Anthem24

South African Citizens must provide proof of South African ID, South African Divers Licence, or South African Passport on arrival. This proof is accepted in original, electronic or certified paper copy. Also accepted to claim the South African rate are Foreign passports which have a valid visa/permit from home affairs to be in the country inserted onto one of the pages of the passport: Spousal / Work / Study / Retirement / Volunteer / Diplomatic visa. Also accepted is an electronic or certified paper copy. Alternatively proof of permanent residence as issued by home affairs, or a certified paper or electronic copy of any of above provided it is copy of the page of the passport indicating who you are and the visa. All South Africans over 18 years old will be required to provide proof of SA ID to qualify for the local rate. From: https://www.sanparks.org/travel/book/useful-information/rates-fees BUT come to think of it, if you're cycling in, you only pay the cycling activity permit as far as I'm aware

MASI -- I used to ride it regularly on my own on weekend mornings, moved away for a few years and heard of a few muggings there. Since I've been back, the poor state of the road, the number of pedestrians and the chaotic traffic has kept me away.

Definitely worth cycling to Cape Point and as many of the side roads as you want to do if you can find a relatively wind-free day, bearing in mind that Kalk Bay is very sheltered from the south-easter, and Cape Point is the windiest site in SA. Check out the wind before you go on Windguru Cape Point. Take your ID to get the SA discount, and a day permit for cycling will cost you R105 or a bit more for this year (I think they are cashless).

Road bike. Dodgy areas you should avoid for the mugging risk if you're on your own are circled in yellow on the map. For the Ocean View and Red Hill sites, you're probably ok on the downhill because you'll be on the opposite side of the road from the settlement/suburb and can outride people on foot, but maybe a a sitting duck on the uphill. Hout Bay is a concern along Main Road past Imizamo Yethu, but you can take Valley Road instead.

Does anyone know if Yves Kino's Youtube channel is real time? If it is, he is due to ride from Melkbos to the Waterfront today. He's going to need an escort over the dodgy bits...

The Marvel Cadent is listed as a hybrid bike, so apart from having a rigid fork, its tyres may not be as knobbly as the Titan's, and tyre rolling resistance can make a huge difference in the feel of the bike. Coil forks are not great, but many of us started on those! If it has a lockout, try using that on the climbs to see if you're losing power by bouncing up and down. Did anyone set the bike up for you?

I see an Instagram video from November with a guy on a gravel bike, so parts are do-able.

It's jeep track -- road or middelmannetjie -- all the way to Stoekoe bridge but the upper parts were very eroded in places, with dongas, rocks and sand. Perhaps they have kept up with repairs and maintenance, but a mtb would be better.

I should add that we used to ride in from Bettys Bay and then buy the permit at the offices -- someone here can hopefully say if that's still allowed.

Haven't ridden there for well over a decade, but the roads were always rocky in places. The map is here and it's straight forward enough to follow: https://www.capenature.co.za/uploads/files/Reserves/CapeNature-Kogelberg-2025.pdf "A moderate 22km ride along the jeep track through the Kogelberg Valley starts at the reserve office. The route should take between 2-4 hours. Please use sunscreen, protected riding gear and make sure you have plenty of water on the trail. Permits can be purchased from the reserve office. Please note mountain bikers must be wearing helmets at all times." The route from the N2 from the Eskom hydropower office was closed many years ago because mtbikers were rude to the farmer.

This would be 99% rural though -- the old line between Touws River and Ladismith is at least 140 km long. The municipalities would be the least of the problems, and would probably welcome any event that fills some beds. Would be interested to know if Anthony has ridden the route? Since the line was closed in 1981, there would have been many other washaways in more recent floods -- clear from following the line on Google Earth. There are adjacent roads in some parts but not all. Nice for an adventure tour.

Your first step, surely, would be to figure out the land ownership. If the land is still owned by Transnet, their permission would obviously be needed. If the railway line has been deproclaimed, the land may now be owned by a large number of local farmers, so that would involve a lot of negotiation. Unless you plan to follow public roads in the general vicinity of the line, and I imagine some of those form part of the Klein Karoo gravel corridor that Makadas Adventures developed.

