Skubarra

As I have it De Villiers organised a concert in March headlined by Steve Hofmeyer that was marketed terribly and then got postponed to October because of lack of ticket sales. However the new date is very close to a similar concert organised by the Coleske brothers (feat Steve Hofmeyer) so the new date is a stuff up as well (and hence the commentary from the Coleskes) + he is owning a lot of people money now with the failed concert. I have some time for the guy because he is one of the few people attempting to organise proper road races in the country (like the Tour du Cap) but the vibe i have picked from his events in the past (other than him being prolific email spammer) is that he is also a cowboy that takes short-cuts and also not someone that is 100% honest in his dealings with clients, at some point these things catch up with you. Although he seems to be also the type of character who will always land on his feet while others are left to pay for the mess.

Not sure where George would fit into your route if you start in Swellendam and end in Stellenbosch. But the Outeniqua pass is a good alternative to Montagu Pass, not gravel but its a beautiful pass to ride on a bike. Also I see repairs on Montagu Pass is scheduled to start later this year, so depending on when your tour is taking place it might be fixed by then.

This ^ You will likely be faster on the gravel bike but the ride will be much harder on your body so you need to be used to ride that type of terrain on your gravel bike. Did it on a gravel bike in 2024, on the day we only saw 2 other teams on the starting line with gravel bikes so we certainly felt like fish out of the water before the start 🙈 For long sections we were pulling groups of mtb's, they couldn't go faster than us but we also struggled to drop them. Surprisingly for me the gravel bikes were faster through the water crossings, often we would look back after a crossing and the mtb's were 10 meters behind us pedalling like crazy to catch up. Through the reserve we were a bit slower on the rough terrain, up MAC & fangs I struggled because my gravel bike had limited gearing (something that I since fixed). The downhill after Bergplaas I was passed by a few mtb's but we caught them all again shortly after the downhill. On the day I felt we were faster on the gravel bikes than we would have been on mtbs, but overall not by as much as we would have liked (or relative to the beating our bodies took). So for me its still a bit of a toss-up, I don't see gravel bikes dominating the field anytime soon. Think most people will still opt for mtbs.

With respect if you are indeed "ahead" it cannot be based on the link you posted which sits very much on the fence with both sides arguments. I know its fight Friday and its important to win on the internet, but I for one can agree that its good practice to wear high-vis clothing and still acknowledge @Mamil's point that there are many cases distracted drivers will endanger you no matter what you are wearing. I have seen enough social media posts of cars that crashed into brightly coloured bollards to think that we might very well over-estimate the effectiveness of bright colours with regards to visibility.

The Cycle Tour Trust is not very consistent from year to year on how they apply their rules regarding official seeding events & other seeding events they use. However, the Durbie Dash IS an official seeding event (lots of red tape involved to get that little marketing blurb) and as it is within 6 months of the CTC in theory there shouldn't be a time penalty involved. It is true though that as the route is relatively easy the beta is probably going to count against you, so if you are hoping to go from B to A batch probably not the race that is going to do it for you. If you have a very bad seeding and just want a generally better seeding the beta is likely not going to make much of a difference. As an aside the Durbie Dash Gravel and MTB are also official seeding events - there the betas might be more helpful depending on how the seeding computer feels on the day.

There is a gravel road just west of the tar road to McGregor (turn-off shortly after you cross the Breede River), go on through McGregor past Lord's Wines and up the climb to the start of the Galgeberg mast climb - out and back that will give you 70km. Alternatively at McGregor turn east for more gravel options towards Bonnievale, and then come back via the R317 (tarred but quiet as Tomnik mentioned) Finally I get that you would want to avoid the busy R62, but as I recall for most of the stretch between Robertson & Ashton there are gravel / jeeptrack sections right next to the road so most of it you can avoid the main road if you choose to.

The last few kilometers to the finish of the Transbaviaans has always been the one big let down of the event for me, (although at least the current finish venue is a big upgrade on the mall) If the venue can handle the numbers I would have loved the event to finish at the Gamtoos Ferry Hotel nearby (like the Trans Elands), it will cut out the rubbish last few kilometers and still be close to Jeffreys.

My take is that if there were trails worth riding you would have found it with your google search - save yourself the frustration and explore the gravelling options and do trails again when you are back home...

When was that @ChrisF?

if you entered before end of June the fee was R1,750 which is still too expensive but at least a substantial discount on the current fee (and late fee of R2,700). Add fuel & accommodation & vehicle transfer you move in to stage race cost territory unless you can do it in a group.

Problem is once you get your Ratel you have to do another one to actually do the race with your black number board, otherwise what is the point 😁 But yes - Ratel is a proud achievement to tick off.

Terrible news, so unnecessary

Great event but stupid expensive so I have skipped some, but I have some unfinished business after the heat waves of 2022 and 2024 so will give it a go again next year

Glad there is finally ok weather, what do they say - even a broken clock is right twice a day.. 😋 No I'm chuffed for the organisers and those who have entries, very little wind as well so should be a good one after a cold start.

I am very concerned that I am agreeing with @IceCreamMan on something.... The lowball offers are shameless yes, but its not against the rules & and he is not breaking any laws. I don't think lowball offers are something that should or can be policed. If you don't like the offer - ignore and move on.

Why no try monthly subscriptions and see what works best for you, easy enough to cancel if it's not worth your while.

Didn't know there is a 145km gravel option, I can see myself making a plan to do this one next year together with a school holiday trip to the Kalahari

How much time do you need? you have almost a year....

I would say Big Mac and Rooiberg are similar climbs (and the descent after Bergplaas is similar to the Rooiberg downhill ). Big Mac somewhat trickier because of the broken jeep track cement sections you have to negotiate while climbing. The other TB climbs not comparable to Rooiberg

A bit of a hidden gem, but a great ride. Nice day trip to stop at McGregor in the morning, do the ride and have lunch there when you are back.

Agree 100% - putting bikes on a vehicle roof comes with its own set of challenges, but if your no 1 priority is to have a clean bike on gravel roads then this is easily the most convenient option imo

Concur with Chris - easiest way to keep dust off the bike on gravel roads is a roof rack

If the event is proceeding then I would also suggest Katy update the website

We went out on the tar road for about 20km(?) and turned left towards Laingsburg, the Magrieta Prinsloo road hits a dead-end at the Gamkapoort dam afaik.

Cycled that route in a group in 2019 (from PA to Laingsburg). Back then at least the whole route was publicly accessible, just a number of farmgates to open and close. Everything was rideable, no hike-a-bike. On route there is a guest farm called Rammetjieskraal a bit after Floriskraal dam(not on google maps, try facebook) which could be an option for a lunch stop if you organise ahead of time. For the rest not much civilization other than a few farm houses and no cell reception for most of the route so make sure you are self sufficient for the distance.