Active Hobo

Tristan Nortje: THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING | Active Hobo Film

Tristan Nortje and Matt Beers made history in 2026 by becoming the first all South African team to win the worlds biggest mountain bike race - The Cape Epic. This film tells Tristan's story and how the result was his destiny foretold long before the day arrived. SPECIAL THANKS to TOYOTA SA, Specialized South Africa, Cape Epic, RideLife George, Matt Beers, Anika Boshoff, Linda Nortje & of course Tristan Nortje for letting us tell this story 🇿🇦 #storiesmatter #capeepic #southafrica # === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 # === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b

THIRSTI HALF MARATHON and 10KM RUN - JOIN ACTIVE HOBO for the RUN UP! #springiscoming

THIRSTI is hosting its inaugural Half Marathon and 10km on the 29th of August 2026. Active Hobo has assembled a super crew to help you get there in tip top shape whether you want to race the event and set PB's or simple achieve something you never thought you could! Weekly runs with Terence Petterson (the influencer) Paige and Lindi (The brains and BIO's) and Alec (the storyteller) will ensure peak vibes and form! Free entry spot prises, THIRSTI Sports drinks and other cool giveaways weekly! Join us by simply DM'ing your whatsapp number and we'll add you to the group! #yourstorymatters #storiesmatter #springmarathon #thirsti

From Bike Shop to South Africa’s Biggest MTB Events | Dryland’s Henco Rademeyer

For the first time outside of COVID, Dryland Event Management had to cancel a race ten days before the start. Here's the man who made that call — and built a 20-year career on the events that came before it. Henco Rademeyer is the co-founder and director of Dryland Event Management, the team behind some of South Africa's toughest and most loved mountain bike stage races: the Attakwas Extreme, the Cape Pioneer Trek, the Tankwa Trek, and the brand-new Garden Route Giro. In this conversation he tells the story from the very beginning — running a bike shop in Oudtshoorn before online retail existed, realising that events drove more bike sales than anything else, and starting Dryland almost by accident with his co-founder Carel Herholdt. He walks through the flooding that forced the cancellation of the 2026 edition of The 36ONE MTB Challenge — a 361-kilometre race through the Klein Karoo that had never been called off outside of the pandemic — and the decision-making process behind making that call ten days out, with refunds rather than partial routes. He also gets into the business side most riders never see: how commercial partnerships made the events financially viable, why the average rider age has settled around 44, and why South Africa might have the best standard of mountain bike and gravel events in the world. This one is for anyone who's ever finished one of these races and wondered who actually builds them — and what it costs, physically and financially, to pull it off year after year. # === CHAPTERS =================================== 0:00 — The 36ONE cancellation and 20 years of Dryland events 0:27 — Inside the Garden Route Giro 1:02 — From bike shop owner to accidental events founder 4:41 — Attakwas: the race that started it all 6:03 — The Cape Pioneer Trek and the move toward technical single track 7:10 — Bernard le Roux joins, and Dryland starts to scale 26:15 — A mountain biker's-eye view of Dryland's events 31:03 — COVID, gravel's rise, and shifting rider demographics 38:39 — The funniest and most dramatic moments in 20 years of events 41:53 — Why Tankwa Trek is Henco's own personal favourite 45:02 — Equipment trends: dual suspension, gravel, and changing customer expectations 52:21 — The real cost of getting young riders into endurance sport 72:24 — New recovery partnerships and what's coming for finishers 76:45 — What Henco does when he's not running events 78:05 — Why Drive to Survive changed sports storytelling forever 80:37 — Cricket, rugby, and the cultural weight of schoolboy sport in South Africa # === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 # === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b # === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins Alec @alec.gates Regardt @regardt.stander # === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY 🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount # === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #originstory #podcast #revive #capeepic #enduranceathletes #mtb

A story for cyclists, a story for the racers a story for South African. This is Tristan Nortje’s.

