By Richard Arderne
A wise man once said that property prices are linked to the quality of the cycling trials in the area!
A little background info:
The St Francis MTB Track evolved over the years, but was always “to the lighthouse and back” route from the village, via the reserve at the end of Santareme. In 2020, we found a route through the Thatch farm (just north of St Francis Field), and this dramatically improved it to a circular route, which cyclists far prefer.
We also forged better alliances with Foster and Kromme Enviro, enabling us to utilise some of their routes, notably the Bruces section, giving cyclists a wonderful front row view of the sea.
Since 2020, we have raised (and spent!) about R1 m on the maintenance and expansion of the route to its current 27km length.
Reduce Tar
The aim has been to reduce the amount of tar and to improve the riding experience.
But trail building is not cheap! About R100,000 per km!
Fortunately, in addition to our membership fees, we have had some very generous donors.
Another reason why our track is so essential is that some of our old informal routes are no longer accessible, eg the old circular route via the property owned by Eskom behind the Links.
A recent innovation has been a track alongside the road to Humansdorp, making that route much safer and more pleasant.
Club Rides
Our club holds rides every Thursday evening, plus many Saturday and weekend and longer rides, some far afield.
We are fortunate to have an excellent cycling shop where Arno can provide information on cycling routes (and sell or rent you a bike, too!).
So perhaps you now agree that the St Francis Cycling Club is worth supporting, so …
Join us on Wednesday, 17 December, for a rocking Rock Quiz, for only R120, at the Links, starting at 7 pm. Bookings at the Links reception on 042 200 4500.
On a personal note, after six years as treasurer, I am pleased that young Brian Truscott is taking over from 1 January, a keener cyclist and a better accountant!
It has been a pleasure working with Greg West, the backbone of the club, and Tyrone Kindness, our very fine track builder (and his very fine team!)
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