dirtman

Thanks for the comments Mario - it makes the weeks toiling away at Hillcrest worthwhile. Just some more info - we have started working last week on another farm in the Durbanville area where we will have another 15 km of trails - at least 8 km will be single track. The trails will be flatter that Hillcrest and easier to ride. It will take about 7 weeks to build.

There are 2 routes on Hillcrest - red and green. They run together from the start till the you get to the section of tarred farm road (just after the switchbacks) where green goes left and red goes straight up. If you do the red route, it later joins up with green again before splitting again. Green is about 7 km and red 8 km. Green is easier to ride. The idea is to ride the routes separately, but you can combine them in any manner you choose, as long as you don't ride against the flow.

I think we will have a group ride again after the school holidays. If you are not a member of Tygerberg MTB club, you need to buy permits at both Hillcrest and Contermanskloof. My advice is to sign up for the weekly club newsletter - this will enable you to see when rides are taking place.. Just go to www.tygerbergmtb.co.za. You do not need to be a member to get the newsletter. We have also yesterday started building another 15 km of trails on another farm - will take about 7 weeks to complete. Tygerberg MTB club members will ride for free here as well - so it is really a no-brainer not to join the club for R250 per year. For this R250 you can ride all the way from Majik via Bloemendal and Nitida to Hillcrest and Contermanskloof (you still need to pay to ride Contermans) and hopefully we will also be able to link the "new" trails to this system, depending on our negotiations with the landowners. Sorry, no discount for Amariders

Ride is on from botttom Jip de Jager via Majik to Hillcrest tomorrow (Sunday), leaving at 6 am. Adrian will lead an easy ride.

] Tygerberg MTB club members get a white plastic bike board with 2010 printed on it when they join the club - this board is also your free pass to cross from MAjik to Hillcrest via the green corridor, as well as riding for free at Hillcrest. If you buy a annnual permit for Contermanskloof, you get an addisional orange sticker to attach to the board. You do not to be a member (and thus have a bike board) to ride at Hillcrest or Contermans - you then just need to buy a permit for R25 every time you ride either Hillcrest or Contemans - if you ride both together, you must buy a R25 day permit for each - R50 in total.

Between 40 and 50 km if you do both green and red route at Hillcrest and the Contermans loop. If you add all of Majik, you will get up to 60. Not an easy ride however, will take you about 3 to 3,5 hours to do the route without Majik.

Membership application forms and bank details are on the website - tygerbergmtb.co.za Fill in the form, do your payment, fax it to Adrian and if you want, you can collect your bike board from Adrian in Kenridge, otherwise it will be posted to you. You can also contact Adrian at mountainbiker@mweb.co.za or 072 852 8272 > Chances are that we will do a ride Sunday morning from Majik over the green corridor to Hillcrest and maybe all the way to Contermanskloof. Provisional starting time at 6 am at bottom of Majik at Jip de Jager. Please check this thread tomorrow afternoon around 6pm for confirmation re Sunday's ride.

yes, just pm me.

<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Hillcrest and Contermanskloof are now connected and can be ridden together. Directions can be found at the start of the red route ST at Hillcrest. An annual permit system is in operation - Riders can also buy the normal day permits. Day permits Tygerberg MTB club members: You will need to buy a R25 day permit at Contermans every time you cross over to ride there. Members ride for free at Hillcrest. Non-members: You will need to buy a full price day permit at both Contermans AND Hillcrest every time you cross over to ride both trails. This will cost you R50 in total Annual Permits: Tygerberg MTB club members: You can buy an annual permit that will give you unlimited riding at Contermans. The cost of this permit is R300 per year (equivalent to one ride a month!). Non-members have 2 options: - buy separate permits for Hillcrest and Contermans respectively, or buy a combined annual permit that covers both trails. Price of annual permits for non-members is as follows: Hillcrest alone: R350 Contermans alone: R350 Combined permit: R650 To buy a pemit, contact mountainbiker@mweb.co.za or 072 852 8272

From the Tygerberg MTB club newsletter The Green Corridor (over Bloemendal and Nitida to Hillcrest) is a member' s only privilege. As of Friday 9th Feb the gate to Hillcrest will be locked with a combination lock. Only paid up Club members will be given the combination, which will change from time to time. If you want to use the route, until we get our sms system up and running (very soon) please email/sms me using 'CODE' in the subject line, mountainbiker@mweb.co.za or 072 852 8272 and I'll tell you the code. The landowner has generously allowed us access to Nitida, and has very reasonably, but specifically, requested that ALL members have a valid bike board showing on their bike if they wish to cross his land. Checks will be made over the next few days, so ensure you attach your board in a place it can be seen, preferably in front of your handlebars, and if you see someone without his or hers, please challenge them. Abuse of the privilege will see it withdrawn.

