The Columbia Thin Air Mountain Bike Challenge

It is always a privilege to be part of a new race on the calendar, especially when it is held in a beautiful tourist destination like Dullstroom.

The Dunkeld Country Estate, just outside of town was the venue for the inaugural Columbia Thin Air Mountain bike Challenge. Situated at over 2000 m above sea level, the high altitude was sure to be a factor during the race.

The only factor that didn’t play along was the weather. Two days of rain prior to the event forced race organisers to reroute some of the course which unfortunately meant the loss of some hand built single track.

Luckily on race day the rain stopped long enough for us to start and finish the 75km marathon without getting wet (from above). We started with a loop of Dunkeld Estate before heading onto open gravel roads. The kilometres literally flew by until we reached the biggest challenge of the day - a 10km long climb named Everest by the locals...I wonder why??

The fast rolling gravel roads from the beginning ensured bunch riding but ‘Everest’ quickly put a stop to this. The group I was in got steadily reduced on the climb until we were only 4 riders left to crest the climb together. From the summit it wasn’t all downhill to the finish as the undulating terrain made it tough to maintain good rhythm during the second half of the race.

The scenery more than made up for the suffering with some beautiful views of the countryside as we descended through the mist lining the top of the escarpment.

The final 10km stretch was a reality check with rocky jeep track and some technical sections demanding all our dwindling attention. I was very pleased to cross the finish line in 1^st place in just under 3hours.

Dunkeld Country Estate is an ideal mountain bike destination and having had the opportunity to stay and race my bike in such enchanted surroundings made my weekend an unforgettable one.