Andrew Geddes Bain, a Scottish-born road engineer, built this pass in the middle of the nineteenth century, and a surprising amount of his work is still what you ride on. Bainskloof, completed in the early 1850s with the labour of convicts, links Wellington with Wolseley and the Breede River valley by cutting through the Limietberg mountains, and it was designated a national monument long ago. The stonework is the thing to notice: dry-packed retaining walls, culverts and bridges that have outlived most modern roads.
Riding it is a sequence of tight bends in a gorge of rock and fynbos, with the Witte River running far below and rock faces rising close on one side. There is not much run-off and not much width, so keep to your lane, slow down for blind corners, and expect the odd oncoming car in the middle of the road. Baboons sit on the walls and sometimes on the tarmac, and they are bolder than they look, so do not feed or approach them. Ride on a dry day, since the surface can be slippery when wet, and mist and rain make the walls feel closer than ever.
The best moment is a quiet morning in spring or early summer, when the mountains are green and the flowers are out, with proteas and ericas on the slopes and the smell of wet rock. In winter the peaks above the pass may carry snow, and the road can be damp for days, so look up the conditions. Pools in the river below, reached by short paths, are lovely for a swim after a hot ride, if you do not mind the cold. The sun comes late to parts of the gorge, so some bends stay in shade and may hold ice on frosty mornings.
There are no services on the pass itself, so take what you need. Wellington, fourteen kilometres away with a population above fifty thousand, has fuel and restaurants, and Paarl and Ceres are the larger towns on either side. Cell reception can vanish in the gorge, so tell somebody your route, and keep to a steady pace. A flask of coffee and a view are all you need at the top.