Dirtbreath Posted November 14, 2012 Share I'll be in Umhlanga and will be doing Holla regularly. Still getting back onto the bike so if you are keen on some shorter technical stuff I can show you a few trails. My wife will be trying to get back in the saddle too. Giba is great too but further to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryanpmb Posted November 14, 2012 Share Comparing whose local trails are better is like arguing over whose wife is prettier, no winner there. Im a Giba local, and love the trails, but I know them well which helps. We are really blessed to have such an awesome riding venue on our doorstep. I have always enjoyed Holla though, even the time I got lost. Different riding to Giba I find, but very happy to ride at either venue. The mamba alley section at Holla is sweet, just would feel happier if it had a different name...All trails in KZN at the moment must be wet, just seems like its been raining forever.True story - we'll all back our own trails i guess We're really spoilt for choice in KZN. EVERYWHERE is so wet at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombeej Posted November 14, 2012 Share Speak to Tombeej (PM him here on the hub) I met with him in durban and we did a great 75km.. He knows a ton about the trails all over that area and is a nice guy too. thanks bro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules1976 Posted November 14, 2012 Share There are alot of sugarcane trails in Umdloti and close to Sibaya as well as in the vacinity of the La Mercy airport. ( This is about a 10min drive north from Umhlanga) Only problem is lots of vehicles on the roads during the week and poses a risk when cycling. Some great scenery though if you lucky you will see some wildlife. Roads are quite muddy at the moment with all the recent rains and lots of soft hand deposits which can be tricky as experienced this weekend ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtbreath Posted November 14, 2012 Share There are alot of sugarcane trails in Umdloti and close to Sibaya as well as in the vacinity of the La Mercy airport. ( This is about a 10min drive north from Umhlanga) Only problem is lots of vehicles on the roads during the week and poses a risk when cycling. Some great scenery though if you lucky you will see some wildlife. Roads are quite muddy at the moment with all the recent rains and lots of soft hand deposits which can be tricky as experienced this weekend ! There was quite a bit of tension from landowners towards cyclists riding in the cane fields. Has this been resolved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules1976 Posted November 14, 2012 Share There was quite a bit of tension from landowners towards cyclists riding in the cane fields. Has this been resolved? I think it has been resolved been doing those routes for last 3 years havent had any issues and some races have been done on this routes as well hosted by EMBA. Met one of the farmers on a ride and invited me to cycle on his farm ... pity i did'nt take down his details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombeej Posted November 14, 2012 Share There was quite a bit of tension from landowners towards cyclists riding in the cane fields. Has this been resolved? No they are certainly not happy to have cyclists on their land. Most of it is corporate-owned as well (Tongaat Hullett) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombeej Posted November 14, 2012 Share I do a lot of riding out beyond Holla - into the Mvoti and Mona valleys. Some epic climbs and downhills. Real 'big sky country' out there. On longer ones I really appreciate my camelbak mule - can become totally self-sufficient, esp. if out there most of the day. If I've been a good boy the missus will agree to get up at sparrows fart and drive us out of town 30 - 50km and then we kit up and drop down into the valley before returning over the Glendale escarpment and down into Holla via the back of the black route. Here's the route profile that fruity and I did in Sept. That last bit to the top of Glendale is about 20% gradient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebel Posted November 14, 2012 Share To the best of my knowledge you need an EMBA permit to ride the North Coast Cane Fiels as well as the Shongweni area up near Hillcrest and you are supposed to stay on marked routes. Tongaat Hulett owns that land and seeing as it is private land you technically need permission to ride there. The permission board (EMBA) is so that they can limit the numbers and the marked trails are for your safety. These are all working farms. Not nice hauling ass down a cane break and encountering a tractor and trailer full of workers/cane/equipment.... We all know what the result will be. By sticking to the marked routes the farmers are able to direct cyclists away from the areas of the farm where they are working making it safe for both cyclists and farm employees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules1976 Posted November 14, 2012 Share To the best of my knowledge you need an EMBA permit to ride the North Coast Cane Fiels as well as the Shongweni area up near Hillcrest and you are supposed to stay on marked routes. Tongaat Hulett owns that land and seeing as it is private land you technically need permission to ride there. The permission board (EMBA) is so that they can limit the numbers and the marked trails are for your safety. These