Short Tour – Dec 2015 – Atlantic Coast – Boland – Warm Bokkeveld – Breedevallei - Home

[Chro Mo]

Top job, Man!

 

Awesome!

[tubed]

Short Tour – Dec 2015 – Atlantic Coast – Boland – Warm Bokkeveld – Breedevallei - Home

 

Day1: Llandudno, Waterfront, ‘Millertin’, Durbanville, Wellington, Bainskloof, Ceres – 190km

 

Easy ride down to Waterfront, turned up past Paddocks to Koeberg Road and then past refinery and over N7, past Richwood up to Durbanville for coffee and muffin at Vida. Put on load of sunscreen for the trip across rolling wheatfields and chicken farms to on the R312. Arrived at Wellington at about 11am, everything closed on Sunday, stopped at garage for cool stuff and water, put feet up in shade of tree in park on road out to Bainskloof, a short rest before the climb. Started the climb at 12:00, seriously hot, took my time and then bombed down the other side, found a quiet pool of a dip on the road out of the kloof, eyed out a camping spot for the return journey. Took the R43/ R46 up Mitchells pass to Ceres, arrived late aft and went looking for Municipal campsite, “full, find yourself a guesthouse, we don’t allow tents” – couldn’t have been more unwelcoming. Went off to the Spar, loaded up on salads and food for breakfast, took the road out of town and considered Eselfontein, but that’s 13km off route and decided to simply find an orchard. Ideally one wants to ask permission, but I personally don’t have a problem ‘rough camping’ as in my view it is often safer and less hassle, there are 2 basic unbendable rules: make no fire whatsoever, leave no trace. So an orchard it was. Tested the one-person tent, not much room for a 6’4” person, main thing is it keeps the relentless mozzies away or else I would happily not have pitched the tent and just slept out.

 

Day2: Ceres – Theronsberg Pass, Aquila Game Reserve, N1, R318, Rooihoogte, Koo, Montagu – 160km

 

Started out at first light straight up Theronsberg Pass, very hot by 7 am, got water refill from security guard at an Eskom site where they were storing equipment for new overhead power, he was happy to chat, hadn’t seen people in some days. This Warmbokkeveld area is Karoo scrub and other than the odd rhebok is not exactly tourist friendly, but for me its great, its quiet and relatively traffic free, as long as you have water, you are fine. Stopped at a farm near the road and asked for water – what you get is a great conversation and ice cold refill of the bottles. Farmers here are on the edge at the moment – they need rain as the fruit is near to harvest, but the only rain likely is from thundershowers which bring the threat of hail and the prospect of extensive damage to the crop. So one can understand that they pray for rain – as it is the one thing they have no control over. An interesting feature of the area is the extensive Verkeerdevlei SANDF training ground, looks more like a ghost area to me, not much going on there. Stopped at Aquila Game reserve for water refill, buzzing with tourists desperate for a safari experience, sat in the shade of their entrance – there is no other shade on this day – beware if you cant handle lots of sun – the solar farms in the area should give you some sort of hint of the strength of the sun here. Did about 10km on the N1 direction CT, its not as bad as it might seem as the road is so wide and there is quite a bit of double lane, so the cars trucks are never near you – but it is noisy. Turned off onto the R318 – this area is pretty high as far as roads in the WC go, it tops out at the highest point of 1234m Rooihoogte pass and most often gets snow if the freezing level and moisture are at about 1200m in winter. Today it more in the region of 35 degrees. It’s quite a bit of up and down to get to the highest point and again there are very few cars and trucks. Got more ice water and cricket update at another farm close to Rooihoogte. Then starts the long and amazing Burgers Pass descent of the Koo and Keisie Valley toward Montagu. It doesn’t get much better than this if you like switchbacks and climbs/ descents. There is a wonderful farm shop halfway down, coke a chips sorted out the cool and salt craving with a nice big stoep to sit on and people to chat to.

The last part rolls on toward Montagu, having realised that most camp sites are full at this time of the year I asked someone and got referred to Baden, I understand now that the place previously had a segregation policy, there is no demonstrable evidence of this policy now. Interestingly had I been allowed to camp at the Montagu Municipal site I would have said they had one too, again just not demonstrable. I had no mood for politics or space in my head for this, and one thing I learnt on the Freedom Challenge is that when someone offers you hospitality, its better to keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself and act like a guest. I was thankful for Baden allowing me in, even though they were also “full”.

