Early in 2015, the greater Cape Town area lost a few of its flagship trails due to wild fires. One of which was Jonkershoek – a piece of land with immense scenic beauty, and loads of trails for both hikers and mountain bikers. Months of downtime allowed for logging and getting the trails safe again, which meant zero access to the public. During that time though, two very talented individuals, Bennet Nel and Hylton Turvey, put their heads together and resurrected the playground that we’ve all been missing so much. Aptly naming one of the trails, the Red Phoenix.
At the time of writing this article though, the trails are unfortunately not open to public yet. There are many factors affecting the opening, but with a little luck and a lot of holding thumbs, mid November 2015 might be it. Don’t quote me on that though. Another small matter is that the entry fees have doubled from R25 to R50 per person. R50 however is still not a lot money at all if you consider what you get: a full day’s riding at one of South Africa’s most scenic and best mountain biking locations.
Watch out for the baboons! They were here first.
We started off with the new double black diamond, high above the valley floor. It’s steep. And loose.
Myles Kelsey
Trail builder Bennet Nel dropping into the double black diamond from the service road. Needless to say, and as the name states, these trails should not be attempted by any non-advanced riders.
A minefield of rocks and boulders awaits as you descend the double black.
Matthieu Hamel
Bennet Nel
Matthieu and Myles scoping out line options over the knuckle.
Daniel Dobinson | iRideAfrica
Out with the old and in with the new.
Might as well have been in New Zealand…
Cheers to having Jonkershoek back in business and to riding trails until the sun sets.
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Riders: Daniel Dobinson | Matthieu Hamel | Myles Kelsey | Bennet Nel
Hoping as much rain fell in jhk as in Cape Town. Sure it will help bedding in the trails immensely as long as people don't ride for the next few days and let it bake hard for a few days.
Stick to Eden / Coetzenberg and Bottleray this weekend. Hopefully we get the green light to hit up Jonkers next week?