One of the country’s oldest and traditionally toughest events is The Barberton XCM Mountain Bike Challenge. Fortunately, when I accepted an invitation to attend the route launch for the January 2016 event, I was blissfully unaware of what lay ahead – or rather, above.
Nico Bell, Igna de Villiers, Lise Olivier, Gawie Combrinck and Heila Meintjies.
In mountain biking, the most-oft considered detail before entering a race is usually how much single-track, what the profile is, and also, how attractive the surroundings (and by this, I don’t mean the girl in the start chute next to you). Rest assured there is climbing aplenty and enough downhill and singletrack sections to get your rocks off on.
The Barberton Rotary Club hosts the annual event as a fundraiser for a number of projects such as providing meals for the elderly in their community, so riders truly are riding for a good cause. Many races include an element of giving back to the communities in which the event passes, however it is not often riders actually get to know some of personalities who work tirelessly to raise money for charity.
Gawie Combrinck leading the pack.
At the route launch weekend, Rotary members hosted our group in their town, marking out the full 77km route and setting up a water point for just a handful of riders. But in spite of its size, traffic officials halted traffic for our small peloton as we passed through town en route to the forestry plantations. At the head of our group were Nico Bell, Gawie Combrink and Lise Olivier, the latter with a toe injury making wearing her cycling shoe quite a painful experience. The rest of us non-professionals at the back, including two Cape Epic finishers, were soon left behind as we started the 20km climb with a gain of 1 000m. The jeep tracks are in good condition and the climbs allow for riders to settle into a rhythm. Many times one comes to the top of a rise, expecting that to be it, only to be met with a bend and a further incline ahead. So reaching the top comes as a welcome relief and the views down into the valleys below lend themselves to a photo break.
We were privileged to ride through Mountainlands Nature Reserve and Greenstone Wildlife estate, with some riders spotting zebra and buck. At this time of year there were many water crossings, all rideable and which added an element of fun into what was an easy technical ride. All in, the 77km ride had just more than 2 000m total ascent, making it an excellent weekend training ride.
Despite the locals warning of hot, humid January temperatures, I will be back to tackle this race next year for the beauty of this mountain biking paradise and to support this passionate community in their fundraising efforts.
Entries are open on www.barbertonxcm.co.za and distances vary from “very delicate” 20km, 30km, 48km, 77km to the “not so delicate” 110km. Pick one and become a #daisywarrior.
Sounds very similar to the 2015 routes. Any changes?