 

Day 3: Montagu, Ashton, Robertson, Eilandia, Brandvlei, Rawsonville, Slanghoek, Bainskloof

 

I again left at first light and was quickly through Ashton and looking for the back roads to Robertson, this is where the 1:250 000 map is really useful, gps/phones etc just don’t give the perspective a map does and I really enjoyed taking these back roads passed the big wine, fruit and stud farms to Robertson. Robertson had good breakfast and coffee, a bit of civilisation again. I did the short section on the R60 toward Worcester and turned off on the Eilandia dirt road just past Vinkrivier. After popping over a short climb it is on down toward the Breede River and this road follows the river through these farms toward the Brandvlei Dam. I reckon it hit 40 in this area and I stopped in the shade of some trees for a roadside lunch, was offered freshly picked peaches by the kids and had a short snooze, there is no point in rushing especially not in the midday sun with these temps. The map I had showed that there was a road around the Brandvlei dam, I discovered that this had been closed off – but it seemed that some mtb tracks were fresh. Although it is closed to cars and there isa sign of no entry etc, there was no locked gate and I rode across the dam wall, about 1.5km to pick up the old road on the other side. Here it was so hot my phone told me it was inoperable and needed to cool down before I could take photos. On the other side of the dam I stopped at the Brandvlei camp site and filled up with water, again it was packed to capacity. From here I took the road to Rawsonville, bought an ice cream and did the chips and coke story, although about 2pm, it was still in the high 30’s.I stocked up here with provisions for potentially dinner later that eveing – a sausage roll and sandwich from the Agrimark store. The road then crosses the N1 and does the big detour via Slanghoek Valley, a beautiful ride in the shadow of the mountains before crossing the Breede river to join the R43 briefly before again turning left onto the Bainskloof Road. At the bottom of the Bainskloof pass there is the Calabash bush pub, there was no guarantee it would be open, but if it was, I had visions of a burger and coke for early dinner and a chance to charge my phone which had nearly died in the heat and had sapped most of the charge. It was open and I got the burger, cokes, charged phone and some conversation about people who thought I was crazy. I was pretty tired from 3 days in the sun and even the three kids going ballistic with newly acquired light sabers/swords couldn’t move me. After dinner I pushed off and after  couple of kms found the ‘camp site’ eyed out two days previously and got down to the business of setting up the tent and swimming in the cool sandy bottom pool as the sun set after what had been a scorcher of a day. Despite putting on sunscreen twice, I had been burnt which made for not the most comfortable night. The stars were amazing and the setting sublime, being far enough off the road to not hear the few cars.

 

Day 4: Bainskloof, Wellington, Durbanville, Milnerton, Waterfront, Llandudno

 

Up before first light, had a swim and set off up the pass slowly, what a beautiful ride and with so few cars it was magic. (Twede Tol campsite was “full”, with people queuing there from 5:30am to get in and more arriving). Rolled down into Wellington for coffee at the garage for supplies for the day. By 7am it was cooking in Wellington and I wanted to get across to Durbanville well before midday to avoid doing that section in the heat. It was an easy ride across to Durbanville where I stopped for water refill and some other cool stuff. Bumped into a triathlete who looked just the opposite of my setup, Spez Shiv vs my touring contraption, nice conversation nonetheless. Realised I had clocked over 500km, guest that makes me part of the festive 500 strava club or #something…. Caught the first cool sea breeze in days as I descended past Durbanville Hills and past the refineries. The cycle path past Milnerton was cool and quick. I hit Paarden Island and I guess the docks had been on a Christmas break or there had been a southeaster wind which had backed up operations, but it seemed every truck and trailer was on the road and hell bent on driving like a madman. That gave way for a bit through Sea Point where the bumper to bumper traffic started with people headed to the beaches. I did the last café stop and asked my folks with whom I had been squatting for the holidays to but two beers in the freezer. The road from Bakoven to Llandudno was quiet and was just another small hill to end the trip just after 1pm and 630km.

 

Concluding comments:

 

What I like about this riding is that it is uncomplicated and is just about riding a bike. You meet mostly lovely people and the bike is always a conversation starter. Two weeks prior to this I stopped by a local bike shop to buy a bomb, I left my bike outside on purpose. The helpful guy followed my out and took one look at my bike and said I need a new fork, new chain, new cassette, shifters and I should be riding a bigger frame. I guess after 630km and two quick links I will get around to a shock service and new chain/ cassette sometime in the new year. Point being don’t let lack of equipment deter you from riding.

Gearing was a simple 1x10 setup 34front and 11/36 rear – enough for this type of riding, you mostly freewheel the downhills anyway. For the Cedarberg the 36 is not enough, but then you can always walk. The only other mods were my Murray saddle as a swap for the normal one, and a big expandable topeak saddle bag and a small one on the top tube. The tent and mattress is rolled up and secured to the bars with old toe straps. I never used the bladder I had as prefer bottles – you can see accurately what water you have left. I took off the Racing Ralph and put on an old Crossmark, I don’t think I have come across a better tyre for touring in SA, they are bulletproof and can be pumped up to perform nearly like a slick.

