Some mountain bike races are classics, and ECOBOUND’s Hell & Back certainly rates as one. It has the distinction of being SA’s first ever MTB Stage Race, and this year saw the 18th race from De Hoek into Gamkaskloof, AKA The Hell. This historic valley can only be accessed by a dead-end pass winding through the rugged and inhospitable Swartberg Mountains. It takes guts to get in there on a bike, and even more guts to ride out the next day after spending most of the night tossing and turning while the vertiginous curves of the pass back out haunts your dreams. Ask me, I’ve done it on a few occasions, and there’s some serious suffering involved in the calf department. This year, everyone who rode in got out again, albeit with a little bit of blood, sweat and tears along the way. These are some of my images from Day 1

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