The newly-announced Moon to Noon endurance race in Knysna will keep adventurous mountain bikers quite literally in the dark when they ride out at midnight on Friday, October 26.

Inset: A field limited to 300 adventurous riders will take part in the inaugural 170km Moon to Noon night race, which will take part in and around the scenic Knysna area (Photo: Knysna-Plett Herald)

In contrast to other long-distance events, which start in the day and finishes at night, the inaugural 170km race will set out under the stars and roll on into the early hours of Saturday morning.

“It’s all about seeing that there’s a different way to ride these events,” said race organiser Patric Mosterd of Garden Route Events, who is also the mastermind behind the Rocky Mountain Garden Route 300 and RE-CM Knysna 200 three-day stage races.

“The race is divided between dark and light, with a compulsory halfway stop at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains.

At 1 100 metres above sea level, riders would summit on a section of a hiking trail belonging to Garden Route National Park, said Mosterd.

“On the other side, there’s a 10km downhill, so we want everyone to be fresh and make sure that their brakes are working.”

Enter at www.gardenrouteevents.co.za until August 31.