One of the advantages of summer is that you can take the minimal amount of stuff, I took a cotton outerbag instead of a sleeping bag as it was going to be so warm. On a short tour like this you can pretty much predict the weather, so there is no need to take more than you really need, I had pair of bibs and a pair of baggies, those were rinsed and dry by the next day. I had 2 vests and two shirts, (no cycling jerseys the pockets are useless with a backpack), but the full zip would have been useful.

I went through a full can of sunscreen – this is essential at this time of year.

I ate very little sweet stuff and hardly touched the game I carried, I just ate/ drank what my body craved or I felt like.

I put my Sony Xperia on ultra-power save mode and this basically does away with all apps and data, but it means the phone can last for 3 or 4 days with no charging and the radio and camera work just fine as does sms and voice.

Finally – there are many many ways to do differently what I did, the obvious ones are to prebook guest houses or have backup, so really there is no need to overthink this, you will do things differently each subsequent trip.

[Chro Mo]

Great write-up.

 

More people need to do this.

 

It's a very rewarding way to travel.

 

Granted, I've only done a small overnighter myself, but it was AWESOME!!!!

 

Kudos

[tubed]

Great write-up.

 

More people need to do this.

 

It's a very rewarding way to travel.

 

Granted, I've only done a small overnighter myself, but it was AWESOME!!!!

 

Kudos

thanks ChroMo,much appreciated, just push the boat out a bit further and make the next overnighter two nights, thats how I did it

[Sepia]

I think this could be a way to make cycling more visible?

Imagine many trips taking place with loaded bikes on our roads, meeting people, mixing with all types and just talking.

This is a great way to spread the cycling word and have fun at the same time.

[fanievb]

I've been planning a trip up to the free state for some time now.

 

6 days 100km per day. Hopefully this year

[DJR]

Great report! I agree, one should stop over-planning things and just do it!  

[Ryanpmb]

Hi Tubed. Sorry you've had a bit of a 'downer' year. You have been quiet in these parts for some time - missed your participation in last years FC commentary. Great to read about your trip. You may or may not share a similar sentiment but something I really enjoy about these sort of trips - whether multi day or a quick 24O - is how liberating it is to get out of ones 'scared bubble'. We hole ourselves up at home behind gates and walls, scared of who's in the street etc. Whether this is right or wrong is another discussion but the fact is when you're out on one of these bike trips, in the middle of nowhere, solo or with a buddy you feel a great sense of freedom. Not reckless abandon, just free, simple and happy. It makes for a wonderful few days and a super efficient way to recharge.

 

On the tech front - what tent did you travel with?

[tubed]

Hi Tubed. Sorry you've had a bit of a 'downer' year. You have been quiet in these parts for some time - missed your participation in last years FC commentary. Great to read about your trip. You may or may not share a similar sentiment but something I really enjoy about these sort of trips - whether multi day or a quick 24O - is how liberating it is to get out of ones 'scared bubble'. We hole ourselves up at home behind gates and walls, scared of who's in the street etc. Whether this is right or wrong is another discussion but the fact is when you're out on one of these bike trips, in the middle of nowhere, solo or with a buddy you feel a great sense of freedom. Not reckless abandon, just free, simple and happy. It makes for a wonderful few days and a super efficient way to recharge.

 

On the tech front - what tent did you travel with?

thanks Ryan, all good here, own/ new business, so less play and more work for now, but the long term goal is just the opposite.

 

I think what you describe is spot on, something Kevin Davie referred to as the hobo effect or something like that, ie total freedom relative to what we are used to (not the CEO sleepout type!), but the freedom which comes from reliable equipment, decent fitness and a growing sense of confidence in whats actually possible and quite comfortable.

 

Put it this way, people thought I was mad heading into those areas in this heat, well I swum every day - most days in the most beautiful river all alone. So too the safety aspect - the only time I had to watch my back was on the designated cycle lane into CT - go figure!

 

So when people say "outside is free", it should mean outside is freedom too.

 

The tent is fairly widely available Vango Soul 100, RAM are the local agents and although it gets some poor reviews the local rep assured me they would back it up and in most cases they suspect the broken poles are from drunken festival goers falling on their tents - sounded like a good explanation to me.

[tubed]

I've been planning a trip up to the free state for some time now.

 

6 days 100km per day. Hopefully this year

cmon Fanie just do it, as they say: hope is not a strategy.....for you 100km is easy

[tubed]

one day when I am brave and when can write as eloquently as Kevin: http://mg.co.za/article/2015-08-04-song-of-the-desert-road