Sunday morning rides are a fixed event on most of our calendars, and is usually the day we choose to explore and check out more of the seemingly endless cycle route options we have right at our doorstep in the KZN Midlands. This day we decided to explore the back end of the Karkloof venturing out from Mbona reserve and up the back of Mt Gilboa – a fair climb and good training ride for our imminent trip to the Himalayas. An epic day it was. A fabulous mix of forestry roads, grassy tracks and slick pine forested trail descending Lebanon. Expecting to be back at midday we trundled in at 4pm exhausted and out of steam. A great day out none the less.
A steep climb out of Mbona reserve brought us to the burned grassland and forested approach to Mt Gilboa (1800m) offering unsurpassed views of the midlands
Winter is the burning season, blackened landscapes transform into swathes of redeeming green after the first spring rains.
Kath refills at a local stream, fortunately no-one lives up here and cattle are few and far between so water is generally safe to drink.
Sarah's golden Yeti
Climbing up dusty firebreaks
Sarah grins and bares it!
Dusty days, wrong turn we head back down again
Kath takes a much needed nap, while others refueled. Now only 35odd km into our ride its was just as well that we didn't have a real sense of just how long the day would be.
Approaching the top of the fabulous Lebanon descent, part of the Karkloof Classic race
We whizzed through pockets of indigenous forest and pine forest reminding me alot of one of my first Mtb experience along the Glentress trails in Scotland.
No photos can really capture the fabulousness of this descent, besides once you're on the downward spiral following whoops of delight of fearless friends, its simply just too fun to stop .
and finally across the river
Slippery crossing, Carlos doesn't quite make it
The final 15km of the 68km route was an endless stretch of energy depleting forestry road. We eventually arrived the Crane centre frazzled but very glad that Sarah had left her van to stash bikes and bodies into!