By Fourie Kotze
The little hamlet of Montagu lies on the edge of the Klein Karoo and is espcially known for the hot mineral springs just outside of the town, dried fruit, delectable wines and its incredible natural scenery.
It is also the home of MakaDas Adventures, the organizer of the annual Gravel & Grit gravel bike race.
For the 2024 edition, Mitzi Knipe and Louis, decided to throw 2 big mountains into the 140km gravel race – Jouberts Poort and the notorious Ouberg Pass. The first one is stunningly beautiful and takes you into a gorgeous valley. It is rather technical to ride on a gravel bike and big parts of the downhill side have been washed away by the recent floods.
Ouberg Pass follows almost immediately after Jouberts Poort and you hit this relentless little hill even before your lungs and heart rate have recovered from climbing the Poort. Ouberg tests tests your legs for all of 6.2km. The view from the top makes it worth it though and the toil up the pass is soon forgotten.
What was not forgotten was the damn fly that accompanied all the way to the top. I just could not outsmart it, no matter what I did. The common housefly has a maximum flying speed of 25 per hour. So, no way could I ride away from it on a mountain pass – its wings beat 20 thousand times per minute, while my legs go round at only 90 revolutions per minute. Go figure. I don’t know if flies have feelings, but the pox on the one that was on Ouberg Saturday around 8:00
The rest of the circular route is gravel bike heaven, with a combination of rolling hills and flatland. In my opinion, it is one of the best gravel events in the country. In addition to that, it is superbly organised. In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: “I’ll be back”.
