New bike trail for the Cradle in construction

Construction of the first 15km of a new dedicated recreational mountain bike trail in the Cradle of Humankind is expected to be completed by March 2014 and teams are now hard at work to be done by the deadline.

Trail construction commenced on site on 19 November following a day of basic trail design and construction training and the hard work has since not stopped.

The initial stretch is part of the first phase of construction and further work is scheduled to take place in the following financial year, pending budgetary approval.

The second phase will see the completion of a 33km looped trail.

The trail follows a feasibility study that was completed in December last year.

“There is a high demand for cycling in the World Heritage Site,” says Hein Pienaar, Deputy Director of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site Management Authority, adding that cycling lanes had been added to between 35km and 40km of the roads in the area.

However, Pienaar says the increase in cyclists in this area could lead to potential conflicts with motorists and a dedicated mountain bike trail would allow for greater safety for cyclists. He says South Africa lagged behind Europe when it came to cycling but had the potential to tap into mountain bike tourism.

“We believe we have the facilities to start seriously thinking about bike tourism,” says Pienaar, adding that the country’s mountain bike events were some of the best in the world.

The initial trail will be a single direction trail from the Kloofzicht Gateway, past the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve and up to the Lanseria Gateway.

The trail is always in sight of the road due to its location within the provincial road reserve, and mountain bikers can return along the cycle lane until the looped trail is completed.

Use of the trail would be at no cost but options for funding are being assessed. These included possible events, sponsorships or parking fees at nearby facilities that are expected to benefit from the trail.