Anriette Schoeman, one of South Africa’s leading women’s cyclists, places the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek as a priority on her calendar. She writes about why she rates the Addo experience so highly.
Anriette Schoeman. Photo: Supplied
Doing the PwC Great Zuurberg Trek has to be one of the highlights on my annual mountain biking calendar.
Firstly, for anyone who wants to experience proper mountain biking and a luxury experience at the same time, you need to sign up for this adventure.
It would be perfect to start preparing for this race now and, come June 3, you will have the form to enjoy three days of mountain biking heaven on our local trails in the Zuurberg and Addo areas.
Although I have good fitness from road riding for my sponsors Africa Silks and Bestmed, my mountain biking calendar kicked off with the Ashburton series race in Clarens at the weekend to get some off road racing in my legs and build my confidence ahead of the Old Mutual joBerg2c, which starts tomorrow, and sani2c thereafter.
The thing with mountain biking is that you need to spend time off road to have confidence in your skills and riding with a highly skilled rider like John Wakefield is the deep end for me, so I have to prepare well.
Great Zuurberg Trek offers such a variety of riding, with some spectacular trails and challenging ascents, but also some gravel travel for those who enjoy less technical riding.
We always tend to forget how spectacular the riding in and around Port Elizabeth is and this is one of the main reasons why this event should be a must on your calendar.
I’m not normally a big fan of camping, but the organisers have managed to take this to the next level and sleeping in these tents (for those who missed out on the hotel accommodation) is literally like sleeping in a room with soft walls.
You even get spoiled with a goose down duvet on your bed!
The race offers a bike wash and meals are served at the hotel, with a variety and abundance to suit any hungry cyclist.
With all this on offer and three days of the best mountain biking you can possibly imagine, what is there not to love about this race?
