Win Free Entry for Big Induna!
Leave a comment on your previous experience on the Big Induna Ride and stand a chance to win a free entry.
We are giving away a free entry every week up unto the the race one 11 June 2011.
Make sure you enter you email adress and what race you did
(10 km, 45 km, 75 km or 120 km)
Winner will be contacted via E Mail every week.
11 comments
Everybody who owns a mountain bike should do the Big Induna
“…with the ever spectacular mountainbike Mecca in the Lowvelt, Induna has alway been one of my favorite races in the local calender. Short challenging climbs, followed by exhilarating quad track downhills. The race is only as hard as you want it to be, as everything is ride-able and some great surprises… riding in a singletrack stream underneath a natural bridge, passing elephants and not to mention the awesome scenery! This is a must do race for anyone who calls them self a Mountainbiker…”
The Induna national Marathon in my opinion is situated in one of the most beautiful areas in South Africa. After racing all over the world i can truely say that it is in my yearly must do list for bike racing. the organises go out there way to take in the most breathtaking singletracks combined with some of the best scenery South Africa has to offer. conditions are normally wonderful in hazyview and with so many other atrrictions around the area for your family you would be crazy to miss the weekend of fun in the lowveld. The course has some magical areas that are very remote, beautiful and often unnaccesible for the normal person. The event is smoothly run and the crew of induna go out there way to accomadate all that compete from the international proffesionals to the little kids that ride. I can promise you, you will finish off your day with a wonderful smile and the dream of returning again to test yourself in the lovely lowveld.
Thank you to the entire team and other workers in the wings and background that put together this awesome Big Induna Mazda MTB Marathon event .
We travelled rather far to get there , 1300 kms from East London . The 2745 kms there and back was so very well worth it for the ” such a lekker ” MTB course .
I brought three of our younger Border Team riders with me . The experience gained by them , attending a premier event like this was so good for their growth in the world of competative MT biking .
I would like to mention that such a lot worked so well for us ;
As school going youngsters , we needed to keep our costs low . We e-mailed Induna about accomodation , and ( Lizette ) were given several alternatives , we camped ( tents ) very comfotably at Seringita . Thank you Lizette .
The registration on Friday evening went very smooth for us . I however managed to enter that Fridays date on my race number form ! No problem for your time keeping guys , guess what i got a cell call later to ask what my correct date of birth was . Thank you timing table organisers .
The parking arrangements on Sat morning were smooth . Less stress also lekker .
Then the event . Well this has to be one the best MTB rides i’ve done of many . Yes , bedonnered hard and tuff , but the variation just fantastic .
That bit along the river in the last loop of the long ride , the okes that kapped that out , just right , thanks .
In fact , there was much enjoyment ( besides the pain in my body ) about the so varied event . I even ended up popping a front wheelie for about ten meters when i made too much air after we turned left just before Hazyview over those water control contour humps .
So to the committee up there at Induna , on behalf of us chaps from Border , East London , a very gratefull thankyou to one and all .
Regards
You haven’t experienced true mountain biking if you haven’t done the BIG Induna race…. and then you hooked!
The Induna is the first MTB race that I did. I did not train at all for it… My friends asked me to come along since they were doing it and keen for a party as always, I tagged along. When I got to the number collection the night before the race I thought by myself, how far could 78km be. If old people can do it, I could easily do it even though I did not train at all. At that stage I did not have a proper mountain bike, so I used my bicycle I cycle to campus (TUKS) with every day. It has a steel frame that is so heavy I am sure is solid and a fork that is as good as rigid. When race day came the excitement was high and not long after a gunshot set off the race the pain began. It was the longest and most painful five-and-a-half hours of my life. Since then I have bought myself a proper MTB and been riding ever since. Thank you Induna for introducing me to the sport! I love it!
Hi Danie,
It is words like this that make us wake up in the morning with renewed passion in what we do. Thanks for sharing your story!!!
Hey Danie – Thanx for your write-up. You are the first winner of a free entry to the First Ascent Big Induna!
Dear Passionate Mountain biking friends, this is the most spectacular mountain bike race anyone can ask for, it rips the word mountain biking apart as the mountains there make you feel dreadfully small, even if you should ride a 29’er, Jip three inches won’t make them any less forgiving towards your fit muscles!
This challenge is close to my heart as I think I lost my soul in the pristine beauty of the landscapes between Hazyview and Sabie, and now I frequently return there to search for it! Every excuse for a holiday I will find a way to be there with my bike.
