Hey guys! Thanks for the article and great photos. They made me nostalgic! I used to stay in that house on Astley Manor with my folks! They lived there from 2006 to 2012. My husband introduced me to mountain biking in 2011. I was a bit skeptic at first and wondered why he'd bamboozled me into buying bike. That first 2km of single track (the track on the south side of the river, if you head straight down from the house, cross between the two small dams and down to the river) was my first taste of mountain biking! Racing along that smooth track om my cheap Dunlop felt like an awakening. During our first 24-hour race in 2011, my husband and I started the lap from Van Gaalen and spent the night in our own house. LOL. We just continued with our lap the next morning, being very well rested. For me, Van Gaalen's is home; especially Astley Manor.
