Stephan

Thanks 117. I stay in Claremont in CPT southern suburbs, so decided not to start from home purely because of the safety risk of having to ride through the entire city before I get to more open roads closer to Stellenbosch side.

Specialized Epic, so a MTB xc bike. You should be more than fine on a Trek Supercaliber.

Haha. Sorry Willie. Thanks for the company going up Garcia pass. 🙂 (and well done on Atta this past weekend!)

So, I did the “reverse” Cross Cape in December, the week before Xmas, starting on a Saturday in Franschhoek and finishing the next Friday in George. Epic route. Stunning scenery. But a lot harder than what I thought it would be. Herewith some feedback for those thinking of doing it solo. Hope this is of value. Training What training? 😊 I didn’t train for this ride specifically, but I had done about 4000km in 2021 prior to December, which included a 3-day Cederberg Circuit and a couple multi day stage races in Q4, so I felt confident I would cope. Even with this base of riding, I got beaten up on a few days, so don’t attempt this if you are not fit and not used to spending looooooong hours in the saddle. I started wearing both my cycling shorts over each from day 4 to protect my rear end. Route planning I did very little route planning. I just followed the Cross Cape route all the way. I recreated the “reverse” Cross Cape route starting in Franschhoek ending in George by redrawing it on RidewithGPS online. Then I downloaded the route file and transferred it to my Garmin Edge 500. I had no issues and navigation was very easy. I installed the RidewithGPS and Komoot apps on my phone and transferred the same route to the app as a backup. Komoot allows free download of offline maps, which I did in case I found myself in an area with no cell phone signal. Day by Day Day 1: Franschhoek to Greyton (75.8km / 1078m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6398916310) Day 2: Greyton to Swellendam (113.5km / 1361m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6403248486) Day 3: Swellendam to Riversdale (97km / 1316m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6407468166) Day 4: Riversdale to Rooiberg Lodge (80km / 1266m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6410494204) Day 5: Rooiberg Lodge to Calitzdorp (45km / 912m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6415088576) Day 6: Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn (80km / 1252m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6419519698) Day 7: Oudtshoorn to George (66.7m / 866m) (https://www.strava.com/activities/6422603696) Accommodation I didn’t book any accommodation in advance. I had my route planned and knew more or less where I wanted to stop every day, so I would arrive at my end point and then find a hotel or guest house. The only exception was Rooiberg Lodge. I checked online the night before to make sure they had space, but I didn’t book. Kit On my bike I had a 14L Apidura saddle bag and a 7L Ortlieb handlebar bag. This is what went into them: Helmet, shoes, gloves, glasses 2 pairs socks 2 shorts/bib 2 shirts 1 base layer 1 sun sleeve 1 rain jacket 2 light weight sport shorts 2 light weight sport t-shirts 2 pair jocks 1 thermal top Slops Buff Travel towel Front and rear lights (small) + charger cord Spare cleat bolt, spare valve, spare tube, spare shifter cable 2 bombs + adapter 2 x 750ml Water bottles Chain lube Battery pack, 2 x two-point USB chargers and cables (for phone, watch & bike computer) 10 x small / medium cable ties 1 large adjustable yellow cable tie 1 roll gorilla tape, 1 roll insulation tape Pepper spray (fitted to top tube with industrial Velcro) Coghlan's Air Horn (https://www.driftersshop.co.za/products/coghlans-air-horn) (taped to handlebar so that I can press button with my thumb whilst riding) Credit card + R100 cash Matches Body wash Sea to Summit (emptied this into 50ml bottle which I got from Mambos) Washing powder Sea to Summit (50ml bottle from Mambos) Panado Lip ice Sunscreen stick Each night I washed my cycling kit from that day and used the clean one the next day. The two sets of light shorts and t-shirts were my plain clothes in the afternoons and evenings. Food For the mornings I had two Futurelife Drinking Meals, which consists of a pack with two sides separated by a seal. One side is filled with a food powder and the other purified water. By squeezing and popping the internal seal, the food and water mix to create a meal that you can drink. The nice thing about this is it doesn’t need refrigeration and it doesn’t go off. I found them in every Spar, OK, PnP along the way. https://futurelife.com/products/energize I stocked up every day in the larger towns with snacks to eat during the day. I made sure to have enough for at least two days’ supply, consisting of droëwors, energy bars, nuts. In the evening I ate at a restaurant in the town where I was sleeping. Safety & Tracking I installed the Life360 app and created a group for the ride to share my location with family and friends. It worked remarkably well. Tips and Lessons Learned General safety: On a trip like this you are alone a lot, literally in the middle of nowhere with the closest town or house many many kilometres away. Even so, I never felt unsafe. I would easily do this trip alone again. The only time I felt unsafe and vulnerable was passing through Genadendal on day 1 where I had two odd encounters with pedestrians on the road. One guy pulled out a sharpened screwdriver and pointed it at me, and a few hundred meters later a group of five youths tried to block me in the road. I sprinted away each time. I’m not suggesting Genadendal should be avoided, just pointing out my experience. Road safety: Over the 560 travelled I had three close encounters, each time it was a car coming from behind who passed very close. I can’t see how this risk can be mitigated further, just try to ride as far to the side as possible. One a few occasions I pulled completely off the road when I knew a car or truck was approaching from behind (you can hear them coming). Kit: Had no issues with my kit. Having only two 750ml water bottles turned out to be my biggest mistake. I ran out of water twice, so would strongly recommend that you carry an extra bottle or even better, take a Camelbak. I would also strongly consider a LifeStraw in case you are really in the dwang. That’s it. Happy riding.

