Why this ride
676 km from Constantia to Stellenbosch, about 12 h 12 of riding. The stops in between: Cape Town, Atlantis, near Stellenbosch and Bainskloof and. The climbs: Constantia and Retreat. Long stretches are under trees.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof + Cederberg Mountain Weekend
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 676 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 12
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Chapmans Peak Drive
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 17 km this is Chapmans Peak Drive, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 12 km
- Named road
- Chapmans Peak Drive
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuel stop near Constantia
The wooded eastern flank of Table Mountain rises right above this point, a few kilometres from Constantia, where the southern suburbs meet the forests and the mountain. This is Cape Town's green side: oak avenues, pine and gum plantations, old estates and the cool, shaded slopes that catch the clouds when the southeaster blows. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden lies along the same slope, and on its terraces you can walk among proteas, ericas and other plants of the Cape Floral Kingdom with the mountain towering overhead.
Read the complete Near Constantia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof is where the day begins. Next is Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof high point.
2. Constantia
Constantia is where wine began in South Africa, and it still has the air of a place that knows it. The valley lies on the eastern side of the Table Mountain chain, sheltered from the Atlantic, with old oak avenues, whitewashed Cape Dutch farmhouses and vineyards climbing toward the steep slopes of the Constantiaberg. It is one of Cape Town's leafiest and wealthiest suburbs, but the farms are open to visitors and the roads around it are some of the most beautiful in the city.
Read the complete Constantia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof checkpoint 8.
3. Near Cape Town
Few cities give you a finish line like this one. You roll into central Cape Town with Table Mountain standing over the whole bowl of the city, flat-topped and close enough to feel personal, Devil's Peak on one side and Lion's Head and Signal Hill on the other. The point on the map sits in the old centre near the Company's Garden, the patch of land the Dutch East India Company planted in the seventeenth century to supply its ships with vegetables on the way to the East.
Read the complete Near Cape Town write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 822 km. Next is Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof scenic road.
4. Cape Town
Cape Town sits at the foot of Table Mountain, a flat-topped sandstone wall about a kilometre high, and on a day when the tablecloth of cloud spills over the edge it is one of the great sights of the world. The city lies between the mountain and the Atlantic, with a harbour that was founded in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company as a supply station for ships on the route to the East. It grew into a port of many cultures, and the mix of Dutch, Malay, African and British influences is still visible in its food, language and architecture.
Read the complete Cape Town write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof scenic road, early in the day. Next is Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof photo pull-off.
5. Atlantis
Atlantis is not a postcard town, and nobody here pretends it is. It was built from scratch in the 1970s on the sandy plains north of Cape Town, part of the apartheid government's plan to move coloured families out of the city and to create an industrial centre far from the suburbs. The result was a planned town of factories, schools and housing estates, some forty-five kilometres from the city, which still struggles with unemployment and crime. It is worth understanding that history as you ride through.
Read the complete Atlantis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bainskloof and Du Toitskloof photo pull-off sits at 219 km, early in the day. Next is Cape Town / Western Cape return.
6. Near Stellenbosch, on the way back
Planning note
Cape Town / Western Cape return comes up 274 km in. Next is Food stop near Stellenbosch.
7. Food stop near Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch is the second-oldest European settlement in South Africa, founded in 1679 by the governor Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself and his wife's family, and it has the look of a town that has been carefully looked after. Oak trees line the streets, white Cape Dutch houses with curved gables stand behind them, and the mountains rise on every side, purple at dusk. It is also a university town, home to the Afrikaans-speaking Stellenbosch University, which gives the centre a young, lively atmosphere.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Stellenbosch write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
A break here. Next is Back to Bainskloof and.
8. Back to Bainskloof and
The name means wood bay in Dutch, because the early settlers cut timber from the forests in this valley to build and heat Cape Town. Today the harbour is lined with fish-and-chip stalls, and boat trips run out to Duiker Island, a rock covered in noisy Cape fur seals. Behind the village rise the sharp peaks of the Twelve Apostles and the Sentinel, a rock that looks like a sleeping giant.
Read the complete Bainskloof and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Bainskloof and. That is the ride. Next is Cederberg Mountain Weekend.
9. Fuel stop near Stellenbosch
Return visit. Read the place description above.
10. Near Moorreesburg, on the way back
North of Cape Town, the Swartland stretches out in long, low waves of wheat, golden in early summer and green in winter, broken by farmsteads, gum trees and the occasional rocky hill. Moorreesburg, about ten kilometres from the point, is one of the main towns of this wheat belt, and it has a small museum devoted to the wheat industry, a modest but fitting tribute to the crop that shaped the region.
Read the complete Near Moorreesburg, on the way back write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cape Town / Western Cape return comes up 493 km in. Next is Food stop near Atlantis.
11. Food stop near Atlantis
Planning note
A break here. Next is Cederberg Mountain Weekend photo pull-off.
12. Constantia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Constantia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cederberg Mountain Weekend photo pull-off, late in the day. Next is Cederberg Mountain Weekend checkpoint 8.
13. Near Constantia
Hout Bay sits in a deep green bowl on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula, a short hop over the mountains from Constantia, and this point lies in that valley or on the slopes above it. Steep peaks surround it on three sides: the Sentinel guarding the harbour mouth, the Karbonkelberg to the west and the long ridge of Table Mountain's back table to the east. The fishing harbour, the beach and the village spread out along the valley floor.
Read the complete Near Constantia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cederberg Mountain Weekend checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is Cederberg Mountain Weekend scenic road.
14. Retreat
Retreat sits on the flat land between the mountains of the Cape Peninsula and the sandy plains that run down to False Bay, a busy, working suburb on Main Road and the railway line south of the city. It is no beauty spot, but it lies right at the foot of some of the finest short rides in Cape Town, and its petrol stations and shops are useful when you are about to climb into the hills or head out along the coast.
Read the complete Photo stop near Retreat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cederberg Mountain Weekend scenic road comes up 712 km in. Next is Cederberg Mountain Weekend high point.
15. Retreat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Photo stop near Retreat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cederberg Mountain Weekend high point tops the climb. Next is Back to Cederberg.
16. Back to Cederberg
Stellenbosch is the second oldest town in South Africa, founded in 1679, and the heart of the Cape winelands, and this start and finish lies on its western edge, on the way to the Helderberg and Somerset West. The old town has oak trees, whitewashed Cape Dutch buildings and a university with a large student population, and the surrounding hills are covered in vineyards. The grapes grown here, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage and Chenin Blanc among them, have made the district famous, and many estates have tasting rooms and restaurants.
Read the complete Cederberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back to Cederberg closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Constantia to Constantia
Fuel stop near Constantia → Constantia is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Food stop near Stellenbosch to Back to Bainskloof and
Food stop near Stellenbosch → Back to Bainskloof and is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Back to Bainskloof and to Fuel stop near Stellenbosch
Back to Bainskloof and → Fuel stop near Stellenbosch is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fuel stop near Stellenbosch to Near Moorreesburg, on the way back
Fuel stop near Stellenbosch → Near Moorreesburg, on the way back is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Food stop near Atlantis to Constantia
Food stop near Atlantis → Constantia is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.