The Rouxjie, Swift, Mrs Swift and I all rode there yesterday on our SS. 2x 29er Rigid (Rouxtjie 32:18, Me 34:18) 2x 26er Squishy (Swift 32:16, Mrs Swift 32:18) We did a Blue - Black - Green Combo. Trails were super well marked. Even though we had never ridden there and some of the trails are a little grown in with the new spring grass shoots, an easy to see gum pole painted with the colour of the trail and an arrow for direction was never out of sight. (great job) lets hope this format of trail marking catches on, really easy to follow. The Trails. Blue This forms the core of the trails and is really well marked. It start with a short trip down a district road to get you out to the trail-head, then you are gonna be taken out on some trails through farm lands and along a riverine forest. You then climb up to the base of the hill and you can choose to stay on the Blue or take on the challenge of the black. Black (The Rinkhals) This is not for the faint hearted but not crazy difficult. The nice thing is that there are tiers to the climb so you do get to rest the legs for the next assault. Stage 1: is a gradual climb up a drive way its nice and firm and has one switchback and then levels off as you ride past the house that the driveway services. Stage 2: this is where things get serious you turn right and climb straight up. (this section proved to steep for my gearing and fat ass, I got to the "tree" and stalled). The trick here is to pace it cause from the bottom it looks like you can see the top but when you get to that point you turn left and there is a short steep rocky climb still waiting for you. Save a little gas in the tank. it will then level off and you have quite a long recovery (you still gonna climb but only at about 3-5% and that feels flat after the last section. Stage 3: this section starts off with a drag up to a concrete road that is the service road to a radio tower. its Fairly steep but riding on the concrete make it easier to get some momentum going. you will ride up to the tower but dont thing that the climbing is done yet. you still got some to go so "dont burn all your matches" Stage 4: you will go through a fence and then climb up the back of the ridge line this is a series of rocky undulations that take their toll on your already weary legs. there are three short steep rocky climbs that have you fight for a line and grip. a nice little challenge to finish the climb. Once you go through the fence again it is all down hill so take a walk to the ridge line and enjoy the view (you have earned it) From there its a case of hold on and keep the rubber side down. Awesome sweeping descent that will give you a huge forearm pump by the bottom. From there you are back on the blue trails that weave back and forth and up and down the valley floor. Green: we had to cut our experience on the green route a little short due to time constraints and advertising rights. the short bit we did ride was smooth and fast flowing along a river. On par with any well defined trail in SA. (cant wait to go back and finish riding the rest of the route. Clubhouse: cold drinks, hot coffee, great breakie buns and awesome people what more do I need to say. My Suggestions: Tyres you have to run a UST or Protection type Tyre and don't skimp on the sealant. The trails in the valley floor have a lot of Acacia trees and branches do fall off onto the trail. The trails on top of the hill are rocky and have a lot of shale. Water. You are exposed to the sun alot on this ride and you will definitely finish a bottle on the climb. So take two bottles or a camelpack. you going to need it especially in summer. Start as early as possible, you don't want to be out there in the midday sun. The trails are still new and need to be ridden in a bit so if you find yourself lost just look up from the trail and look around you are sure to see a gumpole marker or a bit of bunting tied to a tree. NB please remember to close any gates that you have had to open. I know its a pain and could affect your Strava time but if we don't repect the landowners they will simply stop us going through their land and with there being less and less safe places to ride and more and more people on the trails. We can use all the new trails we can get. Also a lot of the land we ride through are cattle pens so dont be an idiot and drop gu wrappers, tubes and bombs on the trail. if you can carry it in you can carry it out. To the folks at Hakahana, Thank you for your great trails, marking and atmosphere. I speak for all Mtbers when I say we really appreciate all the time, effort and money you have put into creating these trails that you have generously shared with us. Look forward to riding there again very soon.
