WillTour

30/01/2025

𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞 (𝟎𝟏 𝐭𝐨 𝟎𝟑 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓)
Following closely in the footsteps of the epic Eco Adventure created by Trygve Roberts of MPSA, this route is named after the mighty Ben MacDhui Pass (3,001m ASL), and is one of the most iconic Adventure Bike experiences that you can have in South Africa. You are invited to join me on this “rites of passage” trail of winding mountain roads and the most amazing high-altitude vistas as we summit a total of 14 top-rated, high-altitude gravel passes situated in the hills of the Southern Maloti Mountains. The majority of passes on our ride are above 2,000m ASL and ~60% of the entire route will be at or above 1,600m ASL. WhatsApp for more details - limited space.

30/01/2025

https://blog.tracks4africa.co.za/on-adventure-bikes-to-wakkerstroom/

Follow gravel roads through farmlands and past mountains on an adventure bike trip to Wakkerstroom. If you’re up for the challenge, you can ride the steep climb up Ossewakop. But be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart.

30/12/2024

𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐄 𝟔𝟐 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄
"Let's do the famous Route 62...but on dirt!"
An adventure of a lifetime...5 Days - 2,034km - 71 Passes

Ride Movie: https://youtu.be/difMRRVQusw

30/12/2024

𝐕𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐂𝐄
We take Thirsty Lizzy out to check some route options as part of an upcoming Adventure Bike Ride that will run from Tarlton to this Unesco World Heritage Site, which is documented to have played a significant role in human evolution. An amazing weekend filled with many unique sights, and more importantly miles of undulating gravel tracks - watch this space!

23/12/2024

𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄
A 3-day weekend spent riding the majestic tar roads of Mpumalanga to one of it's famous destinations - the Gost Town of Leydsdorp.

Ride Movie: https://youtu.be/E5-Y0MdZA3Q

16/12/2024

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

Morning All!
It’s another hot summer’s day here in SA, as we get treated to long days of sunshine, temperatures up in the 30’s and regular dramatic highveld thunderstorms, just to reset everything back for the next day. My current hiatus will take me to the end of Feb 2025 and is dedicated to the completion of a Thesis in Moral Philosophy, but it is also typically when we take a family break to celebrate Christmas, plan some amazing new rides for the next year and… wait for the rainy season to stop.

As the “Public Holiday” dice fall for 2025, we do not have a well-scattered pattern of public holidays, where we corporate types can stitch together leave days to make time for some serious Adventure Bike Rides. Thus, I foresee doing more weekend-type trips either on the bike or by 4X4 – I will keep you posted on details.

The 2025 calendar does however provide a few opportunities to create 9-day breaks and for these opportunities, I foresee a choice of a few long-distance Adventure Bike rides that I have been burning to do…

𝐁𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞 – somewhere around the first week of May 2025, This one is pretty much on the cards and details will follow.

𝐌𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 – One of the most beautiful areas to ride in…this ride will probably be a 5-day event on gravel/twee-spoor and will include places like Sabie, Mariepskop, The Massive Boabab in Leydsdorp, the Orrie Baragwanath Pass and the famous Bush Boys Lodge in Tonteldoos.

𝐓𝐨 (𝐃𝐢𝐞) 𝐇𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 – An iconic trip into the unique and well-known Gamkaskloof which will consist of ~1200km of gravel/twee-spoor and unfortunately a few km’s of tar, that will show you the magic of the many faces of the Karoo and the world-renowned Swartberg Pass before you take on the “rites of passage” 48km track into Die Hel.

𝐉𝐇𝐁 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐭 – This has been a project in the making for a few years – I have developed an Adventure Bike/4x4 route running from Tarlton to Ceres and which involves less than 150km of tar!. Is 2025 the year for this one…let’s see.

On that note, from me and mine to you and yours, all the best for the holiday season, we wish you all a blessed and safe 2025 filled with amazing adventure moments. 🙏

11/12/2024

https://blog.tracks4africa.co.za/on-adventure-bikes-to-clarens/

When you take your adventure bike on gravel roads to reach Clarens, the journey becomes the destination.

17/11/2024

𝐂𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐈𝐁𝐎𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐀 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑

Riding WIth: Cesar Lopez Solis; Nico Strydom; Garth Edwards; Andrew Miller and Ricardo Bendana.

