DAY 1 – TRANSFER TO START OF RIDE IN CITRUSDAL

Afternoon departure from Cape Town and transfer to Piekenierskloof in Citrusdal, where we
prep for the 3 days of cycling ahead. www.piekenierskloof.co.za

DAY 2- PEIKENIERSKLOOF TO CLANWILLIAM

We depart Piekenierskloof along the Paleisheuwel road along the ridge of the mountains before turning down at 12km into a rugged valley between the Pretoriuskrans and Maanberg koppies.

We are now seeing more Rooibos plantations between the citrus as well
as Buchu on the southern slopes. Tierhoek Wines ( www.tierhoek.com) has been here since
1886 and produces not only wines but also Buchu and Rooibos.

At their turn off the tarred surface runs out and there will be a short shuttle. For the adventurous few, the opportunity to do a 3.8km ‘Afripave’ might be too tempting and they are welcome to ride this downhill section.

Back on our bikes we head down the Marcuskraal road to the N7. Since we were
last here the N7 has been upgraded with a smooth surface and wide shoulder and at our
51km mark there is the well-appointed, De Kleine Schuur Padstal, offering coffee etc.

25km later we turn off to Clanwilliam and head for the Bowling and Tennis club for Lunch. We overnight at the Yellow Aloe, boasting spectacular gardens and 3 pools. yellowaloe.co.za

DAY 3 – CLANWILLIAM TO DRAAIHOEK

We leave the semi-desert of the Cederberg today and head towards the West Coast. This is the road to Lamberts Bay in the Sandveld region, where a lot of your potatoes come from – a sandy area with a large variety of fynbos, which is most evident in the winter months.

Through Graafwater we turn down to pass Leipoldtville, named after the poet, C Louis Leipoldt’s father, then it is down to the Velorenvlei, an important esturine system with abundant birdlife. White Pelicans, Flamingoes and Fish Eagles are amongst the 180 odd species found here.

We head around the lake and skirt Elands Bay before stopping at Draaihoek, where we enjoy a well-deserved lunch, before transferring to Abalone Hotel in the delightful beach resort of Paternoster.  www.abalonehotel.co.za 

DAY 4 – PATERNOSTER TO YZERFONTEIN

We hope the winds are in our favour as we head towards Yzerfontein.

The road gently climbs as we retrace our steps back to Vredenberg and then down towards Langebaan, past the iron smelting plants of Saldanha, contrasting with the blue lagoon to our right.

As we enter the West Coast National Park, the urban sprawl is replaced by tranquillity with an abundance of Renosterveld, Fynbos and tortoises. Out the other end we do the N7 for 11km to The Beach House in Yzerfontein, where we enjoy lunch before shuttling 100km back to Cape Town.