Category
Adventure and Travel
The joy of exploring by bicycling.
Tankwa Trek: The Houdenbek Hustle
The third and final stage of the 2018 Momentum Health Tankwa Trek presented by Biogen again started in near perfect cool conditions. Despite spending the first hour plus on dirt roads, the sights and sunrises of the Tankwa Karoo provided ample entertainment. Due to a questionable decision by the organisers, today’s start took place with […]
Mashing the Merino Monster at Tankwa Trek
The wake-up call this morning came with unexpectedly chilly conditions and saw a lot of riders scurrying around looking for gilets and arm warmers. We duly wrapped up and after an eleventh-hour suspension tune and a desperate search for my contact lenses, we hustled into B batch with a few minutes to spare. The Karoo […]
Tankwa Trek: The Hill of a Thousand False Summits
The first day of a stage race always brings with it more than a few butterflies. Today was no different. Fortunately, we were greeted with moderate temperatures and a gentle breeze. Ideal conditions for riding. After a few days off the bike, we were frothing to get going. We were lucky enough to be seeded […]
Taking on the 2018 Tankwa Trek
Since our last big outing as a team at Cape Pioneer Trek, Kylie and I have been working very hard at recovery. Recovery and tapering. This has involved extensive eating, sleeping, and lots of “soul riding” featuring coffee, croissants, and whatever jovial crew can be mustered. Team Bike Hub “crushing” the Swartberg Pass in the […]
Race Report: SA MTB Cup Series XCO Coetzenburg
Billed as a preview to South Africa’s return to the World Cup series, plenty of international and local pros lined up in Stellenbosch to take on a daunting Coetzenburg XCO circuit. The Western Cape XCO series kicked off again in 2018 with the help of new sponsors Tygerberg Mountain Bike Club and SRAM. The event […]
Become a TokaiMTB Advocacy Member
So 2018 is here and to start the year we are announcing a new initiative that finally sets our long-term plans in action. We’ve slowly built a solid foundation and the proof can be seen that we are a group to be trusted to do what we say. Unfortunately, however, as you know, no meaningful […]
Video: Andrew Neethling goes full circle
Andrew Neethling is a South African journeyman, champion, pioneer and ambassador of the downhill world cup mountain biking scene. He takes us back to where it all started at the foot of the Helderberg mountains. Andrew has recently returned to where it all started – Helderberg, Somerset West, to open his own bike shop and […]
Race report: Stellenbosch Cycle Tour – The Hell’s of the North
With the Coronation Double Century done and dusted it is that time of the year again when you roll the dice and see what you have left in the legs for the Medihelp Stellenbosch Cycle Tour. On collecting our race packs we were given a lucky packet full of arts and crafts with two shirt […]
Race report: A Savage Coronation Double Century
We’re about 31 kilometres into the 2017 Coronation Double Century, maybe 35 – it’s all a bit blurry at the moment but Tradouw Pass looms. Right now it feels like an episode of Prison Break because the veins in Theunis de Bruin’s calves look a lot like Michael Scofield’s tattoos – a veritable map leading […]
Climbing heat on day five of Tour de Braai
The final day of Tour de Braai presented another seventy-eight kilometre day from Riversdale to Suurbrak with just over a thousand metres of climbing. Our day was spent riding in a westerly direction along the foothills of the Langeberg mountain range. The harshness of the Karoo had been traded for the comparatively lush farmlands of […]
Moody skies and chicken pies on day four of Tour de Braai
The fourth day of the Tour de Braai followed a seventy-eight kilometre route from Rooiberg to Riversdale via Garcia Pass. Departing from the beautiful Rooiberg Lodge we soon hit some punchy climbs which had me questioning my over zealous approach to the prior evening. In the distance we could see the cloud covered Langeberg Mountains […]
Roosting Rooiberg on day three of Tour de Braai
Day three of Tour de Braai took us on a forty-five kilometre route from Calitzdrop to Rooiberg Lodge via the spectacular Rooiberg Pass. After another evening of incredible food paired with superb local wines and more award winning port at De Krans Wines, we casually set off at the standard 9am start time. Knowing that […]