The love affair with riding to Cape Town continues. Here’s one such new exciting 1,000 Mile route from just south of Gauteng to Cape Town.
Enter….a 4th (1,000) Miler Club route option….the Parys Le Cap….borrowing from the 1992 Paris Le Cap version of the Dakar rally from Paris to Cape Town, this one starts in the Afrikaans Paris (Parys) on the Vaal River, the starting point being the Eiffel Town too.
https://youtu.be/K1T8iNTFziM?si=2IzgLQv8PUHaXPrS
Besides the attraction of riding from near to Gauteng (or near to Gauteng, at least) to Blouberg Beach, Cape Town, the idea is to have a 1,000 Miler Route going via the Diamond Rush city of Kimberley instead of the Joburg 2 Blouberg’s Bloemfontein route. Call the Parys 2 Kimberley section the “Diamond Dash” if you wish….which alone can offer a great nonstop weekend ride before returning to Gauteng by hired car or plane (We’re past recommending trains anymore).
Key features along the route also include a ride through the Vredefort Dome area shortly after leaving Parys, the biggest known meteor impact crater in the world; ....
....the option of a small detour to see Kimberley’s Big Hole, claimed to be the world’s deepest hand dug hole, and perhaps even a night at Kimberley’s historic Kimberley Club, once frequented by Cecil John Rhodes and other illustrious magnates;...
.... not far past Kimberley the confluence of SA’s 2 largest rivers, the Orange and Vaal;
....and further on a ride into Cape Town via the beautiful Swartland region, home to Moorreesburg, Malmesbury and other pretty Boland towns.
Going further north into the Northern Cape than the Joburg 2 Blouberg, the route will likely be drier and hotter than the Joburg 2 Blouberg route to the south, and possibly a tad colder in winter.
The route is 1,619.7 km in distance with 10,058m of vertical ascent and 11,437m of vertical descent
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45346856
ROUTE DISTANCES BETWEEN TOWNS
Parys to Viljoenskroon - 100.2km (100.2km from the start) W/F/A
Viljoenskroon to Bothaville - 45.6km (145.8km from the start) W/F/A
Bothaville to Bloemhof - 133.6km (279.4km from the start) W/F/A
Bloemhof to Christiana - 58.1km (337.5 km from the start) W/F/A
Christiana to Boshoff - 75.2km (412.7km from the start) W/F/A
Boshoff to Kimberley - 59.8km (472.5km from the start) W/F/A/BM
Kimberley to Plooysburg - 79.5km (552km from the start) W
Plooysburg to Douglas - 52.3km (604.5km from the start) W/F/A
Douglas to Prieska - 157.5km (762km from the start) W/F/A
Prieska to Van Wyks Vlei - 125km (887km from the start) W/F/A
Van Wyks Vlei to Brandvlei - 145km (1,032km from the start) W/F/A
Brandvlei to Loeriesfontein - 122km (1,154 km from the start) W/F/A
loeriesfontein to Nieuwoudtsville - 64km (1,218 km from the start) W/F/A
Nieuwoudtsville to Clanwilliam - 133km (1,351 km from the start) W/F/A
Clanwilliam to Paleisheuwel Trading Store - 53km (1,404km from start) W/F
Paleisheuwel to Eendekuil 36 km (1,440km from the start) W/F/A
Eendekuil to Piketberg 38km (1,478km from the start) W/F/A
Piketberg to Moorreesburg - 40 km (1,518 km from the start) W/F/A/BM
Moorreesburg to Malmesbury - 46 km (1,564 km from the start) W/F/A/BM
Malmesbury to Kalbaskraal - 15km (1,579km from the start) W/F
Kalbaskraal to Blouberg - 42.7km (1,621.9 km the start)
*W - Water
*F - Food
*A - Accommodation
*BM - Bike Maintenance
*The original 1st ridden route was 1,619.7km as referenced in original videos/posts. This distance has changed slightly to 1,621.9km due to minor route changes between Paleisheuwel and Mooreesburg.
No comments:
Post a Comment