walkerr Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Those of you who keep an eye on the local Randonneuring scene, might have seen that a few of us will be riding the first proper Audax Club Parisien (ACP) approved South African 1,000km audax in April. We're busy compiling a guide for riders of what's available en-route - the main towns we pass through being Somerset West (start / end)StellenboschFranschhoek (control point)VilliersdorpRobertson (control point)AshtonMontaguBarrydale (control point)LadismithCalitzdorpOudtshoorn (control point)GeorgeWilderness (turn around control) We know the towns close to the start well - but farther out the knowledge gets more sketchy. We've got a volunteer driving the route for us in a few weeks to gather what he can, but if anyone here has local knowledge it'd be great. Randonneurs ride self-supported all hours of day and night - so the the typical things it's useful to know about ahead of time are:bike shops on or near to route24 hour facilities (usually garages) for water, snacks etccash machines (useful for proof of passage receipts as much as actual cash!)accommodation which is affordable and friendly to smelly riders who arrive in the middle of the night wanting quick food, a bed for a couple of hours, and then leave again still in the middle of the night. Randonneurs will sleep anywhere when necessary - so anything which is open, dry, safe, and has a couch, chair or floor can be classed as accommodation! Any info you folks here have greatly appreciated
eddy Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 No Bicycle shop nor any 24hr facilities in Calitzdorp. A number of B&B's close to the R62 though. Try Spekboom Cottages about 150 m off the main road in town. I know of two bike shops in Oudtshoorn, Ton's next to the Fruit and Veg City at the Pick'nPay centre - reasonably well stocked and friendly. I think Henco is a Main Man in the local MTB scene. Friendly shop. There is a second one as you approach town from the west, a blok away from the R62 and the airport which is much smaller, but I was very happy with the mechanic. It is run by a local cyclist and whenever I have stopped by, everybody there was a cyclist.
Shebeen Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Nice! FYI Villiersdorp to robertson has a gravel shortcut route along the breede, assuming you were going to stay on tar via Worcester
walkerr Posted February 8, 2016 Author Posted February 8, 2016 No Bicycle shop nor any 24hr facilities in Calitzdorp. A number of B&B's close to the R62 though. Try Spekboom Cottages about 150 m off the main road in town. I know of two bike shops in Oudtshoorn, Ton's next to the Fruit and Veg City at the Pick'nPay centre - reasonably well stocked and friendly. I think Henco is a Main Man in the local MTB scene. Friendly shop. There is a second one as you approach town from the west, a blok away from the R62 and the airport which is much smaller, but I was very happy with the mechanic. It is run by a local cyclist and whenever I have stopped by, everybody there was a cyclist. Great stuff, thanks - just the sort of info we're looking to compile into the guide
walkerr Posted February 8, 2016 Author Posted February 8, 2016 Nice! FYI Villiersdorp to robertson has a gravel shortcut route along the breede, assuming you were going to stay on tar via Worcester Correct. This one is on tar, so heading along R43 and taking the short leg across to the R60 a few Km before Worcester. We are pondering a Cape Gravel Audax some time though - Gauteng have held a couple already and they've gone down very well.
Slowbee Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 ok Mr Walker, have you entered this yet ? https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/156176-the-munga-2016/
walkerr Posted February 8, 2016 Author Posted February 8, 2016 ok Mr Walker, have you entered this yet ? https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/156176-the-munga-2016/ I've been toying with the idea for sure. I kind of have my sights set on Trans Continental for 2017, which will leave me in deficit on "sports passes" if I do. Still debating that one though - if I decide not to go for TCR then Munga could be on there.
Shebeen Posted February 8, 2016 Posted February 8, 2016 Correct. This one is on tar, so heading along R43 and taking the short leg across to the R60 a few Km before Worcester. We are pondering a Cape Gravel Audax some time though - Gauteng have held a couple already and they've gone down very well.My query was, how do you control this? Would be worthwhile going bumpy for a bit too cut it some distance
walkerr Posted February 8, 2016 Author Posted February 8, 2016 My query was, how do you control this? Would be worthwhile going bumpy for a bit too cut it some distance If anyone did so they'd be breaking the rules - and there's always the risk of a secret control being in place, which would catch them out. Given that section will be in the middle of the night too - I doubt many will be tempted. Especially since distance isn't the real enemy, time & effort are, so although technically shorter I doubt it'd be sufficiently faster or easier (if at all) to be worthwhile. The Villiersdorp to Robertson section on tar is pretty quick and easy riding normally. We've raised the query about gravel shortcuts on a couple of routes in the past - but been advised that unless the distance and time saving is very significant, it's generally not something we need to worry about. Gravel is sufficiently harder than tar to render no real advantage. TBH though - the real reason is that there's really no point cheating in Audax. It's not a race, there's no first place, it's only really a battle against yourself to see if you can finish the thing.
WIPEOUT 1000 Posted February 9, 2016 Posted February 9, 2016 My query was, how do you control this? Would be worthwhile going bumpy for a bit too cut it some distanceI'll second Rob on his final comment, the extraordinary thing about Audax riding is the sense of personal acheivement. Why would you want to cheat yourself out of the thrill of having cycled a 1000km in 75 hours by cheating?
walkerr Posted February 9, 2016 Author Posted February 9, 2016 I'll second Rob on his final comment, the extraordinary thing about Audax riding is the sense of personal acheivement. Why would you want to cheat yourself out of the thrill of having cycled a 1000km in 75 hours by cheating? Definitely a cracking reason to get on your bike and go ride. That and watching the sun go down whilst riding, and then see it come up again a few hours later and you're still out there enjoying the peace of the ride.
walkerr Posted February 22, 2016 Author Posted February 22, 2016 Have specific query on 1 section of our route which I've put in Safety forum, as it's more relevant to that topic: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/157926-oudsthoorn-to-george-via-r62n12-and-then-n9/
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