Mountain biking in Zimbabwe

ZCC Victoria Falls region

Pumping Legs for Water Hwange

Unless you have nerves of steel, waiting for an elephant to move off a path it has followed for centuries (the same one that you are sharing perched on a bike) could be a little scary. But in a region where man is the intruder, meeting wildlife along the designated routes that course through game paths, single tracks, grasslands or sandy roads gets the adrenaline going just as much as the tricky terrain and stunning natural beauty.

In southern Africa three annual epic biking challenges beckon. 
One takes you through Zimbabwe’s biggest game reserve, another skirts the Victoria Falls waterfall, and there’s also an expedition that traverses three countries.

Tour de Tuli (TdT)

Any four-day five-night multi-stage challenge tackling 300 kilometres of rough terrain in a remote corner of Africa is going to spell adventure. It usually happens in July /August in the Tuli Block of private safari land connecting Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Supported by the governments of all three countries, this mountain bike safari takes in bush paths, sandstone cliffs, single track of scree, fever trees, thorny bushes, impromptu encounters with animals and makeshift river border crossings. There’s some serious single track riding topped only by an incredible spirit of comradery.

On July 28 in 2016, riders had to get to the Pont Drift border post between South Africa and Botswana. Armed with passports, they then rode 2.8kms from the border to the first night’s camp at the Limpopo Valley Airfield in Botswana.

The next day at sunrise riders set off towards the Majale River and where the vegetation thickens and where elephants could have been hiding in the shrubbery. Beyond Hammerkop Crossing are ancient elephant tracks carved into sandstone ridges. Brunch was served at Pride Rock on the banks of "the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River", as author Rudyard Kipling describes in his Just So Stories.

The course ploughed on through three kilometres of sand, acacia thickets, donkey tracks and subsistence farm lands. The 4th day of hard riding ended on 1 August at the baobab-sprinkled Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa, where there was a big party under the stars.

The TdT is a strenuous challenge requiring preparation, some technical skills and an ability to cope with the heat.

Never a dull moment in Africa

Routes and camps are different every year, but it usually amounts to 60 to 80 kilometres of cycling per day. The minimum sponsorship donation was US$1,610 per person (2016). Proceeds go to Children in the Wilderness (CITW), a Wilderness Safaris initiative set up to facilitate sustainable conservation through leadership development and education of rural children in Africa.

Participants (maximum 350) can hire mountain bikes from the organisers but it’s simple enough to box up your own bike and bring it as luggage.

Zambezi Cycle Challenge (ZCC)

The ZCC meanders around the Victoria Falls, the largest sheet of falling water in the world. It drops for 108 metres and stretches 1,708 metres across the Zambezi River, which forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

 It’s not hard to understand why locals call this waterfall Mosi-oa-Tunya (the smoke that thunders), for at certain times of the year the water pounding onto the rocks below creates a spray that billows upwards just like smoke.

This three-day stage event starts on 8 July and runs through 150 kilometres of varied terrain that includes marshland, single track on cliff edges, teak forests and grasslands peppered with wildlife.

Victoria Falls residents Bruno De Leo and Brent Dacomb established the ride in 2015 to raise funds for CITW and the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT), a local wildlife and environmental conservation organisation.

Each day riders start from and return to the Elephant Hills Hotel, which serves as a cycle village and central hub for logistics and briefings for each day’s ride.

Day one starts with a 0600 transfer to a spot 40kms south of Victoria Falls along the Bulawayo Road. Initially there is 75 kms of gravel road then the course bumps along old hunting tracks and elephant paths. Cross the Matetsi River first then double track appears for about 20 kms, after which riders go into single track through wildlife areas and community reserves until they hit tar and civilisation as we know it.

The following day cyclists are dropped off early on the road to Kazungula, from where they head into the marshy grasslands of Westwood Vlei, along often barely visible tracks. Last year De Leo came upon a hyaena den with two sets of pups here. “Totally relaxed, they played and suckled as we quietly enjoyed the sighting,” he said.

The route heads through the Matetsi private concession down to the Zambezi River, where it snakes alongside the water’s edge, sometimes looping off inland on a combination of gravel, single and double track all the way back to Elephant Hills Hotel.

Day three is about riding on the edge, a technically challenging 45 kilometres stretch of 90 percent single track leading along the spectacular Batoka Gorge.

Families and competitive cyclists can take part, but prior training of at least one off-road cycling event of 70kms and two long rides of more than five hours each is expected. Entry fee is US$325 per person, and further donations welcomed.

Pumping Legs for Water (PLFW)

This annual 100 kilometre mountain bike ride raises funds to help wildlife survive the dry season in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve.

TdT

Covering more than 14,000 square kilometres, the park relies heavily on pumped water that is extracted from underground sources and fed into surface pans. The money raised each year is administered by Wildlife Environment Zimbabwe (WEZ) and is used to develop water sources, buy fuel for the pumps and to maintain engines, boreholes and drinking troughs.

The PLFW ride takes place on July 22 and 23 around Main Camp, a self-catering accommodation hub within the park. It is aimed at all levels of riders (no children under 10 years old) although participants should have had some off-road training.

Cyclists are seeded according to their ability or in families wanting to ride together. Groups are escorted by a lead vehicle carrying an armed National Parks game scout, followed by a sweeper truck which stays with the group throughout. To ride in a game reserve means some serious rules have to be observed, but the advantages are huge - you can get up close and personal to nature in safety.

Winter falls in July, meaning warm clear skies in the day and extremely cold temperatures at night. So it will be a chilly start on day one, when riders head out of Main Camp to the Ngweshla picnic site 55kms away. Back in 2013, a group of participants lining up at the starting point were momentarily delayed by a pack of African Wild Dogs (also known as Painted Dogs) pursuing a young kudu through the area. It was a little reminder for riders to expect the unexpected.

The flat gravel roads hold a few surprises including soft sand, rocks and corrugations. Ngweshla picnic site is in one of Hwange’s best game viewing areas with a small pan that attracts anything from secretary birds to predators. Finishing in the afternoon, riders are returned to Hwange Main Camp for the night and a talk by a researcher from Hwange.

 The route for day two is yet to be confirmed but will be another 45 to 55 kilometres. Closing date for entries is 27 June 2016. A few bikes are available for hire via the Ride Organising Committee. Those wanting an extra challenge could make their own way to Hwange Main Camp from Bulawayo Airport (450kms away) or from Victoria Falls (175kms away), just ensure you get there in time for the event briefing on the night of July 21.

The basic entry fee is US$150, additional sponsorship is entirely up to the individual and there’s a prize for the person who raises the most. Last year 108 cyclists took part and raised US$49,280.

(First published in Cyclist Magazine Middle East June 2016)