johanhorak Posted February 14, 2017 Author Posted February 14, 2017 Used the railway lines with the F650GS a few times. I would not recommend some lines as they go into high crime areas. But the other lines we rode next to was fun, and no cars. Just got lost once or twice, but all fun.Yes. Info I gathered suggests you stay away from urbanised areas - informal settlements.
Madala Posted February 14, 2017 Posted February 14, 2017 Hi againAs there does seem to be general interest in this sort of adventure I will reply with all the general info on the forum and privately to Tim and Johan as needed.My Beit Bridge to Cape Augulhas trip was started in early March last year with the idea of riding from the Northernmost point of South Africa to the Southernmost point. My name for the trip was therefore N2S. It also conveniently avoided the problem of trying to find an off-road route through Cape Town if one aims for Cape Point. I do not enjoy riding on busy tar roads and go to great lengths to avoid it if at all possible. The Northernmost Point is about 40km to the west of Beit Bridge and there is a border patrol road that runs along adjacent to the border/Limpopo River. It made sense to start from beit bridge, I decided to do the trip solo and unsupported but staying in BnBs along the way. The plan was for 3wks and the initial route was to be :- https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12361409 That gave a daily average of about 110km/day. As there were a number of public holidays in this period I was a bit concerned about finding accommodation in the stretch after Prince Albert so had this as an alternate route for that section:- https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12154206 As it turned out I did use the alternate route. As I was travelling alone I decided to get a Spot tracker for peace of mind. The Spot trackers are satellite based for their communication and therefore independent of the cell phone coverage. If you have a clear view of the sky the messages will get through. It also gives friends an family a website where they can track your progress in real time. Great device, works well and highly recommended. My research showed that I could expect good weather and favorable winds for most of the route. I could expect headwinds for the last 4 or 5 days and that is exactly how it worked out. I had some light rain near Groot Marico and again around Montague but never enough to bother with a rain jacket. Temperatures were often in the high thirties during the day and the coldest was around -3 or -4 early one morning in the Karoo. I wore the same kit from start to finish and never added anything or removed anything. Helmet, bandana, arm protectors, short finger gloves, regular short sleeve top, First Ascent shorts, socks and shoes. I did manage to wash and dry my kit every day although sometimes this required a bit of ingenuity. I had shorts, a T shirt and Crocs for evening wear. Although I had a decent saddle bag with a full second set of cycling and casual kit as well as a warm jacket, leg warmers, rain jacket etc. I never opened it throughout the trip. Moral of the story is "travel light".I did not take a tent or sleeping bag as the plan was to stay in accommodation. I decided that if I did have to sleep out it would be "very rough". I decided that if the weather forecast was really bad for the following day I would stay where I was until it looked viable.I did not book accommodation in advance other than the first two nights as I was not confident that I would be able to keep to my schedule due to weather or any other issues. My bike was a stock 2015 Specialized Epic Carbon Comp bought at the end of Jan 2015 so just over a year old and had done about 8000km. Prior to the ride I replaced gear cables, chain cassette, big chain ring and did an oil service on the fork. Also fitted new Conti X-King Protection 2.4 front and Race King Protection 2,2 rear. These are my Strava files for each day. Unfortunately the day 1 file got corrupted so the info was entered manually for that. Day 1. https://www.strava.com/activities/507459809Day 2. https://www.strava.com/activities/525377881Day 3. https://www.strava.com/activities/525378895Day 4. https://www.strava.com/activities/525379784Day 5. https://www.strava.com/activities/529577156Day 6. https://www.strava.com/activities/529578907Day 7. https://www.strava.com/activities/529582051Day 8. https://www.strava.com/activities/529583690Day 9. https://www.strava.com/activities/529588086Day 10. https://www.strava.com/activities/529591357Day 11. https://www.strava.com/activities/529593785Day 12. https://www.strava.com/activities/529595037Day 13. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598238Day 14. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598210Day 15. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598230Day 16. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598232Day 17. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598198Day 18. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598184Day 19. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598177Day 20. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598195Day 21. https://www.strava.com/activities/529598107 I am going to post this now and will add some more info and hopefully some pics over the next couple of days. I have a broken collarbone at the moment so this has to be typed with one finger which makes for painfully slow progress. To be continued.............
Cois Posted February 14, 2017 Posted February 14, 2017 Yes. Info I gathered suggests you stay away from urbanised areas - informal settlements. With the motorbike, this posed little problems, but with an MTB it might be looking for trouble. I know there are group rides out here in Pretoria, that uses the rail lines. One of my friends stayed on a huge farm with a line running past it, so we used the line as a way to get from one side of the farm to the other side. One note that should be made clear. You are riding next to the property of Transnet. It is their road, so you respect them. I have heard of cocky cyclist that went Trump and damaged the reputation of cyclists cycling on these roads. And they pissed off the dad of my friend as well by trespassing on his land, so make sure to stay on the right roads and not to trespass on private property. And at night I would stay away in Gauteng from them as well. Know it is known as the smugglers-highway in some places and you do risk a lot by cycling there at night. Maybe in the Cape province, things are better. But chances of being killed for your tin food or cell phone is quite high.
