The Diamond Dash - Parys to Kimberley

 “Quartermilers”,,,i.e. 250 Milers (400km)…are a potentially cool long weekend ride for many of us who lack the time that a full (1,000) “Miler” requires.

So while we were plotting the Parys Le Cap 1,000 Miler, it dawned upon us that the Parys to Kimberley section of this ride, with a distance of 480.9km made a nice “Quartermiler”…being within our 400-500km range to be classified as such, albeit on the long side nearer to the 500km upper limit. And so the Diamond Dash came into being, and Matthew Myburgh became the 1st rider to complete the route over the weekend of 24/25 February 2024  in a time of 42 hours and 50 minutes. He reached the end point at Kimberley War Memorial at around 20h50 on the Sunday evening, after a 2h00 start from Parys on the Saturday morning.

He did however afford himself the luxury of a sleepover at Bloemhof, as he passed by Bloemhof Dam, SA’s 7th largest dam.

Click on link below for video:

https://youtu.be/cdrFh_H_m04?si=IzUGBb3AVr4xLxlI

Kimberley is a city famous for its Big Hole, the man-made hole created after diamonds were discovered. The hole is believed to be the largest hand dug hole in the world.

Kimberley was also the 1st South African and Southern Hemisphere town to get street lights…another interesting bit of trivia.

But a key feature of the ride is a trip  through the Vredefort Dome area shortly after leaving Parys, a mountainous area create around the edge the biggest known meteor impact crater in the world, as the meteor hit earth rather a long time ago.

After the dome, the route becomes very flat, and remains so for most of the ride to Kimberley. Cumulative ascent between Parys and Kimberley is only 2,162m, so it is easy on the rider from a climbing point of view. 

The flatness of the route should hardly be surprising as much of the ride is near to the Vaal River, SA’s 2nd largest river, and the numerous pretty crossings of the river are a highlight of the ride…and a cool-off swim opportunity perhaps.

The area is something of a breadbasket, with Mielie and sunflower farming…and some cattle in between…as far as the eye can see.

The route was extremely quiet for the most part, with very few vehicles passing us except on the odd tar road bits near towns.

And while the area is perhaps not celebrated for scenic beauty, the peaceful riding was very pleasant, and a few little wildlife delights were on display….from the buck on the game farms, bird life around the dams, the mandatory tortoise or 2, and the odd impressive-looking pufadder lying on the road.

The gravel roads were in decent condition for much of the way on the 1st ride. However, the significant rain that is typical for February, and given that the route is so flat I guess, created significant mud  in parts, especially in the few hours late on the 1st day as we approached the overnight town of Bloemhof, slowing us down considerably.

The ride is thus likely to be faster in the dry winter months, but the cold in those months requires a little more warm clothing to be taken along. The muddy water puddles did however prove useful for drinking when we ran out of water at one stage.   

The odd old tar road that we found ourselves on was often fairly free of cars, often because of the poor condition, in some parts making it difficult to see that the road actually was a tar road once upon a time. It happens quite frequently in the Free State that its dirt roads are in better condition than the tar ones, but not always. We did run into the odd heavily rutted gravel road section between Christiana and Boshoff.

The towns along the route ….Viljoenskroon, Bothaville, Bloemhof, Christiana and Boshoff….are generally in a sorry state, but did pleasantly surprise with cuisine. Many small Free State towns don’t have any famous brands in them, but we did get treated to a KFC breakfast in Viljoenskroon, while in Bothaville we were surprised to actually even see a Mugg and Bean.

It probably goes without saying that this ride is likely to be hot in summer, but unlike many areas in the Karoo, shade is often available for breaks.

Matt completed his Diamond Dash at the Kimberley War Memorial shortly before 21h00 on the Sunday evening. The ride doesn’t finish there for any particular reason other than that the memorial is very central on a large traffic circle where a few major routes in and out of Kimberley converge.

Accommodation in Kimberley is plentiful, even late in the evening. There is the Horseshoe Motel, conveniently located on the outskirts of the town but near a few garage shops and late night fast foods joints.

If you don’t have a lift home, Kimberley airport does have car hire companies, so you can pull in there and get a car to drive home in after a good rest. There are plenty of buses coming through too, but the trains are long gone.

If you have more time, and arrive earlier in the day in Kimberley, a treat might be a stay at the historic Kimberley Club, once frequented by Cecil John Rhodes and other illustrious magnates.

The route is 480.9.km in distance with 2,162m of vertical ascent and 2,310m of vertical descent. You’re unlikely to need your spare set of brake pads on this one.

For the route map and GPX file download, click on the link below

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45477454

ROUTE DISTANCES BETWEEN TOWNS 

Parys to Viljoenskroon - 100.2km (100.2km from the start)

Viljoenskroon to Bothaville  - 45.6km  (145.8km from the start)

Bothaville to Bloemhof  - 133.6km  (279.4km from the start)

Bloemhof to Christiana - 58.1km  (337.5 km from the start)

Christiana to Boshoff  - 75.2km (412.7km from the start)

Boshoff to Kimberley - 67.3km  (480.7km from the start)