Tour de France magazine 2022 | Page 18

and nothing less than spectacular Swartberg Pass , a road that begs to be ridden on a bike , as it has been for over a century .
The pass runs between Oudtshoorn in the south and Prince Albert in the north . It is not tarred and can be a little treacherous after rain , but has stunning views over the Little Karoo to the south and the Great Karoo to the north . The plant life is interesting , too , with many hundreds of species being found in these mountains .
The construction of the Swartberg Pass was started by Jan Tassies using 100 workers from Mozambique . After a year he had only completed 6km and went
bankrupt . The rest of the pass was built by Thomas Bain , son of the famous Andrew Bain who built Bain ’ s Kloof Pass among others . It was built using convict labour , and opened in 1888 . The dry-stone retaining walls supporting some of its hairpin bends are still in place over 130 years later .
Legend has it that before rim brakes were invented , local bike racers with back pedal brakes only , dicing between Prince Albert and Oudtshoorn , would cut down trees and tie them to their bikes to slow them down the other side of the pass . Imagine trying to fight your way through that bunch !
Stoked to ride
We arrived in Prince Albert after a scenic drive up the N1 . A stop in Laingsburg , the dorp infamously known for its flash flood , included a very special culinary experience – freshly firebaked roadside curry and biltong & cheese ‘ roosterkoeks ’ by the now legendary street vendor Tannie Poppie , who was recently flown to Italy for a cooking TV show . Next stop was the beyond charming Matjiesfontein , a must-dopstop at the Milner Hotel bar where time has stood still for 100 years . The historical town is a real-life museum where you can literally feel and sense the many years
gone by since 1884 when the village established itself as a fashionable Victorian health spa . My mate Trev , who ’ s done every Swartberg 100 and raced the Munga through the area , was our self-elected tour guide . He pointed out some indistinct Boer War ruins , still solid fortresses and the barely discernible old N1 as he regaled us with endless amusing tales of once upon a time colonial life , plus his own experiences riding alone through the unspoiled landscapes under the sparkling Milky Way . We laughed a lot while reflecting sentimentally on the unique privilege of being SA-based bike riders .

THE VIVID COLOURS OF THE QUARTZ STONE ARE FANTASTIC . IF BIKE RIDING IS MY CHURCH THEN I FOUND MY CATHEDRAL ”