Lower Bloemendal Mountain Bike Trail
By Jacques Viljoen
Situated in the beautiful Durbanville wine valley, Lower Bloemendal offers a short and yet entertaining trail that anyone from a weekend warrior to a pro will enjoy. Although there is only one trail, each section offers its own challenges to make sure that all types of riders are having fun and not finding it too difficult or too easy. Bloemendal features entertainment for the whole family, with the Bon Amis Restaurant catering for your loved ones while you hit the trails. To be able to ride on the Bloemendal trails, you need to be a Tygerberg MTB Club member, but if you’re not, you can purchase a day permit.
- Location : Tygervalley Road, Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa
- 33°50’20.48” S, 18°35’58.81” E
- Difficulty : ●●●○○
- Fitness level required : Novice
- Overall experience : 7 out of 10
On to the route:
The route is about 12km’s long, featuring lots of beautifully smooth single tracks and a bit of a climb to get those legs warm. There is also two pump tracks to hone those jumping skills. Lower Bloemendal received some trail maintenance where they increased the berm size on all the single tracks and resurfaced most of the trail, making it a lot smoother which just gives you confidence to just push that little bit harder. There is no specific way to ride this trail, as long as you follow the markers, stay on the route and don’t ride against the traffic. In this video is the way most of the people I know ride it, as it’s the way that the trail makes the most sense.
The two main parts of Lower Bloemendal trails are Lombards Terra and the B-Spot. Lombards Terra features long sweeping bermed corners, hairpins, two rock gardens and plenty of jumps. If rock gardens and jumps isn’t your thing, there are chicken runs on almost every obstacle. Although they fixed the loose gravel problem by compacting the terrain, you still have to be careful while exiting the corners on Lombards Terra. I myself have fallen victim to the front wheel slipping away because I hit some loose gravel and it served me some sand and stones for breakfast. It also cost me a GoPro case and a new pair of Assos bib shorts.
My favourite part of the trail must be the B-spot. This pump track features flat gradients where novices can just enjoy the bumps, and the more skilled can practice their jumps and hip-flicks. This is a great place to have a bit of a competition with your mates to see who can ride the track the quickest. A decent time is about 6 minutes.
Final conclusion:
This is a great trail for anyone who is looking for a fun and challenging ride, without having to spend hours and hours on the bike. The trail and venue caters for the whole family and there is even a short 400 meter pump track for 4 – 8 year old children.
Remember to be considerate and safe out there, but most importantly, have fun!