When Stillwater Sports sent Seamus Allardice the invite for a weekend in the Arabella Hotel and Spa with a couple of days of mountain biking thrown in (the Cell C Arabella Challenge was really the main event) he jumped at the chance to join them. was bike testing and was already worried about the usual issue with test bikes… the tyres. With a few chirps from Paul Valstar we were off and heading out of the hotel’s grounds. The pace was hot from the off, and soon after turning onto the climb up Highlands Road I realised that there was no way I’d be able to match Matt, Amy and Robyn’s pace. So I slowed up a bit and took some photos. The route then turned off Highlands Road onto a jeep track and from there on there was hardly an easy stretch of riding. The views more than made up for the tough climbs and alternating, rocky/ sandy/lose gravely jeep tracks. Initially the route offered views over the stunning Overberg Coastline before turning inland and boasting views over the Elgin Valley. Somewhere around the 25km mark I found Matt on the side of the track with his test bike upside down. He’d punctured as he’d predicted. So I gave him a bomb, a show of inter-publication cooperation which was fortuitously captured

The Wildekrans singletracks are nearly as good as their wines.

by Newsport Media’s camera crew. Another fairly strenuous climb to water point two followed before we descended along a pretty treacherous 4x4 route into the Overberg on our way to the finish at Wildekrans Wine Estate. The descent was punctuated by steep drainage bumps which offered lots of opportunities to take to the air – but the landings weren’t always

“Check his neck, phone the medics”.

TOBIAS GINSBERG

Milky winter sunshine for the Cell C pool party meant no swimming but the setting was beautiful.

the safest. I made it down without incident but some riders weren’t as fortunate with Nico Pfitzenmaier a high profile victim (also in front of the camera crew). The final few kays were on Wildekrans’ singletracks and provided a taste of what lay ahead on Stage 2. Reaching the finish I grabbed my bag from the bag drop, put on a t-shirt and set my sights on the Wildekrans Tasting Room. Suitably equipped with a bottle of their amazing Cab Franc/Merlot blend I heard Paul announce that Nicola Collins (Stillwater’s ex-trail running event manager and my neighbour) had just crossed the line so I went to greet her with a glass of wine. After shuttling back to Arabella we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon around, but definitely not in, the pool. A band and then a DJ kept the pool party going despite the

lack of people swimming, but the deck chairs and the milky winter sunshine combined for a perfect afternoon anyway. Climbing into the busses, to be shuttled back to Wildekrans for the start of Stage 2, I was happy to agree to a revised start time and taking a chilled ride with songo. info’s Kathy Crabbe rather than re-joining B Batch. The trails in the early part of Stage 2 were fantastic, with a few technical features thrown in occasionally for good measure. The moment of the ride came for me as we neared water point two. Kathy and I were chatting away with her leading along a twisty bit of singletrack when I clipped my pedal on a tree stump and did a spectacular OTB. Landing smack on my chest I fortunately missed another stump with my head. But the lady riding behind us saw the entire incident and it must have looked pretty dramatic beacause she shouted at Kathy as she rode past, without so much as slowing… “Check his neck, phone the medics”. Fortunately that wasn’t necessary and we made it to the finish without further incident. All-in-all the Arabella Challenge was a fantastic weekend away, the hotel is spectacular and Stillwater Sports really went out of their way to ensure that everyone, regardless if they were staying in the hotel or not, could enjoy the superb facilities to their utmost. The race routes were tough but fun and despite the non-pool party weather the vibe was unbeatable.

FR EE

full stride

June 2016, Vol 07

www.issuu.com /FullStride

@FullStridesa

FullStride

FullStridesa #TrailRunning

Hydration packs online

AJ Calitz Page 5

News online

Run Report - Tankwa Trail FS

Not even two kilometres into the third and ﬁnal stage of the inaugural Tankwa Trail Tarryn de Beer knew she should call it a day… but she couldn’t, wouldn’t and didn’t. Here’s why…

Run Report - African X FS

listered feet, a chafed neck and an exaggeratedly strapped knee had me looking like raggedy Anne and feeling like I’d been running non-stop for weeks. On the contrary, this was only 70-something kilometres in (spread over two days mind you) on the last stage of the Tankwa Trail. Now, don’t get me wrong, the race is tough; it’s run in a semi-desert in late summer after all, boasts a good deal of technical singletrack, nasty ups and fast downs, but for some reason my battered body was defiantly not the trend in the camp. I had clearly rookied this one. It was my first stage race, my first time running with a partner and the first two stages would also be the furthest I’d ever run in one go. Going in the game plan was clear: take

SEAMUS ALLARDICE

TARRYN’S TANKWA TRIAL

Stage 1 featured many of the area’s mountain bike trails.

AfricanX

EXCLUDING TRAINING When Tarryn de Beer got injured at the Tankwa Trail and with Tammy Reader then still out with an injury too, Seamus Allardice had to step up at the last minute to run the 2016 Cell C AfricanX. And it soon became apparent that three training runs weren’t quite enough. ALL PHOTOS BY WWW.OAKPICS.COM

Tarryn de Beer and Leslee Salzmann in action.

1 full stride

Gombie’s Guide Page 5

atching my girlfriend Tarryn and Leslee Salzmann running the Tankwa Trail I must admit to developing some mild FOMO. So when Tarryn and Tammy couldn’t take up Full Stride’s AfricanX entries I decided I’d run it myself. The only hitch was that I hadn’t been running much… And had been

concussed two weeks before. And hadn’t run further than 28km before. So, just three small issues. I should clarify not running much equated to three runs in the month before AfricanX, the longest being 8km. But how hard could it be? I ﬁgured. Turns out, too hard to just power through on mountain biking

from page 1 RR- Tankwa Trail cont. FS

FS Editorial

it easy, go slow and just have fun. Ha... well that lasted all of 14km into day one when Leslee Salzmann (my running partner) and I realised we were lying in second place for the ladies team category. Race mode came out of nowhere. The allure of that illusive podium spot I’d been dreaming of ever since I embarked on this epic trail running journey was just too tempting not to peruse… not even for my poor knee! The Tankwa Trail run is a three day stage race with its base camp situated at the picturesque Kaleo Manner Guest Farm. Over the three days, one really gets the opportunity to experience the Koue Bokkeveld and Witzenberg Valley in the best way possible. The event boasts trails which run through unique landscapes, rock outcrops, working farms, fruit orchards and into the beautiful Witzenberg Valley – it truly is a memorable race.

In your hands is the June/July 2016 issue of Full Stride and it is literally jam packed. We couldn’t squeeze anything else in. Full Stride is changing and evolving and we’ve got some ideas in the pipeline to bring you more trail running content, more regularly. Let us know what you like most in Full Stride or what you’d like to read in Full Stride and we’ll make sure we listen to your feedback when planning future issues. To incentivise the feedback we’ve teamed up with Native Sport to give away an UltrAspire Synaptic MBS Waist Belt with a 550ml UltraFlask bottle. Tweet, Facebook or email us your feedback. Cheers, Seamus

MARK SAMPSON

COMPACT new issue

@SeamusAllardice

FS Competition

Win an UltrAspire

Synaptic MBS waist belt

THE PRIZE:

UltrAspire’s Synaptic MBS Waist Belt with 550ml UltraFlask bottle is the perfect combo for trail runners looking to go fast and light. The MBS Waist Belt is designed to ﬁt so snugly against your body that it doesn’t bounce and it features a large front pocket perfect for storing a cell phone or energy foods. With the empty UltraFlask bottle the Synaptic combo weighs in at just 163g.

HOW TO WIN:

Tell us what you’d like to read in future issues of Full Stride or what you’ve liked in past issues. Send your feedback to us via Facebook, Twitter or email us at seamus@integratedmedia.co.za. The competition closes 22 July 2016.

full stride team Publisher: Shayne Dowling shayne@integratedmedia.co.za Editor: Seamus Allardice seamus@integratedmedia.co.za Assistant Editor: Molly Fitz-Patrick molly@integratedmedia.co.za Art Director: Annalie Boshoff annalie@integratedmedia.co.za Designer: Shannon Flewellen Advertising: Eloise Meyer eloise@integratedmedia.co.za PR & Promotions: Ashlee Attwood

ash@integratedmedia.co.za Regulars: AJ Calitz, Michael Gombart and Tammy Reader. Photography: Ashlee Attwood, Oakpics, Red Bull Content Pool, Mark Sampson, Jacques Marais and Thinkstock Contributors: Dryland Event Management 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, Full Stride or Integrated Media.

Full Stride ALLIANCE PARTNERS Head Office | Cape Town Tel: 021 685 0285 Address: Suite WB03 Tannery Park 23 Belmont Road, Rondebosch, 7700 Postal Address: PO Box 259, Rondebosch 7701

STAGE ONE Stage one is an easy 32km out and back. The run heads north and then loops back through farmlands and singletrack along the slopes of the mountain. With only about 500m of climbing it’s perceived to be an easy day out, but with the singletrack starting early and most of the climbing condensed in the ﬁrst 14km, it’s no walk in the park. Leslee and I strode

from page 1

Top trail runners AJ Calitz and Christiaan Greyling teamed up to win the men’s race.

out right from the off, the excitement was too much to go slow, but we gradually eased into a great pace together. Considering we have never run together before our pace was well matched (initially at least). At the ﬁrst water point Leslee and I realised we were lying in second place. To be honest, I think we both knew a few kays earlier but neither wanted to bring it to the other’s attention, as of course the game plan was, slow and have fun… This quickly changed to, “well

go to page 3

RR - African X cont. FS

fitness and stubbornness. Fortunately I managed to find a great partner at short notice. Xavier Briel had contacted me via Twitter to shoot the Tankwa Trail and we’d got on well working together there so I figured we could run the AfricanX together (seeing as none of my riding buddies were stupid enough to take on a 90 odd kilometre three day trail run without any training). What Xavier failed to mention though was that he’d not only been running a fair amount leading up to the race but he also casually mentioned half way through Stage 1 that he used to be a professional rugby player – needless to say I was outclassed. But he was so relaxed throughout and in hindsight I couldn’t have asked for a better partner, especially as he happily took and tweeted photos while waiting for me. Driving to Houwhoek on the Thursday evening before AfricanX the trail runners were greeted by a gale-force wind and a steady drizzle. As I settled into my tent it became abundantly clear that it was going to be difficult to get any sleep. With the tent blowing down to mere centimetres from my face the only thing keeping it off me was my clothing bag and the only thing keeping my bag dry was the heavy duty Asics plastic bag our race packs had come in. I must have dozed off because at 3am I was jolted awake by

a blood curdling scream. It sounded very close by, but as it was still raining and the wind was howling worse than ever I decided not to bother investigating when the screaming didn’t continue. The next morning I awoke to ﬁnd the tent next to me had collapsed in the night onto its occupant. He’d woken screaming and drenched but to his credit didn’t make any further noise as he went in search of an empty and upright tent to move into. In total I think Stillwater lost over 30 tents to the wind during AfricanX. It was by a comfortable distance my most unpleasant camping experience, but there’s nothing the organisers can do about the weather so we just had to suck it up.

