Active Hobo

David Jenkins

The Active Hobo is a community of storytellers on a mission to make meaning. We’re rooted in Westlake, Cape Town—part café, part studio, all heart. Drop by for a great flat white, stay to enjoy our shows, or book a session to capture your own story.

  1. 6h ago

    The Hidden Economy of a Stage Race - And Why It Matters | The Breakaway EP25

    Every rider who's done a stage race has seen it: the school kids handing out water, the local guy who's swept the same piece of singletrack all year so it's ready for you. James Beers joins The Breakaway to unpack what actually happens to the money you pay to enter a race — and why it matters more than most riders realise. This is a big one. James breaks down the real, direct link between event entry fees and rural community income in South Africa — school fees paid, local trail builders employed, families supported through a single race weekend. It's not corporate box-ticking. It's tangible, and it compounds year on year. We also get into the Giro d'Italia GC battle — Jonas Vingegaard's gearing, Tadej Pogačar's dominance, and what's coming in the next two weeks. Plus two big pieces of South African cycling news: performance coach Reece McDonald's move into the WorldTour pipeline with Q36.5 Pro Cycling, and Daryl Impey's new role as a Sport Director at Ineos Grenadiers for 2026. # === CHAPTERS =================================== 0:00 — Intro: Do Races Actually Help Communities? 2:05 — James Beers' Toyota Commercial Stunt Double Story 6:35 — The Philosophy of Riding When the Stoke Is High 15:10 — Cape Epic's UNCO Valley & the Beaded Bracelets 23:14 — Craig Wapnick, go2berg & Community-Powered Events 28:46 — Whose Job Is It to Fix the Trails? 43:48 — The Trail Pass: An Easy Lever Riders Ignore 49:14 — Giro d'Italia: Vingegaard's Gearing Under the Microscope 52:47 — Could Different Gearing Have Changed the Giro? 1:07:28 — Pinarello-Q36.5 & Reece McDonald's Move to the WorldTour Pipeline 1:08:06 — Daryl Impey Joins Ineos Grenadiers as Sport Director 1:14:18 — Wrap-Up & Thanks to James Beers # === 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

  2. 4d ago

    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

  3. Jul 9

    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

  4. Jul 6

    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

About

The Active Hobo is a community of storytellers on a mission to make meaning. We’re rooted in Westlake, Cape Town—part café, part studio, all heart. Drop by for a great flat white, stay to enjoy our shows, or book a session to capture your own story.

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