Your favourite route?

[ukethi]

Van Galens has some awesome trail and it has a somewhat magical feel down by the river and especially in the reed tunnels. Also great to sit down for a meal after the ride and it is family friendly and great for kids with the farm animals. The trails are not quite beginner and need a little skill to ride them all without getting off your bike, voluntarily or not, but are a lot of fun for everyone regardless.

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the link for some photos

 

Van Galens Trailriding

 

 

 

Teak place have done some great work on the trails but the restaurant needs to jack up their service and accomodate the needs of the cyclists a little better.

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the hijack, just posted this elsewhere.

 

 

 

Does anyone have the gps track of the van galens route including the trails out the back. I need to do some route planning and this would be usefull. Unfortunately I only have the gps tracks next to the river.

 

 

 

 

[MeSuperFast]

guys - best route in KZN?

[parabola]

Thanks Grondpad' date=' you da man! From my side: I dig my table mountain loop from my house up to Rhodes mem, to the tampon towers, across Klooknek to signal hill, then all the way back along Tafelberg Rd, bombing down the jeep tracks at the end, with a fast finish down the back of the memorial to the bridge. Off-road riding that starts from your door rules!

 

 

 

Also Tokai is always good, lots of singletrack, great views and a nice testing hill climb to the mast. Bonus points for being 10 minutes drive away..[/quote']

 

 

 

Can you ride all the way from Rhodes mem to Kloofnek? is it jeeptrack?

[MeSuperFast]

Sure you can, combination of jeep track and walking paths. You exit at Deer Park or a little a higher up onto Tafelberg Road just after the cable car station.

[Nancy Drew]

Thanks Grondpad' date=' you da man! From my side: I dig my table mountain loop from my house up to Rhodes mem, to the tampon towers, across Klooknek to signal hill, then all the way back along Tafelberg Rd, bombing down the jeep tracks at the end, with a fast finish down the back of the memorial to the bridge. Off-road riding that starts from your door rules!

Also Tokai is always good, lots of singletrack, great views and a nice testing hill climb to the mast. Bonus points for being 10 minutes drive away..[/quote']

 

You guys actually have a place called "tampon towers"?  That's just not right....

 

My favourites are the Spruit (from an accessibilty point of view) and Breedts Nek (for the climb)

 

 

[MeSuperFast]

Spruit riders - where is the best place to start the ride to get max distance? Is Field and Study a good start?

 

 

 

NancyDrew - we have 3 tampon towers! in a row, like triplets with PMS

[Nancy Drew]

Spruit riders - where is the best place to start the ride to get max distance? Is Field and Study a good start?

NancyDrew - we have 3 tampon towers! in a row' date=' like triplets with PMS[/quote']

 

The longest stretch that I've done on the Spruit would be from Alberts Farm to the N1 but Alberts farm is closer for me than field and study so maybe one of the 'Paulshof side riders' can comment

 

Tampon Towers - that's just nasty (american accent on the nasty for full effect)

 

 

[MeSuperFast]

Hey - I didn't name the towers! That's just what they're called down here...

 

 

 

Sensational views and a great place to live if you like riding Table mountain jeep tracks..

[Nancy Drew]

MSF - you're gonna have to post us Gautengers a pic sometime

 

 

[Plentipotential]

Disa Park is one of the most notorious pieces of architecture in the Vredehoek area of Cape Town, South Africa.

Built by the construction company Murray and Roberts in the 1960s, these three 17 story, cylindrical towers, called Blinkwater, Platteklip and Silverstroom, are nestled on the slopes of Table Mountain, and are almost universally proclaimed to be a blemish on the face of the majestic mountain. The three towers are popularly known to Capetonians as "The Pepper Pots" or "Tampon Towers".

Murray and Roberts found a loop hole in the building restrictions on the mountainside, and built the base below the allowable development line, then built upward, above the line.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1f/P1060208a_Vredehoek_and_the_Suburbs.jpg/360px-P1060208a_Vredehoek_and_the_Suburbs.jpg

http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png

With the suburbs of Oranjezicht and Vredehoek in the foreground, the unrestricted view enjoyed by residents of Disa Park can be appreciated

The residents tend to disagree with the demolitionists, their homes have access to dozens of trails and hikes on their doorstep as well as a tennis court, squash courts, braai area and a swimming pool. The towers also provide an excellent vantage point for scenic views over the region.

[MeSuperFast]

That's them in the upper right of the picture. Thanks Plentipotential!

[Dirtbreath]

Nationalaaaaise Them!!!!!!!!!

 

The beauty of the spruit is that its accessable at so many different points.

 

From the top....Alberts Farm, Emmarentia, Parkhurst, Delta Park, Fratteli's, Blairgowrie, William Nicol, Field and Study, Bryanston, Riverside, Paulshof. It is moderately uphill from Paulshof up to Alberts Farm and you can throw in a few steeper climbs if you want. Nothing too hectic with a few obstacles here and there to test your skills.

 

Much more accessible and less intimidating than Deer Park.

 

[Mileage]

Limpopo - Tzaneen

 

Use these rides for rowing training camps. 60-90min or more uphill at a time!!

 

From R71 turn off at the Debengeni Falls Road. ?20km. Up the logging roads to the forestry hut at De Hoek, a short down hill and then the big climb up the back of Magoebaskloof and then the long fast downhill on logging roads to the Brooderstroom Forestry Hut.

 

From R528 up the Agatha logging rd which is about 7km and then fast downhill on tar into town for a breakfast coffee. Plenty more off roads to explore along this one and I think that you will find more logging trails on the back side of the hill.

 

From R528 past Agatha rd on left and turn right at a long line of trees going downhill onto logging roads. The road winds down to a river (flows into Tzaneen Dam) and then up some seriously rough tracktor roads. In summer I couldnt get the Land Rover up them. At some stages you are pushing the bike with the handle bar above your head!! But it turns into some great riding up in the clouds and then down through the tea plantations on the other side. Also plenty of off roads for more exploring.

 

There are ridiculous amounts of logging roads and trails available in this area and some spectacular scenery. Most rides we go on are 2-3 hours as we have rowing and gym sessions as well but you could quite easily go for a whole day and not see tar.

 

Could upload some images but it says I dont have enough permission to do so. Any help??

 

You can see the pics on the SA Junior Rowing Team Blog

http://sajuniorrowing.blogspot.com/2009/07/april-womens-camp-tzaneen.html

http://sajuniorrowing.blogspot.com/2009/07/june-camp-tzaneen.html