Riding in South Africa
Bike Safari
Text by Hans Rey. Photos by Dirk Belling & Patrick Penkwitt
Internationally famous in the world of mountain biking, former World Champion Greg Herbold, an American, and his Swiss buddy Hans Rey, also a former multiple World Champion in Trials, join up for a very wild ride, with fun as the top priority. Hans takes us along for the ride.
Greg Herbold went to Africa as part of the race support crew for Rock Shox for this race they were having in South Africa. I went down there to do some shows at the race; and also to work on my next video, check out the wildlife, do the downhills and ride the Table Mountain in Cape Town.
Hans Rey over Capetown |
Greg Herbold on Table Mountain |
Before I went down, I talked to friends and read about South Africa. I'd heard how steep and gnarly the trails were and figured it would be good for filming with the wild animals. I was also fascinated by the Bushmen, who still live much the way they've lived for thousands of years. Some of them live in the Kalahari desert, but these live in a reserve. They have no houses; they live in huts and make clothes from animals. They'd seen bicycles, but we wanted to show them how to ride.
The first four or five days we did shows at the downhill mountain bike race, setting up obstacles for shows and setting up schedules for the next week of filming. We had to get permission to ride and film in parks. Many times when we called in advance and tried to get the necessary permits, we had a hard time convincing them. We'd call them up on the phone in advance and tell them what we wanted to do and they'd say things like, "You can't ride a bike there, it's impossible to ride a bike there." But as soon as we'd show up and they'd see us ride the bikes, they'd get all enthusiastic and start wanting us to do stuff.
It's surprising how we can go to some places, like South America and Asia, and the local people know who we are. It's because they watch ESPN International, which sometimes shows videos of me if they need to fill empty time slots. When we went to Peru, for instance, the first night we arrived there we went out riding our bikes and a couple of people came up to me and said, "You're Hans Rey, aren't you?" They'd recognized me from seeing me on TV.
We started our road tour in Johannesburg. It's the murder capitol of the world. Besides that, every 30 seconds a car gets stolen there. Herbold didn't want to stay there, so we went on to a safari park. We went with a ranger like Crocodile Dundee. We rode our bikes while he followed us in a jeep with a gun. In the nature reserves, you're not allowed to get out of the car, normally. The lions, if they're lying there, don't care if you're on a titanium bike or a Huffy. It was pretty scary. We wanted to get some footage of us actually riding with lions, so we went to a lion park and rode with some cubs. They were really friendly and playful. It was cool riding with them, but it was something we couldn't do with wild ones.
One day we came across these rhinoceroses in the game park. We were standing in the road with our bikes watching them, and they were in the road ahead of us, when all of a sudden this huge one came out of the bushes halfway between the other ones and us. We were pretty scared! It was as big as a car, but we had no idea it was even there. Luckily, it didn't charge us, but it made us wonder what else might be hiding in the bushes right next to us.
We saw lots of animals. We saw elephants, zebras, giraffes and hippos. Do you know which animal kills more people than any other animal in Africa? It's hard to believe, but it's hippos. If they get scared, they run down their trails towards the river and go over, under or through anybody in their way.
Sometimes we were riding through the bushes and wondering what might be hiding in them. It's pretty spooky. Still, there's no animal that kills for the sake of killing; they only kill to eat.
South Africa's kind of like a cross between Switzerland and California. You have these really big mountains, but the climate's more like California's. We had to get out of there because the rainy season was about to start.
We went to a local bike shop and asked for some of the cooler trails. They told us about Table Mountain and Lion's Head and confirmed what a friend had told me. Table Mountain is a landmark in South Africa. It's right in Cape Town above where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans come together. It's as flat as a table, 3566 feet high, and the clouds drape over the edge like a tablecloth. Lion's Head is 2200 feet high and it looks like a lion.
We hiked up to Lion's Head and found some really cool trails and rode down. Then we did some stuff on the trails on the lower part of Table Mountain, and headed off to meet the Bushmen.
We actually arrived that night. They were expecting us that evening, so they had gone back to their village and consulted their spirits, and most of them decided not to shoot with us. But this one guy and his kids decided to come with us to the old village. They were the purest, nicest, most kind-hearted people I ever met. Their minds are pure, like children's minds. We have all these motives, but they don't. I was kind of inspired by "The Gods Must Be Crazy". I didn't want to make fun of them. I wanted to show how unspoiled they were and how little they've been exposed to this kind of stuff. I don't want people to get the wrong impression and think we were out making fun of all the Bushmen and scaring all the animals. I have the greatest respect for the Bushmen.
After that, we went back to Stellenbosch, packed our bags, boxed up our bikes and flew back to the US. I was only home for a week, and then I was off to Europe again. |
Hans, pedal as fast as you can!
The bushmen welcomed us into their home
GOING TO AFRICA: SAFARI TRAVEL TIPS
American Airlines has direct flights from Miami to Cape Town, and so does South African Airways. It costs about US$1000.
CLIMATE
Seasons are reversed in South Africa, compared to the Northern Hemisphere. It was winter there, and it was in the 40s F in the desert but 80s or even 90s in Cape Town.
BIKE SHOP
Village Cycles or Tours, in Cape Town: 27-21-883-8593; or find them on the Internet under Village Cycles.
PARKS TO SEE
If you want to see the Bushmen, go to Kagga Kamma Resort, about 260 km from Cape Town, on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Call: 27-21-883-8593. If you want to see the animals, go to Pilanesberg National Park near Sun City, about 160 km northwest of Johannesburg, and stay in the Bakubung Game Lodge. |
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