Explore great new trails and places to ride your bike with Jacques Marais and MTBroutes.co.za. The MTB Routes platform is a community forum where cyclists can upload recommended routes, thereby ensuring they’re peer tested. Curated by the vastly experienced South African journalist, Jacques Marais, the website also features maps, route profiles and written descriptions. Among those are classics from the Top MTB Trails books. As of June 2022 there are 224 routes on the website, with that number growing by the week.
An example of the trails to explore is the new Piketberg Gravel Circut. From the starting point at Aurora, 35-kilometres from Piketberg, the route offers three or four day bikepacking options. Both of which are aimed at developing the cycling tourism appeal of the region.
The quiet gravel roads of the Bergrivier and Strandveld, around Piketberg, are ripe for exploration by gravel enthusiasts and bikepackers. Photo by Jacques Marais.
