Sandveld-Cederberg Overnight Ride 1 & 2 Sep 2018
Interested riders are hereby invited to join me on Saturday the 1st and/or Sunday the 2nd of September 2018, for a ride through the Sandveld and the Cederberg, respectively.
There are various options to participate in this ride, viz:
- Join me from start to finish for the entire 2-day trip, including the overnight stop at the Cederberg Oasis.
- Ride along (through the Sandveld) on the Saturday only and make your own way home at the end of the day or early the next morning.
- Make your own way to the Cederberg Oasis to join Sunday's ride, via the Old Postal Route, to Ceres.
Whichever option you choose, you are responsible for you own overnight / meal arrangements at the Cederberg Oasis or elsewhere. At the time of writing, they have 12 single tents available. Camping (bring your own tent) is always an option.
The routes for the two days are as follows:
Sat 1 Sep Aug 2018: Engen Swartland 1-Stop to Cederberg Oasis (~362km)
Depart Engen Swartland 1-Stop at 07:30.
The first leg of the ride will be along the Kalbaskraal-to-Hopefield railway service road, including:
- Dassenberg Railway Stn
- Darling Railway Stn
- Uilenkraal Railway Stn
- Koperfontein Railway Stn
- Hopefield Wind farm
- Hopefield Railway Stn
From Hopefield we will head off through the Sandveld area, between Aurora, Velddrif and Dwarskersbos, then on through:
- Redelinghuys
- Kransvleikloof Pass
- Clanwilliam
- Niewoudts Pass
- Algeria
- Uitkyk Pass
- Kromrivier Pass
to Cederberg Oasis.
Sun 2 Sep 2018: Cederberg Oasis to Ceres (~288km)
Depart Cederberg Oasis at 07:30.
This ride includes
- Matjiesrivier
- Eselbank
- Wuppertal
- Biedouw Valley
- Old Post Route
- Karretjies Pass
- Tra-Tra River crossing
- Doring River crossing
- Tankwa Padstal
- Peerboomskloof Pass
- Katbakkies Pass
- Op-die-Berg
- Gydo Pass
to Ceres.
Caveat(s) and other fine print
- I have never ridden the Old Postal Route, so my knowledge is limited to what I have read and heard from other people. The Mountain Passes South Africa web-site offers an excellent report on this route.
- I do know (see above :-) that we have have to cross both the Tra-Tra and the Doring rivers. Either or both of these may be impassable due to water levels, in which case we will simply turn around and execute Plan TBD.
- There be sand in the Sandveld!
- There be sand just past Eselbank on the way to Wuppertal. This sand (ditto that in the Sandveld) be not nearly as testing as the stuff on the West Coast, such as en-route to Jurg se Kaya, but it be there all the same.
Interested?
Please post on this thread AND send me a PM with your contact details and we'll take it from there!
Checking these threads is not good for psychological well-being at the moment. I would have loved to go (I like your routes!), but - same as Lance - I also needed surgery to reattach ligaments. Grumble.
Here's a good place to ask about the Doring River level: http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=188535.msg4078994#msg4078994. At last check (mid-June) it was too high, but these things change rapidly.
Ai Zanie! It's such a pity you're not able to ride at the moment.
I'm not sure I want to check the Doring river water level before the ride 
as it will probably mean I don't even get on the Old Postal Route. I would rather just take my chances and take it as it comes.
Hi A friend and I are keen on doing the trip but can only tell you in a day or two. A lot will depend on accommodation at Oasis.
A pity the route isn't Wuppertal to Oasis just for a change I would like to fall off going the other way
I'm keen - just a bit nervous about the postal route:
- This site is full of stories of people having offs on this route, and
- I have a hernia due to my op and must not do heavy lifting, and
- my new bike has not yet been dropped and does not have steel touratech tappet cover protectors yet - just the old plastic BMW ones.
We (club outing) did the Old Postal Route "twice" in one day a few years back, so it is possible to get to the Tra Tra and back in a day, but I think you will need the whole day.
There are many pictures in this old report and a video put together by Trevor Versveld, it will give you some idea although like any dirt route, it's never the same as last time 
.
http://bmwmotorradclubcape.co.za/old-post-route-starring-postman-pat
We (club outing) did the Old Postal Route "twice" in one day a few years back, so it is possible to get to the Tra Tra and back in a day, but I think you will need the whole day.
Ah yes! Thanks Warren!
I couldn't make the club ride that weekend and have had this route on my "one-day-when-I'm-big" list ever since. We might just be forced to do it "twice" as well.
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