FedHealth MTB Race at Meerendal. 60km with estimate 1800m of climbing.
It was a beautiful morning in Durbanville, the day started off with much excitement. Someone at Stillwater Sports had a sense of humour and put me in the “A” batch with all the pros. Not a worry, for I was ready, on my newly acquired TREK TopFuel 9,8. What a machine! At least my bike fitted right in there with the pros, not me so much at 3kg shy of 100kg. Must be honest, I got more than one questioning look of who is this guy…..race official, media, or photographer?
Needless to say, we were off to a blistering start and I realised quickly that I won’t last at this pace. The TopFuel handled magnificently on the downhills, where I was able to keep up with the remainder of the “A” batch. The bike handled superbly on the climbs; however the climbs were not so kind on my legs. Either way we were having a jol!
The big climb up the cement track at Bloemendal was one of the first we had to endure, steep and boring as hell, but with the motivation of sublime single track on the other side, I pushed on up. This bike was made to be hammered down single tracks. The suspension is something out of this world. The minutes lost on the climb were made up quickly and I was in heaven on the downhill.
As it goes in mountain biking, what goes down must go up and soon we were climbing up Contermanskloof on a variety of switchbacks and technical sections. Again, the bike was raring to go, but the legs not so much. Eventually, I got to the top and was rewarded with some more of the best swooping single track ever. Definitely “heehaaa” moments!
From there we headed out to Hoogekraal for a fun climb to the top and then down the “Cobra” on the other side. Now this is quite a technical downhill and riders are warned that it is not for beginners. My TopFuel floated over the various rocks, jumps, switchbacks and everything else the trail threw at me. Absolutely unbelievable what this bike is capable of. Stoke levels went sky high as I revved along.
After the fun at Hoogekraal we headed into the big climb of the day, up the back of “Dorsberg”. Now this was where the men got separated from the boys. This climb was not for sissies and a real “vasbyt”. After an eternity I got to the top, feeling quite sorry for myself. This was soon forgotten hitting the downhill again from the top of Meerendal, which is probably some of the best riding in the Western Cape. The trails at Meerendal are so well maintained and absolutely superb.
A tough, hard, yet awesome day out, with great mates, on an awesome bike and rewarded with more than one cold beer. Until the next adventure!
Regards,
Me and My TREK