Vexer Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 I'm keen to ride the Spruit... Where do you get to it from? Is there one entry point? Cool video!
Tjokkits Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 truly awesum guys! the more i ride the spruit the more i fall in love with it. sadly though, my hubby do not think its safe for a girl or two to ride alone, despite the place being littered with cyclist over weekend mornings. what can i say to convince him or should i not try (i.e. is it as unsafe as he perceive?)?
kamikaze Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) I'm keen to ride the Spruit... Where do you get to it from? Is there one entry point? Cool video!the braamfontein spruit runs from mellville koppies/emmerentia dam all the way to the N1 highway and witkoppen road. you can pretty much join the trail at any point, and get off it at any point. i ride it almost daily. it's good to see i'm not the only one who likes the fast and flowing sections to be found on the spruit!mountainbiking in this country has been steamrolled by an XC culture, where high saddles, bar-ends, and bib-shorts have sucked all the FUN out of the sport...it's not all about distance and average speed...if that's why you are in it, you should REALLY consider road cycling. awesome video!!! Edited January 10, 2012 by kamikaze
patham Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 truly awesum guys! the more i ride the spruit the more i fall in love with it. sadly though, my hubby do not think its safe for a girl or two to ride alone, despite the place being littered with cyclist over weekend mornings. what can i say to convince him or should i not try (i.e. is it as unsafe as he perceive?)? From Fratelli's to Emmarentia there were so many people on the spruit last weekend that the danger is getting runover by speedfreaks, or hopping over the bodies of noobs who fell down for no apparent reason.From the William Nic down to 12th Avenue Rivonia its definitely quieter, and maybe a lone girl should do a road detour at the PnP and hop back onto the trail at the DHL building. That way you avoid the multiple homeless camp sites. From DHL northwards there are also quite a few trail runners, walkers and dog walkers still, who also give you company. From 12th ave Rivonia to Witkoppen its normally very quiet, and I always prepare mentally for what trolls I might find under the highway bridge. So pick your area to suit your personal security comfort zone. But to tell the truth, in 3 years of solo spruit riding I only once thought someone was looking rather shifty, let alone had any security incidents.
patches Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Great to see the Spruit being appreciated. Can anyone tell me where the section 1.35-2.30 is? Norm, that's the Hurlingham line. No one can tell you where the hurlingham line is... you have to experience it for yourself But yeah, it's off the main spruit trail. It involves a bunch of ski jumps, including the 10m monster still under construction.
Pusher Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Great video-well done. I regularly ride between William Nicol and Witkoppen Rd and haven't had any incidents yet although I'm always aware of my surroundings. I always greet the various vagrants as I ride past and they seem to appreciate it as I often get a positive reply. The trail is getting overgrown with all the rain and if you not familiar with the area it can be quite difficult knowing where to go. Trying to get City Parks to cut the grass has been err rather difficult! For some nice hill training I ride up the proposed extension to Maxwell Dr which takes you up to Paulshof. Do that a couple of times and your legs start complaining. Want to extend your ride even more?-duck into Leeuwkop Prison via the back gate and there are some great trails there with even more hills to train on.
divernick Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 What's the story with riding in the prison grounds? I really enjoyed the trails that we rode in the 94.7 MTB race...
Pusher Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 What's the story with riding in the prison grounds? I really enjoyed the trails that we rode in the 94.7 MTB race...I haven't had a problem yet. Whenever I ride past a warder I wave as if he's my big mate.
divernick Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 I haven't had a problem yet. Whenever I ride past a warder I wave as if he's my big mate. Awesome, maybe I should join you sometime to learn the route.
Honkdonk Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Is the Prison one Jhb's best kept secrets? Rode it a few times in the 94,7 MTB challenge but always thought it was out of bounds for the ret of the year. Dont wanna ruin it by tresspassing but if its available and they dont mind..
Catatonic_Joe Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Awesome Video guys, well done. I usually start at Montgomery Part to Fratelli's and back. Where's that singletrack section through the tree's at just after 4:00.
New world disorder Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 cool to see some guys getting there wheels off the ground andflowing on there bikes!
Pusher Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Is the Prison one Jhb's best kept secrets? Rode it a few times in the 94,7 MTB challenge but always thought it was out of bounds for the ret of the year. Dont wanna ruin it by tresspassing but if its available and they dont mind..I've come across a couple of other riders when I have ridden there. I suppose they might be peed off if too many riders start riding there but so far I haven't had any problems.
patches Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 cool to see some guys getting there wheels off the ground andflowing on there bikes! and there's plenty more airtime and flow to be had. Go onto www.vimeo.com and do a search for "spruit"... a few vids should come up. Some of the DHL line too.
Pusher Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Awesome, maybe I should join you sometime to learn the route.Happy to show you the route.
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