STAGE ONE Stage 1 was a 35km route around the mountain biking trails of Houwhoek, Thandi, Paul Cluver and Lebanon. The trails were fast and hard packed. Xavier and I set off at a steady pace and ran well until about 26km in when I started to struggle a little. It was nearing my furthest ever run and I was starting to feel the lack of training – the relentless pounding was taking its toll. But I managed to soldier on through; slowing to over seven minutes a kay, where the ﬁrst 20km we’d averaged a decent six minutes per km.

go to page 3

full stride 2

FS RR- Tankwa Trail cont. from page 2

STAGE TWO The second stage is the furthest and supposedly the toughest, covering approximately 35km with about 900m of climbing. An early morning shuttle took us to the start in the heart of the Witzenberg Valley. The

One thing that I noticed early on was the camaraderie on the trails. I’ve never taken part in an event were everyone is so chirpy, there was nearly always some banter going on and it deﬁnitely helped ease the progress. Another AfricanX highlight was the amazing spread of foods at the breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Waking up we had a choice of the Bokomo Breakfast Zone (featuring every product from their extensive cereal range), oats, toast and jams, or a cooked breakfast. Then for lunch there were daily cold meats, salads, breads and spreads – featuring more cold meats than your local deli and more salads than supper at a vegetarian’s place. Dinners though blew the rest out of the water – there were so many choices it was actually overwhelming. Even the fussiest eaters had options.

STAGE TWO Stage 2 at 34km was another long day, but this time with some proper mountain running thrown in for good measure. I had been looking forward to the stage as there were two big climbs which I ﬁgured would allow me to kill some kays without doing my knees any damage. I was worried however about the long descent along the Wines2Whales A-Z trails from the top of the Gantouw Pass to water point two at the Grabouw Country Club. Stage 2 is also fancy dress day and I have the utmost respect for anyone who attempted to run the stage in fancy dress. Trail running 34km is

3 full stride

The BODYTEC team of Veresa Domingo and Sandra Leyck crossing the ﬁnish line.

singletrack, and clearly Leslee did too, as we dashed through that section. I knew we had to make up as much time as possible before we hit the big climb, my usual nemesis, if we were to keep our second spot. The fast running quickly came to an end for me, with the big climb of

stage stared off gently heading through picturesque orchards before the climbing began with the first singletrack of the day. The initial 10km saw us bouldering over rock formations and swooping down fun flowing singletracks trough a pine forest. I loved the free flowing

“Crossing the line was unexplainable, I was done! Physically and emotionally.” Stride Out on the AfricanX

RR - African X cont. FS

2017 Dates: 17 – 19 March Website: www.stillwatersports.com 2016 Daily Reports: Scan this QR Code or visit www.fullstridesa.co.za/tag/africanx/ tough enough without hamstringing oneself by wearing a French Maid’s outfit, a time-trial aero helmet, or carrying an old school tennis racquet the whole way. It started out well enough, Xavier and I crested the Gantouw Pass without any issues and I started the 12km traverse to the dam in good spirits. But as the kilometres began to add up my running form started to go out the window. Somehow my usually fragile knees were holding up okay, but my ankles were rolling inward with every stride. By the time we reached the switchbacks through the pine plantations above the Country Club I’d had enough. I knew Tarryn was waiting at the water point to cheer us on and knowing I could catch a lift from there to the finish without having to wait for a race official to eventually take me there helped make up my mind. I pulled out 19km into the stage. I could probably have finished but I would undoubtedly have ended up with a serious injury which, given Tarryn’s experience at the Tankwa Trail the month before I wasn’t keen to repeat. I also suspect, though he wouldn’t say so, Xavier was pretty happy I pulled out

– I was deﬁnitely holding him back.

STAGE THREE Waking up after the ﬁrst semi-decent night’s sleep of the race for Stage 3 I was half tempted to run the ﬁnal 22km stage. But after hobbling to breakfast I realised that would be a stupid idea so I drove Xavier to the start at Wildekrans Wine Estate and turned super supporter – covering Stage 3 via Twitter. It was a little bitter-sweet watching

everyone start without me but having a coffee with the other walking wounded rather than facing another day on sore legs did take the edge off. Xavier finished AfricanX solo for what should have been Team Full Stride, but I learnt a lot from the experience none-the-less. The primary lesson is that AfricanX is actually a very manageable trail running challenge, but you do have to do some training for it… I reckon next year I’ll try again. If I double my training to six prerace runs, I should be perfectly fine… P.S. Please don’t follow that advice, rather make use of the AfricanX training programme on the race’s website! You’ll enjoy it far more if you’re fitter.

The Unogwaja Challenge crew were in high spirits throughout AfricanX.

TOBIAS GINSBERG

let’s not push too hard, but let’s see if we can keep our spot”. Obviously I then pushed too hard. The chance to be on a podium was too tempting. Unfortunately my coordination was clearly not on board with my new game plan and I tripped while heading speedily down a loose and rocky jeep track. I quickly dusted myself off, rubbed away the blood and went ﬂying into the last water point. Naturally, on seeing the blood the medics all offered their assistance to get me cleaned up, but when I saw the third ladies team approaching, I quickly hurried Leslee on and we were out of there, blood running down my leg and all. Either it was the fall, or just the fact that we were running 32km, but nearing the end I really started to fall apart. Leslee, the stronger of us two (who was barely breaking a sweat) took the lead and pulled me on to the end. We came in second. I was elated. But ﬁnished. It was only day one…

the day which took us up and out the Witzenberg Valley. Once at the top of the pass we made a quick pit stop at a water point and we were off again. From there the route followed a fast technical downhill trail until we hit the farmlands again. I really love downhills, and this is where I kicked up a gear, I felt strong and refreshed. As soon as we hit the flats again the kilometres began to take their toll. The final 15km of day two were tough. Not because of technicality or climbing but because they were characterised by another running demon; long, straight, unshaded, sandy roads. It was here that I started feeling my knee, the one I had fallen on. The impact of falling on it must have sparked something but I would just run through it… Oh and the blisters… I could now feel them forming on both my feet. But we’d come too far now to slow down, my knee and feet would have to hold. The last 2km before the stage finish got fun again with narrow rocky gaps and quick up’s and downs as we dropped into the race village. As we neared the finish I felt my emotions welling up, I forced back an uncertain tear. I was so happy to be done, my emotions were shot. A bucket of ice water over my head and a big hug from my boyfriend lifted my spirits. I felt proud, it was a great feeling. A feeling that wasn’t too great was

RR- Tankwa Trail cont. FS my throbbing knee and blistered feet. I knew right there and then, I had I’d be making a big a call later that afternoon. After an afternoon of trying to get myself in a shape to run the ﬁnal stage Leslee and I chatted over dinner and I came to the sensible decision to pull out. I was oddly at ease with my decision… until the next morning. Unfortunately, on seeing all the other runners getting ready, I cracked. And so it began, stage three, the most challenging run I’ve done to date.

Stride Out on the Tankwa Trail 2017 Dates: 17 – 19 February Website: www.tankwatrail.co.za 2016 Daily Reports: Scan this QR Code or visit www.fullstridesa.co.za/tag/tankwa-trail/ was dizzy and thirsty. We had 6km to go. I could do this. The support at the water table cheered us on and off we went. Unfortunately after about 3km later my blisters began to ﬂare up again. I could feel the raw ﬂesh rubbing against my shoe; it was burning so

badly, I was in agony. Limping on the right due to my foot and bobbing on the left due to my knee, I was falling apart. I just wanted it too end. Crossing the line was unexplainable, I was done! Physically and emotionally. As my boyfriend

STAGE THREE Stage three is a quick 24km out and back run. For me, however, it was gruelling from word go. After 2km in I wanted to quit (and I should have). My knee throbbed and when it wasn’t throbbing I was battling with nausea. We were going really slow, walking up every hill (no matter how small). By water point one (10km in) I was exhausted and felt very ill. We were now lying third in the ladies category though and if we kept up our pace, we’d probably still manage a podium spot. The silly race mind was at it again. About 4km from the second water point I started to bonk big time. I was walking on ﬂats too. Reaching the water point was like arriving at an oasis. I ﬂushed my head with a bucket of ice water and took a few deep breaths. I

Tracy Forbes and Jana Trojan dashing between two of the many iconic boulders on the Tankwa Trail route.

Pulled Muscles Resting and rehabbing your strain correctly and making a slow and safe return to running will also help keep you running for longer writes Tammy Reader.

muscle strain occurs when a muscle is over-stretched, tearing some or all of the tissue; it is also known as a pulled muscle. A muscle strain is point specific pain in a muscle, accompanied by bruising, swelling, point tenderness, tightness and loss of strength. Hill work, uneven terrain, speed work, not warming up, inadequate strength and flexibility can all increase your chances of a pulling a muscle. Strains can develop gradually but in most cases muscle tears occur in runners who are fatigued, have muscular imbalances, poor conditioning or tight muscles. Making sure that you include a dynamic warm-up and a strength training component to your programme will help reduce your chances of strains. Resting and rehabbing your strain correctly and making a slow and safe return to running will also help keep you running for longer.

There are three grades of muscle strain: they can vary from a pull, partial tearing to complete tearing. In a grade one muscle strain there may or may not be tears present and up to 5% of the muscle may be involved. You will feel a twinge of pain but will most likely be able to continue your run and experience only tightness/ache after your run. Grade two is a partial tear in the muscle where approximately 50% of the fibres are affected and you will have a sharp pain which will not subside while running. There will be swelling and bruising which may present immediately. The muscle will be sore when moving. Grade three involves 90-100% of the muscle tissue and is called a rupture. This will be accompanied by severe and immediate pain. You will most likely feel a gap in the muscle and will not be able to walk properly. A complete tear may need surgery and you may not even be able to contract the

muscle when doing a strength test. Immediately after the injury you should try and elevate the area and wear compression socks/tights/ bandages for 48 hours. Icing the area in 10-15 minute intervals as soon after the injury as possible will also help reduce the bruising and swelling. Aqua jogging and cross-training (for example, cycling) can help you maintain your cardio fitness while injured and will help you ease back into running relatively quickly. When you are pain free you can return slowly to flat even trails. Depending on the severity of the strain, starting off with half the distance at a slower pace and increasing your mileage 10% per week is a safe way to return to your running. It can, however, take up to 12 weeks for soft tissue to heal properly. Even after the initial healing has taken place it is essential that the muscle is strengthened to prevent future injuries to the area. Rushing this stage of the healing process is counter-productive. The slower you return to your previous mileage, the longer time you give your muscle to heal. If you have a

hugged me in congratulations I burst out crying, it was all too much. Somehow we managed a third place overall. But at the end of it all I actually did not really care. In hindsight I realised what I was most proud of and thankful for, I actually managed to run 90km over three days. On top of that I had made a new friend and running partner, Leslee. Plus I got to spend the most exhilarating weekend with such lovely likeminded people in such a beautiful place. This was worth more than any podium. I truly fell in love with stage racing that weekend. Aside from the race the weekend actually felt like a luxury adventure weekend with friends. It was intimate, well organised, the food was abundant and delicious, and the campsite immaculate. I’ll be back every year for sure.

