South Coast Safe to ride from Wild Coast to Port Shepstone?

[khm4252]

I am taking my family to Wild Coast this weekend in KZN but I wanted to do a training ride (Argus round the corner) on one of the mornings from Wild Coast Sun to Port Shepstone on the R61 and R620.  I was wondering if anyone could shed light on this route:

 

1.  Is it safe?  I have seen lots of taxis on this route especially on the R61 in the past.  Was Burry Stander not killed on this strech by a taxi?

2.  Is the proposed route a good reasonable one from a climbing point of view?  Are there any crazy hills along the way worth avoiding?

3.  Are there any group rides out of Margate or Southbroom? 

 

Thanks.

[MSR]

I am taking my family to Wild Coast this weekend in KZN but I wanted to do a training ride (Argus round the corner) on one of the mornings from Wild Coast Sun to Port Shepstone on the R61 and R620.  I was wondering if anyone could shed light on this route:

 

1.  Is it safe?  I have seen lots of taxis on this route especially on the R61 in the past.  Was Burry Stander not killed on this strech by a taxi?

2.  Is the proposed route a good reasonable one from a climbing point of view?  Are there any crazy hills along the way worth avoiding?

3.  Are there any group rides out of Margate or Southbroom? 

 

Thanks.

You can try Bobby's cycles in Port Shepstone and speak to Mohammed . They do organise group rides or can advise a safe route for you. Enjoy safe riding.

[Spoke101]

I have ridden that stretch often (normally around Christmas/ New Year so traffic is high).

 

I would however not ride on the R61 past Southbroom heading in the direction of Margate as the yellow line becomes non-existent in some places. Rather go on the R620 in to Margate but after Margate it can get quite hectic and a bit scary if you are not a seasoned roadie and claim your piece of road.

 

Going the other way Southbroom to Wild Coast is fine, you generally have 2m of yellow line and the traffic seems to be in less of a hurry.

 

I would suggest that you rather turn at Southbroom and do two laps or do some exploring in Southbroom or take the R620 from Southbroom and about 4km after the turn off just after you have gone past the Croc farm and over the river you come round the bend and opposite Pistols Saloon there is a road to the left that goes up and round the back of Margate Airport. This will avoid most of the traffic but then again this time of year should not be busy.

 

NB just make sure you have a powerful LED rear light so you can be seen.

[Christofison]

 

I am taking my family to Wild Coast this weekend in KZN but I wanted to do a training ride (Argus round the corner) on one of the mornings from Wild Coast Sun to Port Shepstone on the R61 and R620. I was wondering if anyone could shed light on this route:

 

1. Is it safe? I have seen lots of taxis on this route especially on the R61 in the past. Was Burry Stander not killed on this strech by a taxi?

2. Is the proposed route a good reasonable one from a climbing point of view? Are there any crazy hills along the way worth avoiding?

3. Are there any group rides out of Margate or Southbroom?

 

Thanks.

My neck of the woods. Firstly, will you be on a road bike or MTB? I would be happy to plot a suggested route for you.

 

1. It is pretty safe. The scariest is most likely the stretch from Port Edward to Southbroom because there are sections with a 100kmph speed limit. Burry Stander was killed on the R620 (Marine Drive/60kmph) just South of Shelly Beach.

2. There aren't any really big hills, although there are a lot of smaller ones compared to Gauteng.

3. There are MTB group rides out of Uvongo/Margate and road group rides from Shelly Beach.

 

MTB: https://www.strava.com/activities/488570518

Road:https://www.strava.com/activities/481528342

[khm4252]

My neck of the woods. Firstly, will you be on a road bike or MTB? I would be happy to plot a suggested route for you.

 

1. It is pretty safe. The scariest is most likely the stretch from Port Edward to Southbroom because there are sections with a 100kmph speed limit. Burry Stander was killed on the R620 (Marine Drive/60kmph) just South of Shelly Beach.

2. There aren't any really big hills, although there are a lot of smaller ones compared to Gauteng.

3. There are MTB group rides out of Uvongo/Margate and road group rides from Shelly Beach.

 

MTB: https://www.strava.com/activities/488570518

Road:https://www.strava.com/activities/481528342

 

Thank you to you, MSR and Spoke101.  I will be on a road bike.  Hoping to do a road ride from around 80-100km leaving from Wild Coast Sun. 

[Christofison]

http://www.movescount.com/routes/route1368478-Wild_Coast_to_Port_Shepstone

 

Alternatively, if you want to do a lot of climbing then head inland from Port Edward past Clearwater Trails up to Izingolweni. Way quieter roads and it gets really beautiful up there, but don't go too far unless there are two or more of you.

[Terminator]

I ride that route fairly frequently and it's as safe as any. The lower end between Wild Coast Sun and Southbroom has a wide yellow line area although traffic can be quite busy. I'd recommend using the old road from Southbroom to Sheppie, although we quite often use the Toll Road. Car speeds are obviously higher on the toll road, but there's a couple of nice undulations to ride and it makes it a little more interesting if you loop around and return on the coastal route rather than a plain out and back. Yellow line in places on the Toll are very narrow. And carry your bike through the toll gates unless you use the pedestrian paths. The earlier you ride the quieter. If you schedule to hit the Southbroom robots at about 6am you can hook up and ride with us on most Saturday's or Sunday's.

 

Pop in a see me at Giant South Coast at the Southcoast Mall, Shelly Beach while you're down here

[Christofison]

I ride that route fairly frequently and it's as safe as any. The lower end between Wild Coast Sun and Southbroom has a wide yellow line area although traffic can be quite busy. I'd recommend using the old road from Southbroom to Sheppie, although we quite often use the Toll Road. Car speeds are obviously higher on the toll road, but there's a couple of nice undulations to ride and it makes it a little more interesting if you loop around and return on the coastal route rather than a plain out and back. Yellow line in places on the Toll are very narrow. And carry your bike through the toll gates unless you use the pedestrian paths. The earlier you ride the quieter. If you schedule to hit the Southbroom robots at about 6am you can hook up and ride with us on most Saturday's or Sunday's.

 

Pop in a see me at Giant South Coast at the Southcoast Mall, Shelly Beach while you're down here

Nice response from a roadie in the know. Hope you didn't mind me sharing your Strava activity in my first response, Mr Terminator.

[Terminator]

Nice response from a roadie in the know. Hope you didn't mind me sharing your Strava activity in my first response, Mr Terminator.

No worries at all Chris - the link actually doesn't open on my iPad so I didn't notice!