Why this ride
A 79 km one-way ride from near Constantia, about 1 h 30 of riding. On the way it passes Cape Town and Scenic stretch near Atlantis. The climb of the day is Constantia.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
West Coast Flower Road · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 79 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 30
- 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
West Coast Flower Road fuel gate → West Coast Flower Road high point
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 22 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 15 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
West Coast Flower Road is where the day begins. Next is West Coast Flower Road high point.
2. 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
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is West Coast Flower Road 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 146 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Atlantis.
4. Scenic stretch near 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
Scenic stretch near Atlantis, late in the day. Next is Photo stop near Atlantis.
5. Photo stop near 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
Finish at Photo stop near Atlantis. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Scenic stretch near Atlantis to Photo stop near Atlantis
Scenic stretch near Atlantis → Photo stop near Atlantis is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.