Eldron Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) A customer of mine and I have decided to skip the cold weather here in Denmark and ride bike parks in and around Cape Town in Jan 2023. I did a similar thing around 6 years and rode trails all the way from Cape Town to PE and back. Garden Route Trail Park was by far my favourite route - is it still in good nick? Worth the drive? Sedgefield and Knysna are close by too.... We'll probably set up two hubs - 1 week in Cape Town and 1 week in Knysna. The contenders are: Cape Town: Hillcrest, Tokai, Bloemendal, Jonkershoek, Meerendal, Hoogekraal, Hemel en Aarde Knysna: Garden Route, Harkerville, I'm sure there are new ones and I have forgotten/missed many. Please educate me! Edited October 25, 2022 by Eldron Headshot 1
BuffsVintageBikes Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 The new Polkadraai bike park on the way to Stellenbosch Polkadraai Bike Park and Eldron 2
wolver Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 Banhoek, Plesir de Merle and Avondale (haven't ridden this one myself) if you are looking for flow trail vibes. M L, nonky and Eldron 3
edgarblount Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 21 minutes ago, Eldron said: A customer of mine and I have decided to skip the cold weather here in Denmark and ride bike parks in and around Cape Town in Jan 2023. I did a similar thing around 6 years and rode trails all the way from Cape Town to PE and back. Garden Route Trail Park was by far my favourite route - is it still in good nick? Worth the drive? Sedgefield and Knysna are close by too.... We'll probably set up two hubs - 1 week in Cape Town and 1 week in Knysna. The contenders are: Cape Town: Hillcrest, Tokai, Bloemendal, Jonkershoek, Meerendal, Hoogekraal Knysna: Hemel end Aarde, Garden Route, Harkerville, I'm sure there are new ones and I have forgotten/missed many. Please educate me! Maybe just a suggestion. Move the Hemel en Aarde to your Cpt week. It's a bit far from Nice-Na. Maybe look at some Elgin\Grabouw routes as well. M L, Cappi and Eldron 3
ChrisF Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 Greyton seems to belong on this list as well. M L, Eldron and Cappi 3
Robbie Stewart Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 32 minutes ago, Eldron said: The contenders are: Cape Town: Hillcrest, Tokai, Bloemendal, Jonkershoek, Meerendal, Hoogekraal Knysna: Hemel end Aarde, Garden Route, Harkerville, I'm sure there are new ones and I have forgotten/missed many. Please educate me! Meerendal is NOT worth the effort. Seriously. Avoid it like you'd avoid gonorreah. Hillcrest is also a tad bland, but it has fantastic views. I do acknowledge that not everyone is seeking to hit as many tech as me, some folks just want to ride singletrack for the sake of the singletrack, so in that case Hillcrest is a good ride. You can start at Bloemendal on a day-pass and ride there, cross the road and go up to the mast and ride Hillcrest before going back up again and descending the Bloemendaaler. By the end of that session you're going to feel it in your legs, and then you can stop at the Bloemendal starting point and celebrate with an ice cold CBC or Jack Black Lager. For that Garden Route Trail Park vibe in and around Cape Town you can definitely try Plaisir de Merle. It also has a awesome flow line with a gazzilion jumps that are all rollable. Banhoek , Boschendal, Plaisir all link up and you can have some excellent fun that side in a fantastic setting. Also, you can ride all that on one R60 day-pass (at current tariffs) Paarl also has some lekker trails around the Paarl Rock. MORNE , Eldron, M L and 1 other 4
Eldron Posted October 25, 2022 Author Posted October 25, 2022 22 minutes ago, edgarblount said: Maybe just a suggestion. Move the Hemel en Aarde to your Cpt week. It's a bit far from Nice-Na. Maybe look at some Elgin\Grabouw routes as well. Oops. Quite right. Getting a little confused. I've heard great things about Grabouw but never been!
Yyyy Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 When you say Bike Parks you mean like the just going up and coming back down and doing repeats (but on different downs) or would you be open to "adventure rides" where its longer session and enjoying both the ups and downs with beautiful scenery.
Nico van Loggerenberg Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 There is another thread that covers the Garden Route well. In short, I'm a big fan of GRTP, Harkerville is not what I'd call a bike park (I'd hardly even call the trails biking trails), but the new trails at Cairnbrogie get rave reviews. bullet77 and Eldron 2
Eldron Posted October 25, 2022 Author Posted October 25, 2022 41 minutes ago, Yyyy said: When you say Bike Parks you mean like the just going up and coming back down and doing repeats (but on different downs) or would you be open to "adventure rides" where its longer session and enjoying both the ups and downs with beautiful scenery. I am open to anything that is fun. I'm keen to show my customer some Cape beauty. We'll probably avoid the big rock garden/proper gap jump kinda stuff (holidays that end in broken collar bones aren't fun). Bike parks appeal because you don't need to do much navigating but please offer away - I'm happy for any and all info.
Eldron Posted October 25, 2022 Author Posted October 25, 2022 43 minutes ago, Nico van Loggerenberg said: There is another thread that covers the Garden Route well. In short, I'm a big fan of GRTP, Harkerville is not what I'd call a bike park (I'd hardly even call the trails biking trails), but the new trails at Cairnbrogie get rave reviews. Mmmmmm GRTP. Best park I have ever ridden! Always nice to tip your helmet to Matt's loop of doom (is it still there?). guidodg 1
Eddy Gordo Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 Helderberg and jonkers in stellies. I have always wanted to visit crazy daves bike park, but I have been to GRTP before the fire and enjoyed it immensly. Eldron 1
Nico van Loggerenberg Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 10 minutes ago, Eldron said: Mmmmmm GRTP. Best park I have ever ridden! Always nice to tip your helmet to Matt's loop of doom (is it still there?). Only the initial ramp - the loop is gone... probably for the best? Eldron 1
Eldron Posted October 25, 2022 Author Posted October 25, 2022 1 minute ago, Nico van Loggerenberg said: Only the initial ramp - the loop is gone... probably for the best? C'mon that loop was brand new. Only used 0.75 times 😆😆😆 That run in is insane. Definitely on my list of things to see!
Edge_Design Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 Banhoek area definitely worth a visit. Garden Route MTO Trails - accessed from the Cairnbrogie farm near Plett - are a lot of fun. Great network of single track in a fairly small area with some nice single track climbs as well as descents. It links to Harkerville as well if you want a longer ride. Eldron 1
PhilipV Posted October 25, 2022 Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) I suggest splitting Cape Town in two missions and staying in Stellenbosch as well . If you stay in town (stellies) you can roll out the door to Jonkers, Eden, G-spot. Around Simonsberg you have the Conservancy trails at Muratie, Plasir, Boschendal and Banhoek. You can roll on down to the Winelands trails at Dornier, Stellenzicht Ernie Els and Helderberg. Do a Paarl day trip for an adventure on the slopes of Paarlberg, or go play at Doolhof in Wellington. Cape Town leg you have to do Contermanskloof and Tokai, and a Around-Table-Mountain mission will be a lekker adventure. And I think a summer sunset on The Missing Link trail above Camps Bay will most likely be a core memory you'll look back on for many years. Edited October 25, 2022 by PhilipV Brawler, Yyyy, edgarblount and 3 others 6
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