Tarryn de Beer is a post-harvest harvest technical manager for blueberry exporters Eurafruit. She’s an avid trail runner and has her sights set on taking on the Ultra Trail Cape Town’s 65km race later this year. Follow her on Twitter: @Tarryn_db.

Biokinetics

recurring injury you may need to think carefully about increasing your mileage at a slower rate as well as incorporating a personalized rehab programme. Visiting a biokineticist will help you to achieve this, thus regaining your strength and flexibility and preventing future injuries.

Tammy Reader is a registered biokineticist in Stellenbosch. She is a keen trail runner and mountain biker and enjoys incorporating her practical experience into her work. To find your nearest Biokineticist go to: www.biokinetics.org.za.

full stride 4

FS The Calitz Column

FS Gombie’s Trail Guide

Gombie’s guide to running in the UK

CHARITY As the storm clouds rolled in over the West Coast and darkened the skies around Cape Town, a group of 200 nervous athletes, including AJ Calitz, looked with trepidation at the weather forecast for the K-Way Platteklip Charity Challenge.

he annual K-Way Platteklip Charity Challenge is an ultraendurance event that sees athletes ascend Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain as many times as possible between sunrise and sunset, hitching a ride on the cable car on the way down. The event, which was in its 9th year this year, has raised more than R5 million for various charities around the city. Although no entry fee is charged, each athlete has to raise in excess of R2 000 to qualify – with some raising more than R25 000! The pre-race brieﬁng for the sellout event in the Cape Union Mart Adventure Centre set the scene for the arduous event that was to follow. Organiser, Anton de Waal let us know that only gale force winds would cancel the event (due to the cable car not being able to run). Our prayers were answered as we were greeted by a beautiful, crisp (although quite chilly) Cape Town morning. A nervous chatter being heard at the Cable Station as the runners prepared to set off at exactly 07:18am. The first ascent saw a race to the top as there were spot prizes for the first male and female runners – honours were taken by the inimitable Chantel Nienaber, who despite the cold still wore her very distinguishable pink hot pants, and myself. The remainder of the day saw runners toiling with the climb,

5 full stride

shuffling along the tar road and making small talk with tourists in the cable car as they staved off exhaustion to raise funds for The SAEP (South African Education and Environment Program), raising more money with each ascent. Students from the SAEP welcomed athletes on top of Platteklip with loud cheers of encouragement and appreciation. Both Chantel and I were aiming for the respective records of 9 and 12 summits but with 40 minutes less daylight than previous years to run in, despite our best efforts, we both ran out of time to break the records. At 18:16 the sun set, and the runners had climbed a collective 470.2km (600 plus ascents) and raised in excess of R880 000 – a new record for the event. Well-deserved drinks and snacks, provided by Fairview and Striped Horse, were served in the Cable Station’s reception area which proved to be just what the doctor ordered after a long day on the mountain.

AJ Calitz, trail running’s ginger ninja, is a Guinness World Record holder having climbed 10 257 vertical metres – summiting Platteklip Gorge 14 and a half times in 12 hours, and the three time Lion Heart Champion. Follow his exploits on Twitter at @ajcalitz.

K-WAY PLATTEKLIP CHALLENGE

CLIMBING FOR

MICHAEL GOMBART

AJ Calitz on his way up Platteklip Gorge.

With winter setting in nicely in SA Michael Gombart has been on a break to the northern hemisphere, but before you get too jealous he’s currently in the not so sunny UK.

Not much in the way of mountains on Michael’s usual route around Basingstoke.

eing in the UK has meant missing some of my favourite trail races, but it also meant a chance to race in some great events overseas. I, in my ignorance, assumed (everyone knows what they say about assumptions…) that I would be able to train in some great northern hemisphere “spring” weather. I quickly found out European spring weather feels more like winter on the top of Matroosberg… I was also then faced with another reality – Basingstoke, Hampshire (my base camp), happens to be pretty flat. But on the plus side – it’s positioned in picture perfect English countryside. At first it seemed I wouldn’t be able to get suitable trail running or training done. But rather than get disappointed I did some careful investigation. After a few recce runs I have managed to plan and run some pretty awesome routes in the countryside, taking in every hill, embankment and bump I can find. The result – a stunning route, with some decent elevation to give it that proper all round workout. It has also brought me back to the reality of what a great way running is to see different places. Admittedly you need to head out in the morning with the same gear you would take on a run up Matroosberg, but still it offers a real reward taking the trail less travelled. I am really looking forward to the chance to race in some fell runs, otherwise known as Mountain runs (like cross country but on a mountain or hill) too. And I will be writing a race report with pics in the September Full

Stride for the inside look at Fell or Mountain Running in the UK and Europe. One thing that has been highlighted by this trip so far, and it may be a cliché, but we are very lucky to have the outdoors, mountains and trails with weather to boot so easily accessible back home. While we need to venture out of our comfort zones very regularly to grow, and while I miss the beauty of running the Cape Mountains, my training has been by no means stopped. If anything it’s even better, because when you make the effort to go out and train well, you also make sure it’s worth your while. Some of the fell runners here are awesome people that share a worldwide passion, to get outside, explore, and run the mountains and trails. But their dedication definitely shows, in the talent, and results in a society where embracing the challenges in running and athletics is encouraged and well rewarded, whether that be a great event, a prize purse, or a couple of ales at the local inn.

Michael “Gombie” Gombart is a couch potato turned multisport athlete and trail runner. He’s the founder of www. outpostrunning.co.za and will be providing you, the reader of Full Stride, with expert advice on how to get into trail running and maybe even get competitive. Follow him on Twitter at @michaelgombart.

FS Xxxxxxxxxx

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

RACE CALENDAR GAUTENG

1 1 3 4 8 10 16 18 19 19 22 23 26 26 28

Energizer Night Trail run Peacock Trail Run Wild Dog Trail Run The Duesouth Night One powered by Ledlenser Kingﬁsher Trail Run Serengeti Trail Run TrailAdventure Trail Run Festival Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series 2 of 4 2016 Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series 2 of 4 2016 Spur Hennops Winter XL Jackal Trail Run Jackal Creek Night Run Series @ Ruimsig_RUN Kinetic Adventure Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series® 3 of 4 Meerkat Trail Run

WESTERN CAPE

4 4 5 11 11 16 18 18 18 18 19 19 24 25 26 26 4 4 5 12 15 19 26

Olyfberg Summit Challenge Old Fisherman’s Trail Challenge Lourensford Market Trail Run Run the Vines - Mellasat Outeniqua Quest 2016 Youth Day Trail Run @ Delvera Fernskloof Trail Run 2016 Grootvadersbosch Trail Run D’aria TrailFun run 2016 Realtors International D’Aria Winery Trail Run The Greyton Classic Trail Run Patatfees Trail Run Theuniskraal Trail Run Lourensford Market Trail Run Mid-Year Trail Run @ Muratie Lourensford Market Trail Run

KZN

The Oxpecker The Karkloof Classic MGC Trail Fun Run Faulklands – Winter Series Giba Gorge Night Trail The Bummer Beach Run and Walk Table Mountain – Winter Series

MPUMALANGA

4 The Gorge Series Trail Run & MTB 17 Kruger2Canyon Challenge 2016 18 Buster Bunny Boven 2016

LIMPOPO

17 Kruger2Canyon Challenge 2016 18 Buster Bunny Boven 2016

NORTH WEST PROVINCE

Momentum Health OatWell DUALX Series Powered by PeptoPro #3 Van Gaalen

Momentum Health OatWell DUALX #3 Van Gaalen 12 Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series 1 of 4 2016

OUT OF AFRICA

June 2016

OUT OF AFRICA (International)

11 Brandberg Rhino Run and Cycle Tour 13 Richterveld Transfronteir Wildrun 2016

July 2016 3 6 15 20 27 29

GAUTENG

Spur Gauteng Winter Trail Series 4 of 4 2016 Energizer Night Trail run Kingﬁsher Trail Run Tortoise and Hare Trail Run Jackal Trail Run Serengeti Trail Run

19 Racing Madagascar 2016 (Madadascar)

August 2016 3 5 8 10 13 16 17 23 24 24 27 31 6

EASTERN CAPE

30 Pam Golding Oldenburgia Trail Run 2

WESTERN CAPE

Simola Phantom Forest Night Run & Casper Kids Adventure Run 3 Trail Town Free Range Runs: The ELEPHANT 4 Trail Town Free Range Runs: THE TERBLANS 5 Salomon Featherbed Trail Run 2016 5 Trail Town Free Range Runs: THE BUSHPIG 6 Trail Town Free Range Runs: The ELEPHANT 7 Trail Town Free Range Runs: THE TERBLANS 7 Momentum Health OatWell DUALX #4 Knysna 8 Trail Town Free Range Runs: THE BUSHPIG 10 Wine Adventure Trail Run – Presented by Falke 16 Salomon Bastille Day Trail Run 2016 16 Run The Vines #5 23 Rhebokskloof Wine Estate Trail Run ‘16 23 Hout Bay Trail Challenge 24 GLB46 Ultra 24 Spur Cape Winter Trail Series 1 of 4 2016 24 Gluhwein Trail Run 31 Spur Cape Winter Trial Series 2 of 4 2016 31 Lourensford Market Trail Run 9 2 9 10 23 30

MPUMALANGA

The Gorge Series Trail Run & MTB

KZN

Umhanga Trail Phezulu Trail Run Gooderson Challenge 1 1000 Hills Challenge Ngoje Trail Run

Calling all event organisers! Get your events listed here for free. Drop us a mail, to trail@fullstridesa.co.za, with all your 2016 event dates and details and we’ll make sure they’re listed in Full Stride.

