Trying out the new Wolwespruit MTB Park

Wolwespruit MTB Park opened on Saturday 4 July, located at the extension of Jochemus Street, Erasmuskloof next to Kloof Hospital (made me wonder when I rode up to the gate). The park is the newest edition on the ever growing community of MTB and trial running parks in Gauteng. The park is MTB and trial running friendly, I in fact saw more runners than cyclists. The full MTB route is about 13km, I like many others rode there, did a loop and rode back home as it is conveniently located in the heart of Pretoria East.

My first impressions. First let me congratulate the team who put Wolwespruit together, a lot of very hard work and long hours have gone into making this dream a reality for them, least of which must have been getting permission to utilize the land. The whole area is fenced in with a barbed fence so other than breaching the perimeter, there should be no unwanted traffic. The route is still brand new so it’s a bit bumpy even with my suspension settings as soft as possible, I am sure the tracks will smoothen up as they get bedded in. The first half of the route in the lower section is tight and twisty and I had my hands full on the 29er. It’s very much a stop and go affair and personally I think there is opportunity to reward with a bit more flowing track which I am sure will come with time. There are three steepish climbs in the park, all get the legs and lungs going but are rideable, really good exercise and a fair challenge. The downhills are a bit rough and took some concentration to navigate down. As with most other sections, as the trial settles in and the tracks open up and smoothen, these are going to be a real treat! Whilst I didn’t find the trials overly technical, they are in my opinion not beginner friendly and this is an opportunity the team should not lose sight of, there’s a big market of experienced riders who want to bring their families along to do easier riding while they tackle the advanced challenges.

I enjoyed the trials and I think it’s a park with great potential. I’ll definitely be a supporter. Congratulations to everyone who made their dream a reality and thank you for some new trials in Pretoria East.