Premier Wednesday 15 July 2026

Do races actually make an impact to communities? Breakaway Special Edition #storiesmatter

Do cycling events make a difference to communities ? Breakaway Special Edition

This special edition of The Breakaway explores the powerful connection between cycling, community and the lives changed by every race. Do cycling races really make a difference beyond the finish line? We travelled to the heart of rural South Africa to uncover the untold impact that events like Berg & Bush, Oxpecker and G2C have on local communities, speaking to farmers, residents and race organizers to hear their stories firsthand. What we discovered challenged our assumptions, revealing how cycling creates jobs, builds schools, inspires young people and brings hope to places many riders never see. These trips have direct costs we struggle to absorb and bicycle rental and car rental didn’t have to be one of them. Thank you to TOYOTA SA, Specialized and Complete Cyclist for helping us and supporting what we do! #storiesmatter === CHAPTERS =================================== 00:00 Introduction 01:01 Why We Flew Across South Africa 03:17 The Question Nobody Is Asking 07:15 Farmer Gary Explains the Real Impact of Racing 22:32 Visiting a School Built Through Cycling 28:28 Asking the Community: Do Races Really Matter? 32:47 A Different Perspective from the Community 36:27 How Local Businesses Benefit 40:00 Our Biggest Takeaway 42:11 Seeing the Impact Firsthand 48:48 The Opinions We Didn't Expect 52:35 The Sponsors Behind These Events 54:17 Do Cycling Races Actually Change Communities? 55:11 Why This Story Matters 57:42 Final Thoughts === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFm... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: / @activehobo Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins Alec @alec.gates === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== 🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/scicon... === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling

Road to Gravel Burn, Ep. 2: The Brutal First Test

Cutting weight for the Nedbank Gravel Burn is only half the fight. The other half is not losing the strength to survive it. Five weeks ago, Dave couldn't activate some of his own muscles. He didn't know where his body was in space. Now, deep into an 8-week calorie deficit ahead of a 750km gravel stage race across South Africa's Great Karoo, he heads to a biokineticist in Westlake, Cape Town, to build the functional strength his cycling alone can't give him — the kind that keeps a rider upright, pain-free, and strong on day six of seven. It's not about looking strong. It's about not falling apart. What is a biokineticist? An exercise-therapy professional who uses movement science to build strength, stability, and resilience — often used by cyclists and endurance athletes to complement on-bike training. Why does strength training matter for a gravel stage race? A seven-day event like the Nedbank Gravel Burn demands more than fitness — riders need the core, glute, and postural strength to hold form and avoid injury deep into repeated long days on rough terrain. # === CHAPTERS =================================== 0:00 — The Weight Cut Wasn't Enough 1:55 — Why Cycling Fitness Isn't the Whole Picture 2:39 — Meeting the Biokineticist Building Him From the Ground Up 3:38 — Cycling First, Strength Second — Or the Other Way Around? 5:23 — Five Weeks In: The Body Awareness Turnaround 6:41 — Training That Complements, Not Competes With, the Bike 9:47 — Protecting Muscle While the Weight Comes Off 10:27 — Next Stop: Fuelling the Fight # === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 # === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b # === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins Alec @alec.gates Regardt @regardt.stander # === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY 🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount # === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #podcast #toyota #gravelburn #gravelcyclist #enduranceathletes #mtb

Pinarello Grevil F9... Our Italian Love Affair

The latest gravel superbike has arrived, and after spending time on the all-new Pinarello Grevil F9, it's safe to say this bike exceeded every expectation. In this review, we dive into its ride quality, comfort, handling, premium Italian craftsmanship, and whether its eye-watering price is truly justified. From high-speed gravel descents to technical terrain, we put the Grevil F9 through its paces to find out if it really is the ultimate gravel bike. Watch until the end to see who this bike is built for. 00:00 Introduction 01:00 First Impressions of the Pinarello Grevil F9 02:35 Why This Might Be the Best Gravel Bike Ever 04:45 Wheels, Tires & Cockpit Setup 07:15 SRAM, Frame Design & Premium Features 10:10 In-Frame Storage & Practical Details 12:40 Comfort, Geometry & Ride Position 16:20 The Beauty of Italian Design 19:30 Climbing & On-Trail Performance 22:50 Descending Confidence & Stability 26:15 Living With the Grevil F9 30:10 Is It Worth the Price? 33:40 Who Is This Bike For? 36:30 Final Verdict 38:45 Closing Thoughts # === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 # === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b # === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins # === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY 🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount # === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling #gravelbike #giantrevoltreview #bikereview