GAUTENG

Energizer Night Trail run Wild Dog Trail Run Ladies Night Run/ Walk Jackal Trail Run Momentum Health OatWell DUALX #5 Buffelsdrift Duck Trail Run Owl Trail Run Meerkat Trail Run Merrell Spring Night Run, JHB 2016 Peacock Trail Run Merrell Spring Run 2016 Serengeti Trail Run

LIMPOPO

OUT IN AFRICA

Kilimanjaro Stage Run (Int.) Ethiotrail (Int.)

September 2016 MPUMALANGA

17 The Gorge Series Trail Run & MTB 7 7 14 16 20 21 29 30

GAUTENG

Energizer Night Trail Run Tortoise and Hare Trail Run Paperbark Trail Run Kingﬁsher Trail Run Meerkat Trail Run Peacock Trail Run Jackal Trail Run Serengeti Trail Run

FREE STATE 23 Powertraveller 4 Peaks 2016

Wolfberg Trail Run

WESTERN CAPE

Merrell Whale of Trail in partnership with Cape Nature 2016 6 RCS SOX Trail Run 2016 6 Strandloper Trail Run 6 Green Forest Trail Run Series 7 Circles in the Forest Trail Run 2016 7 Spur Cape Winter Trial Series 3 of 4 2016 9 Run The Vines #6 13 Spur Kleinmond XL 2016 13 Spur Cape Winter Trail Series 4 of 4 2016 14 Dirtopia Winter Trail Run 26 Tour of Homewood 27 Tramonto Happiness Festival and Wedding Runs 28 Lourensford Market Trail Run 28 Change of Season Trail Run 29 Botter Trail Run 29 AUGUST

EASTERN CAPE

6 Storms River Traverse 31 Wildcoast Wildrun 2016 (Departure 1) 7 14 14 21 27 28

7 7

KZN

3 Falls Trail Run Umgeni River Run Marriot Dargle Trail Festival The Sandy Mandela Day Trail Run SPCA Trail Run and Walk

MPUMALANGA

6 The Num-num Trail Challenge 13 The Gorge Series Trail Run & MTB

NORTH WEST PROVINCE

13 The Crazy Store Magaliesberg Challenge 2016 14 The Crazy Store Magaliesberg Challenge

CALENDAR KEY Mpumalanga

Free State

Limpopo

Western Cape

Northern Cape

KZN

Gauteng

North West

Eastern Cape

Out in Africa

EASTERN CAPE

1 2 8 9 12

Wildcoast Wildrun Race Wild Dog Trail Run Wildcoast Wildrun Journey Wildcoast Wildrun Non-Stop The XPedition – 2016. An Eastern Cape Odyssey. 5 Days

Realtors International Hillcrest Wine Estate 2016 Hillcrest Wine Estate – TrailFun Tip Trans Trail Run Merrell Spring Night Run Series CT 2016 – 1 The Crazy Store Table Mountain Challenge 2016 Piket-Bo-Berg Cycle Challenge & Trail Run Ingwe Tiere Trail Run 2016 Merrell Spring Night Run Series CT 2016 – 2 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon (and other events!) Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Peace Trail 2016 Spring Trail Run @Knorhoek. Presented by Falke Merrell Spring Night Run Series CT 2016 – 3 Oyster Catcher Trail Run 2016 Martloth Mountain Challenge 201 Renosterbos Extreme MTB & Trail Run Run The Vines #7 Lourensford Market Trail Run

3 3 7 10 10 11 14 17 18 18 21 23 24 24 24 25 1 3 10 10 16 17

WESTERN CAPE

NORTHERN CAPE Namaqua Quest

KZN

Lynford Umko Trail Mont-Aux-Sources Challenge 2016 Mountain Splendour Mania Cascades Night Trail The Giant’s Cup Uncut & Corporate Relay 24 Love Trail White Mountain 25 Rhino Run 30 Runtheberg 2016

OUT IN AFRICA

14 Burgos Ultra Stage Race (Int.)

INSPIRATION Station - Bucket List Event

Fairview Dryland Traverse The Fairview Dryland Traverse is a four day stage race in the Klein Karoo. It runs through the Cango Caves World Heritage Site, up a section of the famous Swartberg Pass and along forgotten trails in the Swartberg Mountain Range. At 69km in total it’s arguably the

most manageable stage race around distance wise but it also packs a heck of a lot into those short kilometres. The 2016 Dryland Traverse takes place from 3 to 6 November. To ﬁnd out more visit:. www.drylandtraverse.co.za.

full stride 6

FS Yoga & Pilates – brought to you by Concept Studio

WHAT DOES

YOGA

MEAN TO YOU?

hese following core (abdominal) exercises will hopefully challenge you, but will also make you feel calm and satisﬁed when you ﬁnish. If you

There are many benefits of yoga, writes Joëlle Sleebos. It helps you take a holistic approach to looking after your body; it improves physical strength but also calms the mind. need to relax further try to find some stillness in the Savasana pose. Always warm-up the body first so you don’t injure yourself (specifically your lower back) with the Sun Salutations series from the June/July 2015 issue!

If you feel like it, combine these core exercises with the other core exercises from the May 2016 issue, and the September and October 2015 issues. All four combined will produce a full core workout!

Core – Abdominal Poses | Reversed Tabletop

Joëlle Sleebos has 16 years of experience in the ﬁtness industry as a group ﬁtness instructor and became a personal trainer in 2012. She’s been teaching yoga since 2010, when it also became her main form of exercise. Follow Joëlle on Twitter at @JoelleSleebos or on Facebook: Joelle Sleebos – Getting Personal. YOGA ONLINE The older Yoga Columns are also all available online (go to www.fullsus. co.za/yoga-archive/) if you missed out on one. Alternatively scan this QR Code.

Warm-up: Start with Suryanamaskara A to warm up the body. Scan this QR Code to download.

ALL PHOTOS BY ASHLEE ATTWOOD

SEQUENCE 1

Start seated on your mat.

Exhale – Knees towards your chest, don’t use your hand but use your abs. Exhale – Slowly drop your hips, but keep your buttocks off the floor by pulling your belly in, push the floor away, keep your feet flexed. Hover your hips between your arms just above the floor.

Inhale/Exhale – Hold pose for 5 breaths.

Preparation – Place both hands next to your hips with your ﬁngers pointing forward, feet are hipwidth apart and feet are active/ﬂexed.

Inhale – Lift your hips as high as you can, push into your feet, keep your knees above your ankles and look at your navel.

Inhale/Exhale – If it feels okay and your neck isn’t hurting, look at the ceiling. Inhale – Hold Reversed Tabletop pose.

Repeat the lifting (inhale) & hovering (exhale) 10 times.

Rest – Lie in Savasana to recover. SEQUENCE 2

Start lying on your back.

Exhale – Move your knees away from you while keeping the knees bend at a 90/90 degree angle. Try to keep your lower back against the ﬂoor to protect it. If your lower back hurts, stop! Inhale – Hold the pose. Exhale – Knees back towards your chest, don’t use you hand but use your abs. Repeat 10 times.

Rest – Lie in Savasana to recover.

www.conceptstudio.co.za | 021 434 2266 | @ConceptStudioSA Now offering Altitude Training for Runners, contact Concept Studio to ﬁnd out more.

FS Dirt Diva Diaries

ons is trots op jou

Estelle Pickard is so stoked on riding, she is on a mission to convert every lady she can into a mountain biker – and so it was with her accountant mate Madelein Schreuder.

hen people hear the term chartered accountant, they immediately think “grey suit”. Madelein is a bit of an anomaly. A little over a month ago Madelein mentioned to me that she wouldn’t mind getting a mountain bike. Over Easter, I found her a second-hand bike online and sent her the link. Two days later she sent me a selfie captioned: “Taking my new beastie boy for a lunchtime spin!” In that same week, she asked me whether I think she’ll be able to do the Houw Hoek Tour. I wasn’t quite sure, but firmly believing in throwing people in the deep end, I convinced her it’s the perfect ride for her. So we entered and Madelein booked herself a skills session. The night before the race I asked her how she felt, her eyes lit up and a little curl to the side of her face started jumping, she exclaimed, “Excited, I’m ready!” I absolutely loved the ride, and like a friend of mine said, “If the last few kilometres of day two don’t get you high, I can’t help you.” But more importantly, let’s hear Madelein’s account of the event… There’s always time for a trail side selfie.

EP: Wat was jou verwagtinge van die Houwhoek Toer?

MS: Die 50km per dag was nie vir my scary nie, want ek ry dit maklik op die pad, maar toe vind ek uit 50km op die pad is nie 50km in die berge nie! Ek was aangenaam verras met die mense se vrygewigheid en goedgunstigheid. Ek het daar weggery met ‘n gevoel dat hierdie ‘n gemeenskap is met wie ek myself wil vereenselwig. It restored my faith in humanity.

EP: Wat was vir jou die hoogtepunt? MS: Die Pofadder! Ek was vrek bang! Waar ons almal op die enkelspoor staan en wag om oor die brug te gaan, het ek die vrouens hoor giggel en gil. Toe ek nader kom, het ek ’n stadige beweging gesien en cleats hoor tip-tip op die bruggie, maar ek het geweet as ek commit gaan ek dit kan doen. Commit, konsentreer, kyk op en fokus op waarheen jy gaan... en toe doen ek dit!

EP: Wat was vir jou die laagtepunt? MS: Ek het gedink dit is toe my band pap raak op dag een. Ek het nie ’n spaar tube saamgedra nie, maar dit het binne ’n minuut heeltemal omgedraai in die mooiste ervaring toe daar mens na mens vra of ek okay is en afklim, help en tubes aanbied - fantasties!

EP: Wat was vir jou die mees uitdagende deel van die Houwhoek Toer? MS: Dag 2 het ’n paar uitdagings opgelewer. My bene, en veral my boude, was ’n bietjie moeg en ek kon voel dat my konsentrasie ook nie meer 100% was nie – veral in die opdraande switchbacks op Wildekrans. Op 25km was die eerste waterpunt en ek was ewig dankbaar daarvoor. Ek is een van daai healthy overfuelers en het gedink as ek net by die waterpunt kom dan gaan ek okay wees. Daar gekom het ek lekker weggepak aan die

PHOTOS BY ESTELLE PICKARD

Madsie,

Madelein Schreuder with a well-deserved bottle of bubbly.

toebroodjies, aartappels en Coke – eerste pouse! Nie eens 3km verder nie het ek besef ek is nou flou. Toe stop ek maar, eet nog ietsie uit my doedelsak uit en maak geselsies met die mense wat verbykom. Sjoe, en Die Gorge! Gelukkig was Braam daar saam met my. Braam wat die vorige dag my pap wiel reggemaak het, my ge-coach het oor hoe om deur die Pofadder te ry en my verskeie kere op die pad raakgeloop het en gevra het of ek okay is. Hy het my veiliger laat voel, hy was soos ’n beskermengel op die pad. Maar die brein is ’n misleier van formaat, Die Gorge is scary!

