Biking in the Bosch: All about the ladies!

Today kicked off Joanna Dobinson's new venture, Biking in the Bosch. This new project is aimed at getting more girls and women on their bikes and on the trails.

Along with bi-weekly social rides where ladies can meet fellow female mountain bikers to go to races and events with, Joanna is also offering progressive skills clinics where ladies will get the chance to practice technical skills such as drop-offs and switchbacks, to give them more confidence on the single tracks.

The girl behind the idea: Joanna Dobinson

The new Ride In Café on the way to Jonkershoek, was chosen as the kick-off venue for today's Biking in the Bosch Ladies only social ride. After meeting all the new faces, Jo quickly did a run through to make sure everyone's bikes were ride-ready and their tyres pumped. Not long, and we were on our way to Jonkershoek.

At the gate we split into two groups according to our abilities and our moods. One group went up to do a more challenging climb and rewarding single track while the bigger group aimed for the circle route. As I was not feeling very excited by the prospect of starting my ride with a climb, I joined the other ladies and we got going on the jeep track.

There were smile all round

Conversations varied from what wheelsize is the best (yes, even the ladies have opinions on that!) to how patient (or not) our boyfriends or husbands are with us while out biking. We even picked up another solo girl rider along the route and she joined us on our pursuit of singletrack.

Catching our breath at the bridge

As many of the ladies have never set wheels on anything narrower than a jeep track, Joanna challenged them to try the bottom part of the Firehut trail. Of course everyone accepted the challenge and we made our way in that direction. Joanna lead the group down and I decided to wait for everyone to get to the bottom before descending down what is one of my favorite trails in Jonkershoek. My timing however was a bit out and I met up with the group about halfway down the trail. I was so happy to see everyone attempting the switchbacks even though I know that they can be scary at first. At the bottom, we regrouped and recapped on how awesome the trail was. It was so good hearing that everyone had enjoyed it and would soon be wanting more.

Maggie riding single track as if it wasn't her first time!

This singletrack concluded the ladies ride in Jonkershoek and the plan was to ride back to the Ride In café for some coffee and chatting.  At this point, I met up with Hanco and Nick, and I left the ladies group. I joined Hanco and Nick for a quick cycle up to the downhill track and an even quicker ride down. Not wanting to miss out on anything, Hanco and I then also headed for the Ride In café where the rest of the girls were already enjoying breakfast.

Enjoying breakfast and coffee at the Ride In Café

The first thing I noticed when we arrived at the café before our ride, was that they offered ice cream. That got me really excited and I was definitely planning on ending my ride with a few scoops. I chose the banana and macadamia butter and the 70 % chocolate flavors as an accompaniment to my cappuccino. Both the ice cream and coffee was delicious!





We were also very impressed with the new café's service and decor and we will definitely be frequenting it in the future. They also offer a bike wash service, and we all know how handy that can be after a muddy ride in Jonkershoek!

 

All in all, it was a morning well spent. Being a beginner not very long ago, I know how intimidating mountainbiking (and single track) can seem at first. This is why I really support Joanna's goal and venture and am looking forward in joining her on more rides to get more girls on their bikes! The next social ride will be even bigger!

Photo's by Joanna Dobinson, Desiré du Toit and Maggie Brand.