Riding in Stellenbosch - Somerset West Area

[jackievs]

We are keen to spend a few days riding road bikes in the Stellenbosch - Somerset West - Gordonsbay area.

Are cyclists riding on the R44 / Broadway Boulevard ?

What about the R310 from Stellenbosch and turn off on Annandale road too narrow ..? 

We have done the Helshoogte over the hill to Zorgvliet and to Franschhoek before... a great ride!

Will appreciate any advice and feedback... thank you !

[bleedToWin]

R44 is heavily used by cyclists, yes.
R310 is fine to ride, but surface not the best. Most prefer to use the parallel Lyndoch / Vlottenburg road. I also prefer to go that way but have wondered about safety when doing it solo as it's rural. The other option is to just stick to Polkadraai (M12) and come down Vlaeberg road back to Annandale. Annandale is smooth with a good shoulder.
Going up Devon Vallei road to the top of JC le Roux is also worth it. Group also advised, but I do it solo often... Short gravel section, but nothing a road bike can't handle.
Going up to Berg River dam is nice.
Doing the Wemmershoek loop to Paarl also good.

[bleedToWin]

You also mentioned Gordon's Bay. Riding out that way is amazing, but the road gets busy on weekends and is somewhat narrow.
Going out to Rooi-Els or even as far as Kleinmond is superb though and we often brave the busy road just for how amazing the coastal views are.

[I FLY]

25 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

You also mentioned Gordon's Bay. Riding out that way is amazing, but the road gets busy on weekends and is somewhat narrow.
Going out to Rooi-Els or even as far as Kleinmond is superb though and we often brave the busy road just for how amazing the coastal views are.

We try go out to Rooiels as early as possible on a Sunday morning to avoid the pilgrimage to Hermanus . and we have bright flashing lights front and rear. very nice coffe stop just before you get back into Gordon Bay

 

 

 

 

[capediver]

4 minutes ago, I FLY said:

We try go out to Rooiels as early as possible on a Sunday morning to avoid the pilgrimage to Hermanus . and we have bright flashing lights front and rear. very nice coffe stop just before you get back into Gordon Bay

 

 

 

 

This ride is one of the most visually stunning routes in the country....even if you in the area for a few days, try get it done, midweek, mid-morning....

 

[jackievs]

48 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

You also mentioned Gordon's Bay. Riding out that way is amazing, but the road gets busy on weekends and is somewhat narrow.
Going out to Rooi-Els or even as far as Kleinmond is superb though and we often brave the busy road just for how amazing the coastal views are.

We have done the ride from Hermanus to Strand, about 88km, along the coast, past Kleinmond, Betty's Bay , Pringle Bay, Rooi Els and into Gordonsbay. Yes it is spectacular but the road becomes narrow and with the SE rolling down the side of the mountain it can become tricky negotiating space with cars approaching and passing from behind, BUT certainly one of the most scenic and beautiful rides I have ever done... the hill at Kogel Bay a good challenge!  We planned properly and rode with the SE from as a tailwind! 

[jackievs]

20 minutes ago, capediver said:

This ride is one of the most visually stunning routes in the country....even if you in the area for a few days, try get it done, midweek, mid-morning....

 

Rode from Hermanus to Stand... yes it is a beautiful route!  Very nice video, thank you!

[jackievs]

58 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

R44 is heavily used by cyclists, yes.
R310 is fine to ride, but surface not the best. Most prefer to use the parallel Lyndoch / Vlottenburg road. I also prefer to go that way but have wondered about safety when doing it solo as it's rural. The other option is to just stick to Polkadraai (M12) and come down Vlaeberg road back to Annandale. Annandale is smooth with a good shoulder.
Going up Devon Vallei road to the top of JC le Roux is also worth it. Group also advised, but I do it solo often... Short gravel section, but nothing a road bike can't handle.
Going up to Berg River dam is nice.
Doing the Wemmershoek loop to Paarl also good.