I have a 2020 Spez Epic, also with a Rockshox rear shock. The shock came with a two year warranty and free servicing of the shock. When I bought my bike I was aware of the issues with the Brain 2.0, but I was under the impression these problems were fixed from 2020 onwards, so I thought the warranty would be a "nice to have", not a "need to have". In the two years since I got my bike, it's popped the seals three times, making this same squishy sound. It's been repaired three times, no questions asked, for free. My warranty will run out soon, and then I'll have to cough up R1.2k each time this happens. Looking at my track record, I'll have to spend this every seven to eight months. My question is, are other guys having the same issues? Can I replace my 2020 shock with something more reliable from newer Spez Epics?

I'm confused. 30 or 40?

On the website the half marathon profile infographic says the distance is 30km. I'm guessing this is a mistake and that it should be 40?

I thought Banhoek is only later in the series? I cant find the new race dates on their website. Can anyone share? Found it: https://trailseeker.co.za/mtb/events/

A friend of mine recently jumped on his road bike and heard a strange noise. Turns out his frame was cracked. This got me thinking, which part of a bike frame takes the most stress. I assume the weakest point will be the weld points, but of all the weld points on a bike frame, which ones are most under stress? I am guessing the top-tube to seat tube weld point, and down tube to BB weld point?

Thanks. I came from that side. Did Riverdale to Rooiberg Lodge, and then Rooiberg Lodge to Calitzdorp and today Calitzdorp to Oudshoorn via the route suggested by Arno (PA Cycles) above. I checked out the Cloete Pass option. Will do it next time I'm in the area. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks Arno!

Easy. Epic Evo. Enjoy!

To avoid confusion, I see people call it Robertson Pass as well. I've always known it as Robinson Pass. It's the road between Oudtshoorn and Mosselbay, the R328.

Thanks for the replies. I'm in Calitzdorp at the moment and need to get to either Mosselbay or George on Friday. Robinson Pass was one of the options I considered, but traffic safety was/is my concern. I'm going to skip it and rather go over Montagu Pass to George. Corrie, I did Swartberg twice last year, so will skip it this year, but I'll be back in 2022.

I'm thinking of doing Robinson Pass from Oudtshoorn side and down to Mosselbay. On Strava it looks like about 300 people have done this ride, which makes me think it's not the most popular ride? Is it safe?

Did Greyton to Swellendam today. I had the route on my Garmin, so navigation was easy. Never felt unsafe. Make sure you carry plenty of water. Refill options are few and far between. https://strava.app.link/xS58Tf5F7lb Tomorrow Swellendam to Riverdale..

I damn well hope these routes are safe, because I'm planning very similar rides next week, also solo. For other route options, look at the Overberg Meander route on Cape Cycle Routes website.

Oh no. So sorry to hear. RIP Lionel.

Go Kevin go! Go Kevin go! Go Kevin go! ????

Sjo, very nice route! I'm a bit miffed that prologue has been moved away from UCT from a spectator point of view, but for the riders this looks like an epic Epic. ????

Last comment 14hrs ago........and the Munga is on right now. What's happening folks? Is everyone too busy dot watching or something? ???? Looks like Kevin and Hansie are off to a good start. Go manne!

In two weeks time I should (hopefully) get to one full year of weekly goals achieved. Taking a fat chance.......does anyone know if there is any special reward for this? I'm not expecting anything, but I noticed this thread today and thought I would ask anyway.

I like this! But Tygerberg and Tokai not included? Would be awesome to have one pass which covers all the trails in the greater Cape Town area.

Where can we see the entry list?

Received a reply from organisers. Entries close Friday at 12:00.