Franschoek Trails

[Francois Pienaar]

Hi folks, I'm in Franschoek this weekend and would like to ride MTB Friday and Saturday morning.  Are their any club rides going out and can someone share some trails with me please?

[Robbie Stewart]

Hey Francois, I am not privy to club rides in the area, but there are plenty trails you ride there. 

Some of my favourites in the area:

Plaisir de Merle - some INSANE flow line fun as well as single track

Boschendal - some climbs and distance on singletrack

Banhoek - more flow line fun and also some fun, fast,  semi techy singletrack

Jonkershoek around the corner

Dirtopia

Trailforks is your friend in this regard - and it being the weekend, even if you ride alone, you won't be alone. There are plenty other folks out riding over the weekends. Find a group, smile and wave, and ask if you can latch on. You will be welcomed in with pleasure.

Tip - bring coffee money over and above trail fees - usually Zapper or Snapscan is fine for trails.

 

[Francois Pienaar]

Shot Robbie, this is awesome!  I'm sure ill find my way around.  Going to rent a bike from Franschoek cycles and take it from there. 

[Trashy]

Hi Francois.

I agree with Robbie. I usually begin my rides at Plaisir as they have lovely outdoor showers, nice bathrooms and a bike wash for after the ride.

There is also a weekend market where you can get refreshments.

The climb from there is very pleasant and you can then loop through to Boschendal, do as much of that as you want and then come back down at Plaisir, either on the single track or the flow line for part of the descent.

I'm not sure how good the bikes available at Franschhoek cycles are, but Plaisir do have a few very decent bikes available. Perhaps call ahead and find out.

Enjoy the riding!

 

Edit: There is also a super fun loop out of Specialized in Paarl and you can get through to Diamant/Spice Route from there on some recently cut single-track. Lots of climbing but great fun.

Edited October 27, 2021 by Trashy
Addition

[ichnusa]

Also look at Banghoek trails - between Boschendal and Pniel...

[Yyyy]

what about the actual Franshoek Wine Valley trails around the dam

How are those. Was thinking of riding there in the near future

[ChrisF]

8 minutes ago, YaseenEnos said:

what about the actual Franshoek Wine Valley trails around the dam

How are those. Was thinking of riding there in the near future

 

Wonder how much of that is "trails" and how much are gravel roads ?

 

I certainly want to do that.

[Yyyy]

17 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Wonder how much of that is "trails" and how much are gravel roads ?

 

I certainly want to do that.

Dont mind some gravel roads ever so now and then as long as the views are scenic and beautiful

[Trashy]

51 minutes ago, YaseenEnos said:

what about the actual Franshoek Wine Valley trails around the dam

How are those. Was thinking of riding there in the near future

I chatted with the guys at Franschhoek Cycles and they said the trails weren't particularly well marked. I might head there soon and scout it out though.

[Robbie Stewart]

2 hours ago, Trashy said:

Hi Francois.

I agree with Robbie. I usually begin my rides at Plaisir as they have lovely outdoor showers, nice bathrooms and a bike wash for after the ride.

 

I dunno how I managed to miss the fact that Plaisir have showers - you just made my year!!! I normally drive in from Blouberg and session the flow line for half a day and then drive back stinking up my bakkie smelling like a sun-cured pig. Now I can get showered, bike washed and perhaps even get some excellent wine all in one go.

That's almost as good a reason to ride Plaisir as that epic flow line is.

[Francois Pienaar]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Wonder how much of that is "trails" and how much are gravel roads ?

 

I certainly want to do that.

Wouldn't mind gravel roads to get some miles in over a nice long weekend in the winelands. 

[Francois Pienaar]

27 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

I dunno how I managed to miss the fact that Plaisir have showers - you just made my year!!! I normally drive in from Blouberg and session the flow line for half a day and then drive back stinking up my bakkie smelling like a sun-cured pig. Now I can get showered, bike washed and perhaps even get some excellent wine all in one go.

That's almost as good a reason to ride Plaisir as that epic flow line is.

Shot for all of this the comments have been super rad.  Look, coming off of the bike that I have, I know my rental is going to be a bit of a donkey, but I figured, at least I can ride! 

[Robbie Stewart]

1 minute ago, Francois Pienaar said:

Shot for all of this the comments have been super rad.  Look, coming off of the bike that I have, I know my rental is going to be a bit of a donkey, but I figured, at least I can ride! 

no worries mate. I hope you have a jol. I wish I could offer to take you on a tour of the best that part of the world has to offer, but I'm almost 5 weeks in with a broken ankle.

All I can say is that these trails are going to make you want to relocate to Cape Town for sure. ????

[Francois Pienaar]

26 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

no worries mate. I hope you have a jol. I wish I could offer to take you on a tour of the best that part of the world has to offer, but I'm almost 5 weeks in with a broken ankle.

All I can say is that these trails are going to make you want to relocate to Cape Town for sure. ????

hehe, thanks for the thought bro.  Ye, I know, I've ridden "some" trails in the area and absolutely love it.  I'll report back on this thread on how it went.  #RideOn

[Trashy]

2 hours ago, Robbie Stewart said:

I dunno how I managed to miss the fact that Plaisir have showers - you just made my year!!! I normally drive in from Blouberg and session the flow line for half a day and then drive back stinking up my bakkie smelling like a sun-cured pig. Now I can get showered, bike washed and perhaps even get some excellent wine all in one go.

That's almost as good a reason to ride Plaisir as that epic flow line is.

They're nothing fancy at all, but they are hot- all that matters after a sweaty day sessioning the flow line????

Edited October 27, 2021 by Trashy
Spelling

[Jbr]

Quick question to those who know the area. Is it possible to ride from the bottom of Franschhoek pass (Viliersdorp side) to Han se Kop ?

I checked strava data, it seems some of the segments have been ridden recently, but they are recorded the other way around (from hans se kop towads FH pass).

It seems to be quite an adventure though... 120km with that kind of elevation definitely won't take 4 hours.

I'm open to suggestions for nices rides that side, I already did the little network east side of Berg River Dam. Not so keen on doing the road towards Boschendal but I could maybe drive that side and ride from there. Banhoek seems to be a bit small for a 3 hour ride (I don't want to be doing 10x the same loop), but there's probably a possibility to connect from banhoek to hels or something...

I'm looking at +/- 3 hour with a little bit of fun but that also feels like an adventure, if anyone has a nice route for me that I can just load on the garmin, would be great

 

Edited March 17, 2022 by Jbr