Bergvliet itself is a quiet grid of suburban houses and jacaranda trees in Cape Town's southern suburbs, but look up and you see why the ride starts here. Directly above it, the Ou Kaapse Weg climbs the flank of the Steenberg mountains in a series of long, fast bends, crosses the saddle at Silvermine and drops down the far side towards Noordhoek and the Atlantic. It is the old wagon route across the peninsula, and on a clear morning it is one of the best ten minutes of riding in the city.
Right next door is Constantia, the oldest wine-growing area in South Africa. Simon van der Stel, the Dutch governor, founded his estate here in 1685, and a century later the sweet wine of Constantia was famous across Europe; Napoleon had it shipped to him in exile on St Helena. The old Cape Dutch homesteads, white-gabled and thatched, still sit among the vines at the foot of the mountain.
The slopes above are covered with fynbos, the extraordinary shrubland of the Cape, with proteas, ericas and restios, and the Silvermine section of Table Mountain National Park has walks to viewpoints and a reservoir. Fires sweep these mountains in hot, windy summers, and you may see blackened slopes regenerating with fresh green growth.
Ride the Ou Kaapse Weg with respect. It is fast and well surfaced, but the south-easter can blow hard across the top, baboons sometimes sit on the verge, and traffic police take an interest in speed here. In winter, rain and mist can roll in quickly.
Retreat and Constantia have fuel and every kind of supply, and Constantia's wine farms have restaurants with views over the vineyards, ideal for a long lunch on the way back from Franschhoek, provided someone else does the tasting.