Hellwarp

This is highly speculative but if it was "green corridor" and it was part of the Epic route, would it make any difference? Fact is that the corridor is closed. So anybody making use of it is jeopardizing the possibility of having it reopened. Because a lot of the prime riding areas in SA are on private land some local riders knowingly trespass to get access to such areas. And over time I think it has become "accepted" by many as the norm with a sort of "worry about it when we get caught" kind of attitude. Problem with this is that sooner or later the landowner gets fed up and takes action preventing further riding. To reverse that situation isn't easy. In the development of our trails we had to do a fair amount of negotiating and in some cases pleading with landowners to get access. And we're their friends and neighbours! So naturally there are conditions and rules that apply. You have to stick to the marked trails and you have to display a bikeboard or day permit(armband). So what happens, you end up with a percentage of freeloaders who couldn't give a damn. What they don't have the foresight to see is that if this continues we will make it annual permit only which means the "out of towners" won't have the opportunity to ride our trails. Of course if that doesn't help then the only remaining option is to close the trails and ban all riding in the area completely. "Yeah right, how you gonna do that?" Believe me it very simple, all farmers will cooperate to see that no cycling takes place on their land. So once again its the typical case of a few spoiling it for the rest. Solutions? I think there are, the attitude of a number of mountainbikers needs to be changed. Paying riders need to confront riders that are trespassing. The mindset needs to be one of lets cooperate and abide by the rules and in that way get more private landowners to allow us access. Or at least show our appreciation for allowing us access in the first place by abiding by the rules. It's beyond me why people think that its fine to break the law and trespass and then complain like the rest of us about the high levels of crime in our country. Or moan about the fact that part of a trail has been closed... What happened with the "green corridor" is a very good example of what can happen if landowners get fed up. In that case it was only the green corridor, what happens when its half the trails, or all the trails? Where to then?

Went and had a look yesterday evening and saw the signs were still there. The section you mention doesn't have any signage as you meant to just follow the road. If you went any other way you would be cycling through a vineyard.

Hey Hearts At the top of the Zevenwacht climb there should be a sign next to the small bridge directing you across and left onto the Green Loop. Will check out the route marking you describing, the "cultivated land" one bugs me a bit as the route markers are often removed when the farmers work a land. We slowly but surely upgrading all the route marking but the ground is so hard and dry at the moment that it takes forever to dig a hole to plant a pole. The initial marking simply hasn't got the longevity required and is a maintenance headache. But we'll get there, eventually.

It has taken a long time negotiating with landowners and getting the layout and route marking done for the latest addition to Bottelary Hills MTB Trails. The new section of trail passes over 4 farms and adds another 6km to the trail. Overgaauw Wine Estate is now a new starting/exit point. Day permits can be obtained there from 08h30 - 17h00 during the week, from 06h00 - 12h30 on Saturdays and 06h00 - 09h00 on Sundays. We can't stress enough how important it is to wear an armband for day permits or display a bikeboard on your handlebars if you are an annual permit holder. Landowners are looking out for that. The purple loop has been split and extended to include a "Long Purple Loop" which takes you up and over the hill to "Ribbok Run" singletrack. You then have the option to return to either Middelvlei or Overgaauw or to continue with the Red Route. This opens up a whole lot of new route options for guys starting from either Middelvlei or Overgaauw. Before there wasn't a way back if you continued with the Red Route beyond the purple loop. Where the link from Overgaauw joins the red/purple loops you also have the option to return to the yellow loop and Middelvlei. In other words you could start at Middelvlei and exit at Overgaauw to return via the tar road or cycle to Overgaauw on tar, do the yellow loop from there and exit at Middelvlei. Riders can now access the singletrack in the forest from Overgaauw or Middelvlei and return without having to do the entire Red Route. All the signage is up so its ready to ride.

Annual permits are now available from Cyclosport in Kuilsriver and Masons Bike Inn in Stellenbosch. Remember that they are valid from now on, you don't have to wait till 1st Jan 2012.

Hi guys Bottelary Hills MTB annual permits for 2012 are now available at all the annual permit selling points. Visit our website for more detail. The permit is valid from the day you purchase it. (great Christmas present) You will notice that the bike boards have been enlarged. This was done to make them more visible, landowners have complained about not being able to see the boards. The bike board must be displayed on your bike's handlebars. (Not in your pocket or elsewhere on the bike) Each permit holder will now also have a number which is displayed on the board. We nearly finished with the latest addition to the trails which includes a new starting venue. Will be ready by the week-end.

Enter Bottelary Hills MTB Trails ( http://bottelaryhillsmtb.co.za/ ) from Hazendal Wine Estate. Follow pink arrows to green loop, continue green and take "shortcut to Red Route" continue with red until you come across first yellow arrow, follow yellow to start of yellow loop, follow pink arrows to Middelvlei. At the tar road after yellow ... go left and then first gravel road right. From Middelvlei you can exit to Stellenbosch.

