Piketberg sits at the foot of a flat-topped sandstone mountain in the Swartland, the wheat and wine country north of Cape Town, and it is the sort of place most people drive straight past on the N7. That is a pity, because the town has an easy, old-fashioned charm. The name is said to come from the piquet, the military guard post the Dutch East India Company kept here in the eighteenth century, and some of the Cape Dutch buildings date from those years.
The mountain behind the town rises abruptly from fields of wheat, which turn gold in late spring and are cut in November. Orchards, vineyards and rooibos plantations appear to the north and east, and in August and September the wildflowers of the West Coast, daisies and bulbs in blazing orange and white, spread across the slopes after good winter rain. The air is dry and clear, the sky enormous, and the light turns everything the colour of honey.
Fuel is easy here. Piketberg has stations and shops, and since the next big town on the N7 is a good distance away, it is an important stop. Cape Town is roughly a hundred and fifty kilometres to the south, and Citrusdal, over the Piekenierskloof Pass to the north, is the gateway to the Cederberg. Many riders going to or from the northern Cape fill up in Piketberg out of habit.
The riding in the area is mostly straight and fast on the N7, with gentle rises and long views. The more rewarding roads run through the Swartland farmland on quieter routes, with big bends and little traffic. In summer, temperatures can climb above thirty-five degrees, with a strong dry wind, so carry water. In winter, the hills are green, and cold, wet fronts can sweep in off the Atlantic.
Stop for a coffee and a pastry in the town, look at the old church and the neat streets, and carry on. A small town, a large landscape and a long day ahead make a good combination.