CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Stellenbosch it runs 222 km to Stellenbosch; allow about 4 h of riding. On the way it passes Robben Island, Cape Floral Region Protected Areas and back through Cape Floral Region Protected Areas. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 1 km this is Route 62, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Stellenbosch is where the day begins. Next is Robben Island.
Seen from the beach at Bloubergstrand, Robben Island is a low, flat smudge on Table Bay, with Table Mountain standing up behind it from the other side. It is one of the best known and most difficult places in South Africa to think about. For several centuries the island served as a place of exile and isolation, a prison for political opponents of the Dutch and British, a leper colony and a military base. Between 1961 and 1991 it held political prisoners of the apartheid state, including Nelson Mandela, who spent eighteen of his twenty-seven years in custody here.
Read the complete Robben Island write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Robben Island comes up 37 km in. Next is Robben Island.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Robben Island write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
75 km in you reach Robben Island. Next is Cape Floral Region Protected Areas.
The Cape Peninsula ends in a long, wind-battered headland, and at its tip, Cape Point, the Atlantic and Indian oceans seem to argue. Here the rock plunges to the sea in great cliffs, the sky is huge, and on most days a gale tries to remove your hat. This is the southern part of Table Mountain National Park, set aside to protect the Cape Floral Region, the smallest and richest of the world's six plant kingdoms.
Read the complete Cape Floral Region Protected Areas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, about halfway. Next is Cape Floral Region Protected Areas.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cape Floral Region Protected Areas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cape Floral Region Protected Areas sits at 150 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cape Floral Region Protected Areas.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cape Floral Region Protected Areas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Cape Floral Region Protected Areas comes up 187 km in. Next is back through Robben Island.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Stellenbosch write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
224 km in you reach back through Robben Island. Next is back through Robben Island.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Stellenbosch write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Robben Island, late in the day. Next is Stellenbosch.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fuel stop near Stellenbosch write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 299 km.
Stellenbosch → Robben Island is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Robben Island → Cape Floral Region Protected Areas is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cape Floral Region Protected Areas → Back to Stellenbosch is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.