valen_tin

I finished the trip today. Overall great experience. I mainly sticked to the route as planned, except for taking the N2 from Riviersonderend to Caledon today at 5:40 (which was fine, little traffic, broad shoulders) instead of the gravel sections via Grayton. Temperatures and wind were picking up today so I had to speed things up. My highlights were Montagu pass, Klein Karoo, Swartberg pass including the section to Calitzdorp, and the hospitality of south african hosts. I even got breakfast at 5:00 once. I spent 5:30-6:45 hours cycling each day, so the stages were quite uniform. Had good winds on the long days and shitty winds on some of the shorter ones though. I felt save throughout the trip, except in Calitzdorp on Saturday, as there were lots of drunkards next to the liquor store on Main road... Would take my MTB hartdtail next time though. Rooiberg pass and the adjacent roads, as well as the roads from witsand to stilbaai were just much more bumpy than i thought the would be. European gravel roads are usually smoother 😉.

Thanks for the offer! Swellendam is near the end of my route. I'll send you a pm.

Hi all, I started my trip today and rode from Simondium (close to Stellenbosch/Franschhoek) to Napier. Thanks to road closures on franschhoek pass and van de stel pass, there was not much traffic. Gail blew quite hard, but rather from the south. The gravel roads around here are really awesome, but also quite bumpy, which killed my canyon garmin mount. In summary, a fantsatic day. My legs feel good despite the heat.. and offseason in germany. I'll not post here every day, but you can follow me on Strava, if interested. https://strava.app.link/2wuxsm4X9Gb Thanks again for your help!

I'll keep you posted!

I'm really happy to receive so many helpful comments! Thank you all! I included most comments, routes you sent me, and further information from the strava heat map and ridewithgps into my new route. In addition, I added some smaller villages and Swartberg pass. I'll also pack some extra water bottles and wider tyres. https://www.komoot.com/tour/1410697048?ref=&share_token=au4SjPIleZqt9TtIHfMWkIguPVBKY6yy5hyHJohhZX1jXXYYXB My current schedule looks like this: 13.02. Start - Botrivier - Napier (140km, 2000hm) 14.02. Napier - Breede - Witsand (109km, 1000hm) 15.02. Witsand - Stilbaai - Mossel Bay (172km, 1200hm) 16.02. Mossel Bay - George - Oudtshoorn (120km, 1500hm) 17.02. Oudtshoorn - Swartberg Pass - Calitzdorp (126km, 2500hm) 18.02. Calitzdorp- Van Wykersdorp - Riversdale (117km, 1700hm, bad surface) 19.02. Riversdale - Swellendam - Riviersonderend (167km, 2000hm) 20.02. Riviersonderend - Greyton - Start (142km, 1700hm) ..it will be super hard on some days . Looking forward.

Amazing, thank you! I'll consider your comments and check the routes on Strava.

A Gravel Bike with 40mm tyres. Tar roads are welcome

Dear cyclists, I'm planning a solo gravel bike packing trip around the western cape from 13.02. to 21.02. I'll take a taxi out of Cape Town to Franschhoek/Stellenbosch with my bike case to avoid the townships. From there, I'll do a round trip, following the cape route on my way back after Oudtshoorn, leaving my case and stuff at an AirBnB. I'm a decently trained cyclist with some ultra-cycling experience, so the endurance side of my trip should be fine. I also got a bivy satellite phone. However, I'm from Germany and concerned about my route choice and safety, as I don't know the area. I'm planning to stay mainly in AirBnBs overnight. If you are a local or know the area, would you be able to comment on my route? Does it include any sections that I should avoid? Are there any segments I should add? https://www.komoot.com/tour/1405614940?ref=&share_token=aw2Uo1yKOLhqZu2v8Z8v2xV52lx5pWtizc1k6JJw6n244ZofzI I'll add Prince Alberts pass from Oudsthoorn if my legs feel well. What about sleeping out in the open? Is that possible in remote locations? Would also be awesome if someone would want to join for a day or two! Thank you in advance and best regards, Valentin