The ride :
Start off on a newly tarred road, descending along a gentle slope past an old farm house and then turn left at the 2.5km mark towards Lewis Gay Dam (no idea who he was). Pass through a metal boom and a National Parks sign below the dam wall, climbing along a steep and sandy jeep track. At 3.3km, turn right and crank along a gnarly downhill section, across a stream and then on to the Elsies River. Cross the recently built wooden bridge and, sticking to the main gravel road, climb back out of the valley.
You’re now technically in the Solole Nature Reserve and will reach a T-junction at the top of the hill (6.5km) where you turn right. Follow the eroded track down and then up onto a sandy plateau before cranking in between some sandstone peaks. This speedy section brings you to the Glencairn Expressway – either head back the way you came, or complete a circular route via Glencairn and up Red Hill on tar road.
Off the bike :
The Peninsula wine routes are superb, and Cape Point Vineyards is a must for anyone in search of an excellent coastal sauvignon blanc. Surfing at Noordhoek Beach, camel riding at Imhoff and sea kayaking at Boulders are a few other outdoor options. The fynbos biome rates as the world’s richest floral kingdom with protea trees, erica shrubs and restios grasses, and it has just been declared a World Heritage site, so get out there and enjoy.
- GRADING: Easy
- DURATION: 1 hour 24 minutes
- CONFIGURATION : 42.2 km / hour
- START POINT:
- TERRAIN: 4km Tar, 6km Gravel Road, 2km Jeep Track
- MAP: 3418AB & AD Kaapse Skiereiland 1:50 000 (1992)
- MORE INFORMATION:
- ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Go Green Card
- FACILITIES: Parking on grass next to Pinehaven Village
- BEWARE OF: Puffadders
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