EP: Op watter stadium van die Houwhoek Toer het jy veral trots gevoel op jouself?

MS: Sjoe, die hele tyd! As ek ’n switchback doen en nie val nie, as ek braaf genoeg is om ’n steil afdraand te ry en nie af klim nie en veral as ek by plekke kom waar ek die enigste vrou in die groep is wat tegniese dele op my ysterperd aandurf. Op een plek het ons oor ’n klomp brûe agtermekaar gery. Aan die anderkant staan daar ’n man en vrou. Die vrou huil snot en trane en sê vir hom sy kan nie oor die brûe ry nie, sy is te bang. Ek het ŉ gevoel gekry dis nie nou my plek nie, maar ek wou so graag vir haar sê hoe trots sy op haarself behoort te wees. Meeste vroue in hulle 30’s (dis so oud ek haar geskat het) sit iewers in ’n salon waar hulle hulle naels verf, loop in winkelsentrums rond “racking up more debt”, sit voor die TV en lewe vicariously deur die TV-karakters, maar nie sy nie; sy is op haar fiets in die asemrowende natuur besig om haar vrede in die gesig te staar en te lewe! Toe ek klaar vir haar die pep talk in my kop gegee het grynslag ek vir myself en dink ‘Well done Madsie, same applies to you!’ Estelle Pickard is a lawyer on sabbatical. She recently started the ladies specific cycling apparel brand Dirt Diva and will be providing a regular column for Full Sus on the trials and tribulations of finding her way as a woman on a mountain bike. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @hellodirtdiva.

FS Coaching

SUS DR MIKE’S KEY POINTS:

Fitness Over

 Include 2 to 3 high intensity workouts on your indoor trainer to spice things up and keep it exciting. Sessions can be as short as 45 minutes.  Don’t neglect riding outside in the wet. Riding wet singletrack can dramatically increase your skill level.

Maintaining

WINTER This issue Dr Mike Posthumus responds to a reader’s question about the best ways to stay ﬁt over winter and if he should invest in an indoor trainer.

using software (Such as Perfpro, Trainneroad, Hurts Ergo) that allows you to ride a pre-designed workout in .erg mode (a mode which sets the speciﬁc wattage and changes the smart trainer to maintain the speciﬁc wattage). When I design these workouts I include several changes of intensity to keep things exciting and to challenge myself. These workouts

maintain training focus and ﬁtness. Yes, I do recommend indoor training, it is an extremely time efficient means of training. However, if you hate it or get bored with it, spice it up a bit by including short, sharp and focused high intensity training sessions. There are some excellent smart trainers around. One such example is the Wahoo KICKR. I really enjoy

ear Dr Mike, I always find that I tend to get quite unfit and put on a bit of weight during winter. What do you recommend I do to keep fit during winter? I don’t currently have an indoor trainer, do you recommend this approach? Thank you for helping, Matt Dear Matt, Lots of riders struggle to keep motivation during winter when early morning rides are dark and often wet. This is often a difficult time to

Performing a high intensity workout on a smart indoor trainer, like the Wahoo KICKR, can mimic a longer outdoor ride in as little as 45 minutes.

FS Healthful Amy

CARAMEL-CHOCOLATE RECOVERY SMOOTHIE

While we might all want to reach for the beer or a glass of red wine as a recovery drink, you’ll be better served by Amy Burton’s Caramel-Chocolate Recovery Smoothie.

Ingredients: (Serves 1) 1 frozen banana chopped up ½ cup coconut milk or almond milk ½ cup water 1 handful almonds (About 10-12 in total) 1 big date, ideally medjool (You can soak it for 5 mins in hot water to soften)

Generous pinch of salt 1 teaspoon maca 2 teaspoon cacao or cocoa 1 teaspoon cacao nibs (optional) 2/3 blocks of ice

Method: Place ingredients into your blender in the following order: Banana, ice, nuts and dates ﬁrst, then add your cacao, maca, salt and then ﬁnally the coconut milk and water. Blend until smooth and creamy then top with your cacao nibs, and maybe some coconut shavings. Enjoy it right away!

Amy Burton is a mountain biker, trail runner, graphic designer and foodie. She has recently of opened a Rawfood and Superfood smoothie bar at Trail and Tar in Tokai so drop by for a great healthy treat. When she is not riding her bike, running or running her own business, she posts amazing recipes and photos on Instagram, so follow her at @healthful_amy.

AMY BURTON

his smoothie is so simple to make and will fulﬁl your recovery needs after an intense training session. It is also absolutely delicious, whilst still remaining reﬁned sugar free and packed full of Superfood goodness!

can be performed in as little as 45 minutes and can have the effect of much longer rides outside. If a smart trainer is out of your budget, you can get similar quality work done on a more basic fluid trainer. I like fluid trainer’s because they create a good “road feel”. Several videos (like the Sufferfest) or virtual reality platforms (such as Zwift) may also make spending time on the indoor trainer more bearable. However, be aware of the amount of high intensity workouts you do. Try to limit it to two to three times per week. In South Africa specifically, I have found that many guys really battle technically when things get wet. Therefore, I would also suggest to use the winter months wisely to work on your skills in the wet and slippery singletrack. When it has been raining and you know the trails are wet and slippery, this may be the best time to go out and simply have fun. This is often the best time to enjoy the trail and work on your wet weather riding skills.

Dr. Mike Posthumus is an accomplished academic with UCT’s Exercise Science and Sports Medicine faculty and a coach with Science 2 Sport. Find out more at: www.sciencetosport.com

Kleinhans Muesli FS

STAND OUT and BE SEEN THE HI-VIZ SPORTSWEAR BRAND EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

WINTER IS COMING!

PHOTOS BY TOPEAK-ERGON

Erik’s northern hemisphere based team mates need the Canyon winter kit far more than he does.

Rucksack

100% CE reﬂective material for 360 degree visability Waterproof fabric Waterproof zips with double slides and cord pulls Adjustable waist/hip belt Adjustable harness with accessory tabs Webbing haul and gear loops Front zipped pockets Mesh side pockets

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. It is a saying pretty well-known in the cycling community, and from Erik Kleinhans’ first-hand experience, it rings 100% true.

hen the sun rises late and sets early, it quickly becomes a difficult task to stay motivated and make the time to keep the fitness high, especially if you live in winter rainfall areas like Cape Town. Fortunately if riding your bike is your job, you have more daytime to train, but when it rains for a few days in a row, how do you keep the pedals going? For me, clothing is the starting point. Luckily riding for a European team, the Topeak-Ergon boys order plenty of winter kit from our supplier, Canyon. I don’t need it as much as the others who often deal with sub-zero temperatures, but without a doubt, if you can dress warmly, and block the rain, it actually becomes fun and exciting to go out for a ride. Added extras in the clothing department which are a must for me during the winter months include a 100% waterproof rain jacket, winter gloves, shoe-covers and headgear. A product which we don’t often see in SA but which I highly recommend is a pair of 100% waterproof rain pants. If all else fails go to the hardware store and buy a waterproof worker pants, they work like a charm! Gear yourself up. There are so many cool gadgets

Erik Kleinhans has joined the specialist marathon racing team of Topeak Ergon, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be hearing any less from the Lion King. Follow him on Twitter: @erikkleinhans, or visit www.topeak-ergon-racing.com.

For torrential rain, a good waterproof jacket and shoe covers are a must but Erik says waterproof riding pants are a winner too.

on the market these days, especially lights, night rides are a great way to keep it exciting during winter. They are also super important to keep you safe and visible. And don’t be shy to give fenders a try to keep your feet and ass dry. When I know the weather will be bad for a few days, I try and find out what my cycling mates are up to; it makes the kilometres go by a bit faster, and it is a major plus if you know someone is waiting for you. The cold months give you a great opportunity to do some different workouts. Going for a run takes less time and is slightly easier in the dark. Another favourite is some gym-work, it is something I also do during the peak season to help build some strength which I find could be really beneficial, as well as a core or yoga class. Then with the advancement of the WattBikes, it is easy to get a good workout without going outdoors. The best motivational trick is still to set yourself a few goals during the winter months. Pay that entry fee, book the accommodation, invite your mates… then you can’t turn back and you sure can’t let any of them beat you! And when all else fails… Light the kaggel, sooth the throat with some gluhwhein, and hope tomorrow is a sunny day!

Gilet

100% reﬂective material for 360 degree visability Perforated back panelling for enhanced breathability Side zipped pockets (2) Windproof Lightweight Elasticated waist

Jacket

100% reflective outer shell Waterproof Built-in air vents to keep you ventilated Fleece-lined comfort collar Adjustable waistband and cuff Waterproof storm zip Seam-sealed for extra waterproofing Inside chest and back pockets Low profiled rear spray guard Inside mesh lining for added comfort Approx. weight (size variable) - 500g "A great go to garment for this time of year when nocturnal riding becomes a must" Mountain Bike Magazine - May issue "The Reflect360's stand-out feature is the ability to change from a matte gray colour in the daylight to an astonishingly bright silver when caught in a car's headlights at night" Bicycling Magazine - March issue

www.spdistributors.co.za Tel: 083 322 5500 / 021 976 1980

FS Die Groot Lem

Kouer en natter as ooit tevore.

vir ﬁetsry nie Hendrik Lemmer sê hy ry nie in die winter nie, behalwe as dit somerweer in die winter is. Of, soos twee jaar gelede, toe hy besluit om in die Noordelike halfrond te gaan ry.

n die Noordelike halfrond is dit mos Somer as ons Winter het. Of so het ek gedink. Die storie begin so... Op die ryp ouderdom van omtrent 50 gaan trou ek met ŉ mooi vrou wat kan fietsry en ons besluit dat ons vir ŉ honeymoon die Europese ekwivalent van die Epic, die TransAlp gaan ry. Dit vind jaarliks plaas tydens ons winter (Julie), so ons ry en stoot toe (ons fietse) van Oberammergau in Duitsland tot by Riva del Garde in Italië oor elke moontlike bergpas wat hulle kon vind. Daar in die kamstige Europese somer het ons op twee dae kouer en natter gekry as ooit tevore en dit sluit enige fietsryery of honeymoonery in. Sodra jy bokant 2000 meter bo seevlak in die reën rondstaan en

wag by ŉ bottelnek met ŉ klomp ﬁetsryers is daar probleme. Op een dag staan ons vir 45 minute en wag dat ŉ duisend mense (ja ons het weer die agterste posisies gecover) een vir een oor ’n boomstomp klim. Ek kyk diep in my vrou se oë om seker te maak sy is ok en ŉ uur later toe ons uit die berg is stop die ambulansmense elke ryer en kyk ook diep in hul oë om seker te maak hulle is nog by. Dan was jy of ingelaai in ŉ Duitse ambulans of jy is een van die silwer rescue blankets gegee om onder jou nat ﬁetsryklere te sit. Op die laaste skof het ons van die begin reën gehad dat ek dog Italië gaan wegspoel. Daar is niks van roetes verander of wedren stop nie. Daai mense ken van ry in die reën (of hulle is dom). Bo-op die

Hulle het (hul ﬁets) baie gestoot.

