When I put my back into biking

Motoring enthusiast Thomas Falkiner saddles up for fun and health

On Your Bike: Tips and trails for MTB riders by Chris and Tim Whitfield. Published by Tafelberg from R250

ISELDOM read but when I do it’s normally about disciplines or hobbies that I’m interested in. Motor racing. Music. Falconry. Mountain biking.

I recently made a comeback into the sport of mountain biking due to health reasons. I have a bad lower back, you see, and the doctors say that exercise, staying active, is the best thing for it. So I went out and bought a bike, became a weekend warrior, got stronger, upgraded to a better bike and started noticing that the action of hurtling up and down the Braamfontein Spruit alleviated my backache tenfold.

It was fun too. Especially as my confidence improved and I started jumping and hopping over obstacles. What a rush!

Thing is though, how do you take things further? How do you go about finding new places to ride: new trails to challenge your mind and sharpen your skills?

The internet can be a vague place and I found it hard to nail down alternative locales. Which is why this new 176-page full-colour book is such a boon for newbies like me still finding their feet in the local mountain-biking scene.

It’s written by a pair of experienced authors-cum-journalists — Chris and Tim Whitfield — whose matter-of-fact and jargon-free approach to the topic provide a wealth of information.

To help you put new mud on your tyres and dust up your nose they’ve essentially cherry-picked the best trails in each province.

There’s a map of where the trails go, a route profile showing you what kind of elevation you’re in for, plus a “Key Information” box that, among other things, tells you whether or not you need a permit, how fit you need to be and whether or not it’s safe to ride it on your own — a big concern for almost all South African cyclists these days.

There is also, of course, a full write-up on each trail and some include a mini-review by a local authority.

The Table Mountain trail, for example, includes some great insight from the deputy editor of Bicycling magazine, Jonathan Ancer, as well as Absa Cape Epic founder Kevin Vermaak. This definitely adds a nice human touch.

Trails aside, the Whitfield duo also tackle some of the sport’s more technical aspects — of which there are many. Indeed, the “Getting Started” section gives you an idea of what bike you should consider buying, based on what kind of rider profile you fit.

The different types of wheel sizes are decoded (26- to 29-inch) and there is a list of basic skills that every newbie should look at mastering in order to get the best out of their bikes.

The contrived “Spot these dudes on the trail” section was a bit lame and, in my opinion, a waste of space, but mostly there’s a lot of useful information to be learnt in this chapter — especially if you’re a rookie.

On the whole, On Your Bike is a good read and a must-have if you want to fully explore all the beautiful mountain-biking trails that pepper South Africa. At R250 it’s great value too. So go stick a copy in your saddle bag or CamelBak at once.

I started jumping and hopping over obstacles. What a rush!