O R Thambo to Newcastle - Route suggestions

[New Landy new life]

I am considering surprising my wife and kids who left me behind in Cape Town to work this Christmas, by boxing my MTB and flying up the Jo'burg and then peddling down to NN.

 

Anyone know if this is feasible, as I don't know the roads leading from the airport out and if there are any dodgy areas leading out towards Natal via Standerton I think.  When I used Garmap and set to bicycle mode with avoid highways it points to Standerton and total distance just short of 300 km.

 

I am just going to take a small backpack with some clothes and stop over wherever when tired depending what flights I can get.

 

Or I can just tell the wife to come fetch me at the bloody airport and not punish myself like this. 

[Spock]

I have travelled from JHB to NN for many years, and roads have deteriorated significantly. Although a lot of sections have been upgraded recently, you will still encounter many km's of roads with potholes and no shoulder sections. With the big trucks and taxis you cannot safely travel these roads on a bicycle. 

[New Landy new life]

car it is then

[CJG]

I am considering surprising my wife and kids who left me behind in Cape Town to work this Christmas, by boxing my MTB and flying up the Jo'burg and then peddling down to NN.

 

Anyone know if this is feasible, as I don't know the roads leading from the airport out and if there are any dodgy areas leading out towards Natal via Standerton I think.  When I used Garmap and set to bicycle mode with avoid highways it points to Standerton and total distance just short of 300 km.

 

I am just going to take a small backpack with some clothes and stop over wherever when tired depending what flights I can get.

 

Or I can just tell the wife to come fetch me at the bloody airport and not punish myself like this. 

Why not fly to Durban and then cycle up to Newcastle? Far more scenic options. Will be a bigger distance though

[Frosty]

We cycled the route you're contemplating in October this year.

 

In general it's very good, with roadworks between Greylingstad and Standerton - stop/go points (15 mins when we went through). For a bike it's fine as you don't have to stop. There are lots of newly tarred sections between each stop/go point, and the prevailing winds are from the NW/NNW, so you potentially have a tailwind from Balfour to Volksrust.

 

Here are my Strava files from October's tour to Durban:

• https://www.strava.com/activities/415808183
  This is for Germiston to Heidelberg, Balfour, Greylingstad, Standerton, Volksrust (225Km), then another +/- 50Km to Newcastle.

 

• https://www.strava.com/activities/415808234
  We had rain from Volksrust to Newcastle, but in the dry the decent from Volkrust over the escarpment should make for a lekker decent.

 

I wouldn't be concerned with the road surface, but rather the taxis and coal trucks, or rather the speed they're travelling at.

 

If you decide to do it, good luck - it's a long way with a far amount of elevation gain.

[New Landy new life]

Thanks Gerald

 

You clocked a pretty high average speed which I won't match on my MTB especially with 1,700 m climb.  I may go as far as I can, and if no place to stop I'll give my missus a call to come get me.