el Pancito doesn’t know this yet, but he lives in the heart of one of the cycling meccas in Africa! Howick is most famous for its rather impressive waterfall and the fact that it is the geriatric capital of the country, with more retirement homes than in any other town. However of late other attractions like the hundreds of kilometres of rocky, rolling, singletrack are becoming the reason to visit or live here! (10 May 2015)
A 10mth old cyclist can get more attention than one that has cycled continents
We decided to enter the 20km, a sensible distance for a small boy.
The Karkloof MTB series draws a few thousand cyclists every year and was at one point the largest mountain biking event in the country. Within the first kilometres we were whizzing along the forestry roads.
Bumping along we cruised along passing family groups at a surprising speed despite the extra 20kg load (babe and chariot)!
While El Pancito drew lots of attention, his mother was given a fair share too. “how brave you are” making her feel like the right queen bee!
Attractions on the way included the impressive 100m drop Karkloof falls that didnt even seem raise el Pancito’s eyebrow!
Almost at the finish line – you can see the pressure was on… we had really kept ahead of the pack!
A happy champ indeed. The youngest finisher of the 20km ever in a very fine time too 1hr30. Medal and dust to prove it: a true mt-biker is our Gabriel.
And time to check out the cool bikes on show.
and chill with his biker buddies.
The chubsters, Gabriel and James enjoying the after party.
So famous – el Pancito even made the papers!