- Active Topics
- Forums
- Create Topic
-
Kudos to you for the ride, and thank you for sharing the blog. Really enjoyed reading it, and inspired me to do something similar!
You guys are spoilt for choice down there. Enjoy!
Had the privilege to do some fab riding in the southern part of the Western Cape. Made a quick vid and tried the hand at a write-up: https://marras5.wixsite.com/website/post/cape-cycle-routes-karoo-crossing-and-then-some
Cheers
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5DkyIPDhL5/
this is the hub after all and its nearly Friday, sound on :
Ja no lekker fine bruuuu Thanks for the heads-up. Each to his own but I'd rather give that jol a wide berth. Obviously no shortage of aaptwak and twitchy shoulder doepa out there. The cold beer does sound tempting though.
On a different note, sounds like you had some interesting times in the region - thanks for sharing.
And to think I was willing to wing this one without consulting with you streetwise slicks. Sage advice not be ignored - thanks gents.
...I can confirm that Old Postal Route is indeed CLOSED, until further notice - it crosses a few 'private land' sections, and discussions/negotiations are ongoing about how to reopen it to riders (motorcyclists, etc) in the future.
Will spell out it is closed to ALL traffic, not just 'noisy' traffic....
Negotiations are fairly delicate - so NOT pissing off anyone on a demarcated, CLOSED route would help things, going forward.
Cheers
Chris
Thanks for confirming. I GOT it
If you have the legs, head up toward Middelpos, then you can enter the park from the NW. the views from the Gannaga Pass are quite amazing. If you exit the park @Afrikaburn and are able to find the path along the E-W river that heads towards Wupperthal, you'll be in luck - I glanced at the satellite image and it seems there's a road along the river. Have a look at the Strava heatmap and you'll see a few pretty well-ridden tracks. I'm not sure what it'll mean if/when you get there, but better than nothing.
I'm not sure what the road conditions are like, but when I was last in Tankwa, it was brutally corrugated. Having no gates, all manner of traffic uses those roads in the park
EDIT - I see it's closed. Well, a bit of Stravanalysis was fun. thanks for that.
That was my 1st option to Wupperthal via the Tra-Tra river...but the track runs out to the east. Usually there’s a reason for it so I’ll skip that idea. With Postal route out of the game that whole section bummed in any way. Thanks for the advice on Middelpos, might just head that way round, Gannaga sounds worth the effort. Cheers
Planning a bikepacking trip that would include a leg between Sutherland and Wupperthal. Around March/April’21.
Tried phoning and sending mails to to Tankwa NP without success and not much info on Google. Two questions for those in the know:
SANPARK website advises:No hiking or bicycling trails currently exist within the Park. However, overnight visitors are allowed to make use of marked roads within the immediate vicinity of their booked facility. No walking or bicycling is allowed in the rest of the Park"
Above pretty much spells it out, but if I'm booked somewhere in the park, will they allow me into the park on the bicycle? Plan to enter from Sutherland at southern entrance, then head to Roodewerf office – cruise through to exit at AfricaBurn. (Will overnight somewhere to appease the bicycle use requirement)
Should the Park be a no-no, any suggestions for a nice route towards the Cederburg via Oubergpass?
Second. To get from Tankwa NP to Wupperthal I’d like to do the Old Postal Route. I read somewhere that the farmers closed the track due motorcyclist / 4x4’s making a mess of things. Any truth to this? And if so, anyone know how to arrange transit?
After above doing the Cederberg circuit and then on to the coast etc.
Any other info on the area would be nice too – haven’t visited area since early childhood. Much appreciate any help.
Well done T. I’ll keep an eye out to join in future. Nice route and support. Brilliant.
Air travel and asociated air pressure can mess with sealed units such as hydraulic brakes. On my recent bike relocation the front brakes were poked. I suspect that there was some air in the system / not topped up properly. Wish I brought with only a small bit of miniral oil to get the brakes going again, so ad that to your list if you wish. (Obviously with basic tools to bleed & topup)
Furthermore I deflate my shocks a bit, once again for fear of pressure loss/increase. Don't think it critical but if you go that way obviously you'll need to take with a shock pump.
