The X

The X 2014 five-day mountain bike event was hugely popular by the previous riders and 2017 also promises non-stop adventure from start to finish.The X came about back in September 2013 when I hopped on an overnight bus from Cape Town to Upington. The next morning, when everyone else got off the bus and went about their business, I assembled my bike and started riding. I rode through the remote area of the Great Karroo and across historical places such as Verneukpan, and finished my journey in Matjiesfontein, some 600 km and four days later.

During the December 2013 summer break, I decided to do some more scouting, this time riding in a circular route in the Eastern Cape area, where I was born and grew up. The journey to the Great Fish River was an exploration in itself, with awesome exploratory riding and stops along the way in places like Matjiesfontein (outside Calitzdorp, Klein Karoo), Saasveld, the Outeniqua Mountains, and Witteberg Hoek in the Langkloof. I was then joined by my friend, Rob Flashman, and for the next 10 days we explored some of the most remote and hardly used trails, paths, and quiet farm and public dirt roads the region had to offer. And as we rode, The X, an Eastern Cape odyssey, was born and this is what riders can look forward to.