
- Congratulations Mike Harker of Musgrave, gather 5 of your best MTB mates, you are the lucky winner of our 2nd subscriber competition - The gold Rush Experience worth R42 000! You will also be able to transport all those bikes with your new Strides 5 Bike rack, compliments of Strides.
- Du-Wayne Rood of Fontainbleau, Randburg has gained instant style after having been drawn as the winner of the Rudy Project hamper worth R7150.
- Gerhard Cruywagen of Oranjezictht, Cape Town can kiss punctures goodbye after having been drawn as the winner of a year's supply of Sludge Uniseal.
Whether it’s racing in a dusty, dry-mouthed, lactic-acid-induced haze for a final podium spot or gently freewheeling down a sunny piece of singletrack on a local trail, TREAD’s team of writers and photographers are passionate mountain bikers who like to share their thoughts and experiences here. To post a blog, simply send to info@treadmag.co.za
Blogs
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2010/07/01 |
Mad? Brave?
Adventurous? Which ever way you look at it, it’s a huge
challenge. Glenn Harrison, a devout TREAD reader from Mpumalanga,
started the 2010 Freedom Challenge this week. The Freedom Challenge, an
annual 2300km non-stop mountain bike race from Pietermaritzburg to
Paarl, is regarded as the toughest mountain bike race in the country. It
takes the competitors through wild river valleys, up huge mountains and
along dessert plains – all during the middle of winter! Depending on
many factors, it takes anything from 14-35 days to complete.What
makes Glenn’s participation in this event worthy of blog status on the
TREAD site? Well, in a time when mountain bikes are being fitted with 30
gears, Glenn has opted to complete the Freedom Challenge with one gear!
What’s even more ridiculous is that he’s going further against the
grain and using a rigid fork as opposed to a suspension fork! Yep, we
also reckon he’s a bit, well, different. Life is hard as it is, who
would want to make the toughest race in the country even harder? Anyway,
Glenn and his singlespeed,
rigid-fork Giant XTC 29-er are moving along well despite the vicious
cold weather sweeping through the country. He’s aiming to break the
22-day singlespeed record and will be sending updates as often as
possible here...
WEDNESDAY 30 JUNE 2010 – DAY 16 Kasra to Diemersfontein
145km/17hours
The final day, starting from Kasra at 3:30am, the initial jeep track portage in the dark went slowly when my left shoe started falling apart. Duct tape and cable ties kept it together but I had to stop often to fiddle with it. Once on the bike, I had to plug a stubborn puncture but as the sun came up, I got into a better rhythm and raced across to Trouthaven. Once there, I had a quick meal and refuel and got going towards the dam wall to start the final Stettynkloof portage. The kloof is about 8km long and spectacularly beautiful and I was lucky to have good weather too. I started down the path at midday and got to the halfway mark in about 2 hours but then slowed a bit when my shoe start falling apart again. The new firebreak at the back of the valley was a welcome sight as it meant an easier passage along the second half of the kloof, although the final climb out is still as steep as ever! Topping out of the kloof at 17h30, I had some daylight to spare but got a puncture within the first 50m and after another plug fix, the light was almost gone. The last stretch includes some steep cement tracks that I had to push up and a long uphill on tar to get up the Du Toit's Kloof Pass. I had a snack break on the way up and then also got a bit lost dropping down through the forests, thanks to the vague route narrative! But at 20h20, I finally rolled across the finish line at Diemersfontein, tired after another long day in the saddle but elated and happy to finally be there. A small group welcomed me in and after some food in front of fireplace, David Waddilove, the race founder and organiser, presented me with the finisher's blanket and congratulated me on the new singlespeed record: 15days14hours20min
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MTB SAFETY IN SA
Get your latest TREAD magazine at a bike shop near you, or at selected CNA and Exclusive Books stores.
|  Last updated: 10/05/2010
NEW: TREAD SKILLS Click here
COMPETITIONS NEW:
WIN a pair of HOSS Ponderosa shorts every month until the end of the year by sending us your 'Skin tight ain't right' pics. Read more
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here
NEW! BIKE REVIEWS VIDEOS ON GALLERIES
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| NEW SPONSOR FOR SA’S HIGHEST MTB STAGE RACE |
| 2010/07/26 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Rhodes Extreme welcomes new sponsor Bonitas Medical Fund
Cult race becomes part of popular Bonitas Wild Series... |
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| LOVE TRIUMPHS AT THE NISSAN DIAMOND RUSH |
| 2010/07/26 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Ben-Melt Swanepoel (Specialized/Mr Price) and Yolandi du Toit (Bizhub) turned the Nissan Diamond Rush Race over 70km in Cullinan, on Saturday, 24 July, into a true ‘love match on mountain bikes’ by respectively winning the pro-elite races for men and women.... |
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| CAPE PIONEER TREK |
| 2010/07/23 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a true pioneer, riding on your mountain bike where no two wheels have ever gone before?... |
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| HISTORIC ROUTE SET FOR NISSAN DIAMOND RUSH |
| 2010/07/21 |
| Supplied by Advendurance Media from Tread Magazine |
| The Nissan Diamond Rush mountain bike race that takes place in and around Cullinan every year, is scheduled for Saturday, 24 July. This race has become a must do on every serious mountain biker’s calendar.... |
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| PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR DU TOIT |
| 2010/07/21 |
| Supplied by Advendurance Media from Tread Magazine |
| If anybody had any doubts about the truth of the saying ‘patience is a virtue’, he was proven wrong by Arno du Toit (Specialized/MR Price) this past weekend (17 July) during the MTN South African Cross-country Championship at the Fountains in Pretoria. Du Toit did this by winning the race for Junior Men.