In case you need to re-seat tyres, a Schrader adapter. (You sure to find a compressor somewhere in the sticks)
Also if you have some spare space.....you will meet locals on your cycles there. Some spare tubes, patch kits etc to dish out on the odd ocasion. A little goodwill goes a long way in a foreign country.
Emirates work on either a 'weight' or 'piece' concept.Just a little off topic here but I'm gonna be flying emirates soon. Wrt the 2X23kg, can you make up the 46Kg limit with more than 2 bags? I might have 3 or 4 bag with me but they're smaller bags and they wont weigh 23kg each.
Above depends on where your itinerary commences. So be carefull. Also, airlines such as EK and Qatar have different allowed weights depending on where your flight commenced from. For instance, on Qatar if you book economy from Doha to Johannesburg and back, you will only get 30kg on both legs versus 45kg if you commenced in Johannesburg. (And then the 45kg only valid for the leg from Johannesburg to Doha)
Refer to attached screen print from Emirates website. Suggest you visit the site as there's some additional info too. if you fly out of Africa two pieces seems to be the limit. Then again......simply wrapping two pieces together with protective film will make them one, as long as they don't weight more than 23kg in total.
Any ideas if collapsible Trail Building kits are available locally? Example Trail Boss USA.
I'd prefer to support local before looking further afield.
Rig needs to be collapsible for airline transport and ease of field-carry in backpack etc.
Cheers
Another little shocker warning for my fellow expat Hubbers:
Be wary of airlines with the extra baggage allowance when "traveling from Africa"
I am booked on a return flight from the Sandpit to SA. The first leg stated 30kg which I accepted as correct, but the return leg also quoted 30kg which I accepted as a typo of sorts. When queried the 'wrong' weight on the return ticket I was advised that I'm only entitled to 30kg as the bookings first point of origin is not SA and thus only entitles me to 30kg, including the leg in which I'd be "traveling from Africa"
Admittedly, had I read further on I would have discovered this sneaky little technicality and could have made two separate bookings at basically the same price in order to get the 45kg on the African departure leg.
I'll probably be able to get it sorted with copious amounts of groveling, but yet another example of the hidden pitfalls common folk like myself are subjected to.
Oh well, can't make folks understand what they can't read!
Still hope your right, but will need to be proven wrong 1st.
Thanks so much for this report!!!!
We were looking at booking with this carrier as we are part of the SA Track team that is going to ride the World Track Champs in Manchester. As you pointed out especially with the 23kg + 23kg offer they have Emirates looked like a very good prospect!
Once again thanks for warning us.
I have sent Qatar airways a detailed request to confirm their policy. Which would apear to be as follows:
"The way I interpret your baggage allowance is that I am allowed more than one piece of checked baggage, as long as each individual piece of baggage does not exceed:
300cm size per bag,
32kg weight per bag,
All bags together maximum weight of 45kg"
I'm waiting with baited breath for a confirmation.
Will provide feedback on here once received.
Posted this a couple of pages back, but it's directly off the Emirates web site.
Notice that it says any sporting equipment LARGER than 300 cm in total will not be accepted as checked baggage. Nowhere does it say anything about 150 cm.
Baggage allowances for sports equipment
All sporting equipment including golf equipment, bicycles and ski equipment
Emirates will accept sporting equipment as checked baggage and part of your standard baggage allowance.
Weight Concept
For tickets issued on or after 15th November 2014, Individual items with total dimensions exceeding 300cm (118 inches) cannot be transported as checked baggage, and must be sent as cargo or freight. There are no exceptions to this rule.
For tickets issued prior to 15th November 2014 items beyond 300cm (118 inches) and up to 400cm (157 inches) in length may be accepted in exceptional cases. Please contact your local Emirates office for details at least seven working days prior to travelling with such items. Items exceeding this limit must be referred to Emirates SkyCargo. If the free baggage allowance is exceeded, normal excess charges apply.
Yes but you are going to PAY extra for anything larger than 150cm. So if you're a high roller go ahead.
This is not what Emirate's web site gives. So, unless Emirates have not updated their site, you are wrong!
If you are correct, someone should tell Emirates to update their site!
