Johannes Treitz Posted January 21 Share Hi, been to SA couple times, mostly CT, surrounding areas, Stellenbosch, Garden Route. This year, I want to bring my gravel bike. I'm wondering which routes around CT are most enjoyable so I can pick my accommodation accordingly. I ride a mix of gravel and tar, up to 100km/day and like to stop every once in a while to have a good coffee / glas of wine / meet other cyclists. Open to switch to Stellenbosch area if that makes more sense. Thanks for your suggestions! JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted January 21 Share Cape Town itself not really great options for gravel routes, neither the towns nearest to Cape Town. You have to go out a bit further. Paarl, Wellington, Riebeek Kasteel. Over the mountains Greyton, Robertson/Montagu your best options. For something more extreme you can look at the Ceder mountains few hours north of Cape Town or Tankwa Karoo for desolate desert riding. Stellenbosch/Franschoek probably the best places if you want to do wine farms and meet other cyclists, but not a lot of gravel riding in those areas. Johannes Treitz and NC_lurker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dappere Posted January 22 Share I reside in Stellenbosch and concur with @Skubarra that for approximately 100km gravel-only rides, your best options would be Paarl, Wellington, and Riebeek Kasteel. Beyond the mountains, consider Greyton, Robertson, or Montagu. However, it's feasible to ride around 100km per day from Stellenbosch on a gravel bike, as your journeys will comprise a mix of tarmac and gravel. We often undertake several gravel rides starting from Stellenbosch; these usually include routes to/from Spice Route, or towards Durbanville/Malmesbury. Additionally, there are quite a few gravel roads near Eenzaamheid. You could also cycle to Jonkers and ride the lower parts on a gravel bike. I've attached the GPX file of the aforementioned route from Spice Route to give you an idea. I'm happy to share more if you're interested. paarl_option.gpx Johannes Treitz, BuffsVintageBikes and nonky 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffsVintageBikes Posted January 22 Share Some great routes North of Stellenbosch. I can get you onto gravel 9km's outside of the town already and you can easily ride a 100km loop from up towards Riebeek Kasteel. Johannes Treitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbr Posted January 22 Share If you gravitate around durbanville there are a few options that mix quiet roads and gravel roads, wether you chose to stay local (tygerberg memberships will give you access to even more gravel) or if you chose to go towards malmesbury, paarl/wellington or stellies, I’m sure you can plan a few 100km rides with nice gravel sections although they will rarely be more than a half hour at a time Johannes Treitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedToWin Posted January 22 Share Yes please on all the Stellenbosch options. I'm starting from Somerset so if there any tips that includes that I'll take it. Been getting my ass kicked going onto MTB green trails, but having lots of fun. 😀 Jbr, Johannes Treitz and Akon 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 22 Share As an out of towner (Johannesburg), I enjoyed the Overberg region, during my 3 week holiday. Lots of options available from Hermanus https://www.trailforks.com/region/hermanus/?activitytype=1&z=9.3&lat=-34.21847&lon=19.26069&content=trails,labels,nst,region,poi,directory,polygon,waypoint Rowl, Johannes Treitz and nonky 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lechatnoir Posted January 22 Share There is good gravel from Melkbos. Some tar to get there, but not terrible if you have the whole day. Also, Malmesbury isn't far and there are days of riding out there. nonky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbr Posted January 22 Share 27 minutes ago, lechatnoir said: There is good gravel from Melkbos. Some tar to get there, but not terrible if you have the whole day. Also, Malmesbury isn't far and there are days of riding out there. I'm curious, what's more in melkbos than this ? (Except for that Melkbossie stretch that goes nowhere). If only they reopened koeberg 😠Edited January 22 by Jbr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lechatnoir Posted January 22 Share 1 minute ago, Jbr said: I'm curious, what's more in melkbos than this ? (Except for that Melkbossie stretch that goes nowhere). If only they reopened koeberg 😠I rode around there guided by @Mamil. I think he rummaged about in Google Earth looking for likely roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyHWR Posted January 22 Share 5 minutes ago, Jbr said: I'm curious, what's more in melkbos than this ? (Except for that Melkbossie stretch that goes nowhere). If only they reopened koeberg 😠Don't think they will ever open Koeberg again. Jbr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skubarra Posted January 22 Share Just to clarify my own point, yes there are some gravel roads around Durbanville, Stellenbosch, Melkbos - but in my biased opinion they are pretty mundane, boring and broken up by long also boring tar stretches. If I was travelling from overseas specifically to do gravel the towns just outside Cape Town would not be my first choice, I would go further out Wannabe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbr Posted January 22 Share 7 minutes ago, Skubarra said: Just to clarify my own point, yes there are some gravel roads around Durbanville, Stellenbosch, Melkbos - but in my biased opinion they are pretty mundane, boring and broken up by long also boring tar stretches. If I was travelling from overseas specifically to do gravel the towns just outside Cape Town would not be my first choice, I would go further out yes that was pretty clear  It's just the guy said he doesn't mind mixing tar and gravel, that's totally possible this side, and to be honest, although I absolutely loved the loop I did recently in Cederberg, I much prefer for my daily rides doing them this side (mostly between durbanville and melkbos), because 1) the gravel roads are in much better shape and 2) you hardly ever see a car on those gravel roads, when in Cederberg locals seem to think they're racing a rally stage (maybe that's why the state of the roads was so bad). Johannes Treitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Treitz Posted January 22 Share Thanks for the helpful insights everybody! I will look a bit further out, at Cederberg, Paarl, Wellington, Riebeek Kasteel, Greyton, Robertson, Montagu for riding gravel. While we are at it, where do road bikers like to go in the Western Cape?  Edited January 22 by Johannes Treitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbr Posted January 22 Share 2 minutes ago, Johannes Treitz said: Thanks for the helpful insights everybody! I will look a bit further out, at Cederberg, Paarl, Wellington, Riebeek Kasteel, Greyton, Robertson, Montagu for riding gravel. While we are at it, where do road bikers like to go in the Western Cape?  Bain's kloof Johannes Treitz and bleedToWin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lechatnoir Posted January 22 Share OK, not quite Cape Town, but why not try this? https://www.strava.com/routes/3184445446602270538 ~900km 3000m elevation. 95% gravel. It's point-to-point and no options to Uber back... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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