Adriandup

This is not safe the way you want to do it. Added to what other people have said, Mbekeni I won't even ride past in the day. Rest of Paarl.......drunk drivers, unroadworthy vehicles, terrible roadworks past Boscenmeer, R44 speeds & Paarl Mountain on the southern side is extremely rutted. If you want to do a 12 hour, why don't you ride out at 5am & roll in at 5pm? Route I would take is graveling Paarl thru to Gouda, tar bypass Tulbach then right at the bottom of Michelles Pass towards Worcester. Right onto Bainskloof then back toward Paarl. Should give about 140km. Then do it again, or reverse it. If you need to add in some hours, ride around Paarl Mountain can be anything between 1 & 2 hours extra depending on your loop.

https://paarltrails.com/

Not sure of your time frame or logistics available but you may want to look at training/riding on the Paarl Trails since 3 of the Epic days are out here. New trails have recently been opened on the network & its brutal but very rewarding when you wipe the blood from your eyes. Day permit is R100. I'm happy to show you around but will be slow as I mostly hibernate in winter

You will get more benefit from taking on a coach for the next 3 months than you will get from buying the bells & whistles........for now. & it will cost less. Put the savings aside, save some more & do proper research on tri-bikes vs TT bike geometries etc. Take your time & the right bike will come along. Add +-R 1000 to your budget for a bike fit. I speak from the experience of making all the wrong decisions before making better ones.

'So with the yellow sale on now, can you get further off'.... Yes. You get the 'sports equipment' discount & then a further discount if you use discovery miles to pay. I did it last year. From memory I paid in R 50 for a pair of trail shoes

Have you checked Thyroid? sounds similar to somebody else I know. Don't know if its scientifically proven but doc at the time said they were seeing more cases of early onset thyroid issues iin cases post covid+

Hi Lorre13. I think I can add some value here but open to correction on my comments 1. Sir Lowrys Pass - N2 (National Road) - no cycles allowed. I think guys do ride it but with cars & trucks coming past at 80-120km an hour...takes the fun out of cycling for me. My preference would be coastal road out & back from Gordons Bay to Hermanus. Hard shoulder all the way & I read somewhere that it goes through to Stanford but not sure. It wont feel like an out & back because the different perspective views. 2. 200k route - Botrivier to Villiersdorp is sand road not doable by road bike. You would need to hop on N2 for a short while & come back towards Villiersdorp that way. No hard shoulder on that road & last time I drove it was not great with blind rises & corners & just general disrepair of the road. I cant believe I used to cycle on those roads...Villiersdorp to top of Franshoek pass is ok, but if its harvesting time there are a load of trucks that drive that road. It is narrow & I consider it not worth the risk. Would be the same issue if you thinking of the Grabouw link to Villiersdorp. 45k - Seems good but I don't ride out that way 110k - Nice 60k - The 2 link roads to Paarl on the Franschoek side are not great. R45 is awful on the road (no hard shoulder & speeding cars). The R 301 is ok but there is now roadworks from Val de Vie into Paarl which makes it a bit tatty. Better route here would be over Helshoogte to Franschoek & back. Other roads/Routes worth looking at (I ride out of Paarl): R44 towards Paarl - Hard shoulder all the way. Long Ride - Stellenbosch (R44)-Wellington-Hermon (bypass)-Wolesley-Bainskloof-Paarl (R44)-Stellenbosch. This gives me 140km. Can add in another 20 by doing the pass into Ceres and then back track to Wolesley....= my favorite road route Ive ever ridden. Hard shoulder all the way except for over Bains but never had a issue. Long ride 2 - Stellenbosch (Think its R101..beware Kayamandi) all the way through to Malmsbury - Riebeeckkasteel - Hermon- Wellington - Stellenbosch (R44)....Can also shorten it and straight back to Paarl via R45.........There are 4 loops that I use within this loop depending on distances Im riding. All have big hard shoulders. Im afraid I cant help with GPX/Strava files cause im IT inept, but you welcome to DM me & I can show you around depending on schedules.

I was there 3 weeks ago. It is still legally closed to all. Spoke to the lady at Tweede Tol StopnGo & she said cyclists ignored & went through . It gets her into trouble & there is the issue of if something goes wrong, who bears the cost of a medivac etc. I just rode back the way I came & waiting patiently for June when it should be open. If you are looking to head out somewhere different, R45** (I think) has a hard shoulder from Paarl (past Hermon & Tulbach) all the way out Ceres & back. It is a brilliant ride that includes Michaels** Pass into Ceres. Better to do on a Sunday as less trucks.

They changed the direction a couple of months ago. They take you down this section now but be careful as not everybody aware of the change. Not quite sure how they take you up now but we drop down then hook across Spice Route, Fairview, Diamant into Coleraigne (Specialised Store). IMO definitely great reward for effort. Don't forget the day rate is R100 unless you have an annual board. Happy to show anybody around once I get the chance to replace my cassette.

