Why this ride
It goes by way of Atlantis and Constantia. Retreat is the high point. The plan has 1 food stop marked.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep · short arc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 126 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 18
- 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
The ride follows Chapmans Peak Drive for 14 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 14 km
- Named road
- Chapmans Peak Drive
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cape Town / Western Cape
The name Swartland means black land, from the dark renosterbos scrub that once covered the hills, and the landscape is rolling farmland, with wheat fields that turn from green to gold and then to stubble as the year goes on. In spring, particularly in August and September, the roadside verges and fallow fields explode into yellow and orange with daisies and other annuals, and the little town holds a wildflower show to celebrate it.
Read the complete Cape Town / Western Cape return 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 is where the day begins. Next is Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep food stop.
2. 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
Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep food stop is where this day stops to eat. Next is Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep photo pull-off.
3. 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
119 km in you reach Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep photo pull-off. Next is Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep checkpoint 8.
4. 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
Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep high point.
5. 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
Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep high point tops the climb. Next is Clarence Drive Coastal Sweep scenic road.
6. 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
The route ends here after 298 km.