are all working farms. Not nice hauling ass down a cane break and encountering a tractor and trailer full of workers/cane/equipment.... We all know what the result will be. By sticking to the marked routes the farmers are able to direct cyclists away from the areas of the farm where they are working making it safe for both cyclists and farm employees Noted i think i need to make enquiries about this. thanks for the heads up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimW Posted November 14, 2012 Share There are alot of sugarcane trails in Umdloti and close to Sibaya as well as in the vacinity of the La Mercy airport. ( This is about a 10min drive north from Umhlanga) Only problem is lots of vehicles on the roads during the week and poses a risk when cycling. Some great scenery though if you lucky you will see some wildlife. Roads are quite muddy at the moment with all the recent rains and lots of soft hand deposits which can be tricky as experienced this weekend ! If you are going to ride in the cane (Shongweni or North Durban) make sure you follow EMBA routes and get an EMBA board ... there are ongoing issues with landowners. Holla in Ballito is great for longer rides (training), but having said that there is some incredible single track and superb riding.Giba in Pinetown is (IMO) better for fun MTB (or if you want to do some hill work). It is in a valley so you have to climb a bit before coming down their awesome trails.Both have their strengths and both are very good.Virginia Trails is in Eston and the limited riding I have done there was very good.If you are driving down from Gauteng, stop off in Hilton on the way down or (and) up and spend a day riding the trails of Hilton, Cascades, Karkloof or Howick -- surely one one of the best areas in the country for mountain biking with incredible trails withing a relatively compact area. Ryanpmb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebel Posted November 14, 2012 Share Noted i think i need to make enquiries about this. thanks for the heads up No worries. We were alerted to this a few years ago when I was a member of Mavericks and used to do the regular Saturday afternoon club rides through the Shongweni cane fields. They started havin problems with the MX bixes and unfortunately the MTB's were bundled into the group. Some of the guys from Mavericks were involved in the negotiations with THS which resulted in the EMBA permit system. I think it costs around R200 per annum for the board which needs to be displayed at all times while riding. You need to be affiliated to a local club as well as far as I can remember. If all else fails do a Google search for EMBA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimW Posted November 14, 2012 Share No worries. We were alerted to this a few years ago when I was a member of Mavericks and used to do the regular Saturday afternoon club rides through the Shongweni cane fields. They started havin problems with the MX bixes and unfortunately the MTB's were bundled into the group. Some of the guys from Mavericks were involved in the negotiations with THS which resulted in the EMBA permit system. I think it costs around R200 per annum for the board which needs to be displayed at all times while riding. You need to be affiliated to a local club as well as far as I can remember. If all else fails do a Google search for EMBA All the info here ... http://www.emba.org.za/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules1976 Posted November 14, 2012 Share No worries. We were alerted to this a few years ago when I was a member of Mavericks and used to do the regular Saturday afternoon club rides through the Shongweni cane fields. They started havin problems with the MX bixes and unfortunately the MTB's were bundled into the group. Some of the guys from Mavericks were involved in the negotiations with THS which resulted in the EMBA permit system. I think it costs around R200 per annum for the board which needs to be displayed at all times while riding. You need to be affiliated to a local club as well as far as I can remember. If all else fails do a Google search for EMBA There are still alot of MX guys in the area i see them regularly on the trails / route. I have made contact with EMBA ... don't belong to a club unfortunately so lets see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grebel Posted November 14, 2012 Share There are still alot of MX guys in the area i see them regularly on the trails / route. I have made contact with EMBA ... don't belong to a club unfortunately so lets see what happens. Unfortunately those are the guys doing all the damage and we have been painted with the same brush. I spoke to a mate who rides MX bikes in that area and their attitude is "F#%! them! They'll never catch us anyway!" Guess it's easier th chase down a dude on a MTB than a guy on a MX bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules1976 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Unfortunately those are the guys doing all the damage and we have been painted with the same brush. I spoke to a mate who rides MX bikes in that area and their attitude is "F#%! them! They'll never catch us anyway!" Guess it's easier th chase down a dude on a MTB than a guy on a MX bike! Thats the problem we always gonna caught and they wont ... we stick the trails / route they create their own ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now