One Wednesday morning after our coffee coffee ride from One Grind, Justin Bircher mentioned an idea to do a ride from One Grind to Sani Pass, we all kinda thought the same but kept quiet.
Next thing we knew myself & Ryan Brooke made it happen!
One Grind to Sani Pass Day 1 – Hillcrest to Nottingham Road
Day one kicked off with some Coffee at our usual meeting point at One Grind. Light drizzle and cloudy conditions gave us the perfect riding conditions.
Some final route adjustments to bypass traffic and road works, we rerouted through Bisley nature reserve, Pietermaritzburg and up into Hilton & Howick.
Bisley delivered with sighting of Giraffe and Zebra. Quick navigation through Pietermaritzburg and a long climb up to Howick for a much need lunch stop at Rotunda Coffee House.
Perfect riding conditions continued throughout the day. A quick stop in at Karkloof Country Club before the long climb up to our overnight stop at Mansfield Manor Guest House.
One Grind to Sani Pass Day 2 – Nottingham Road to Himeville
After the long climb up and out of Mansfield Manor we were onto the small town of Nottingham Road for some coffee, breakfast at The Village Café and snacks from the local Spar we were off! Kicking off with similar conditions to day 1 we decided to take a slight detour from the traditional Berg100 route, of Nottingham Road to Himeville, and stick to the main Lower Lotheni road until it turned to gravel where we were now back on route.
The Lower Lotheni road was in prime condition for some gravel riding. A quick stop in at one of the local Shebeens for Coke and chips saw us continuing to Himeville Arms for a celebratory beer before we had our overnight stop at Sani Lodge Backpackers.
One Grind to Sani Pass Day 3 – Himeville to Sani
After being well fed and a good nights sleep we were ready to conquer Sani Pass.
After a few hours and some hike a bike we finally made it to the top! Blowing gales we cut our trip into Lesotho to a little short and decided the order of the day was beer, lunch and get down the pass safely.
Needless to say I was the first to hit the deck having a small oopsie on the way down, Justin had a little OTB too. We both got through with some minor scratches and nothing serious.
Thanks to the guys for riding this out, look forward to next year of One Grind to Sani Pass 2.0!
Ride Stats
Total Distance: 309.8km
Total Elevation Gain: 6, 826m
Estimated Calories: 13, 537
Total Time: 26 hours 21 minutes
One Grind
Our local coffee stop where this ride started from. Based out a small container at ONE Sports and Wellness in Hillcrest. They are open Mondays to Saturdays any questions regarding One Grind can be directed via their Instagram account @onegrindcoffee.