The final, rutted section of the red route before it exits the kloof/forest

Hillcrest is open from sunrise to sunset; no fixed hours, but no night-riding allowed. If you ride before 9 am and after 5 pm, deposit your R25 riding fee into the honesty box at the side door of the restaurant. Between 9 am and 5pm, buy your permit at the restaurant. The bottom part of the red route through the forest is also open again after maintenance and upgrading were done over the last few days - go and try it out and let me have some feedback.

I think that some of the riders doing the ride tomorrow willl have a Garmin to track the route - will see what we can get. Connection from the Hillcrest side to Contermans not too bad, as the start of the red route ST is quite close to the top of the hill. We will build a connecting piece of ST from the start of the red route ST across the face of the hill that will make it quite easy to get to the top. Getting back from Contermans to Hillcrest is quite a climb, especially the last part. Are also looking at some switchbacks there to make the climb easier. If enough annual permits are sold, we might look at a link at the bottom of Hillcrest and Contermans, but that will require crossing another 2 farms. New trails? - we need a break - last year was hectic. Only joking - we will most likely add about 2 km of ST to the Hillcrest trails - there are a few areas left where we can do something.

No map yet, but the link between Hillcrest and Contermans will be signposted from the start of the red route single track on Hillcrest (right at the top at the cross-over). Link between Majik and Hillcrest via Bloemendal and Nitida is only open to Tygerberg MTB club members. Why not join us for a ride tomorrow that covers the whole route from Majik to Contermans - all dirt - see below as per the Tygerberg newslettter. It was very popular ride last week, but quite a few couldn't make it, so there will be another member's only guided ride starting from Jip de Jager below the Majik Forest Vineyard Development to the new Hillcrest gate on Saturday 6th Feb starting at 06.00, or join the group en route at 06.15, D'Aria Cellars. The short ride will do a lap or two of Hillcrest before returing home (20kms +/- 2 hrs) the long ride will carry on over the new temporary crossing to Contermanskloof, do a lap there and head back with an optional one or two laps of Hillcrest (40-50kms, +/- 4hrs). Pace = leisurely. You are welcome to bring non-members, BUT, they are only allowed on the Green Corridor with a club member, they must bring R25 permit fee for Hillcrest (yes, new price) and R25 for Contermanskloof, if going on, but of course, we would really love for them to sign up and become a club member :-)

<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Tygerberg MTB club, who operates the Hillcrest MTB trails, and the owner of the Contermanskloof trails have reached an agreement to link the two trails on a permanent basis. The initial link will be via the jeep track that runs between the masts on the hilltop at the back of Hillcrest and Contermans. PAYMENT FOR RIDES An annual permit system is in operation. Riders can also buy the normal day permits. Day permits Tygerberg MTB club members: You will need to buy a R25 day permit at Contermans every time you cross over to ride here. Tygerberg members ride for free on Hillcrest. All other riders: You will need to buy a full price day permit at both Contermans AND Hillcrest every time you cross over to ride both trails. This will cost you R50 in total (R25 each for both trails) ANNUAL PERMITS Tygerberg MTB club members pay R300 for an annual Contermans permit and must buy their permits directly from the club. Tygerberg members ride for free on Hillcrest. All other riders have 2 options: - buy separate permits for Hillcrest and Contermans respectively, or buy a combined annual permit that covers both trails. Price of permits is as follows: Contermans alone: R350 ; Hillcrest alone: R350 ; Combined permit: R650 The price will stay the same irrespective of when in the year you are going to buy it. The permit(s) will be issued in the form of a coloured plastic bike board that will indicate which trails the permit holder is entitled to ride. HOW TO BUY AN ANNUAL PERMIT Please phone Adrian Winsor on 072-852 8272 or send an e-mail with your details and the permit(s) you want to buy to mountainbiker@mweb.co.za and <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Adrian will contact you.

