Why this ride
A named mountain-road corridor with sustained elevation change and pass scenery. It links naturally to Cape Fold Mountains.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Bainskloof Pass starting at Wellington
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 75 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 07
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
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.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
Sep-Apr
Scenic road chapters
Bainskloof Pass
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 14 km this is Bainskloof Pass, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 14 km
- Named road
- Bainskloof Pass
- Pass
- Bainskloof Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Wellington SA
Wellington is a farming town at the foot of the Groenberg mountains, and it sits at the start of one of the most beautiful passes in the Cape. It is known for wine, brandy and dried fruit, and long avenues of oak trees lead into its centre, with fields of vines and orchards beyond. Originally called Wagenmakersvallei, the Wagon-makers' Valley, it was renamed in the nineteenth century for the Duke of Wellington, and it grew into a centre of education and trade, with an old girls' seminary and a handsome Dutch Reformed church that give it a dignified air.
Read the complete Wellington SA write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wellington SA sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Bainskloof Pass.
2. Bainskloof Pass
Andrew Geddes Bain, a Scottish-born road engineer, built this pass in the middle of the nineteenth century, and a surprising amount of his work is still what you ride on. Bainskloof, completed in the early 1850s with the labour of convicts, links Wellington with Wolseley and the Breede River valley by cutting through the Limietberg mountains, and it was designated a national monument long ago. The stonework is the thing to notice: dry-packed retaining walls, culverts and bridges that have outlived most modern roads.
Read the complete Bainskloof Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bainskloof Pass comes up 21 km in. Next is Ceres.
3. Ceres
Ceres is fruit country, and the signs on the road say so, with apples, pears and peaches grown in the high valley of the Warm Bokkeveld. The town lies in a bowl surrounded by the Cape fold mountains, and the name is that of the Roman goddess of agriculture, which suits it. Orchards cover the floor of the basin, packing sheds and juice factories line the edges, and in blossom time in early spring the valley turns white and pink. Around forty thousand people live here, a mixture of farming families and seasonal workers.
Read the complete Ceres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
75 km in you reach Ceres.
Recorded source links
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Bainskloof Pass · 42 km
- Du Toitskloof Pass · 60 km
- Route 62 South Africa: Cape Town to Montagu · 451 km
- Cederberg Mountain Weekend · part 1 · 198 km