ALL PHOTOS BY ROBERT NIEDRING

Die winter is NIE

berg wag noodhulpmense weer met rescue blankets sodat jy darem kan afgaan want sodra die spoed optel van stootspoed na freewheel spoed verander jou liggaamstemperatuur baie vinnig. Basies van baie koud na f*kin koud. En net daarna begin die ander drama wat meer by laas maand se Full Sus topic pas, naamlik technical. My remme is klaar, voor en agter, soos in niks. So dit reën en dis koud, ek stoot die helfte van my honeymoon die berge uit, nou stoot ek ook die afdraendes. Ek hardloop, freewheel, hou vas aan die sweeper poeliesman op sy ﬁets vir die laaste 40 kilometer, want as jy ŉ pas in die Alpe sonder remme afgaan tel hulle jou in Moskou of China op. Ons kom koud en nat, en heel laaste by die eindpunt in Riva

Daai mense ken van ry in die reën.

Maar dis mooi!

So lyk mens as jy ŉ ‘rescue blanket’ nodig het.

uit. Maar team “Honeymoon From Africa” het wel verdiende finisherhemde gekry. Nooit weer trust ek die Europeërs wat my vertel dis somer by hulle as dit by ons winter is nie. En nooit weer kry ek so ŉ stupid idee vir ŉ honeymoon nie. So my winter fietsry-advies is eenvoudig. Ry net as die son skyn, drink rooiwyn, steek die kaggel aan (en as jy nie ŉ kaggel het nie, iets anders), gaan doen interessante ander goed met jou familie wat die res van die jaar seker by die huis sit terwyl jy fietsry, tel bietjie gewig op sodat jy na die winter die [Rival publication’s name deleted on advice from the Full Sus layers] kan koop om te lees hoe jy gewig kan verloor vir die Argus.

Hendrik ‘Groot Lem’ Lemmer is ‘n ﬁetsry-kommentator en ‘n eiendomsagent. Hy bly nog steeds in die tuiste van bergﬁetsry in Suid-Afrika, Stellenbosch, en as jy nie omgee oor ‘n Twitter-oorlog of twee nie kan jy hom volg: @GrootLem.

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS

urrowing deeper under the down duvet the other day, I asked myself what are the things that keep my wheels rolling against impending wintery doom? After a bit of chatting with friends about this very issue, we came up with a few key insights that may help in prepping for what we in Africa consider ‘winter’: The most obvious things we need to discuss are introduced via two key questions: 1. “Why is it so flipping dark?” And 2. “Why is it so stupidly cold?” I could go back to high school geography to explain these phenomena via the rules of nature, physics and all things science-like, however it’s much more fun to think about the answer philosophically. And here it is: “You’re a wuss.” All things being equal, you can agree with me that when compared to the winter in the UK or say, deepest darkest Canada, South Africa’s winters are literally wuss-like. I mean for half of winter you can still wear slops and

a t-shirt at midday. Mid-way through the Canadian winter if you leave the house without thermal gear covering your ears you’re liable to accidentally shatter them off your head. Now, we can’t really change the fact that we’re wussy, but we can prepare better in order to complain less and appear less wussy.

1. Start a WhatsApp Group Keeping motivated to ride when it’s rather chilly and dark is not exactly easy. However, if all your friends start pinging at 10am about how they can’t wait to ride that evening (and discussing what pizza to have after the ride) it’s a little hard not to get wrapped up in the excitement. Name it something original like “Night Riderz”.

2. Bike Lights Unless you’ve eaten more carrots than anyone in the entire world, you will need a bike light. Get the old bike light charged up, and replace batteries in headlamps. If you don’t have a bike light, then I would highly recommend

Howick’s trail gnomes look a little creepy at night, another good reason not to night ride solo.

PHOTOS BY KATH FOURIE

Winter brings with it short days, chilly evenings and often some of the best riding conditions of the year recons Kathryn Fourie. However, to make hay while the sun weakly shines, you need to get all Game of Thrones and be like “winter is coming”.

The Howick “Night Riderz” assemble trail side.

stealing one off a friend’s bike when they’re not looking. I won’t claim to be an expert on lights, but I will say that you need a good bunch of lumens to seriously light up the trails (minimum 1 000 lumens). I will also say, that one rider trying to follow another rider when the battery dies all of a sudden only ends up in tears. And sometimes those tears are from men when they’re lying on the ground.

3. Keep the Toes Toasty Wear really warm socks, but preferably merino wool because it keeps you warm and still works when it’s wet. POC have a good ol’ black set that look and feel kiff which are worth investing in. Also, think about investing in some decent winter riding gloves, which won’t go amiss even around the campfire.

4. Less is More Instead of wearing a thick fleece, scarf, beanie and mittens – start out wearing less and add more if you need too. A must have in my books though is a thick scrunch-uppable wind-breaker which still breaths a little. Once you’ve hammered it down a trail and then suddenly start cooling down, it’ll act as an insulator. Additionally, a Buff or similar is also really good for keeping the neck warm and the chills out.

5. Knee Pads Knee pads are also a wonderful way of keeping your knobbly purple knees warm, and when that bike light goes out and you ride into a tree, you are also protected! Win-win!

6. Booze Cruise Lose Whisky in a hip flask? Yes? No! While it may seem cool, do not go flashing Grandpappy’s WWII hip flask about mid-way through an icy ride. Whisky (and all hard liquor) dilates your veins which makes the blood flow round pronto, and you feel like you’re warming up – when actually you’re losing energy. It also impairs your concentration on the trails, and you’re more likely to need the knee pads for their real purpose. Save the booze for the epic stories at the pub afterwards. And that’s it folks, it’s pretty simple. If you aren’t a professionally sponsored rider who gets to spend all day every day outside basking like a lizard in the sun (okay this is in KZN, in Cape Town you’d probably drown if you faced your nose and mouth towards the sky in winter) then night riding is going to keep you sane. In the words of Roxette, “I’m gonna get dressed for success, shaping me up for the big time baby, gonna get dressed for success, shaping me up for your love, yea yea yea!”…Okay maybe I broke rule number 6.

Kath Fourie is a project manager, a Masters student, a double UCI Masters World Champs medal winner and now a regular contributor to Full Sus. She can be found on the trails of Howick with her little pack of trail dogs, and Mark Millar, chasing down KOMs.

FS Stirling Revolution

Your Dream Machine – PART II In the May issue of Full Sus the Stirlings got the ball rolling with talking you through the ins and outs of custom speccing your dream bike. This issue they move into the nitty gritty of component choices.

Suspension: After picking the frame, the next big decision and a worthwhile place to blow some budget is on the suspension. Most of the time the frame will come standard with a rear shock, but if you get a choice, buy the best option offered. For the front suspension fork, do your research and buy the brand, model and travel length that you feel will best compliment the frame’s geometry and your riding intentions.

Tyres: Why are tyres so important you must be asking? They don’t cost much compared to the rest of the build and they are easy to replace and change. Both are true which makes getting this decision wrong not a disaster. But it does not make the tyre choice any less significant. Of course tubeless is a no brainer, but the right choice of tyre brand and model – strength, width, weight, compound and tread pattern – will make a significant difference to your speed and confidence. Once you get the tyre choice right, it is just as important to get your running pressures spot on too.

Wheels: Building custom wheels is more fun but sometimes more expensive than buying off the shelf wheels and there are a lot of factors to take into account when building up the perfect set of wheels. Do your research and choose from the multitude of brands, rim widths, rim materials and hub options to suit your riding preferences and desires. Then find a professional wheel builder, to check that you have all the correct and compatible parts, and to do the wheel assemblies. Two important pieces of advice: Insist on only brass nipples and make sure that your chosen wheel builder uses a tension meter to ensure your hoops are correctly and evenly tensioned.

Brakes: Good brakes are a necessity; great brakes are a game changer and often a life saver too! You want brakes that are powerful and reliable. They should offer good modulation and limited fade and overheating. They

should be comfortable and integrate neatly on your handle bar and as a bonus it should be easy to ﬁnd replacement pads.

Dropper Post: If you are building a trail or Enduro bike, a dropper post is a must. If you are building a marathon racer a dropper post is still worth considering! Most of the dropper posts out there are pretty good and certainly better than nothing, but generally the more expensive ones are also the better ones in terms of having a smooth action, good reliability and lower weight. One piece of advice: Buy the dropper post brand new in South Africa as all droppers have a higher than normal risk of needing the odd warranty claim.

Saddle, Grips and Pedals: These are the three things on your custom build where you should have a personal favourite. You can’t read how suitable a saddle is for your bum or how comfortable a set of grips are. You should go into the build knowing what your preferred saddle, grips and pedals are even if that means keeping them off your old bike.

Groupset: The groupset choice is a big place to save or spend money. The truth is that all the 10 and 11 speed groupsets today, regardless of price, are excellent and will shift your gears precisely and efficiently. Choose 1x10 (with an expander) or 2x10 if you are looking to save a bit of moola. Or go for 1x11 or 2x11 if you have some extra bucks to blow. Another piece of advice: The choice

PHOTOS BY SJ KOTZE

nd now the real fun begins, picking and choosing all your favourite bits while making a few mistakes along the way. In order of importance this is what you need to look out for.

Custom wheels add to the personal feel of your bike.

between SRAM and Shimano is a personal one but in general SRAM are the leaders of the 1x systems and Shimano are regarded as the leaders of the 2x groupsets.

Cockpit: For the handlebar and stem choices have a look at how much budget you have left. Choose a stem and handlebar that suites your physical size, riding style, brand preferences, and desired sweep and rise. Stems between 50mm and 90mm and handlebars wider than 700mm are the standard today.

The Extras: Finally, don’t forget these often overlooked bits. Attention to the small details is what separates the good builds from the great builds.

One very lucky Revolution Cycles client’s half assembled PYGA Stage custom build.

