The old railway road that winds up the Berg next to the N3 from Besters in the KZN foothills up to van Reenen is to me one of the nicest rides in the country.
I first heard about the road in the pub in Swinburne, put a request for a track here on the forum, and found that quite a few WDs had ridden it. BushClown obliged and the road became part of the route of the Newcastle weekend â?? the forum report is at:-
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=17497.0
On the Newcastle trip it was the fifth of six Berg crossings we did on the Saturday, and the pull of the beers in the Green Lantern Inn in van Reenen was strong and we did not really get a chance to take many pics or admire the scenery.
My son Simon and I are both old boys of Michaelhouse in the Natal Midlands, and with him having spent the last six years at the University of Cape Town we had never had a chance to visit the school together, so we decided to go down for the Hilton rugby match on Saturday and do some sightseeing on Sunday. Simon is not into powered biking, but he loves his mountain bike, so I sold him the idea of a ride down the railway road with me as guide/second/sweeper/coffee provider/photographer and general parental nuisance.
He will claim that I totally misled him as to the bumpiness of the road and the number of uphillâ??s to ride on the way down â?? claims fully justified. You donâ??t really see the slopes on a motorbike and there were times I felt really sorry for his legs pumping away up the hills.
But much of his discomfort was of his own doing. At the rugby match he was befriended by an old fellow who had a large stash of fine French wines who kept his goblet permanently full, and when we made it back to Swinburne he got stuck in the pub with some of the locals and the ownerâ??s daughter until many hours after his wise father had retired.
I really enjoyed the ride with Simon, and it was great to have time to really look about and enjoy the view and take pics. Having said that I was amazed as to how fast he could cover the ground on a mountain bike. Every time I stopped up ahead he seemed to be with me far sooner than I expected. With many stops on the way he made the 35Km track in a little over two hours and then did a further 10Km on tar to the tollgate to save me two tolls when I went to fetch the car.
This road is on my list of â??must rideâ? tracks, and I still have in mind to organize an exploratory weekend in the van Reenen area to get a chance to do some of the other passes, tunnels and tracks in the area.
Some pics of the trip:-
At the start â?? only one needed petrol.
van Reenen suburbia.
The start of the old railway track.
The start of the drop â?? Railway gradient â?? never steep.
Bit of adjustment on the way
Waiting for eyes to adjust to the dark.
Nearing the foothills
Cappuccino stop and leg rest
Some hills I had forgotten about.
Foothills and Locals on plastic bikes.
Another forgotten hill.
Over the top
A hill I never realized was a hill.
Nearing the final downhill
The bottom at Besters
I first heard about the road in the pub in Swinburne, put a request for a track here on the forum, and found that quite a few WDs had ridden it. BushClown obliged and the road became part of the route of the Newcastle weekend â?? the forum report is at:-
https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=17497.0
On the Newcastle trip it was the fifth of six Berg crossings we did on the Saturday, and the pull of the beers in the Green Lantern Inn in van Reenen was strong and we did not really get a chance to take many pics or admire the scenery.
My son Simon and I are both old boys of Michaelhouse in the Natal Midlands, and with him having spent the last six years at the University of Cape Town we had never had a chance to visit the school together, so we decided to go down for the Hilton rugby match on Saturday and do some sightseeing on Sunday. Simon is not into powered biking, but he loves his mountain bike, so I sold him the idea of a ride down the railway road with me as guide/second/sweeper/coffee provider/photographer and general parental nuisance.
He will claim that I totally misled him as to the bumpiness of the road and the number of uphillâ??s to ride on the way down â?? claims fully justified. You donâ??t really see the slopes on a motorbike and there were times I felt really sorry for his legs pumping away up the hills.
But much of his discomfort was of his own doing. At the rugby match he was befriended by an old fellow who had a large stash of fine French wines who kept his goblet permanently full, and when we made it back to Swinburne he got stuck in the pub with some of the locals and the ownerâ??s daughter until many hours after his wise father had retired.
I really enjoyed the ride with Simon, and it was great to have time to really look about and enjoy the view and take pics. Having said that I was amazed as to how fast he could cover the ground on a mountain bike. Every time I stopped up ahead he seemed to be with me far sooner than I expected. With many stops on the way he made the 35Km track in a little over two hours and then did a further 10Km on tar to the tollgate to save me two tolls when I went to fetch the car.
This road is on my list of â??must rideâ? tracks, and I still have in mind to organize an exploratory weekend in the van Reenen area to get a chance to do some of the other passes, tunnels and tracks in the area.
Some pics of the trip:-
At the start â?? only one needed petrol.
van Reenen suburbia.
The start of the old railway track.
The start of the drop â?? Railway gradient â?? never steep.
Bit of adjustment on the way
Waiting for eyes to adjust to the dark.
Nearing the foothills
Cappuccino stop and leg rest
Some hills I had forgotten about.
Foothills and Locals on plastic bikes.
Another forgotten hill.
Over the top
A hill I never realized was a hill.
Nearing the final downhill
The bottom at Besters