We've added another link from the Red Route to the Yellow Loop which exits the Red Route earlier to join Yellow. Did this for riders who don't want to descend all the way down to join Yellow, especially when they've finished riding the Red Route and just want to get back to the start.

We changed the Yellow Loop to make it a little easier and shorter for the beginners. The Yellow Loop(without the Middelvlei Link) is now 6.7km. Due to changes made to the Red Route the Purple Loop has been adapted. By including the Purple Loop in your ride from Middelvlei you add another 9km. Middelvlei link to Yellow Loop is 3.75km one way, so add 7.5km to get your total distance. Yellow Loop from Middelvlei and back = 14km. Purple Loop from Middelvlei and back = 23km.

We've made some routing changes to the Red Route, adding about another 4.5km which extends the Red Route to 23km. We did this not only to extend it but also to improve the flow and eliminate 1 or 2 niggly climbs.

1. Saturday: start 07h00 finish 11h00 (Hazendal) Sunday: start 08h00 finish 11h00 (The Only One) 2. Yes the route changes are significant, we have not yet updated the google maps. The google maps will be updated once all the planned route changes have been made. It simply does not make sense to update the maps for each and every change. I am however busy with the ones we can update in the meantime. There are plans in place for making more detailed maps avaiable along with the GPS files for each route option from each starting point. We will start with the detailed mapping and GPS work once we have completed the trail work.

Red Bull overdose .....

Hi everyone. There are two events taking place on the trails this weekend, one on Saturday morning starting from Hazendal and the other on Sunday morning from The Only One restuarant. These are pre-entry events only, no registration on the day. The trails will however still be open, if possible arrange your ride so it does not coincide with the event times. You will also notice that we have made a few permanent changes to the routing of the trails in various places. There will be more to come in the following weeks. You will also notice that we are slowly but surely upgrading the route marking. Any riders we come across without permits will be regarded as trespassers, we've been open long enough for everyone to be aquainted with the trail rules. Thanks again to those who have supported our trails thus far.

Heading towards Spier from Stellenbosch along "Adam Tas Rd" you take a right at the "DISTELL" robot and carry on straight, you eventually drive through Middelvlei's main gate. Permits are sold from the tasting room. Its the same robot you turn up to Oude Libertas amphitheatre.

It's West of Stellenbosch, you can start from Middelvlei wine estate and access all the trails from there. They sell day permits from 08h00 on saturdays and sundays.

Some more Ribbok Run pics ...

Hi everyone. You can now officially link up to the Bottelary Hills MTB trails from Zevenwacht. The signage and route marking is up so it can be ridden. Annual permit holders will be able to start early. Day permits available from Zevenwacht wine tasting but only from 09h30 - 17h00 on weekends and from 08h30 during the week. Please be aware that access is granted via the pink link only and that permits do not entitle riders to make use of any other trails on Zevenwacht. Ride only on trails marked with "Bottelary Hills MTB" route markers. Annual permits for the remainder of 2011 are available at Cyclosport. Besides giving access to the trails from Zevenwacht it offers riders the option to start at Zevenwacht, do half of the Green Loop, exit at Hazendal to return via tar road and vice versa. The pink link is a two-way so you can enter or exit the trails via the link.

We've re-routed the Green Loop where it's joined by the pink link from Hazendal. The farmer is cultivating the land where the trail used to run. So pay attention to the signage when next you ride. We busy with a few more additions, will keep you posted.

We've finished the new singletrack on the RED Route. Its called Ribbok Run after the hill (Ribbokkop) it's built on. The changes to the route marking to incorporate it have been done so it's ready to be ridden. It will be soft and loose in places so take it easy until it settles. Give us some feedback once you've tried it.

Getting there, slowly but surely ....

Another pic

Singletrack we currently busy building ...

If you start at Hazendal then it's about 10 km in. It starts above the existing singletrack which it then joins lower down. Not sure how long it is (haven't measured it yet ) We did this to add more singletrack but also to cut out an awkward "S" bend on the jeep track and a "tricky left" to enter the existing singletrack. Once ridden in I'm sure it will be a great addition.

Part of the new singletrack on the GREEN LOOP.

Like dirtman said we've added a new section of singletrack above the existing one on the GREEN LOOP. I marked it this afternoon and removed logs that were blocking the trail, so it's open. That said it's obviously new and soft in places, the coming rain should help compact it a little. This section is the first of 4 sections of singletrack we plan to have done come end September and will certainly be great additions to the trails. With the limited time and funds available we are upgrading the route marking and signage. This however is a labour intensive, costly and timeous process but be assured that we are on it. Enhancing the route layout and making changes as we go along is also something we are constantly working on. Just a little behind the scenes info in case you were wondering if we were still here.