True Grit Bike Park

[Mntboy]

So for the past while my good friend Mark B had been telling me of this great new bike park near Sir Lowry's Pass called True Grit. So last week when he whatsapped me to say that the weather forecast looks good and would I be willing to join him for a ride there I jumped at the opportunity and said yes.

 

We arrived there about noon on Saturday and was greeted by this sign:

 

I took the sign to be a tad facetious at first until I met the owner and trail builder, Ivan Ruthven-Bruijns, who greeted us warmly and assisted us with our ride permits and change for the entry fees despite being worried about power generation for an event he was to host in the afternoon. With the necessary formalities completed Mark B and I set off for our ride. We followed the well marked red route and soon found ourselves on a small bit of singletrack that lead to a jeep track and the climbing began. For much of the first half of the route sends you on a long ascent. You ride through varying terrain with different views of the surrounding areas, going past Blue Gum tree's and riding past vineyards. Once past the initial climbing one enters the descent which is mostly singletrack through Wattle and Blue Gum Trees. Since True Grit is situated partly on the edge of a number of wine estates you do pass some housing on your ride one of which is near the start of the second set of descending singletrack. After this section it's a bit more climbing which leads one to the final fun descent which leads back to the starting singletrack. From there we joined onto the blue route for a bit prior to heading back to the coffee shop for much needed cokes and cappuccinos and a nice hot shower.

 

In terms of difficulty True Grit isn't overly technical but it does require proper concentration when descending, in part to loose sand or the loamy rock garden descent on the blue route. Overall I found True Grit to be a wonderful addition to the host of good trail centers in the greater Somerset West/Grabouw area. Certainly a place I look forward to supporting in the future.

 

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[Mntboy]

Some of the sights:

 

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[Mntboy]

 

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[Mntboy]

Vineyards

 

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[BDF]

Thanks for the review. I will be doing a race there on 23 April. 33km. Is that the red route?

[Mntboy]

Thanks for the review. I will be doing a race there on 23 April. 33km. Is that the red route?

The red is 12k's all told. The blue is 5k's and the black is 17k's. The red and black shares the same start for the first 5k's. So perhaps some other parts are being opened up for the race that is not yet open for general riding. Perhaps leave a comment on their Facebook page or their IG account or their twitter account and I'm sure Ivan could give you the exact low down on the route for the race. Loved meeting him, he is a real gent and has done a great job in keeping the trails accessible to all skill levels.

 

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[vaalkol]

So for the past while my good friend Mark B had been telling me of this great new bike park near Sir Lowry's Pass called True Grit. So last week when he whatsapped me to say that the weather forecast looks good and would I be willing to join him for a ride there I jumped at the opportunity and said yes.

 

We arrived there about noon on Saturday and was greeted by this sign: 20160409_154505.jpg

 

I took the sign to be a tad facetious at first until I met the owner and trail builder, Ivan Ruthven-Bruijns, who greeted us warmly and assisted us with our ride permits and change for the entry fees despite being worried about power generation for an event he was to host in the afternoon. With the necessary formalities completed Mark B and I set off for our ride. We followed the well marked red route and soon found ourselves on a small bit of singletrack that lead to a jeep track and the climbing began. For much of the first half of the route sends you on a long ascent. You ride through varying terrain with different views of the surrounding areas, going past Blue Gum tree's and riding past vineyards. Once past the initial climbing one enters the descent which is mostly singletrack through Wattle and Blue Gum Trees. Since True Grit is situated partly on the edge of a number of wine estates you do pass some housing on your ride one of which is near the start of the second set of descending singletrack. After this section it's a bit more climbing which leads one to the final fun descent which leads back to the starting singletrack. From there we joined onto the blue route for a bit prior to heading back to the coffee shop for much needed cokes and cappuccinos and a nice hot shower.

 

In terms of difficulty True Grit isn't overly technical but it does require proper concentration when descending, in part to loose sand or the loamy rock garden descent on the blue route. Overall I found True Grit to be a wonderful addition to the host of good trail centers in the greater Somerset West/Grabouw area. Certainly a place I look forward to supporting in the future.

 

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Could you give more specific details how to find True Grit Bike Park?

[Mntboy]

Could you give more specific details how to find True Grit Bike Park?

You'll find them just to the right of the Knorhoek Estate just outside Somerset West. If you're coming from Cape Town follow the N2 towards Somerset West. Turn left at the four way traffic lights with a BP garage on your left. Go past the traffic circles until you hit a T-junction. Turn right and follow the road and turn left at the traffic light after the roadworks and follow the signs for Knorhoek estate. When arriving at Knorhoek look for the True Grit Signs. Alternatively you can use Google Maps to help you find the route there.

 

Most of all though have fun while riding there. You might get to see some buck!

 

Edit: The entry fee needs to be paid at the coffee shop and take note of the where the signs are, all though the routes are marked people have still gotten lost.

 

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[porqui]

What are the entry fees and what is the distance of the route? To which other trail would you most compare it?

[Mntboy]

What are the entry fees and what is the distance of the route? To which other trail would you most compare it?

Entry fee is R40. I'd say True Grit is lekker mix of lower Tokai particularly the old Fairy Garden and my & your routes section while having some but not all of Oak Valley's steep climbing. I really loved the flow sections on the red route which felt very similar to Vasbyt's flow through the fynbos, only at TGBP it's through Wattle trees. It sports some awesome views as well. It's worth a trip bru. Here's their trail map:

 

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