Gravel Ride of the Week: South African Braai Ride
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Three South Africans, blue-sky weather, USA gravel roads and a braai. What a combination! One South African word perfectly captures the setting for the latest Gravel Ride of the Week... Lekker! Follow along in this blog post (and the video that goes with it) to learn the meaning of words like braai and lekker. If you've ever been curious to see what a gravel ride with a South African flavor looks like, then you don't need to search any further than this truly unique braai ride. Let's check it out!
The Braai Tradition
Before we get to the actual ride, it's worth highlighting a particular day on the South African calendar - September 24th. This public holiday in SA is officially known as Heritage Day, but many South Africans have made it a tradition to celebrate this day by having a braai. It’s sort of like the equivalent of Memorial Day in the US, a day to dust off the grill and celebrate the beginning of summer!
What is a braai you ask? Well, the simple answer is that it’s a barbeque (BBQ) or cookout. However, ask any South African and they'll be quick to point out that one key thing needs to be present for a BBQ to qualify as a braai, a fire! Yes, the meat must be cooked over charcoal or wood only. Propane just doesn't cut it when it comes to having a proper braai. Additionally, if you attend any South African braai, you’ll quickly learn that the fire is very much the social hub of the party. This is the place where everyone hangs out to chat or exchange all kinds of big-talk when it comes to analyzing their favorite rugby team's latest performance. While South Africa is indeed a vastly diverse country filled with a variety of cultures and traditions, the braai is certainly something that unites so many of its citizens.
To honor the tradition of having a braai on September 24th, I set out on a truly unique gravel ride, together with two of my South African expat friends, Henning and John. While I’ve had my fair share of coffee or sandwich breaks at cafes along a cycling route, I can’t say that I’ve ever had a cookout mid-ride. This was certainly a special occasion and with this blog post and video, I’m sharing a few of the stand-out moments from the day.
The Ride
The first step in the process was finding a location in which grilling is permissible that was also accessible by bike, with gravel nearby. After initially considering the picnic spots along the C&O Canal towpath, we ended up picking the Silver Lake Regional Park near Haymarket as the destination for our braai ride. The availability of permanent grills and restrooms at this venue made it the perfect spot. This park is also perfectly located near some of the best gravel roads in Northern Virginia, with the famous Bull Run Mountain Rd gravel climb situated only a few miles from the park.
Step two was to make sure that we could transport all the required braai supplies with us on the bike. As mentioned earlier, the first and most important requirement was to have some charcoal with us to make a fire. I relied on my trusty bikepacking bag, the Revelate Designs Spinelock bag, to carry the load. There was still plenty of room left in the bag to fit a small cooler box that contained my meat and an ice brick. A few small paper plates also managed to squeeze into the saddle bag. To light the fire, we needed some fire lighters and some matches, all of which I carried in my handlebar bag. I also carried some tongs, cutlery, napkins and grill cleaning supplies in this super handy bag. I could even add some yummy traditional South African snacks into the bar bag, but more about that later. Both Henning and John opted to carry their meat and braai supplies in riding backpacks.
The Meat & Other Braai Snacks
The fire by itself doesn’t mean anything if there isn’t any meat to grill. One thing to know about South Africans is that they really love their meat. It’s not uncommon to attend a braai where the large majority of the food available is only meat. To make sure that I upheld the SA tradition, I carried both a Delmonico and porterhouse steak in my saddle bag’s cooler box, from a local farmer utilizing grass fed practices. I ended up only grilling the Delmonico steak on the day. Like a true South African, I was over-prepared with way too much meat.
Henning had a strip steak in his bag and John brought along some pre-spiced lamb shoulder chops. Spices are very much a key ingredient when it comes to having a braai and you’ll often see how each person at a braai uses a very particular method of seasoning their meat. I asked John about the spices that he used, and it was a welcome surprise to hear that he made use of a product that was imported from SA - Robertson Spices. Only a true South African, passionate about their meat’s taste, will go to this extent to source the perfect spices from the other side of the world. Henning was also stocked up with some special spices that were brought to the US from South Africa. Henning’s braai spices came with a very creative name, the “Funky Ouma”, which translates to the Funky Grandma. It surely felt like a day in SA, given all the South African products around.
Another truly South African meat product that was brought along on this ride was Biltong. This unique meat snack is never far out-of-reach when it comes to a South African gathering. Attend any rugby viewing party and biltong will most certainly be the primary snack choice. We made a post to introduce biltong on this blog a few years ago after discovering that this South African product was produced here in the US. A South African family (with a member of whom shares a variation of my name, Wian) started the Ayoba company in Northern Virginia, by using the traditional South African recipe. It’s a great feeling to know that this product, which gives me a taste of home, is readily available in a nearby Whole Foods or online!
So, what is biltong? It’s kind of like jerky, but also completely different. The method used to make this snack involves the correct spices and an air-drying process. I think Ayoba’s website sums up the difference between jerky and biltong perfectly:
“Imagine telling the Iron Chef that you want your steak overcooked and soaked in teriyaki, that's jerky. Instead, like a steakhouse favorite, Ayoba Biltong is an easy chew with bold beef flavor. It's Grass Fed Beef, seasoned with natural spices, that's it”.
Simply put, you’ll have to try it for yourself. This protein snack is also perfect for endurance cyclists, since it contains a good dose of sodium that can be lost through sweat while exercising.
If you’re curious to learn more about the traditions that go with the South African braai and the methods used to prepare meat on the fire, then check out the Jan Braai cookbook. You might also enjoy The Classic South African Cookbook that contains tons of great South African recipes that aren’t purely related to meat. I’m also very proud to say that Christin was the talented photographer who took most of the pictures that you’ll find throughout this cookbook.
South African Slang
When you put three South Africans together, you’re sure to hear some truly unique words. In the video, you’ll hear loads of fun exchanges of various South African slang terms, but there is one word in particular that has to be highlighted in this blog post ... Lekker! South Africans use this word a lot. It’s such a fun word to say and can easily be used in just about any context. If you need an adjective to describe something that is fun, enjoyable, pleasant or delicious, then chances are that lekker will fit perfectly into the sentence. Bike rides are lekker. Blue-sky weather is lekker and having a braai is lekker.
A Gravel Ride to Remember
This Gravel Ride of the Week brought together so many lekker things - great friends, incredible weather, awesome gravel roads and a braai. Does it get any better? I’m extremely thankful to Henning and John for joining me for this unique experience. Now that we know it’s possible, we’ll have to make a braai ride a more frequent event. Maybe even have a Mountain Road group braai ride. Who’s in?
- Wiehan
