Greyton Challenge - Day 1

This weekend the inaugural Greyton Challenge was held in Greyton. While this is not a race (no official timing), it was fiercely competitive. A friend of mine once commented that all you need for a race are 2 mountain bikers. The drive to Greyton was cold and wet and it was clear that the trails, many of it virgin cut single track would take a beating in the next 2 days. The last rain shower fell at 7am and as we lined up for a chilly, muddy start at Uitkyk Primary school the skies miraculously cleared to reveal a thick blanket of snow on the mountains. The start chute was orginised in 3 batches, fast, medium and slow and we set off just after 8am with a meander through the back roads towards the Riviersonderend road where we lined up the first fun section of single track. Fast and flat and non technical meant that the flow was good and there was ample opportunity to pass slower riders throughout the trail. A few kilometres later we exited the trail and after a short stint on the gravel we were climbing a little kopje to the East of Greyton to link into the second single track section. This was even more fun than the first and with a few tighter turns and short dips and rises presented more of a challenge to some of the novices on the trail. The mood was pleasant and soon we were heading west towards Villiersdorp on the gravel. At this stage the mud was getting increasingly more prevalent and at places we had to pedal through ankle deep thick sludge that was draining the life out of everyone. At the second water point (I think the "town" is called Helderstroom) a make-shift bike wash was set up. A simpler solution would have been a few buckets with hand brushes in them to give your drive train a quick rinse and lube, but riders seemed to take the opportunity to deep clean the whole bike at the wash. I elected to rinse my bike with my water bottle and after a quick lube we set off again. We hit the third section of single track. Another well built section with some mild climbs and fun down-hill sections that would ride like a bob-sled track when dry. Another few kms of winding trail took us to Genadendal where we criss-crossed the town into the Riviersonderend Nature Reserve to hit the final and what turned out to be best section of single track of the weekend. Again fast and flowing, but with a few rocks and roots in-between to keep us all honest and tight little corners that had berms built up by the local trail builders to make sure that none of the speed carried into the corners were lost. I actually started to fatigue from the arm pumping and short hard pedal sections winding our way down the mountain and as soon as we levelled out I sat up a bit to let my legs recover. Another small climb took us to the Western outskirts of Greyton and soon we were sampling a complementary Castle Light, all caked in mud with only the whites of our eyes and teeth showing.