Take in the Free State’s mountain biking route with a country feel
A national heritage site, lush wetlands and birdwatching on offer, writes Teigue Payne
Some really good mountain-bike touring country close to Johannesburg reveals beautiful high escarpment areas in the eastern Free State. The springboard metropolises for these routes are Volksrust and Warden. My mountain bike and I got to and from these two centres easily using intercity buses. From Volksrust to Memel Volksrust (Elangwane), on the border of British Natal and the Transvaal Republic, was where trains used to stop with recruits for the mines. The selection process for recruits allegedly consisted of a finger pointed by the selector and the words "long one, long one" (heard as "langwane, langwane"), with the less-tall men sent back home. To ensure I would not be selected for underground work, I left Volksrust for Memel fairly quickly. From Volksrust, there are two ways to ride to Memel. One is to start out on the quiet tar road to Vrede and 20km along this, a gravel road to Memel is off to the left.
After 40km of this gravel road, four cars passed me from behind an...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.