Neat cable routing, the correct bottle cage, an effective chainstay protector and a front mudguard are all musts on my bike. And while the bike is still new and has no rub marks or scratches, make sure to apply protective stickers and cable rubbers in clever areas to keep the frame looking pristine. And, finally, if you are going to get loads of advice from your local bike shop, buy what parts they can supply from your LBS - if you take a wrong and often expensive turn, your LBS will bail you out!

RECAP

If you missed the last issue or simply want to recap on the Stirlings’ advice scan this QR Code to read Your Dream Machine – Part I.

The Stirling Revolution column is penned by the father and son, LBS owning, pair of Stirling “Snr” and Stirling James (SJ) “Jnr” 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.

Here we are again! Crazy to think that in the last month Stefan Garlicki went from Cape Town to Lesotho to France to Australia and back again! Here is the full story…

he last time you heard from me I was sitting in an airport on the way home from Lourdes, France after a rather disappointing World Cup start. I flew home for three days to repack and set off for Cairns, Australia! I was so excited to head Down Under for the first time and hopefully to warmer weather again. I am not too partial to the cold if I am being honest. It was quite a journey though as I was flying via Abu Dhabi and total travel time was 40 hours, plus an eight hour time difference. I had never dealt with the time difference before so that was a bit of a shock, but it was worth it as Cairns is amazing! It is definitely the best place I have been to around the world, except for the fact that everything is trying to kill you; they have spiders, snakes, crocs, sharks,

stinging trees and even deadly jelly fish! The humidity is also insane, 100% humidity is rough and also a first for me. I think I was dehydrated the whole time I was there. Getting back to the racing, I was really excited to race there as the track looked epic with it being high speed and dry with big jumps. However with Cairns being a tropical region, it decided to rain on and off all week which made the clay based track an ice rink! It was really weird riding in the rain but sweating at the

“It was really weird riding in the rain but sweating at the same time!”

SAMUEL FRASER

Thunder Down Under

out to the Great Barrier which was so amazing and definitely should be on everyone’s bucket list! Alas it had to come to an end and soon we said goodbye to the tropical paradise and headed home. I had no time to rest as I got home at 10pm on Thursday evening and decided to race the third round of the SA National Downhill Series which was being held at Cascade Country Manor in Paarl that weekend. This was just 30 minutes from my house so I could not resist the urge to race at home. The weather on the weekend was perfect after some rain during the week so the track was perfect and felt like a roller coaster. I managed to have a perfect weekend winning both the seeding run and the finals by almost four seconds. I was relieved to have a good run as I feel quite a bit of pressure at local events, the local riders are always pinned! Until next time…

Mastering the Cairns rock garden.

CYCLING SOUTH AFRICA

STEFAN GARLICKI

Stefan atop the SA Cup Series podium in Paarl.

DHI Column FS

same time! The rock garden was honestly like ice when wet. Practice was absolute carnage with riders going down everywhere. I battled a bit on day one but I think most riders did in those conditions. Qualifying day was a little dryer which definitely helped. I felt good on track and aimed at just having a safe qualifier to make sure I would be racing the finals. I did just that but rode a little too safe perhaps as I qualified 77th. Just the top 80 qualify! I was in and that’s all that matters. Race day rolled around and in my last practice run I felt the best I had all week so I was ready to let loose in finals. I got to the top well before my run to warm-up and zone-out listening to some music. Next thing I knew I was in the gate and beep … beep … beep, I was off! I hit the first few turns perfectly and then over-steered in a left hander which sent me into the bank and to a stop. I got going again and admittedly was a little flustered, so I pushed harder and then stalled in the rock garden. After that I made more mistakes and just lost the flow which meant I would end in 76th place. I think I was just pushing too hard which is frustrating but we live and learn. It could have been worse, I still made finals, had a great time on track and I am so motivated for the next one in Fort William! The event was over but the trip wasn’t, the team and I still had three days in Cairns to be tourists. We went

Stefan in action at Cascade Manor in Paarl.

Stefan Garlicki is the reigning South African Downhill MTB Champion. He’s sponsored by Investec, will be racing in Europe this year and sharing his experiences with Full Sus readers. Follow him on Twitter: @StefanGarlicki.

Nakd

FS Nutrition

Health Bars Real food is a bit of a buzz word in nutritional circles right now but realistically who can make and take home-make real food with them on a race or a ride? So here are five real food, healthy energy bars, to sus out before your next adventure.

Racefood Farbar

RRP R6 www.racefood.co.za You might be familiar with the Wedgewood Nougat company’s Fastbar already but their Farbar is a relatively new addition to their sports offerings. It’s designed to offer slow release energy for endurance sports, with the idea being that you eat one every 90 minutes during exercise. Farbar contains bates, butter, sugar, wheat flour, cranberries, vegetable oil, egg, water, maize starch vanilla flavouring and salt. Farbars are also sold in multi-packs of 5 for R26.50.

RRP R18.99 www.getnakd.co.za These whole food bars are imported from the UK and boast an impressively small list of ingredients. Typically their bars only contain dates, cashews, raisins and the natural flavouring. So in the case of the Berry Delight: raspberries and a natural berry flavour. Or in the case of the delicious Coaca Orange the flavour comes from Cocoa and a natural orange flavour. They are dairy, gluten, wheat and GMO free plus they’re suitable for vegans and they’re Kosher approved. The 35g bars retail for R18.99 each while the 68g bars go for R22.50 and you can order them in boxes of 18 from their website.

Raw Earth

32Gi Foodbar

RRP R26.95 | www.32gi.com 32Gi’s Foodbar is a cold pressed bar jam packed with natural ingredients and they’re also gluten, soya, dairy, egg, GMO and preservative free. The 4:1 Carb:Protein ratio is scientifically proved to be the optimal ratio for endurance sports and the bars are available in Cranberry Date, Apple Cinnamon, Fig Cashew and Cocoa Coconut flavours. The typical nutritional information and ingredients differ from flavour to flavour but the Cranberry Date bar as shown here contains dates, cashew nuts, cranberries, pea protein, and pure apple juice.

RRP R24 | www.raw-earth.co.za Developed by Viccy Jacobs, a food scientist with ten years of experience developing products for Nestle, Woolworths and Unilever the Raw Earth bars were born out of necessity. When Viccy was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition she realised she couldn’t digest many normal snacks because of the processed ingredients. Available in Cranberry Almond, Cinnamon Rooibos and Coffee Cocoa flavours the key ingredients are almonds, dates and coconut oil. The Cranberry Almond bar then has just pumpkin seeds and cranberries added to the recipe, so the ingredients are simple and natural.

Superbar I Am Healthy

RRP R18.90 | www.iamsuperbar.co.za Superbar’s I Am Healthy bar is the first of their planned four healthy energy bar products. Developed by Christo Smeda to fuel himself through Ironman triathlons, Skyruns and many a mountain bike race the I Am Healthy bar contains only almonds, dates, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and chia seeds. Order in packs of 5 to 30 bars from their online store or check out their list of suppliers on their website.

NUTRIRIONAL INFORMATION FOR THE FEATURED BARS TYPICAL NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Superbar 50g

Racefood 30g

32Gi 50g

Raw Earth 40g

Nakd 35g

Energy (kj)

928

571.2

775

651.6

607

Protein (g)

7.1

1.3

6.5

2.5

3.9

22.2

18.5

25.7

15.8

14.2

15.6

13.6

13.7

5.9

7.0

Carbohydrate (g) of which sugar (g) Total Fat (g) 28

e n th so o g ot in Tak and noad of longding r Rider wine Ama iler. th 00 M 1

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.

photo of the month

FS Gear

First Ascent Thermal

GEAR Winter Base Layers When the mercury is hovering below the 10 degrees Celsius mark it’s pretty difficult to motivate yourself to go for a ride. But with these thermal base layers your core will be toasty warm – making it that little bit easier to face the elements.

First Ascent Derma-Tec RRP R399 | www.firstascent.co.za First Ascent’s Derma-Tec long sleeve base layer is constructed from 60% Polypropylene, 34% Polyamid and 6% Elastane. As their flagship performance base layer it’s the one designed for all sporting activities and as such features a tight fit which offers great compression too. The Derma-Tec top features body mapping technology to ensure breathability and maximum heat retention exactly where you need it. It also provides more warmth, especially when bombing down hills than the standard First Ascent Thermal top. Overall the First Ascent Derma-Tec is a garment we really liked, for its insulating abilities and compression fit feel. The reduced number of seems also helps make the top very comfortable. One final note, the grey colour is great for mountain biking as it won’t be as prone to stain as a white base layer.

ASSOS skinFoil Fall RRP R1 861.79 | www.jjcycling.co.za The ASSOS skinFoil Fall is constructed from 92% Polypropylene and 8% Elastane. Looking at it initially we didn’t think it would fit, but the fit is meant to be super snug and once on it’s superbly comfortable and provides a noticeable compression feel. Designed to be a base layer for the European autumn the Fall version of ASSOS’s skinFoil range is probably the version most suited to all-but the coldest South African days. ASSOS say its intended range of temperatures is from 5° to 15°. We did a long, cold morning ride in the skinFoil Fall and it kept us nice and warm, but never caused overheating even when the sun came up and the temperature started to rise. It’s undoubtedly a topclass product, specifically designed with cyclists in mind, our only concern is the white colour, so it’s best worn under a long sleeve riding top.

RRP R299 | www.firstascent.co.za The First Ascent Thermal long sleeve top is made from a super soft blend of Polyester and a high-tech fabric they call Viloft, which features flat fibres to improve insulation. The top has a tight fit without being constricting or providing any compression benefits, the cut is very comfortable but the sleeves are a little long. First Ascent say it’s designed for use in temperatures between 0° and 15°. We tested it on a chilly evening ride, where the temp was around 10° and it provided more than ample warmth without making us too hot. It seems to manage moisture well and offer good breathability, though this is hard to judge when it’s too cold to sweat much. A good quality garment for a very good price the First Ascent Thermal is perhaps more suited for a hiking base layer than it is for mountain biking, but it won’t disappoint if you’re on a tight budget.

First Ascent Polypropolene RRP R429 | www.firstascent.co.za This 175g undergarment is made from 85% polypropylene and 15% bamboo charcoal and is very soft to the touch. Flatlock seems ensures the fit is comfortable and snug. First Ascent have a very good sizing chart on the packaging for both men and women, based on weight and height, eliminating that fear that you may buy the wrong size. We did feel that the top was perhaps a bit longer than needed but it didn’t cause any discomfort. The Polypropolene base layers are available in white or black and boast an antibacterial nature due to its bamboo component. Plus because bamboo is an organic product requiring less chemical processing it is more environmentally friendly. Our impression was that this is a good undergarment and we were kept from feeling wet during rides at all times, however we did get quite warm towards the end of rides.

