The club, Afrika Bike, brings a complete offering of track combinations to George that are hoped to draw major cycling events and MTB tourists to the area. The first three tracks will be officially introduced to the public on Friday 19 December.
Once the development is complete, there will be riding facilities for cyclists at every level, from beginners to professional riders.
"Afrika Bike is the first of its kind in the world with its own home club, sport shop and restaurant. It is to be affiliated to the Eden Cycling Association and Cycling SA," says Le Grand General Manager Johan van der Merwe.
Local cycling veterans Juan Botes, Fred Lingenfelder and Pan van Tonder are partners in the venture and have been part of designing the tracks.
Tracks will eventually include a beginner/ family, intermediate, more advanced, and a downhill track that is on an international stan-dard. There will also be challenging cross country and enduro tracks as well as a long trail through the forest. Two of the three cross country tracks will be on an international stan-dard. A BMX track and pump track are also in the pipeline and a cycle shop with a workshop is being planned. All the different tracks will be interlinked so that there will be multiple different combinations to be chosen from,with a total of 84km in total.
Sections of the leisure tracks will be dual purpose and safe enough for both cyclists and hikers to use at the same time.
Membership and family packages are available, as well as bike rentals. They will also host cycling tours and corporate events.
Cyclists are invited to get a foretaste of the tracks on 20 and 21 December when free rides are offered for all.
Directors
Johan and the other three directors of Afrika Bike are well-known in the local and national cycling fraternity.
Fred Lingenfelder has been designing and building MTB tracks in the Garden Route and Little Karoo for the past 12 years. He is responsible for Afrika Bike's track development.
Chain Gang Events Owner Juan Botes and Pan van Tonder, also Georgians, are Cycling SA (CSA) commissaires (Pan has been Epic commissaire five times).
Between Pan and Fred, they have designed and established about 90% of MTB routes in the Garden Route and Little Karoo.
Pan also owns a local cycle tourism business, Go Back Road, and has as such organised more than 10 national cycling events to date. He has exhibited at Euro Bike, one of the biggest cycling exhibitions in the world.
A dream
Johan says a dream that he had, set him thin-king about an MTB track for Le Grand and he set the ball rolling by contacting Cycling South Africa (CSA). The chairman initially found his idea of mountain biking on the estate grounds laughable, but Johan persevered until he was put into contact with the trio who are now his partners in Afrika Bike. And they are taking his dream to levels beyond his imagination.
When Fred first laid eyes on the terrain about two months ago, he realised on the spot that it was perfect for mountain biking.
"The professional tracks we will be building will be on an international standard," says Fred.
An excited Juan says they would like to see the 2018 African Championships held here and they will also be putting in a bid for the 2020 World Cup Cross Country.
"Spectator numbers at cycling events are massive and in addition to wide international television coverage, they also draw large numbers of visitors. Pietermaritzburg received a direct economic injection of R300-million when the World Cup was held there. We have the advantage of having the George Airport right on our doorstep."
Juan foresees that the club will draw cycling tourists from overseas during their extreme winters. Domestic cycling tourism is also on the rise. "In Gauteng personal security is a huge problem on the roads. Here we offer a lovely and safe environment to visitors."
Part of the plans are a club house and restaurant as well as a sport and cycle shop with a complete workshop. The restaurant will have 360° views of the ocean, mountains and forest.
"Parents will be able to come and relax on the restaurant deck while their children are out having fun on their bikes," says Juan.
Afrika Bike is to be affiliated to the Eden Cycling Association and Cycling SA.
For more information about Afrika Bike, phone 044 878 0911.
E-mail: info@afrikabike.com
Open trails under construction.
ARTICLE: ALIDA DE BEER
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