Greetings all,

Okay, its official, WINTER IS HERE!!!!!
 
A fight daily to get out of bed and an even bigger one to throw on your riding gear! Hot chocolate, fresh bread and steaming soups, beanies and gloves, chapped lips, fewer riding partners and more excuses not to ride are where we at now! Clear crisp winter mornings are just another challenge, along with dusty trails, as many experienced at the MR Price Karkloof Classic. A tough race with a great turn out, congrats to all who finished and an even bigger shout out to the organisers! Looking after the biggest mtb field to date in KZN is not an easy task and they pulled it off, well done!

Also to all the Giba Gals and Groms who held the flag high, well done, and to our own champion Amy Jane congrats on a great weekend of racing.
Amy has stated that since looking after all the Giba Groms her riding has gone to a new level, especially her endurance!!!!

Yes it’s true, the Giba Gorge kit has finally arrived and it looks awesome.
We only have 30 shirts and 30 pants for sale, 1st come 1st served! There are only 5 or so in each size so you need to be quick, trust me on this one.
The Shirts will cost you R350 And the pants R220 Or as a set R520.
We also have some awesome beanies with the Giba logo embroided on for R50, great for winter mornings.

This weekend we will once again have the Big Screen on for the rugby, England vs Boks at 3pm.
We will still have our normal group rides going off with the kids ride at 2:15pm followed by a group ride at 2:30pm.

6 weeks to go before the Official Launch of Giba Gorge!!!!
30th & 31st June, put it in your diaries now, it is going to be an absolute cracker with events for everyone and plus entertainment and fun for non riders too. Start looking for team mates for the 4 hour mtb challange, 4 per team, there will also be a corporate challenge! There have already been challenges set up. We will have a page on our web site where we will put all challenges on for all to see, so please send us your challenge and we will make it happen. Glenwood Boys High has challenged Kearsney College! Are there any other schools who think they can get a team together and challenge another? There are also a few rumours flying around that a few bike shops are up for a challenge against each other, watch this space.

There will also be an adventure race run on Sunday which will be both for the adults and kids and believe me after seeing the race route it will certainly be an adventure of note!

Some very exciting news, we have 2 new trail designs/types being built at the moment which will scare the living daylights out of some and really excite others.
Our 1st Free Ride Trail started last Saturday, being built and designed by Tim Keep, this will not be for the feint hearted or inexperienced rider.
It will get your adrenalin pumping guaranteed!

Also our 1st Downhill course has been started and promises to be one of a kind with the use of the quarry as part of the track, did anyone say big drops????
A huge shout out to Nigel and Justin who have been sweating their way through the bush to make an incredible downhill course, fast and fun they say!
 We will be hosting a Provincial Downhill on the 21st of July so keep that date open; it will be a great one to watch.

What an event, the Groms 1st night ride, and it was awesome. Last Friday saw 27 Groms come down to Giba for a camp out and boy did they have fun.Setting off into the pitch dark with Amy Jane leading the way, It was something so gratifying to see these youngsters out on their bikes at night doing something exiting, healthy and fun.Getting them all to sleep was an adventure in itself.

Big thanks to Justin who provided us with some great mtb videos and who was a great help all over.
Thank you to all the parents for the positive feedback this week, and it was Amy and my absolute pleasure, the kids are fantastic.

Yes they are Gorgeous but man are the Giba Gals tough!!!!
As cold as it has been they rocked up, ready to ride and that they did, this week. Zephers Hole conquered; these Gals are just getting better by the day.

There has been a request from the Durban North area to get a ladies group riding on a Friday but at a little later time due to the travel distance. So from now on Fridays, a New Giba Gals ride starting at 8:30am. The way it’s going Giba Gorge is being taken over by the Gals, could this become the 1st ever ladies mtb park in the world!!!!! Just a reminder, if you want to come and join in the fun, you are welcome, Wednesdays are the start up days and we take it from there.

This coming Tuesday we will be having a special session, a talk by Colin Allan on nutrition and race preparation plus a mechanical session starting with the basics of changing a tyre. The Gals have also requested the possibility of been taught the correct way to lube their chains, we will cover this on the morning.
This will start at 8am and is open to all, bring your bike with.

With only 1 week to go, we would like to wish all competing in this fantastic event to have a safe and unreal experience.

We would like to give a special shout out to the Giba Gorge Development Team, Spamandla (our head guide at the park) and Mlindeni (resident park mechanic) who will be riding their 1st ever stage race. Quite a feat since they only started riding 5 months ago. Please give them some encouragement and support on the way.
Good luck guys.

We will be starting to operate the boom gate this Saturday, nothing technical but please take note of the following;

• Please stop at the boomYou will be given a pamphlet with details on it to follow
• You will have to have the pamphlet stamped in order to exit the park; this will be done from the trail centre.

Please bear with us as we implement this new system and we look forward to your feedback in helping us look after you better.

The Giba Gallery opening soon!!!!
Our experienced buyers and ladies of extreme taste have just returned from Rooms on View, the most hip and happening decorators show in SA.
Rumour has it that there is a small fleet of trucks heading towards Durban with the most magnificent house decorations which will all be on show at Giba.
Watch this space.

Have a great weekend and we will see you in the Saddle