She’s 18, a World Champion, and Just Getting Started | Nadia van Wyk

At 13, she cried until the start gun went off — then she raced. At 17, she won the XTERRA Youth World Championship in Italy. At 18, Nadia van Wyk is just getting started. This is the intro. The full origin story episode drops very soon — subscribe so you don't miss it. Nadia van Wyk is 18, from Durbanville in the Western Cape, and competes in more disciplines than most athletes manage in a career: XCO mountain biking, road cycling, track, duathlon, XTERRA, and horse riding on the side. She's a reigning XTERRA Youth World Champion, a U23 SA XCO MTB Champion, and a SA Duathlon Cross Champion. She homeschooled her matric year to compete at world level, skipping Grade 8 along the way to give herself more time. This week on The Breakaway, she talks about the mental cost of competing young, the nutrition challenges no one warns you about, why girls drop off from cycling at Grade 10, and what South African youth cycling actually looks like from the inside. Plus: Tour de France predictions, her favourite rider in the peloton, and what it was like to see Tadej Pogačar in person in Spain and think, "How is that small?" # === CHAPTERS =================================== 0:00 — Welcome: Meet Nadia van Wyk 1:13 — Cycling, XTERRA, Horses: Her Multi-Discipline Life 4:25 — Homeschooling to Compete at World Level 5:36 — The Mental Game: Crying on the Start Line at 13 6:13 — Pre-Race Nutrition: The Thing Nobody Talks About 10:14 — Why Homeschooling Works for Elite Young Athletes 20:11 — How to Get More Girls on Bikes 23:27 — What Titan Racing Is Doing for SA Youth Cycling 31:18 — Downhill MTB: What She's Watching Right Now 36:52 — XTERRA Explained + Worlds Qualification 42:46 — Training Camp in Spain: Life on the Road 45:08 — Tour de France: MvdP, Pogačar & Breakaway Love 49:54 — SA Road Champs: Negative Racing and What to Do About It # === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 # === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b # === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins # === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY 🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount # === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling

1,000 Kids, One Bike Race: Inside South Africa’s School Cycling Boom

Bertus van Zyl is the chairman of Western Cape Schools Cycling, the structure behind one of the most overlooked grassroots sporting movements in South Africa. In this conversation he traces the whole arc: how a hobby with his own kids turned into running a province's entire schools cycling programme, the legacy of Meurant Botha and the Spur Schools MTB League that built the foundation this all stands on, and what it actually takes — logistically and financially — to run a race for a thousand riders on a single weekend. He breaks down the gap that exists between mass-participation schools racing and the provincial and international pathway, and why some of South Africa's most talented young riders disappear from the sport entirely once school ends. He talks about the rivalry between Paul Roos Gymnasium and Paarl Boys' High, the corporate sponsors stepping in where Spur once stood, and his genuine belief that South Africa has the talent and the landscape to build a fully professional domestic mountain biking circuit — if the right investment shows up. This is a story about what gets built when a parent just wants to help out on a Friday afternoon, and it doesn't stop. # === CHAPTERS =================================== 0:00 — Welcome and introducing Bertus van Zyl 0:45 — From Hermanus parent to Western Cape Schools Cycling chairman 2:33 — The legacy of Spur Schools MTB and Meurant Botha 9:08 — How school cycling became a formal national structure 12:39 — Formalising honorary colours and the safeguarding gap 18:39 — The rivalry: Paul Roos Gymnasium vs Paarl Boys' High 19:34 — Conrad Stoltz, Stellenbosch High, and the new wave of investment 25:41 — Why South Africa's talent disappears after school 30:56 — Insect Science, pro pathways, and what success could look like 37:53 — A sport bursting at the seams: numbers, demographics and growth 43:53 — Breaking out of "preaching to the choir" 49:33 — FOMO, school videography, and the media gap 60:00 — Inside race day: course design and what makes it fair for everyone 62:35 — Bloemendal, rivalries, and the riders to watch this season 69:32 — How a school joins Western Cape Schools Cycling 71:22 — How host venues get chosen 74:40 — Closing thoughts and the road to Nationals # === LISTEN ON THE GO =========================== Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5GselFmeym7YgYXtcyPUXU Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-hobo/id1846864699 # === FOLLOW ACTIVE HOBO ========================= Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@activehobo?sub_confirmation=1 Website: https://activehobo.com/ Instagram: @theactivehobo Strava: https://strava.app.link/ciVbx92FJ2b # === THE CREW =================================== Dave @davlewjenkins # === MORE FROM ACTIVE HOBO ====================== Latest episode: https://youtu.be/VRIeP2JYf5U Full podcast playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc2XIoaiAXafwoZykJM-jg6HnrLkWlJXH Related episode: https://youtu.be/lGfvanjllXY 🔗 Scicon Sports SA — Premium eyewear and luggage for cyclists who take their kit seriously. https://theactivehobo.short.gy/sciconsports-discount # === WORK WITH US =============================== Sponsorships & collabs: david@activehobo.com Send a question for the show: noah@activehobo.com #ActiveHobo #CyclingPodcast #SouthAfricanCycling