Zebra Posted February 14, 2017 Posted February 14, 2017 I was (am still) planning a (motorbike) ride from Saldahna up to Sishen, on the country's longest (?) railway service road... There is quite a LOT of info, much of it accurate, distances, etc on THIS thread: http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?action=search2 Just be aware that these road can be dangerous - for motorbikes at least - since the service personnel using these roads literally 'own' the road, by driving at very high speed, bang down the middle, in clouds of dust...! So take care, but a nice, challenging ride, through a less-visited area!Chrsi
johanhorak Posted February 14, 2017 Author Posted February 14, 2017 Hi Madala Excellent. I'll be looking out for new updates on your story. Fascinating. And exciting. Well done. I hope your shoulder heals quickly. In another post, you mentioned how you used Google Earth to verify these roads. I down loaded it, listed the railway lines. And just followed a few. No hurry. When you able to type let me know. South Africa to the Southernmost point. My name for the trip was therefore N2S. It also conveniently avoided the problem of trying to find an off-road route through Cape Town if one aims for Cape Point. I do not enjoy riding on busy tar roads and go to great lengths to avoid it if at all possible. To be continued.............
Madala Posted February 14, 2017 Posted February 14, 2017 Just some comments on the land ownership and security points that have been raised. While you are on the service roads you are on Transnet property and not on any farmers land. The rail reserve is always fenced on both sides and includes the service road and the track. This means that you will typically have farmland - fence - service road - track - fence - farmland. Access to the service road will usually be just outside of a town and usually from a public road. There is/was usually a gate at this point. Nowadays the gate is often open so no issue. If it is closed it may also be locked but this is not common. As for security I have never had any issues. With the bigger towns there are usually townships surrounding the town so one needs to be careful. Sometimes if I see this in Google earth I will get onto a public road before the town and avoid the township. However the people have always been friendly and wave and greet you enthusiastically. Out in the country I feel completely at ease and have also done a lot of solo riding at night without any incidents. The danger zones are in towns and the bigger the town the bigger the problem. Its a simple rule. Not sure if this pic will be viewable but if it is it gives a good idea of how the servitude works. Looking at top of the hill you can see the two fences with the service road and track between them.
Slowbee Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 I'm keen!you are mad !! Madala, AWESOMENESS personified!
mazambaan Posted February 17, 2017 Posted February 17, 2017 Er, don't try cycling through the tunnels, unless you have a light and strong nerves. They are longer and darker than they look (you might be able to see the end light but it's faaaar away; that is if it's not an oncoming train , it's rough (and black) in there and you crap yourself when you hear a train coming. I know this.
Sepia Posted September 21, 2017 Posted September 21, 2017 Hi Have any of you cycled along these service roads you get next to railway lines? As you travel by car I always am intrigued by these service roads. But not sure how consistent they follow the rail tracks and what the rules / laws are regarding us using it to cycle along. I am looking for some long off tar bikepacking touring routes and thought these railway lines connect many places and they may be ideal to use as mtb touring routes or shorter trails. BTW: I have read about the Dragon's Spine. It sounds great but the lack of info - book is out of print - and having to travel over private property seems to be a problem I hope to avoid. I am interested in self supported bikepacking. Thanks. Johan Sent from my SM-G930F using TapatalkHi JohanDid you ever get to doing any of these "service roads".Need some info.Thanks
dave303e Posted September 21, 2017 Posted September 21, 2017 have done a lot of the service roads east of PTA rather safely, also used the setcions along the rail in Dullstroom area a few times as part of rides. Back in KZN we rode dirtbikes along a few service roads in rural areas to link riding areas together. With anything it needs to be done with common sense, avoid the dodgey areas near settlements and be weary of tunnels...
nickc Posted September 21, 2017 Posted September 21, 2017 Agree with the above - also spent many years riding them on both off road motorbikes and MTB. Couple of things to add. Due to the collapse of our railway system there is a signifigant reduction in Railway maintenance vehicles on these roads so the farmers are sometimes negligent in stopping when crossing them - just keep a lookout for them, they are not expecting any traffic. If you do come across a maintenance team I have always found a wave and a friendly hello works wonders - never once had anyone query what I was doing on their land. And lastly if you do pass a train make like you are pulling the cord for the train`s horn and you usually get an answer from the driver - those train horns are loud !!
Sepia Posted September 21, 2017 Posted September 21, 2017 Agree with the above - also spent many years riding them on both off road motorbikes and MTB. Couple of things to add. Due to the collapse of our railway system there is a signifigant reduction in Railway maintenance vehicles on these roads so the farmers are sometimes negligent in stopping when crossing them - just keep a lookout for them, they are not expecting any traffic. If you do come across a maintenance team I have always found a wave and a friendly hello works wonders - never once had anyone query what I was doing on their land. And lastly if you do pass a train make like you are pulling the cord for the train`s horn and you usually get an answer from the driver - those train horns are loud !!Thanks Nick This is exactly why I asked about this. Impassable for a CX bike?Need to ask the questions first. What about the Richtersveld
eddy Posted September 21, 2017 Posted September 21, 2017 Impassable for a CX bike?Need to ask the questions first. What about the Richtersveld I cannot account for the Richtersveld, but can say that the service roads I have ridden in KZN (eg. between Ladysmith and Estcourt) have been good enough to do on a CX bike, which is what I was riding.
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