ASSOS skinFoil Winter RRP R2 070.96 | www.jjcycling.co.za This long sleeve garment is made from 61% polymide (nylon), 34% polypropylene and 5% elastane (Spandex). The fit is extremely snug with plenty of stretch due to its tubular construction. We gloved into the medium which ASSOS would regard as regular fit, but if you prefer the racing fit then opt a size smaller. Polypropylene is extremely hydrophilic and displaces moisture away from the point of contact keeping us dry throughout rides. Extra insulation is provided to chest, neck, back and shoulders. The garment is mid-weight and recommended for temperatures around 6 degrees Celsius. However we found that later in rides when the sun drove the temperature up to around 14 degrees we still felt comfortable. The garment is antistatic and is also antibacterial in nature. In conclusion this is an unbelievable product and for anybody who feels the cold particularly badly we would certainly recommend the ASSOS skinFoil Winter.

Specialized Merino LS Underwear RRP R999 | www.specialized.com The first thing we did was wash the Specialized Merino thermal, it was little scratchy at first, but softened up nicely and fit like a glove afterwards. It features the Form Fit cut which is designed to move with your body and even during the most aggressive riding it was extremely comfortable. You don’t notice any of the seams. Frankly you don’t notice the garment at all. It’s warm without being thick and stifling, the Dryarn microfibre (a combination of wool and polypropylene) breathes nicely and also dries quickly. Specialized also have an “intrinsic” chemical process which ensures the fabric is antibacterial and hypoallergenic. The thermal is definitely for colder weather; we wore it in temperatures of under 12 degrees and wouldn’t suggest it for much hotter as you will be stopping to strip off. Altogether it’s a fantastic garment and a welcome addition to our winter arsenal.

n i w

Competition FS

Win A Versus Socks Hamper

How’s your sock game? Tag Full Sus and Versus Socks in a photo to win a #sockdoping Versus Socks hamper. THE PRIZE

Versus Socks are revolutionising the mountain biking world, one pair of socks at a time. Like aero lids on trail rides ankle socks are out and Versus Socks say we should all be wearing calf length socks. So they’re putting 5 Versus Socks hampers, each containing 5 sexy pairs of socks, up for grabs. If you can’t wait for the competition deadline to up your sock game you can visit their website now and shop online at www.versussocks.co.za or buy a pair from your nearest Versus Socks stockist.

HOW TO WIN Take a picture of your sock game and post it to Twitter, Instagram or Facebook – tagging @FullSussa and @versussocks. We’ll reward the 5 riders with the best and worst sock games with a Versus Socks hamper each. Get your photos in before 22 July 2016.

CALENDAR 13 13 14 14 20 20 25 27 28 28

GAUTENG Momentum Health OatWell DUALX #5 XCOSA Race # 1 Babba’s Lodge MTB Series # 8 Clotan Steel MTB Race Spur Schools MTB League: Gauteng #3 Divas ‘n Dukes Jozi2Kozi Nissan Trailseeker GP #3 Hakahana 2016 Enduro Series #3 Transvaal Galvanisers MTB Race

LIMPOPO 13 Spur Schools MTB League: Limpopo #2 27 Cara Cara MTB NORTWEST PROVINCE 13 Spur Schools MTB League: NW #3 20 BestMed Cansa Lost City Mountain Bike Event 27 Spur Schools MTB League: NW#4 WESTERN CAPE 13 Wolseley MTB Funride 20 Spur Schools MTB League: SC #3 21 All Mountain Enduro - Helderberg 27 Spur Schools MTB League: WCape #3 EASTERN CAPE 6 Storms River Traverse 6 Spur Schools MTB League: PE #2 13 Trans Baviaans 1 14 Spur Schools MTB League: EL#3 20 Spur Schools MTB League: PE#3 20 Trans Baviaans 2 27 Spur Schools MTB League: EC Final 27 Twizza Longhill Challenge NORTHERN CAPE 27 Spur Schools MTB League: NC #2 KZN 6 1000 Hills Day Adventures 7 Illovo Eston MTB Challenge 13 Spur Schools MTB League: KZN #2 13 Ride 4 Rhinos 14 Scottburgh MTB Classic 14 Marriott Dargle Trails Festival 14 Grantleigh MTB Challenge 18 iSimangaliso MTB 4 Day 20 aQuelle Harburg Tour de Krantz 21 Halfway Toyota Illovo Sugar Challenge 27 The Umko Adventure

27 Mandela Day Marathon MTB Dash 28 Umkomaas Outdoor Challenge

6 13 13 20 20 27 27

MPUMALANGA Spur Schools MTB League: MPU Lowveld #2 2016 Wees Wakker Fees MTB Challenge Nkomazi MTB Challenge Spur Schools MTB League: MPU Highveld #1 Mopani MTB Series 2016 (Event #3) Badplaas Forever Resort MTB Series Spur Schools MTB League: MPU Lowveld #3

FREE STATE 27 Six Star Wilgerivier MTB Challenge 27 Spur Schools MTB League: FS #3

OUT IN AFRICA Red Island Ride (Madagascar)

SUS September 2016 3 3 10 10 17 17 17 18 24 30

GAUTENG XCOSA Race # 2 Roodeplaat MTB Challenge Rand Water Race for Victory Penny Pinchers Silver Star MTB Challenge Believe CHOC COW MTB RACE 2016 Hakahana 2016 BikeFest Spur Schools MTB League: Gauteng #4 Babba’s Lodge MTB Series # 9 Kameeldrift MTB Route 99

Investments National MTB Series #4 Van Gaalens Race four of the national marathon series takes place at the idyllic Van Gaalens, near the Hartbeespoort Dam on Saturday the 11th of June. With the Van Gaalens’ singletracks on offer and with just 1 527 meters of climbing in the 113km UltraMarathon route it’s usually one of the fastest races of the series. If 113km is too far (understandably) there is also a 72km marathon, a 39km half-marathon and a 20km fun race. All the info and online entries are available on the Ashburton Investments National MTB Series website: www.nationalmtbseries.com.

17 Lakeside Lodge Cross Tri 17 Spur Schools MTB League: W’Cape #4 18 Karoo To Coast 24 Rockets Funky Fynbos MTB Challenge 25 Spur Mountain Bike Classic (W’Cape)

1 3 7 10 12 16 30

3 4 4

WESTERN CAPE Battle Of The Bikes Tip Trans Cederberg MTB Greyton 2-Day MTB Tour Fedhealth MTB Challenge Potberg & De Hoop MTB Tour of Homewood Ride2Nowhere Presented By WeChat Piket-Bo-Berg Cycle Challenge & Trail Run Spur Schools MTB League: SCape #4 Staalwater MTB Challenge 11 @ Caledon 15 Dr Evil Classic

4 10 17 18 23 24 30

3 3 3 3 3 4 9 10 10 11

EASTERN CAPE ISUZU Trucks PE>>Plett Angora MTB Marathon The X-tremtb Non Stop Makro Bestmed MTB Race 2016 The XPedition –An E’Cape Odyssey Fat Attack Wild Coast Lormar Endurance MTB Tour 2016

NORTHERN CAPE 1 Namaqua Quest 3 Day MTB Stage Race 3 Spur Schools MTB League: N’ Cape #3 10 Tour De Ghaap

LIMPOPO 3 Spur Schools MTB League: Limpopo #3 17 Spur Schools MTB League: Limpopo #4

JUNE & JULY Must do events

■ 11 June: Ashburton

TOBIAS GINSBERG

SUS August 2016

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

KZN Spur Schools MTB League: KZN #3 Kamberg Classic BELL Big 5 Series # 4- Monzi Hippo Challenge Lynford Clover Classic Mountain Splendour Mania Sunday Tribune Jeep Hill2Hill (45km) Sunday Tribune Jeep Hill2Hill (100km) Homeward Bound Challenge (KZN) Spur Schools MTB League: KZN #4 Sani Dragon (KZN)

MPUMALANGA 3 Ashburton Investments National MTB Series #6 10 Spur Schools MTB League: MPU Highveld #2

10 Mopani MTB Series #5 Final 17 Spur Schools MTB League: MPU Highveld #3 24 Spur Schools MTB League: Mpumalanga Final 24 Teenimeer 30 Innibos MTB Stage Race 2016 30 Isuzu 3 Towers Stage Race FREE STATE 3 Spur Schools MTB League: FS #4 17 2 Riviere MTB Challenge 23 Clarens Clover MTB Stage race OUT IN AFRICA 30 Colin Mayer MTB Tour (Mauritius)

Calling all event organisers Get your event listed here for free! Email all your 2016 event dates and details to sussed@fullsus.co.za to make sure you don’t miss out on the coverage.

CALENDAR KEY Mpumalanga

Free State

Limpopo

Western Cape

Northern Cape

KZN

Gauteng

North West

Eastern Cape

Out in Africa

■ 18 June: Napier Patatfees MTB and Trail Run

■ 9 July: Engen Ngwenya Glass MTB (Swaziland)

■ 31 July: Die Burger MTB Challenge

The Overberg village of Napier has been holding an annual Patatfees for 23 years now and in the last few years have added both a mountain bike race and a trail run to the staples of a road half-marathon, a vintage motorcar show, a craft market and more sweet potatoes than you should probably consume in a single sitting. The MTB race features 15km, 30km, 45km and 60km route distances, while the trail run offers 15km and 25km distances. To ensure it’s a great family experience there is child care facility available too, so you can book your kids in while you run or ride. To ﬁnd out more or enter online visit www.napierpatatmtb.co.za.

The Ngwenya Glass MTB takes place just a hop skip and a jump across the Swaziland border from Mpumalanga, on the main road to Mbabane. There are four distances on offer and they are as follows: 70km (R250), 40km (R180), 20km (R120) and 5km (R50). The routes cut through grasslands, natural forests and plantations but are pretty hilly though so don’t arrive unprepared. The team has also been cutting new singletrack since last year so expect more riding fun too. You can ﬁnd out more by looking the event up on Facebook (Engen Ngwenya Glass Mountain Bike Challenge) or enter online via www.cycleevents.co.za. Entries close 1 July 2016.

The final day of July sees the return of the annual Die Burger MTB Challenge to the trails of Stellenbosch. An expected 5 000 mountain bikers will line-up across six distances, including 15km, a 30km and 50km fun rides, and 42km, 60km and 75km races. The racing starts from the Eikestad Primary school and finishes down the road at Van der Stel Sport Grounds and all the information, plus online entries, are available from www.dieburgermtbchallenge.co.za. Entries close 18 July 2016.