Cheese wheels
I’ve successfully got myself back into the saddle and, after a rather cold winter during which the prospect of getting out either early or late in unpleasant temperatures and darkness, have managed to complete a couple of kilometers.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to try out a new set of single tracks close to home. The Van Gaalen Cheese Farm is located close to the Hartebeespoort Dam, and is a part of the Magalies Meander. 30km from home, it’s a scenic drive to the well-established farm that boasts a restaurant, bed and breakfast, and cheese shop. Spreading out from there is roughly 60km of single and wider track over varied terrain criss-crossing almost 40 adjacent plots of land.
Before heading out, it’s important to pay ZAR 25 and sign an indemnity form. The track will be used as a part of the CradeQuest race in October. The 10km I cycled followed the Magalies River and consisted of various challenging obstacles interspersed with some great stretches through the trees.
The tunnel through the long grass is a favourite and runs for quite a few hundred meters.
Various options to follow a route with varying degrees of difficulty exist, though choosing any particular one is a hit-and-miss affair on the first outing.
A couple of challenging downhills forced me to dismount. Prior to February I would have probably risked riding some of these all the way down…with my phone in the car and without a speed dial to my orthopedic surgeon at hand, I decided to dismount on the odd occasion.
All along, the trail is clearly marked and surprisingly free of debris. Without doubt this is a great place to cycle, providing challenging single tracks with plenty of open trails. With the family enjoying some refreshments at the farm, an hour or two of cycling can easily be squeezed in between lunch and coffee (beer) time. I headed back to base camp after attempting to double back on my outbound route only to be thwarted by the Greek Church MTB trail. After a fair bit of effort, I arrived at a sign indicating a further 10km to go…in the opposite direction. I turned around an reversed my course.
If you’re in Gauteng looking for a new MTB haven, give this one a try.