You can download it as PDF, gpx, kmz etc here https://capecycleroutes.co.za/route/cross-cape-route Oh, broken links...

Sympathies for your injuries. I have a soft spot in my heart that inhibits my ability to do out-of-town events that require an overnight stay.

Binny Ridgeway is an experienced lady guide: https://www.ridgwayramblers.co.za/guides But another option would be to join one of the regular hiking groups as a guest (Uber there and pay a small fee for the hike e..g. R50), when they could meet more locals. For example: Westside Adventures https://www.facebook.com/p/Westside-Adventurers-Cape-Town-100090425354014/ Trails Club https://www.trailsclub.co.za/hike-with-us/#hiking-schedule Peninsula Ramblers https://ramblers.org.za/ Meridian https://www.meridian-hiking.org.za/ The last three often older folk though. Moving around Cape Town can be difficult on the day of the CT Cycle Tour, depending where you're staying.

Trailforks website is free and will show you difficulty, popularity etc for most trails in the greater Cape Town area. This is the popularity of Tygerberg trails. Since it's based on the last 9 months, results may have been affected by trail closures during winter.

Not sure about gravel riding but there's some very tame mtb 'family' trails that could be done on a gravel bike, and there are a few night rides organised, which would make them more fun: i.e. a night ride on 20 December at Norm-Hudlin Trails (see their Facebook page), and a Crit-X every Thursday organised by fattracksmtb (see their Instagram). Don't do Baakens Valley alone. Maybe someone can advise on Longmore Forest/3RiversTrails.

Well now that you've put it here, it's probably less safe for your and other people's bikes! Usually when we ride to the dam for a swim, we keep close by and keep an eye out. I wouldn't leave it there and go running, personally.

Well you have to pick your day, but False Bay is generally windier than that side in the afternoon, at least in summer. Right now, here's Windguru for Muizenberg and Melkbos today

For possibly less windy sunset rides (and where you can actually see the sun set!) perhaps drive to Milnerton Lighthouse and ride to Melkbos and back, or Camps Bay to top of Chappies? From Wynberg, it's safer to ride Spaanschemat Rd, which has a bike lane, rather than Main Rd.

I would think that riding Main Road from Wynberg has a pretty high mugging risk for both early mornings or late evenings until you get to about The Toad. Sunset is only at 7:30 pm so you have three hours. More traffic in the evening but probably safer from a mugging perspective. Obviously the wind is usually blowing harder along the coast in the afternoons too.

I think this may have been posted here already, but we should all try to comment on the City of Cape Town's draft cycling and walking strategy to highlight the safety aspects and encourage them to continue developing a decent cycling path network throughout the city. It's probably important for budget allocation. "Comment on the City’s draft Walking and Cycling Strategy We plan to adopt a new Walking and Cycling Strategy, and we want your input." Submit your comments from 14 November - 14 December 2024. Access the documents: Draft Strategy Executive Summary (English | Afrikaans | isiXhosa) All here: https://www.capetown.gov.za/City-Connect/Have-your-say/Issues-open-for-public-comment/draft-walking-and-cycling-strategy

For a trip of a few days that only happens once a year, you can make do with any bike you have. I keep my +20 year old aluminium 3x9 hardtail for these trips.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gravelcycling/comments/18g4kyt/bikepacking_on_carbon_bikes/ https://www.cyclingweekly.com/products/carbon-vs-steel-for-bikepacking-which-frame-material-is-best-for-cycling-on-and-off-road-on-multi-day-adventures

Plus 1 for Spez 2FO -- I have the canvas version, which sheds dirt and dries superfast if it actually ever gets wet -- very water repellent too. Nice and wide, light compared to Leatt, and soles show no damage after a year's use. https://specializedbicyclesafrica.com/products/2fo-roost-flat-canvas-mtb-shoe-slt-40?variant=42809303990425