Pedestrians and cyclists in a rural KwaZulu-Natal community will now be a lot safer as thousands of bicycles leave more than just tracks alongside the regional road.

In a demonstration of what organiser Glen Haw calls “the power of mountain biking”, the sani2c, presented by BoE Private Clients, is building a lasting legacy in the form of a 3.5km dual-purpose cycling lane and pedestrian sidewalk along the R612 between Hlutankungu and Jolivet in the Highflats region.

Image Courtesy @kelvintrautman

Today has to be one the best days of mountain biking in the world. Where can you ride manicured downhill single track for 35km with spectacular views? There was a great vibe in the race village this morning with everybody super pumped to ride down into the Umkomaas valley. Today was also the last real test (100km, 2200m climbing) before tomorrow’s 75km ride into Scottborough. And to top things off, it was nice and warm this morning at MacKenzie Club. What an amazing 8 days it has been.

Another fantastic day of riding in glorious weather through KZN. Today covered the familiar Sani2C day 1 route which included some incredible single track which was very welcomed by the riders. We woke up to a very chilly Hazeldean Farm, with a general sense of calm filtering through the race village due to the ‘short’ day ahead of us. Farmer Glenn even referred to today as a rest day!

Today’s ride from Kamberg to Underberg was fantastic. It was however brutal, with 2000m of climbing in 93km. My body seems to have recovered from the jippo guts, making the ride today way more fun. The views of the Southern Drakensberg were spectacular today. I really need to come back and explore this area some more one day.

Today will go down as one of the hardest days I have had on a bike for a long time. Last night I developed the legendary multi stage jippo guts which leaves you feeling pretty weak and unenthusiastic for 103km’s on a mountain bike. I managed to force down some breakfast and get to the start line feeling rather sorry for myself. After a short neutral zone we hit the dirt and the racing began.

Wow, what an amazing day of riding, one I will not forget for a long time. It was tough, no doubt, 122 km with 2000m of climbing, this after 125 km yesterday. This morning saw some weary riders lining up for what was going to be the longest day of this years Joberg2C. Another mass start in a chilly 7 degrees behind the Massey Ferguson tractor saw us riding 3-4km of neutral zone before the racing started.

There was some nervous energy around the breakfast tables this morning, with 125km looming ahead making day 3 the longest day distance wise of the entire JoBerg2c. And to make things a little worse, it was freezing in Reitz, proper freezing. Another mass start again saw us following a huge Massey Ferguson tractor for a 8km’s of neutral riding until the racing started. I had made a conscious decision to start slower and have a fairly chilled day.