Around Induna Adventures (At the start of The Induna race) you will find ample accommodation for you and your family or spectators, so rent a crowd as every breath of cheering will urge you on to the finish line! You will also have a few distance options to choose from based on your fitness, you will know when you lied about it…There is a 10km, 40-50, 70-75, 120km.
The route will surprise you every year, with either new single track, new quad trails that are tricky (and energy consuming), new bridges, or new CLIMBS. There is never a dreary moment (except for the drag towards the road next to the macadamia plantation, you’ll know when you get there) use it to get back into rhythm! Don’t stare at the beauty of Mother Nature there too long or she’ll send you a root to trip you. Having fun will come naturally to you in these forests, take advantage of this! You will feel the weight of the world leaving your shoulders as you plunge down the technical sections, noting else but survival will matter. Giggles will fill your stomach, ears will flame up and goose bumps will ride your back from your crown all the way down your spine at every nearly fall!
In winter time Induna has summer so prepare accordingly! Put sunscreen on even if it’s cloudy, get extra sachets of re-hydrate. And use the water points that are there for you! And after your battle with nature, sharp corners, unexpected rocks, slippery single tracks, and a hippo or two if you’re lucky please go down to the Sabie River and swim in the crystal waters where the Mac-Mac and Shabaan rivers meet up, you’ll be so refreshed you will be able to do it all over again!
Regards Samantha Oosthuysen
I knew that it will happen-”one day is one day”, the saying goes and although I have not won the Lotto (yet!) their slogan aptly fitted my destiny. I had to meet the “Induna” (or rather, the Induna will meet me, I believed)
Having been born and bred in the area, weekends and holidays were spent on exploring every nook and cranny east of Sabie. Holy smoke, as a parent with adult children I am still praying for forgiveness for all the times I caused my guardian angel to be out of breath for a week! So thirty years later, having traded my “dikwiel, suspension-less” 26er for a spanking new Trek 4900, I was armed and ready. Figgin’ fathoms, I was d-a-n-g-e-r-o-u-s, never mind “armed”…
“Dad, do you remember what happened to you with the Sabie Experience?” I could see the concern in my eldest’s eyes. “Yes, Sus- the shoulder blade attached again and I’m much fitter than then.”
I did not sound too convinced, because Ria cautioned me; ” Jong, you don’t know these buggers. They are bound to take you to the Kruger and back and then plead innocence at your hospital bed.”
I could see faint sparkles reviving in her eyes. I knew she would give all to be at the starting point that year, but the “Big C” had its relentless grip on her for some time now.
“Don’t go out too fast, and don’t be fooled by the easy track around the banana plantations. I told you, they are real buggers…” Ria said fidgeting with my bike’s handlebar as to try and hide the disappointment.
It was late and I had to get to bed. “I’ll come over and share, tomorrow afternoon”, I said.
“It’s OK, I’ll wait.”
The race was everything I did not expect.
I was breathless for on more than one occasion for different reasons. At one stage I stopped and ever so briefly imagined what God had in His mind when He created the valleys around Hazyview. I thought about Ria. How she battled and believed that the cancer will not win, how she shared stories of her taking her bike and be joined by her son for rides (recovery rides, she called them) down the Sabie-Hazyview road after chemo.
I often during the race found myself being embarrassed to the point of emotion- here I was, a middle-aged, healthy man riding a “homecoming” race, bitching and moaning about cramps and the humidity while thousands of “Ria’s” were begging God for just one more race. “One more Induna, please…”
The Coke tasted better than ever as I pushed my bike to my car.
“Thanks guys, I’ll be back I said- and meant it.
Back at Ria’s home she was lying in bed
and I could see that today was one of her worst. “How was it- how was the Induna, ” she said softly.
“It was rubbish”, I lied.
“Can’t be,” she said. “I prayed for you today. You must have experienced the real Induna.”
“No, Ria- I met another Induna today. While I was crossing the Sabie River, I suddenly realised how much you and I have to appreciate. Our bikes, our passion for cycling, nature in its prime and people like you.
The Real INDUNA spoke and He said He loves you…”
“I’m so glad,” she said smiling.
I left Ria’s bedside and I was told that the day after, she was back on her bike.
Ria left us later that year, to never return to ride again.
I’m sure that where she rides today, she will be looking down and smiling on us, come Saturday June 11.
I’m also sure I’ll hear her say, ” pasop, I told you, these Induna guys are buggers…”
Thank you Ria, one day is one day!
Jaco
I want to say a very big thank you to everyone who put effort into putting together the best mountain bike race I have attended in many years. The climbs the SINGLE TRACK , and everything in between was world class!!!!!
You all need a big medal , and can’t wait for next year. Keep it up and thank you once again .