APPROXIMATELY 500 visitors from all over South Africa, and even Great Britain, visited Fairview farm outside Middelburg, in the heart of the Karoo, to ride their mountain bikes over the course of three days and experience local hospitality at its best.
This year saw two back-to-back mountain bike tours, namely the Lormar Farm Trail Tour and the Lormar Sheep Trail Tour, consisting of the same routes and activities, but on different dates.
Day one started with purebred Arabian horses galloping past participants as an opening ceremony, followed by a 21km night ride into the Karoo sunset, after which riders were welcomed back to a Karoo braai and live entertainment.
Day two consisted of a 58km ride through neighbouring farms, one of which G.A. Watermeyer grew up in, a water point stop at an old farm house from the 1800s, Alphen, and crossing through the beautiful poplar tree forest.
There was also a shorter version, the Lormar Mini, that consisted of 28km of dirt roads.
The afternoon consisted of a tractor cruise and nibbles of locally prepared boerewors and “skaapstertjies”.
Evenings at Lormar consisted of a history talk about the area, presented by Melinda Bekker, who grew up on Fairview farm, a fun and interactive prize-giving, as well as brilliant live entertainment.
On day three, riders again headed through a couple of neighbouring farms including Leopardsvlei, with its beautiful poplar forest single track over 56km.
The Lormar Mini also passed through Leopardsvlei’s poplar forest but over a shorter 30km course.
The Lormar Endurance MTB Tour’s main goal is to create awareness of the spectacular Karoo and its people, and to provide participants with true “platteland” hospitality.
The tour benefits the local community in many ways. Some interesting statistics include: 2 700 koeksisters were made by Fransien Blaauw from Middelburg; 1 200 lamb chops were prepared at the braai; 1 000 Karan Beef steaks; 1 500 farmhouse breakfast eggs and 1 300 cups of moerkoffie and condensed milk were served as treats to the cyclists.
Tour winners
Farm Trail Tour:
- Solo Men – Shaun-Nick Bester
- Solo Women – Tania Bester
- Men’s Team – Tim Toovey and JC Visser
- Women’s Team – Marike Vermaak and Alicia Fourie
- Mixed Team – Juanita Kammeyer and Heinrich Kammeyer
Sheep Trail Tour:
- Solo Men – Maurice Ferreira
- Solo Women – Megan Roux
- Men’s Team – Tiaan Swart and Shaun Oosthuizen
- Women’s Team – Hanlie Bezuidenhout and Ankia Coetzee
- Mixed Team – Elmarie Thole and Errol Thole
