Babylonstoren Rd Bike Trip – Day Trip on Tar and Gravel
The bike route starts from Durbanville through Riebeeck Kasteel and Riebeeck West. The route offers some stunning views on the both the tar and gravel roads. The Babylonstoren Road is a bit of a tricky road as it consists of a mixture of gravel, clay, and sand parts. You can expect the most amazing views on the Riebeeksrivier Road part of the trip as it lies in beautiful farm valley.
Route:
* Areas marked in red are gravel roads.
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Babylonstoren Rd Bike Trip Highlights:
- Spes Bona Rd (Gravel)
- Babylonstoren Rd (Gravel)
- Bothmeskloof Pass
- Riebeeck Kasteel
- Riebeeksrivier Rd (Gravel)
Babylonstoren Road Motorcycle Trip Report:
I set off just outside the Durbanville Winelands on the Spes Bona Rd. It is a short stretch of farm road heaven and a delight to add to any trip in this area. The road is a well maintained fairly busy gravel road. Expect a lot of cyclists and farm vehicles.
At the end of the Spes Bona Rd I turned onto the R302 towards Malmesbury. The R302 remains a pleasant tar road featuring a fair amount of farm views in the rural area.
As I neared Malmesbury I reached the turn-off for Babylonstoren Rd. It is quite easy to miss this turn-off as it is not clearly marked by any road signs. Best to check your GPS or Google Maps for distance to the turn-off.
Babylonstoren Rd offer a mixture of surfaces, from gravel, clay to light sand.
The road consists out of two parts;
- The first part “straight across” from the R302 towards the R45 is a decent gravel road.
- The second part backtrack from the R45, and take a left turn, until you reach the R45 again and comprises of decent, not so decent gravel and light sand parts.
All sections on the Babylonstoren Rd route however feature some great valley and mountain views.
* FOR THE ADVENTUROUS * There is an optional extra marked on the map (the downward leg marked on the map) for those experienced in sand. Please do not attempt this part if you are a newby as you will get stuck and there is no way out and no one to help. By following the deep sand road you can reach the Paardeberg Mountain Dam. You enter and return via the same route as there are no other roads to the dam.
At the end of Babylonstoren Rd I set course through the Bothmeskloof Pass to Riebeeck Kasteel and traveled through Riebeeck West.
The Riebeeksrivier Rd signpost is reached just outside Riebeeck West en-route to Moorreesburg on the R311.
I rode the gravel route until the first turn off allows a left turn. From here I continued on the gravel road to enjoy views of old farm buildings, live stock and the hills in the valley.
As you near the end of the Riebeeksrivier Rd a lookout point is reached from where you can overlook the entire valley. This part is the highlight of this road and definitely a must to experience.
Babylonstoren Rd Bike Trip Videos:
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