Forty kilometres of it, cut by hand

A trail park on the mountain above Franschhoek. Open Wednesday to Sunday, first light to last.

The mountain

The trails run over 600 hectares of old pine block and burnt fynbos on Kleinbosch, a fruit farm halfway up the Franschhoek Pass. The Malans have farmed it since 1974 and let the first line be cut across it in 2009, on the one condition that nobody rides through the orchards.

Every metre of it was dug by hand. Six of us started after work with picks and a borrowed brush cutter. There are forty kilometres now and two builders on the mountain full time. No machine has ever been up there: it is too steep for one, and the soil is too shallow to put back if you get it wrong.

Berm is the club that looks after it. Membership pays the two builders, the water tanks at the top of the climb and the fire breaks in November. That is the entire budget, and it is pinned up in the container at the gate.

Two ways down

Blue — SkilpadNine kilometres of bermed singletrack off the halfway tank. Wide, rolled smooth, and nothing on it falls away from you. Most people ride it twice before they try anything else.

Black — VoorloperFour kilometres from the top gate down into the pines: three rock rolls, a jump line, and a ride-around on every feature. Full-face and pads, or leave it for another day.

Voorloper, top to bottom

Shot off Andile's helmet on a wet Thursday in June and left uncut. Seven minutes, one dab, and the last rock roll is steeper than it films.

What the club runs

All of it is included in the R650 a year. The Thursday braai is R40 whether you are a member or not.

Thursday night laps

Lights on the bottom two kilometres from 17:30 through winter. Two laps of Skilpad, then boerewors rolls at the container. The gate stays open until the last light comes down the hill.

Winter enduro series

Four rounds between May and August, five timed stages each, chips on the bars. Entries open on the first of the month before and the field caps at 180 riders.

Beginner skills mornings

First Saturday, 08:00, two hours on the practice loop behind the parking. Cornering, drops to flat, and getting off the brakes. Any bike that stops is welcome.

Trail-cutting Saturdays

Third Saturday of the month, 07:00 at the gate. We have the picks, the rakes and the coffee. Bring gloves and three litres of water.

Marshals on every race

Fourteen marshals on radios, a first-aid post at the top gate, and a bakkie that reaches any stage inside ten minutes. ER24 stands by from Paarl on race days.

Juniors ride free

Under-14s ride free alongside a paid-up parent, every day we are open. Twenty of them ride the Sunday bunch and four are racing provincially this year.

Two ways to ride it

Day pass, R120Paid at the container, card or cash, signed in and signed out. Good from opening to closing, and it comes off your membership if you join the same afternoon.

Members' ridesThe Sunday 07:00 bunch and the Wednesday afternoon slow lap. Nobody gets dropped, everyone regroups at the tank, and somebody always has the tube you need.

The climbSix kilometres of farm road to the top gate, 480 metres of it up. Everybody walks a piece the first time.

The containerSign-in book, a tap, a track pump and a kettle. The closest thing we have to a clubhouse.

Round three, JulyStage four through the rock garden below the pines, in the only dry hour of the whole weekend.

Build dayPutting the third berm on Skilpad back together after the August rain took the top out of it.

Membership is R650 a year

Twelve months from the day you pay, not to the end of December. Under-14s free with a paid-up parent, and one trail-cutting Saturday a year is expected of everybody who rides here.

Join the club

Ride with us

Send this and we come back the same evening with the indemnity and the banking details. The gate code follows once the payment reflects.