What are your favorite routes (gravel/road) around Cape Town?

[Mamil]

Here's a nice ride from Melkbos - some tar but a lot of gravel too

Straight up on Tar with a wide shouder to botterberg, over botterberg then old malmesbury road, turn left at Kalbaskraal and jump onto the railway line service road and follow that to Darling. Have a sandwich at Tannie Evita's. From there there are gravel option to head further into the swartland, Malmesbury, Riebeeck kasteel, or return via Papenskuil road, to Mamre - from Mamre can be a bit dodge from a "What's this cyclist doing here" point of view, through Atlantis, back to Melkbos.

Another nice option that @lechatnoirand I did the other weekend is drive Malmesbury, park there and head out on a loop that heads South to Joubertskloof road and then hooks up after 12km of tar with Haaskraal road, coffee at Hermon and then Riebeek kasteel and Wes and back to Malmesbury on Klawervlei road. Gives about 121 odd, most of it on gravel.

There are also options to go further - Moreesburg, Hopefield, Back to Darling - that's about 250 or 260 if starting in D'ville.

 

[Mamil]

  On 1/22/2024 at 9:31 AM, lechatnoir said:

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...

Expand  

I'm in - when?

[Skubarra]

  On 1/22/2024 at 9:31 AM, lechatnoir said:

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...

Expand  

Surely way nicer the other way around...

[Bub Marley]

  On 1/22/2024 at 9:01 AM, 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?

 

Expand  

For road biking, if you exclude the usual peninsula stuff, then yes either Bainskloof or Franschhoek pass is great.

 

There’s a nice breakfast spot at the foot of Bains where you can stop. And there are loads of options in Franschhoek as well for a nice stop.

[Jbr]

  On 1/22/2024 at 10:18 AM, Bub Marley said:

For road biking, if you exclude the usual peninsula stuff

Expand  

If you like being alive, it's probably a good idea to exclude that between mid november to end of jan 

[bleedToWin]

  On 1/22/2024 at 10:25 AM, Jbr said:

If you like being alive, it's probably a good idea to exclude that between mid november to end of jan 

Expand  

Best reserved for the 2nd Sunday of March...

[RustyHWR]

  On 1/22/2024 at 9:37 AM, Mamil said:

Here's a nice ride from Melkbos - some tar but a lot of gravel too

Straight up on Tar with a wide shouder to botterberg, over botterberg then old malmesbury road, turn left at Kalbaskraal and jump onto the railway line service road and follow that to Darling. Have a sandwich at Tannie Evita's. From there there are gravel option to head further into the swartland, Malmesbury, Riebeeck kasteel, or return via Papenskuil road, to Mamre - from Mamre can be a bit dodge from a "What's this cyclist doing here" point of view, through Atlantis, back to Melkbos.

Another nice option that @lechatnoirand I did the other weekend is drive Malmesbury, park there and head out on a loop that heads South to Joubertskloof road and then hooks up after 12km of tar with Haaskraal road, coffee at Hermon and then Riebeek kasteel and Wes and back to Malmesbury on Klawervlei road. Gives about 121 odd, most of it on gravel.

There are also options to go further - Moreesburg, Hopefield, Back to Darling - that's about 250 or 260 if starting in D'ville.

 

Expand  

Never felt 100% safe going past Chatsworth and the railway service road to Darling Cellars. You will never be found if something goes wrong on that stretch. 

[Mamil]

  On 1/22/2024 at 10:44 AM, RustyHWR said:

Never felt 100% safe going past Chatsworth and the railway service road to Darling Cellars. You will never be found if something goes wrong on that stretch. 

Expand  

Never had a problem in 7 or 8 trips that way. Friendly locals through kalbaskraal and Chatsworth. 

That having been said, I seldom feel 100 percent comfortable and safe anywhere on the roads. 

[Jewbacca]

  On 1/22/2024 at 11:48 AM, Mamil said:

Never had a problem in 7 or 8 trips that way. Friendly locals through kalbaskraal and Chatsworth. 

That having been said, I seldom feel 100 percent comfortable and safe anywhere on the roads. 

Expand  

Bear in mind you are 2m tall and look like a Viking squeezed into lycra.... Some of us are hobbit sized and far less intimidating!

[Mamil]

  On 1/22/2024 at 12:19 PM, Jewbacca said:

Bear in mind you are 2m tall and look like a Viking squeezed into lycra.... Some of us are hobbit sized and far less intimidating!

Expand  

Ha ha ...Jeez ... The guy manning the toll  turnaround  point on chappies called me "Oupa" on Friday afternoon. And picking my way down skeleton gorge with a cohort of my peers a guy of about 30 said "well done" in a way that said "hope I'm still hiking the mountain at their age. 

Sigh

 

[lechatnoir]

  On 1/22/2024 at 12:53 PM, Mamil said:

Ha ha ...Jeez ... The guy manning the toll  turnaround  point on chappies called me "Oupa" on Friday afternoon. And picking my way down skeleton gorge with a cohort of my peers a guy of about 30 said "well done" in a way that said "hope I'm still hiking the mountain at their age. 

Sigh

 

Expand  

that's a lovely anecdote, 'oom'

[Baracuda]

  On 1/22/2024 at 9:31 AM, lechatnoir said:

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...

Expand  

Can one actually ride that road? I have been told that large sections are closed to the public?

[guidodg]

we have some AMAZING gravel riding here in Greyton, home of the Pie Run gravelgrind race in September...hundreds of km of rolling dirt roads and some technical gravel riding routes if desired

 

[Jbr]

  On 1/23/2024 at 4:01 AM, guidodg said:

we have some AMAZING gravel riding here in Greyton, home of the Pie Run gravelgrind race in September...hundreds of km of rolling dirt roads and some technical gravel riding routes if desired

 

Expand  

Sold, what's the best argument to convince a wife to go there with 2 kids ? 

[Jewbacca]

  On 1/23/2024 at 7:15 AM, Jbr said:

Sold, what's the best argument to convince a wife to go there with 2 kids ? 

Expand  

Tell her it's just like rural France but without the French........ 😆

Greyton is rad. There is a lot for the family to get up to if they like being outdoors. 

[babse]

  On 1/22/2024 at 8:49 AM, 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

Expand  

is this not what gravel biking is about....

 

 

and im out of here! 👀