Family Fun At Nelson's Creek Mountain-Bike Festival

Press Release : Heike Nell

Mountain bikers can look forward to an exhilarating three days of dirt, ditches and adrenaline when the Nelson's Creek Mountain Bike Festival returns to the Boland the weekend of 11 till 13 September! This year's action-packed festival promises something for every MTB enthusiast from rookies to veterans and spectators can anticipate loads of fun.

This festival of riding offers bikers a wide choice of shorter routes through some of the most spectacular landscapes in the Boland.  Each day's trails will start and finish at the beautiful Nelson Wine Estate.  Riders can decide whether they want to participate on all three days or if they only want to ride on one day and select the distance that best suits their abilities.  Beginners and novices can tackle the shorter loops of 15km - 18 km on fairly flat terrain, while intermediate riders can enjoy the fast 32km or 35 km routes through the rolling countryside.  More experienced bikers can try the longer 50km and 55km trails, which contain a couple of challenging surprises.

The highlight of the Festival is once again the Nelson's Creek Challenge, a three-day stage race that will see bikers complete a combined distance of 235km.  Friday's stage is 65km, while Challenge riders will tackle 85 km on Saturday and 80km on Sunday.  The stages explore the full scenic diversity of the Boland as the routes take bikers through a network of farm roads in Agter Paarl, the rolling hills of the Wellington basin, single track sections at the foot of Groenberg mountain and the undulating wheat fields and vineyards of the Paardeberg.  The Nelson's Creek Challenge definitely promises to deliver mountain biking at its thrilling best.   The top three male and female participants with the best overall times for the three days' riding will share a R26 000 prize pot.

Spectators can get a bird's eye view of the action during a fun Night Ride on Friday and the crowd-pleasing DualX on Saturday afternoon.  Fun wine tastings, fabulous farm stalls and beautiful scenery will ensure a weekend of entertainment for the whole family. In the evenings, competitors and spectators can enjoy a slide show of the day's riding action, movies, kids' entertainment and much more.  Camping facilities with 700 camping spots are available for making the event a weekend get-away.