Riding Joburg, JUMA style
EMMARENTIA – JUMA organisers lead a motorcycle tour of the race route.
After very little coaxing, Mark Castel, part of the Johannesburg Urban Mountain Bike Adventure JUMA team agreed to take a journalist through the route on a dirt bike.
Expecting a casual ride through the park, the journalist arrived in a pair of jeans and a collared shirt. It was only once he had been covered in mud and dust with sweat drenching his helmet that he realised that JUMA would be no ordinary cycle race.
Somehow, in the heart of Joburg, the tour guide managed to take the journalist through terrain that left him slipping, fish-tailing and properly stuck on more than one occasion. The portions of the 54km track that were accessible left the bike burning-hot, being pushed to the limit.
The route begins and ends at Mark’s Park. It runs past and over Emmarentia Dam. Racers will descend down into the challenging spruit, then under storm drains and through the Creek 9 Mashie (golf) Course. The route ascends all the way into Alberts Farm, where racers enjoy a view of the city spread out below them.
With the cooperation of Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, JUMA and the Johannesburg Urban Run Adventure JURA incorporate the scenic trips through the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens and the Melville Koppies Nature Reserve.
The race will include a number of large obstacles that were under construction at the time of the test-ride.
JURA and JUMA will take place on 5 and 6 September respectively. JURA has announced R125 000 worth of cash prizes and three GoPro Hero 4s.
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