Ride Report: Swartberg 100 Gran Fondo
My initial response when hearing about the Swartberg 100 Gran Fondo was a strong “Never!”. 170 kilometres of tar and gravel roads with 3000 metres of climbing, including the monstrous Swartberg pass thrown in at the end. It sounded arduous, and lacking in trail endorphins. But the lure of a challenge is irresistible to me, […]
Grab one of the last slots to SA’s first luxury Gravel and MTB Enduro Weekend
kəˈbal/ A secret clique or faction. Based at the Trails End Bike Hotel in Grabouw on 13 & 14 April 2018, The Cabal is a limited-entry event that will change the way you think about cycling. Bring any bike. We don’t limit what you ride, focusing on the ride entirely. We recommend a Gravel Bike […]
First ride: 2018 Specialized Diverge
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to ride the 2018 Specialized S-Works Diverge at a media event at Boschendal. Having thoroughly enjoyed an excursion on the 2017 Diverge Expert on the farm roads around L’Agulhas earlier in the year, and knowing the bike has been reworked for 2018 I was very keen to take […]
Review: Momsen R355 gravel bike
With wide open spaces and a vast network of country roads, added to our obsession with covering distance, South Africa is a perfect place for the booming adventure and gravel bike trend. The R355 marks South African owned Momsen Bike’s first play in this maturing category of crossover bikes. Frame The Momsen R355 Gravel is […]
Exploring L’Agulhas by gravel bike
With the very welcome winter rainfall has come the seasonal chill, cold, dark mornings, and a noticeable decrease in riding time. To shake ourselves out of hibernation we headed to the southernmost tip of Africa: the Cape L’Agulhas for a gravel Gran Fondo (which I think might be code for a lot of coffee stops […]
Gravel Grinders: A journey from Houw Hoek to Vermaaklikheid
Like many good adventures, this one was born over a cup of good coffee one lazy afternoon in Stellenbosch. The initial plan was to cycle from Cape Town to Knysna over two days on mountain bikes, but this had been done before. After looking at the routes, it was clear that gravel grinders were the […]