Cape Town Cycle Tour (Cape Argus)
- Thread starter EltonFrog
- Start date
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
@Globalti usually takes part ... A report of one his rides.
Globalti
Legendary Member
Hello CarlP, congratulations, the Argus has to be one of the most beautiful rides in the world. Not too long but with its own special hazards like hungry baboons!
Presumably you are planning to fit the ride in with a longer trip to SA? You can drop your bikes at a couple of places in Johannesburg and they will be packed in big boxes then carried reliably and safely in removal lorries down to the stadium in Cape Town where you can retrieve them, and send them back after the race by the same route. One of the JNB points is Cycle Lab, just up the road from Montecasino, where I always stay at the Sunsquare hotel (will be there next week, am typing this in Sudan) which I recommend as a nice budget hotel with plenty of restaurants around. You will be happy with the Rand rate if it stays where it is at the moment. Do get in touch by PM if you need any advice on where to stay as well as some local contacts who are cyclists. Can't guarantee to reply straight away as I'm travelling but will do soon.
Oh... the hotel I recommend in Cape Town is the Protea Breakwater Lodge, which is part of an annexe to the University and is right on the Waterfront, a great area for restaurants and shops, and a convenient few minutes from the city centre start line and just a few hundred yards from the finish line. The rooms are small but if you get a "suite" you get a sitting room where you can store and fettle bikes. The Argus site will link you to a booking agency for the bike transport and the hotel, of if not I can probably find out next week when I'm in SA.
Presumably you are planning to fit the ride in with a longer trip to SA? You can drop your bikes at a couple of places in Johannesburg and they will be packed in big boxes then carried reliably and safely in removal lorries down to the stadium in Cape Town where you can retrieve them, and send them back after the race by the same route. One of the JNB points is Cycle Lab, just up the road from Montecasino, where I always stay at the Sunsquare hotel (will be there next week, am typing this in Sudan) which I recommend as a nice budget hotel with plenty of restaurants around. You will be happy with the Rand rate if it stays where it is at the moment. Do get in touch by PM if you need any advice on where to stay as well as some local contacts who are cyclists. Can't guarantee to reply straight away as I'm travelling but will do soon.
Oh... the hotel I recommend in Cape Town is the Protea Breakwater Lodge, which is part of an annexe to the University and is right on the Waterfront, a great area for restaurants and shops, and a convenient few minutes from the city centre start line and just a few hundred yards from the finish line. The rooms are small but if you get a "suite" you get a sitting room where you can store and fettle bikes. The Argus site will link you to a booking agency for the bike transport and the hotel, of if not I can probably find out next week when I'm in SA.
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jahlive905
Senior Member
Just booked the missus and me to do this in 2016! Carl, any tips? Glo, can I PM you?!
OP
OP
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
Well, we went last year, but the ride was nearly cancelled because of forest fires up on the cape, in the end they put on a much shorter ride which was only 35 miles or so, and out and back along the most boring bit of the ride, they called it "The Show You Care Solidarity Ride " in support of the volunteer fire fighters. It was a good event but it is not what we went out there for.
My only tip, on the day get there early and book a car park place if you are getting to the event by car, traffic is a night mare.
I spoke with a representative of the Cape Town Cycle Tour organisers at the Ride London expo, she wasn't certain but expressed the opinion that the ride might not be as good in 2016 because they didn't know what condition the roads would be in after the fires, you might want to to check the situation.
We had a lovely ten days hols out there, we stayed in Stellenbosch, did quite bit of riding, the food is FAB and cheap, the people are smashing and the country is stunning.
We will go back but maybe in 2017
Here are a few photos
The medal
A loon on a Moulton
The start
Me and the Fragrant Mrs P crossing the finish line. (I'm the one in the Black Shutt gear.)
Ash on the bike from the fires.
Smoke from a forest fire in the distance.
My only tip, on the day get there early and book a car park place if you are getting to the event by car, traffic is a night mare.
I spoke with a representative of the Cape Town Cycle Tour organisers at the Ride London expo, she wasn't certain but expressed the opinion that the ride might not be as good in 2016 because they didn't know what condition the roads would be in after the fires, you might want to to check the situation.
We had a lovely ten days hols out there, we stayed in Stellenbosch, did quite bit of riding, the food is FAB and cheap, the people are smashing and the country is stunning.
We will go back but maybe in 2017
Here are a few photos
The medal
A loon on a Moulton
The start
Me and the Fragrant Mrs P crossing the finish line. (I'm the one in the Black Shutt gear.)
Ash on the bike from the fires.
Smoke from a forest fire in the distance.
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jahlive905
Senior Member
Looks like an amazing trip - bit of a shame about the forest fire! I'll do a bit more research on the states of the road this year. Thanks Carl!
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