As a yogi, you’ll very seldom find me on a bike. If you do, it’ll usually involve a ‘Granny Bike’ and a flat surface that requires little to no effort. So, when Julian from Pedal Africa reached out to see if I wanted to come try ‘fat biking’, I said yes, cause obviously I had no idea what that meant. Not to be walking into the unknown on my own, I called on I Love Ballito Editor, Kelly, to come suffer with me.
I had absolutely no idea what to expect and after a brief look online, I learnt that the tires were fat. That was the extent of my knowledge before arriving at Prince’s Grant to begin my adventure! After being a local for 26 years… I can say with a touch of embarrassment that I have never been to Prince’s Grant. The easiest way to get there is to head on the N2 and then take the Stanger off-ramp R102 then right onto Prince’s Grant road. From Ballito you’re looking at 20 – 25 minutes depending on the time of day.
Upon arrival we’re greeted by Julian aka Jules, given a helmet and led to our ‘fat bikes’. Trying to lift my bike told me one thing – this thing is heavy and my legs are gonna die! Good thing I don’t back down from a challenge…
We head into the sugar cane and slowly make our way down to the beach – the highlight! Jules walks us through the gears and we slowly get the hang of it as we start to feel a good sweat coming on. It takes us about 5 minutes to realize that this is not a Sunday stroll, this is tough and we’re about to get in a great workout! The stretch of beach is simply beautiful, clean and vacant as far as the eye can see.
As we started to head back, Jules decided our skills were adequate enough to take on the single track through the forest heading along the lagoon. This was by far my favourite part; surrounded by bamboo and lush vegetation, I felt like I had been propelled back into South East Asia! All in all, this is a GREAT workout and the perfect opportunity to see more of our majestic coastline.
Sweat ‘o meter – 5/5
Fitness ‘o meter – 4/5
Adventure ‘o meter – 5/5
Pedal Africa also offers mountain bike trails and is perfect for the energetic families looking for a great day out!
If you’re looking for more info, you can find them on the web here – www.pedalafrica.com/ or on Facebook by clicking HERE. ]
