Mr Legs

And some more of Hermanus

A few days ago I did a trip through Hermanus: Fernkloof and then along the trail to the edge of town near the Kleinrivier lagoon and then I explored the abandoned caravan park

This ride was so much fun that I can only assume it must have been illegal

I went up Rotary Drive above Hermanus a day or two ago, lovely view and also beautiful fynbos. Pity about the fire on New Years day (started after 11 pm on the 31 st, so one can wonder about the flares and the chinese lanterns). Fortunately the water chopper managed to stop the flames.

This past Saturday I saw about 5 or 6 cyclists on mountain bikes on the Stanford to Gansbaai road. It was raining at the time and being weekend just before Christmas, the roads were fairly busy. But this group of airheads were happily cycling on the tar (narrow road, no shoulder) while there is a perfectly rideable gravel verge two feet to their left. I am always amazed to see people on mtb's cycling on tar when there is an imminently (gr and sp?) rideable gravel option. The cyclist who made up the tail of this party was about 2 meters from the edge of the tar and was struggling to keep a straight line. Another option for roadies is to go up the Hemel & Aarde Valley, they are/were busy tarring the road up to Shaw's Pass, but the construction co went belly up and the work is not completed but you can add a good few km's including a nice steep climb on the tar. If you are on a mtb you can add a lot more kilo's by going east at the foot of Shaw's, lots of rolling hills and a lekke area to explore.

I did the Onrus Karwyderskraal Hemel and Aarde loop this morning

I did it by car about a week ago. The pass just above Villiersdorp is narrow and twisty with no shoulder. Then there is another 10+km without a shoulder before it widens with a proper yellow line. I doubt if I would do it on a road bike, on a MTB perhaps, then I can go off road if I deem the risk too high.

Occultdale Rd this morning, now with a new tickey box, so we can leave the cell phones

Strange that you mention sharks. The son of a friend of a friend was killed by a shark at Kogel Bay, a popular surfing spot along the route. The council now employs shark watchers to warn surfers and when I drove past there today, I took this picture.

I did the route from Kleinmond in my car this afternoon (yes it is useless info, but it what I saw confirmed my views) and I have cycled the route from Stellenbosch to Onrus earlier this year. The Gordons Bay Rooiels section, Clarence Drive was OK. There is more space for cyclists on the mountain side than on the sea side, the mountain side has a wider yellow line section, so if you have a choice go Gordons Bay Kleinmond and not the other way. It still is narrow and there always is a risk when you drive in traffic, but I will do it again. From Kleinmond along the R 44 is a yellow line and a shoulder. The R 43 (Botriver to Hermanus also have a yellow line and shoulder and you will see many cyclists during the holidays. From the entrance to Fisherhaven there is a foot path / single track all the way to Onrus, it runs to the west of the R 43. Lekker to ride. Then I have also done the Hermanus to Stanford section on more than one occasion. There is no shoulder and I ride on the gravel verge. Again there is a risk of harm, there always is, but your stars would have to be seriously out of line. If you want to do low risk rides in the Hermanus area, do the single tracks in Hemel & Aarde, get info and permits at the cycle shop at the entrance to the valley at Sandbaai. Ignore the strange attitude of the staff there. (Yes I hope the fools read this, friendliness costs nothing and might just bring more return business). But talking of risk and fools: I broke my thumb on that single track.

Odendaal be(for)e breakfast this morning

Yes, that is the Galg, an old unfinished pass at the McGregor side of the valley. The intention was that the pass would go all the way to Greyton, but the contractor disappeared / money run out and only a small section was built. You can see by the debris / rocks on the right hand side below the road, that they did not use environmentally friendly construction methods. At the top on the right is a sort of a plateau and the road to the towers starts there and ends up to the left and high above the old pass.

Great, it is really cool to see the gradient etc. With regard to the view at the top, in a previous post post I used the word breathtaking. This is one spot where the expression is literally true. Apart from the view into the valley below, you can also see four towns, Robertson, Ashton, McGregor and Bonnivale (I think, not sure).

Hi BG My trip was about 15 years ago, low tech days it was. I might have had a speedometer on the bike, but not much else. Gradient was steep, at times I was in granny, but I weigh 95, so I am not the worlds' fastest climber. I started on the farm and that is a few hundred meters above the valley floor. Why don't you see what info you can gather from Google earth?

I did it years ago, we where staying at Whipstock Farm for a weekend jol. I was the only cyclist in the group and did a solo trip up on the Saturday afternoon when the rest of the group were taking naps. I do remember suffering from lower back pain at the time due to the continuous uphill (I have since sorted that problem out with lots of situps). It was something like 1h20 min up, maybe longer and 15 min down. It was pre strava days, perhaps also pre cell phone camera days. So no stats or pictures, only my word The real highlight is at the top : a breathtaking view down into the valley, the Boosmanskloof or Boesmanskloof, the Greyton McGregor hiking trail runs along this valley. This hike is also a must do, by the way.

And here are some more of Spes Bona this morning. I need to do another route to get some different images.

Here are a few from this morning on Spes Bona:

I haven't posted in this thread for a long time. I have been doing the Spes Bona loop about 3 or 4 times a week in the morning before work for the past few weeks in an effort to get back on the bike and loose some kilo's.

Duomo Milan in the background

No it does not, as weird as it may sound.

Yip, the pontoon or the "pont" in Afrikaans. For many many years it was pulled by the legendary Moxy Dunn. Cyclists cross for free, bakkies etc are R 45.00

The Strand, Western Cape.

On day 4 we crossed the Breede at Malgas, had a refreshment stop at Duivenhoksrivier, diced a donkey cart at Vermaaklikheid and slept over at Blombos, high above the sea.

On day three we saw some rolling hills and did some laundry

And then the next day to Elim and Black Oystercatcher