Cross Cape Bike Tour 2018 | John Heathcock

In March 2018, I joined a group of old friends from Cape Town in a 600km mountain bike ride from Knysna to Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. I am not much of a biker (especially long distance rides) so this was a new experience for me. As the route was quite mountainous, I commenced a rigorous training program from mid January. I settled on a 50km route around Brisbane starting with a big 4km push up Mount Cootha followed by a circular loop around Brisbane which required about 3 hours to complete. I did this twice a week for 8 weeks which stood me in good stead for the ride to come.

As it turned out all the team members were grandfathers and as a result it became known as the Grandfather Tour. The route started in Knysna and proceeded via the picturesque Seven Passes road to George for the first night. Second day involved a long haul up the Outeniqua Pass over the coastal mountain range into the Little Karoo and then onto the pretty town of Oudsthoorn (famous for its Ostrich farms which supplied the world with Ostrich feathers in the 1800s). This was a testing day for the team. As we shared driving of the support vehicle, I got to ride up the pass but not down as I was on second shift for driving.

The third day was the best day of the tour with a pleasant ride along back roads to Calitzdorp (famous for its port wine). It was easy riding and lovely Karoo countryside following a river valley most of the day. From Calitzdorp we headed up the long and rough Rooiberg pass which really tested the team. I was lucky because the second shift of driving started at the base of the pass…! The next driver change was near the top of the pass. I was blessed that day. The boys did not quite finish this sector as it was over 100km with two mountain passes. The support vehicle came to the rescue for the last 40km. The overnight stop was Riversdale which is back on the coastal plain.

The fourth day was another challenging day due to cold wet weather and very muddy conditions on the dirt back roads. I gave up after about 20km as I could not see the sense in riding in such conditions. But three members of the team toughed it out to our destination of Swellendam. Needless to say riders and bikes were covered in mud by the end of the day.

The fifth day was far more pleasant with an undulating run to the quaint village of Greyton where our overnight accommodation turned out to be a boutique brewery with a few rooms attached…a most convenient end point for five thirsty bikers. The last day was a mixed run through to our final destination of Stellenbosch with some backroads and some sealed roads. Most of the team called it a day at the top of the Franschoek Pass while two stalwarts persisted to the end.

Over a wonderful final dinner there was consensus that it was a great experience and should be repeated the following year. As a result the same team will convene again for a 500km ride through the Baviaanskloof in April 2019…another wonderful experience coming up. Photos of the Cross Cape Tour follow.