{"id":42947,"date":"2021-11-22T18:19:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T16:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/?p=42947"},"modified":"2021-11-22T18:19:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T16:19:28","slug":"local-mtb-organisations-collaborate-to-launch-regional-permit-that-allows-access-to-five-iconic-trail-networks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/cycling\/local-mtb-organisations-collaborate-to-launch-regional-permit-that-allows-access-to-five-iconic-trail-networks\/","title":{"rendered":"Local MTB organisations collaborate to launch Regional Permit that allows access to five iconic trail networks!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Winelands Cycling Club, Stellenbosch Trail Fund (STF), MTO (Jonkershoek) and Winelands Trails are excited to launch the long-overdue Winelands Regional Permit that will allow its holders access to a multitude of world class trails in five iconic areas stretching from Grabouw, Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek and then over the mountains towards Paarl, Wellington and Franschhoek.<\/p>\n

The Winelands Cycling Club (until recently known as the Wannabees Cycling Club, and chaired by Paul de Klerk) was founded in 2004.\u00a0 Over the years and as cycling has changed from being more focused on road riding to now being dominated by Mountain Biking, so the need to develop the mountain bike trails has also grown.\u00a0 Similarly trails have been developed in and around Stellenbosch (STF) and Jonkershoek (MTO) over the years.\u00a0 More recently, The Winelands Trail Network was formed in 2019 between the trail network managers of Wellington (Pieter Van Wyk), Banhoek Conservancy (Kim Lord ), Paarl (Darren Herbst) and Franschhoek (Eldorette Carinus).\u00a0 All of these trail networks have relied on membership \/ permit fees being paid in order to grow and maintain the trail networks.\u00a0 The result of this has meant that until now a mountain biker typically had to have numerous permits in order to access the different trail networks.<\/p>\n

\"Ernst<\/a>
Ernst Gouws, Paul de Klerk, Douw van der Merwe and Darren Herbst<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTwo years ago, like most trail networks, we were all developing and managing our own trails,\u201d says Darren Herbst, Winelands Trail Network Partner. \u201cInstead of purchasing a number of passes from various trail networks, it was clear that users would rather purchase one pass that allowed them access to all their favourite trails.\u00a0 It\u2019s less hassle and costs less. We all got together and decided to do a trial run. The concept was exceptionally well received, becoming a very popular option for regular users.\u00a0 Having proved that various trail networks can indeed work together and that the system that we have in place is indeed effective, we decided to get more trail networks involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started chatting to the team from the Winelands Cycling Club who were actually trying to achieve the same goal in their area,\u201d continues Herbst.\u00a0 \u201cCollectively, we\u2019ve managed to put together a package that we believe is really special. The sheer number of trails is one thing, but the quality and variety of trails is what we believe makes the offering very special and something unique.\u00a0 Another really amazing part of offering an annual pass that covers so many trail networks is the cost.\u00a0 All parties have really sharpened their pencils to ensure that the cost of the Winelands Regional Permit is affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us its all about getting as many people out on the trails as possible, exploring and enjoying this spectacular part of South Africa,\u201d adds Paul de Klerk. \u201cBeing able to offer members one membership to such a huge variety of networks at an affordable price is key. We believe that the Winelands Regioinal Permit ticks all those boxes and we are very excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vision of the Winelands Regional Membership and related trail access is to<\/u>:<\/p>\n