Thank you!!!

[Andreas_187]

58 minutes ago, bleedToWin said:

You also mentioned Gordon's Bay. Riding out that way is amazing, but the road gets busy on weekends and is somewhat narrow.
Going out to Rooi-Els or even as far as Kleinmond is superb though and we often brave the busy road just for how amazing the coastal views are.

I rode Gordon's Bay to Betty's Bay on a Saturday afternoon and it was stunning. Not really busy at all out of public holidays and lots of cyclists. It's an incredible ride

[Ispeed_V]

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[jackievs]

Thanks to all that replied with information and ideas... Can I please ask recommendations on a road bike ride from Stellenbosch town (Dalsig)?  A loop of about 100km... thanks in advance!

[NickGM]

2 hours ago, jackievs said:

Thanks to all that replied with information and ideas... Can I please ask recommendations on a road bike ride from Stellenbosch town (Dalsig)?  A loop of about 100km... thanks in advance!

It's not a loop (and not 100km) but the old Franschhoek-out-and-back is pretty much a standard ride from stellenbosch. It's a really beautiful ride, especially the road into and out of Franschhoek. If you want to extend it a bit (and like climbing) then go up Franschhoek pass. If you do that, it's about 90km riding with 1,200m climbing. If you don't ride the pass it's about 75km with 750m climbing.

There's not much to know ITO directions. Take the helshoogte road out of town, then turn right when you hit the T-junction at Pniel. That's it.

There can sometimes be a nasty headwind riding into Franschhoek and helshoogte is a decent climb in its own right, but you get it out the way early and on the way home it's a lot more gradual.

[jackievs]

22 hours ago, NickGM said:

It's not a loop (and not 100km) but the old Franschhoek-out-and-back is pretty much a standard ride from stellenbosch. It's a really beautiful ride, especially the road into and out of Franschhoek. If you want to extend it a bit (and like climbing) then go up Franschhoek pass. If you do that, it's about 90km riding with 1,200m climbing. If you don't ride the pass it's about 75km with 750m climbing.

There's not much to know ITO directions. Take the helshoogte road out of town, then turn right when you hit the T-junction at Pniel. That's it.

There can sometimes be a nasty headwind riding into Franschhoek and helshoogte is a decent climb in its own right, but you get it out the way early and on the way home it's a lot more gradual.

Thank you. Yes, I have done the Helshoogte climb, both directions, a while ago.. looking for something more mild in elevation gain... how about riding to Gordons Bay and back...?

[bleedToWin]

41 minutes ago, jackievs said:

Thank you. Yes, I have done the Helshoogte climb, both directions, a while ago.. looking for something more mild in elevation gain... how about riding to Gordons Bay and back...?

Coastal only gets fun after Gordon's Bay. You deal with a lot of traffic and bad road surfaces and things. If you are willing to go all the way to Rooi Els it's worth it.

[NickGM]

29 minutes ago, jackievs said:

Thank you. Yes, I have done the Helshoogte climb, both directions, a while ago.. looking for something more mild in elevation gain... how about riding to Gordons Bay and back...?

Yep nothing wrong with that I'd guess, although I don't ever really ride through Strand/SSW to Gordon's bay so can't recommend a decent route through that relatively built up area. I'm sure other people on the Hub can though.

Some long flattish rides are possible if you head north out of stellenbosch on the R304. (eg: right onto R312 and then home via R44 or Paarl or whatever you choose). My only word of warning there is that there has been the odd incident of people being bike-jacked going past Kayamandi. I've not heard of anything recently and LOTS of people cycle past there... but I still tend to only go out of town that way if I'm in a group.

[bleedToWin]

That way also gets windy.

If you want to stay mostly flat you could do Polkadraai Zevenwacht Bottelary R304 Slent Vryguns R44. Not sure how long that would be. Once you are out on the R304 there are multiple crossovers to the R44 available to suit your distance needs.

Edited October 22, 2021 by bleedToWin