A 7-day 3,300km Adventure Bike Ride into the Great Karoo, The Cederberg and the Green Kalahari, riding 29 mountain passes across 4 provinces. More than 60% of the ride took place on undulating gravel roads and dirt passes, taking us to places such as Sutherland, the famous Tankwa Karoo and its Farmstall, the innermost folds of the Cederberg mountain range and then up the Great Escarpment into the Green Kalahari, visiting the forgotten town of Loeriesfontein on our way to the world-famous Verneukpan, and finally one of SA's icons - the Augrabies National Park, home to the famous falls and the majestic Gariep river.

"60% of this ride may be on good gravel...but 100% of this ride will blow your mind."

This turned out to be a ride filled with many incredible biking moments including the birth of "The Lambinator"; The Snuffinator in Sutherland, The Old Rooibos Tea Route to Wupperthal, Our high-speed GS sprint on the gravel R357, Garth Edwards's submariner GS :-), shots of neat brandy after making it through the treacherous Verneukpan, and the most knarly wet clay section into Loeriesfontein.

Ride Video: https://youtu.be/-Sc5U0FGGyI

17/11/2024

𝐌𝐓𝐁 @ 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍
Another sh*tty day in Africa 🤣...an early morning of trails at Cradle Moon and then we got to see this beautiful couple on the ridge.

16/11/2024

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 – 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀
One of the most incredible bike experiences ever – expertly hosted by Maria Danescu of Romania MotorcycleTours. The liquid-cooled 1200 GS had just debuted and became my steed in a magical 8-day 1195km guided bike tour covering “The World’s Greatest Driving Roads”, where I got to ride the legendary Transfagarasan- and Transalpina Passes, walk the streets of beautiful cities like Bucharest and the historical Sibiu, visit Transylvania (yes and Dracula’s Castle of course), drink a hot chocolate in the massive underground Salt Mine of Prahova and visit the glacial Lake Bâlea high up in the mountains.
The amazing lodges, the food, the many miles of flowing lush countryside, the very professional tour arrangements, endless mountain scenery and quaint villages. All the countless passes and me trying to keep up with our very capable guide Ade on his Dakar 650. Clean air, castles, vineyards – great friendships formed – a magical experience definitely worth doing!

Ride Video: https://youtu.be/D5BrhuyylUc

14/11/2024

𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝟒𝐗𝟒 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄
4 Provinces, 8 days, and 17 Mountain Passes, including a few on South Africa’s “Top Ten” mountain pass listing, covering a total distance of ~1915km in the breath-taking Maloti Mountain scenery, as we circumnavigated the border of the mountain kingdom, Lesotho.

02/11/2024

𝐒𝐀'𝐬 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒
Joubert's Pass - 1:6 gradient - 2236m ASL - South Africa's 4th highest rough gravel pass.

29/10/2024

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐖𝐀

The background to this scene unfolding in the heart of the Tankwa Karoo NP was a comedy of errors...funny as hell :-)

27/10/2024

𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆/𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆/𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐃 @ 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐆 𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘
I'm a massive fan... Waterberg Farmstay provides tranquillity, good service, farmstyle isolation, a dam/river, hiking, lush grassed campsites, an awesome pool etc. etc. and all of this at very good rates.

Thanks Family for the great road trip and awesome weekend time spent together!!!

27/10/2024

𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐒 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋
Breakfast Run to Brauhaus Afrika Restaurant - nice 80km run on mostly remote gravel roads through the Magaliesberg - Thanks Cesar Lopez Solis and Ricardo Bendana for the company!

27/10/2024

𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐒
Another amazing ride out into the wilderness - miles and miles of mind-clearing gravel taking us through countless valleys, ridges, rocky outcrops and riveting sections of single track meandering through thickets of bluegum trees. It's so easy to lose yourself in this world...soul food! We also had the privilege of being hosted by Joe and Ruth from Bushboys in Tonteldoos - WOW, WOW, WOW. The hospitality, the service...good food and even better friendships. Certainly, a ride to repeat!

Ride Video: https://youtu.be/vF-LTjZZCdI

27/10/2024

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒/𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐏 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄
One of the biggest group rides to date - a total of 13 riders out to ride the canals in Harties/Brits. A nice and very mild route through the "vegetable basket" of the region - including a stop for a mega-breakfast at Farm Vibes Guesthouse. Another great ride with great people.

T4A Article: https://blog.tracks4africa.co.za/cruising-along-the-brits-canals/