Glad you enjoyed it. A few of us from Tygerberg MTB club spent about 5 weeks building those trails (red route) with the help of a team of 5 labourers that we recruited from next to the road and who became highly effective trail builders. We are currently looking at another 3 areas where it might be possible to put in about another 2 km of single track in total - will have to wait for good rains however before we can start. The club will also open up a corrider from Majik Forest to Hillcrest over a few farms within the next week or two - this will however only be open to Tygerberg MTB club members.

MTB ride leaves at 6 am from Engen - we were 5 riders this morning. The plan is to do a long ride ( 4 - 5 hours) Saturday morning (depending on weather) .

There is a road group riding from the traffic circle near Fernkloof every morning (I think at 6 am - not sure) , as well as seperate road and MTB groups leaving at 6 am from the Engen service station at the Sandbaai intersection every morning for the duration of the holidays. If you ride MTB, pm me and I can show you around.

The second loop at Hillcrest has been completed this week. The 2 loops will give you around 16 km in total of which about 10 km are singletrack.

We will complete the last part of the new extensions (red route) at Hillcrest (Durbanville) by tomorrow (Friday). It is open for riding, but be careful as it needs compacting. We also need to put in a bridge over the little stream at the bottom when you exit the new ST in the forest ? just stop before the little stream, get off your bike and step over the stream. Your front wheel might get stuck in the mud if you attempt to ride through. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><?: PREFIX = O /> To find the new ST - when you cross the flattened fence on the front part of the hill overlooking <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><?: PREFIX = ST1 />Table Mountain and the sea, you will see the new ST on your right. There is danger tape on some of the bushes to help identify the route (permanent route markers will go up next week). Enjoy! If you do both the green and red route it will give you about 17 km, of which at least 10 km will be ST.

From the Tygerberg MTB club newsletter: The new singletrack from the very top of Hillcrest is open! The fence crossover was completed the other day - all you have to do is find it! We will be putting in route markers next week, but if you would like to get up there meantime to try it out (and I insist you do) start as if you are going to do the normal circuit, and when you exit the olive grove, instead of turning left to go down to the kloof, keep going up the rocky track towards the concrete dam. Around the dam to the right, then follow the Bloemendal border fence as far as you can (it bears left at the top). Continue across the face of the hill, about 50m below the aerial mast, for +/-150m until you come to a closed gate on your right, you will see the cross-over beside it, the singletrack begins right there. Please bear in mind the track has not been compacted yet, and after all the rain this week, it will be unpredicatable!

Hi CJVDM Seems you are getting confused between Majik and Hillcrest. The new routes and ST are being built on Hillcrest, not in Majik. A map of Hillcrest will be posted as soon as all the extensions are completed. Re map of Majik - Tygerberg MTB club have started today to plant poles that willl be used for route markers to mark the different routes and directions in Majik - this will take you to everything than can be ridden in MF. We will however only attach the directional signs after the funride on 15 November to avoid confusion during the ride - so you will see poles going up, but no directional signs until the after the 15th. Honesty box is at Hillcrest, not Majik. Majik is free to ride, but we would appreciate it if you join Tygerberg MTB club to assist with maintenance cost in Majik. Tygerberg MTB shirts - go to tygerbergmtb.co.za and click on "club kit" link. Tygerberg MTB club funride on 15 Nov starting at D'aria going through the Tygerberg Nature Reserve. Go to tygerbergmtb.co.za for full details.

First phase of new ST was completed yesterday. We have added a link to join up with the existing "up" ST just after the up ST exits the ?forest" part. Means you can now cycle up to just under the masts at the top, go down the new 1,5 km ST and join up with the "up" ST. Option 2 is not to go down to the ?up? ST, but stay on the top part and link up with the existing down ST. Unfortunately the new section will only be opened up next week ? a club member will construct a ?step-over? over the fence during the weekend (weather permitting) and we also will only be able to signpost the new sections next week. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Have done about 300 metres of new ST by today on the second part of the extensions ? hope to have this section completed by next Friday. Tygerberg MTB club funride on 15 Nov starting at D'aria going through the Tygerberg Nature Reserve. Go to tygerbergmtb.co.za for full details.