We’d always seen this beautiful set of gravel switchbacks from across the way on Table Mountain, but strangely enough none of us had tried to ride it. From a distance at least it looked rideable on a road bike, but we needed to find out.

On a cold & moody spring morning we headed out to the base of the climb, wondering where we’d find access to the road. After multiple wrong turns we finally resigned to the fact that we had to access the road from above, which meant some nasty climbing to do so.

The pain was worth it and what lay ahead of us was a very special ride indeed. We had decided too that this would be the location of Privateer’s inaugural event, the Big Bike Beat Down, which would see riders tackle the road on road/fixed gear/mountain bike, the aim being the first person to reach the top in the least amount of time.

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