MadDog
Pack Dog
I've been itching to try out some back roads along the Tugela for some time since a close friend showed me the places he used to ride many years back.
I thought this Saturday would be a good day to take a slow ride along the track along with anybody who's keen for a gentle ride. This should be very newbie friendly but will involve a section of slab to the start and back from the end.
The tentative plan is to start early morning at Fairway Motors in Durban North and then slab it to the Stanger turnoff and up the R74. The start point is very shortly thereafter and follows a winding path to the Tugela river and up towards ShuShu before turning left towards Kranskop. I have also added in a return path along the last 3rd of the route but veering off onto a magnificent looking gravel pass that leads back to the R74.
The 1st part is approximately 68kms and the return route is around 50kms. but the slab section to Stanger is a bit of a drag and unfortunately the only way to get to the start without wasting the start of the day.
I am posting a Google Earth snapshot of the planned route as well as the elevation profiles of the main route and the pass on the return leg. I am also posting the GPX file and Garmin GDB file for the GPS Junkies
It would be great to see some old faces and some new along for the ride. I fully intend to stop regularly for photos so the day might be a little longer than our usual rides but easily do-able for any newbies.
The only points worth mentioning are that this is tribal land and thus there will be chickens and goats etc. on the roads. please exercise extreme caution as these animals are the livelihood of a lot of the rural community and due respect should be given. We may also make a stop at the tribal chief's house to present him with a small token of thanks for allowing us to ride in his area, this goes a long way towards ensuring that fellow bikers are treated with the same respect as we give to the locals.
I look forward to seeing some of you there and will post formal times once I have seen the level of interest.
I thought this Saturday would be a good day to take a slow ride along the track along with anybody who's keen for a gentle ride. This should be very newbie friendly but will involve a section of slab to the start and back from the end.
The tentative plan is to start early morning at Fairway Motors in Durban North and then slab it to the Stanger turnoff and up the R74. The start point is very shortly thereafter and follows a winding path to the Tugela river and up towards ShuShu before turning left towards Kranskop. I have also added in a return path along the last 3rd of the route but veering off onto a magnificent looking gravel pass that leads back to the R74.
The 1st part is approximately 68kms and the return route is around 50kms. but the slab section to Stanger is a bit of a drag and unfortunately the only way to get to the start without wasting the start of the day.
I am posting a Google Earth snapshot of the planned route as well as the elevation profiles of the main route and the pass on the return leg. I am also posting the GPX file and Garmin GDB file for the GPS Junkies
It would be great to see some old faces and some new along for the ride. I fully intend to stop regularly for photos so the day might be a little longer than our usual rides but easily do-able for any newbies.
The only points worth mentioning are that this is tribal land and thus there will be chickens and goats etc. on the roads. please exercise extreme caution as these animals are the livelihood of a lot of the rural community and due respect should be given. We may also make a stop at the tribal chief's house to present him with a small token of thanks for allowing us to ride in his area, this goes a long way towards ensuring that fellow bikers are treated with the same respect as we give to the locals.
I look forward to seeing some of you there and will post formal times once I have seen the level of interest.
