AmaBookaBooka: A Trail-Blazing Book

ON YOUR BIKE is a guide to mountain biking written by the Whitfield brothers ... Chris and Tim. Tim is on his bike so we brought Chris into the AmaBookaBooka studio. Chris, the former editor of the Cape Times and Cape Argus, is not only an accomplished mountain biker with four Cape Epic finisher T-shirts hanging in his cupboard, he is also the chairperson of the wildly popular LOPP mountain biking club. LOPP stands for the Legends of Plum Pudding and was formed by a gang of hairy-legged, pun-wielding journalists.

Chris gives listeners an insight into the types of riders they are likely to encounter on the mountain: from the “trail dude” to the “trial dud” to the “dilly-dallyer”.

And while he is not a Mamil (he would never shave his legs or be caught dead in Lycra), he is a member of the tribe of Wombats – Wild Old Men in Baggies and Trendy Socks. He lists the lowdown on the difference between roadies and mountain bikers and explains why business executives are swapping their four irons for two wheels.

As a political journalist, Chris documented the transition from apartheid to democracy. He says dealing with apartheid bullies like Louis le Grange and PW Botha was much worse than riding even the most brutal of brutal stages of the gruelling Cape Epic. In fact, he says 120 back-breaking, leg-thumping, eye-throbbing killer-metres is a breeze compared to five minutes with Die Groot Krokodil.

ON YOUR BIKE will help new riders turn their weekend-warrior dreams into reality with tips on cool trails, events and advice on everything from equipment and safety to mountain bike lingo and fashion. It also details the best trails in the country.

During this week’s Self-Publishing Corner, Dave Henderson discusses the best online publishers that authors can leverage to sell their books. Interested in self-publishing? Visit the MYeBook.co.za website for regular news. DM