It’s a longish post. Pls read till the end. It’s been a tough week for sure. On Wednesday we flew up to Jhb to say goodbye to my friend Andre Piehl. There is so much justifiable rage regarding this & other cycling tragedies that have happened in the last few weeks that I have stayed away from both mainstream & social media for my own emotional wellbeing. On that tragic day, Andre & Jean were sadly in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are hundreds of ‘what ifs’ that would have changed the course of events that unfolded and the ending would have been a coffee, a wave goodbye & spending the rest of the day with the family……..it was not to be. I am so angry I feel nauseous. I want the person who did this to pay full consequences for his actions & hopefully full justice will be served. I actually came here to write the passage below in the hope that if it can prevent even one death, it has served its purpose. My dream is that nobody will have to go through what Andre’s family & friends are going through: Andre was the safest rider that I ever rode with. He obeyed the written & unwritten rules of the road without fail. Stopped at red lights & stop streets. Cycled single file unless it was 100% safe to ride 2 abreast, wouldn’t allow half wheeling (but that was probably because we couldn’t keep up 😊) and always thanked a driver with a little hand wave when they gave us space and patience. He set an example of how we should ride our bikes. He understood that our actions & reactions may have consequence for cyclists down the road. Good and bad. I’m sure there will be memorial rides heading out in time, but a permanent tribute to Andre will be to follow his example & hold ourselves accountable, all the time, on the roads whether we are in a car or on a bike. Set a good example for others to follow that we can all be as safe as we can when we go out live our childhood freedom of being on a bike. We may be competitors in our different kits, but we are all part of Team Cycling. We have a responsibility to our fellow ‘team members’ to do what we can to keep each other as safe as possible.

Yesterday morning my friend was ripped from our lives. It feels like a piece of my heart has been cut out with a bread knife. The part that remains is shattered into a million pieces for a wife that has been widowed, 2 young teenage children who have lost a father, a mother who has lost a son, & brothers that will never get to see their brother again. I am beyond heartbroken. Ride in Peace my friend

I might be able to help if you havn't come right. WA me on 0834382667

Tx. Will make it an out and back then bypassing Hermon

Off topic but related to iconic passes. Is Bainskloof not allowing cyclists up & over at all? I would like to head out from Paarl via Tulbach out, & route back over Bains if possible.

Related: Am I able to upload a Strava workout on an Apple watch to an Android phone (via the strava app)?

My neighbors Scott (stolen a few weeks ago) has been spotted on Gumtree. Hub sleuths pls advise best way forward to retrieve? Post the link? (concerned the seller may be active here). Approach police in the area directly to to try and retrieve? Tx in advance for responses.

Some very nice ST trails, but can get dangerous on the right hand side if looking at the front of the Dam wall. Park at Hey Joe's Brewery 3km before town & head towards the mountain on the sand road. Not sure how good the markings are these days. Once you done, head back to Hey Joe's for for the recovery beer. You might bump into some cycling royalty there as well. Other routes to consider with a short drive..... Boschendal, Jonkershoek, Hero adventure trails (Paarl) & a bit further out is Wild Boar Trails in Wellington. Just for safety, in case of accident, always ride with somebody.

+1 for the R44. Avoid Jan van Riebeeck. Traffic is chaos. For the trails, check out Hero Adventure Trails. Annual fee for 2020 was R1000. Gets you access to Paarl Mt trails (Rhebokskoof, Spice route etc), Boschendal & Wild Boar trails in Wellington. Fee from 1 July to 31 December is R600

Had the same issue yesterday. You need to go the the bluetooth app settings & 'clear data'. Go back to garmin connect & link the unit. There is a you tube clip that takes you through step by step instructions if you cant find the actual app settings

Hi. Heard a rumour at the race yesterday that black route is open for riding again. Is this true?

Will Wild Boar trail be open to the public on Saturday?

This was by far the most amazing MTB event Ive done. The trails are amazing & technically challenging. The support crew, water points & co riders were all incredible. The absolute cherry on the cake was enjoying the race village with my wife and kids. Something that they wouldn't have full access to in other stage races. Thanks to all who helped me out with extra tubes & bombs on day 2. I punctured for the last time at about 32km which was hint enough to call it a day & take a short cut 5k jog home....and not even mad.

Has anybody got feedback how entertaining the weekend is for supporter spouse & kids? My wife is hesitant to join for the weekend as she feels it may be un-glorified baby sitting. Don't need a kiddy park, just other kids running around?

Any chance they have the same issue with the 2013/2014 Stumpjumper? This is exactly what happened to me & cracked the rear triangle.