Sent from my IdeaTab S6000-H using Tapatalk
Wish you were correct. But just had a look at the Emirates site again. It's confusing with various references, but the way I read it still confirms that anything bigger than 150cm will cost extra. You are allowed up to 300cm as checked baggage, but once again, it will cost extra. Check attachments. 
No your TOTAL weight must not exceed 45kg.
Your boxed bike won't weigh 32kg. The 32kg limit is to due with health & safety. Not unless you have a hardshell case and a heavy bike. 45kg is a lot of baggage.
Ja thats what I meant: Suitcase weight equals 45kgs minus bikebox weight.
45kg a lot yes, but biltong is heavy Boet and where I cycle your bike needs armor plating 
Ja I'm in the same boat. My default choice has always been Emirates. I booked flights for my Fiance and I to Geneva in Sept last month. LUCKILY Qatar was the cheapest as I was unaware of the new Emirates rule.
The 300cm rule is length+height+width of your bike box.
Cool. So you have confirmation that multiple piece of luggage, EACH not exceeding 300cm, can be loaded? In other words I can load a bike box of max 32kgs / 300cm plus a regular suitcase (weighing 45kg - bike box weight) when traveling from Africa.
Ja that's if you EXCEED your 30kg limit.
The Standard limit is 30kg 300cm See below and look at flights out of Africa.
The way I interpret Qatar when traveling from Africa:
If you booked POST 18 April16 then you have a total weight allowance of 45kg.
Obviously you are allowed more than one piece of luggage due following statement:
"A single piece of checked baggage must not weigh more than 32kg (70lb). Any bags weighing more than 32kg (70lb) must be broken down such that each piece weighs less than 32kg"
What I cannot quite figure out is if the 300cm rule is per bag or combined size of all bags. I'll send em an email to try and confirm this and provide feedback.
Either way, my regular Emirates flight choice just gave way to Qatar.
To the OP. I tried my luck with a reputable leatherworks in Snorcity recently. My daughter would have done better with a piece of cow hide, pair of scissors and a pot of glue. I'll be shipping my saddle of to Velobrien rather. Thanks for the info Iwan and company.
Recently did the same for the same purpose. Some advice. If the bike included a rear derailleur, leave it on to use as chain guide if you want to try out a couple of ratios 1st. Doing this will avoid having to mess around with the chain length while experimenting. You probably need to fit a chain tensioner on that frame in any case, so if you don't have an old derailleur you can fit this so long. Ride ur regular route and experiment with different gears. However. Keep the following in mind to skip the teething lessons I had to learn. You can probably use any of the front chain rings. At the back you probably gonna end up using ss specific gears, as you might lose some chain wrap using a tensioner, slipage on regular gears might be an issue. SS specific gears have longer teeth and thus provides better grip. They are however pretty limited in size, i think around 14 smallest up to 20 odd. I therefore decided to use a 53 ring up front with a 18 at the back. This provides a 1/3 ratio which seems to be pretty much the baseline. Om my 15km return route i encounter a 3km hill ranging from 5 to 7 %. With these gears I make to the top with considerable effort, which is the whole idea for me as the bike needs to get my lazy bones stronger.
The SS purists will give the best advice etc. I endeavored to keep the project cheap and simple using whatever i had on hand. Outlay that you might expect can include:
I use a standard 9spd chain which is pretty cheap. (Half link chains an option and might exclude the use of a tensioner. I wont go that way as I'd prefer not messing with a just too tight chain that could hurt the wheel hub) Rear SS kit cost around R200. Simple tensioner like a On One Doofus R200 from Rapide. (They are noisy though and I will try a more expensive gusset type when i get round to it)
You might need shorter chain bolts up front. R100 should do for a set. Except for further SS pimping purposes you shouldn't need much more than that to get the wheels turning. I turned and old GT road bike into a SS and dropped more than 1.6kg on its original weight. Quite a sweet deal considering the expense. Also keep this weight loss in mind when U experiment with the gears, I makes a helluva diffs up the hills. Enjoy it!
Western Cape Bikepacking trip
in Routes & Trails
Posted
Cheers. Next time I'll knock on your door for a more glamorous ride. You picked a great spot to setup shop. Enjoy and keep well.