... |
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| BUYS THE MAN TO BEAT AT DIAMOND RUSH |
| 2010/07/21 |
| Supplied by Team Garmin adidas official news from Tread Magazine |
| Beat Philip Buys (Garmin-adidas) and win Nissan’s Diamond Rush over 70km in Cullinan... |
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| HOT ACTION AT MEDSCHEME WALKERVILLE CLASSIC |
| 2010/07/20 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Clear skies and a familiar cold wind greeted almost 2000 mountain bikers at the Medscheme Walkerville Classic mountain bike race just south of Johannesburg on Sunday, but it was an unfamiliar face that crossed the finish line first.
... |
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| ANATOMIC HIGH SCHOOLS SERIES GETS UNDERWAY |
| 2010/07/19 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Boys and girls across Gauteng are busy with their final preparation for the first round of the Anatomic High School mountain bike series, which gets underway at Rietvlei Farm near Alberton on July 24.
... |
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| TEAM GHOST BBT'S GIRLS ENJOY EARLY SUCCESS |
| 2010/07/19 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| This past weekend, Team Ghost BBT competed at the MTN XCO competition for the SA Championship titles in various categories. A day that started early as normal for the unsung heroes of many MTB teams had the mechanics, team owners, parents and loved ones of the athletes at Groenkloof Nature Reserve at the crack of dawn.... |
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| STANDER OUTCLASSES HIS RIVALS TO TAKE ANOTHER SA TITLE |
| 2010/07/19 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Burry Stander (Specialized/Mr Price) showed again that he is in a class of his own when he made riding away from his rivals look ‘oh so easy’ during the MTN South African Cross-country championship at the Fountains in Pretoria on Saturday, 17 July.... |
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| ALL SET FOR WALKERVILLE WINTER WARMER |
| 2010/07/14 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| At a glance you don’t notice much gradient change in the farmlands around the small town of Walkerville, south of Johannesburg. You also don’t notice the variety of terrain and natural vegetation that’s lies beneath the dry, brown winter blanket.... |
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| STANDER GUNS FOR ANOTHER SA TITLE |
| 2010/07/14 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| The current Under-23 XCO World Champion, Burry Stander (Mr Price Specialized), is gunning for yet another South African title at the MTN XCO National Championships in Pretoria on Saturday.... |
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| STEWART, KNOX WIN FINAL STAGE, FINISH SECOND AT CANADIAN TOUR |
| 2010/07/05 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| The South African pair Max Knox and Brandon Stewart (Team DCM) won the final stage of the BC Bike Race at Whistler Mountain, Canada at the weekend, giving them a second stage win in the international event and securing second place overall in the final General Classification.... |
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| SA TEAM WIN STAGE 4 OF CANADIAN MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE |
| 2010/07/02 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| South Africans Max Knox and Brandon Stewart of Team DCM won Stage 4 of the BC Bike Race on Thursday. The victory moved them from third up to second place in the General Classification with two stages remaining.... |
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| STEWART, KNOX SLIP TO THIRD AT BC BIKE RACE |
| 2010/07/01 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| The South African DCM 1 team of Max Knox and Brandon Stewart finished fourth on Stage 3 of the BC Bike Race in Canada, slipping from second to third place in the overall standings in the process.... |
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| BURRY FALLS INTO RIVER |
| 2010/06/30 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| Burry Stander, the 2009 Under-23 XCO World Champion that races for Team Specialized, writes regular updates that he sends to sponsors, media and friends. He doesn’t bother much with punctuation or spell-checks, so we just tidy it up and make it more readable…... |
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| KNOX, STEWART HOLD ONTO SECOND PLACE DESPITE CRASH |
| 2010/06/29 |
| Supplied by TreadMag from Tread Magazine |
| The Team DCM 1 pair of Brandon Stewart and Max Knox did well to finish second on Stage 2 of the BC Bike Race in Canada on Monday, after a serious crash just 5km into the stage left Knox not only with an injured body, but also a damaged bike.... |
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