GORDONS BAY SOUTH AFRICA

It’s a bloody long way to go for a Sunday blast, but this is one road you won’t forget in a jiffy. It kicks off from the colonial port town of Gordons Bay, and sees you powering onto the stunning R44 ‘Garden Route’, rapidly ascending skywards as the road’s engagingly winding silky smooth tarmac carries you high up onto towering cliff faces. The glistening South Atlantic Ocean is a matter of metres from your person, but you won’t have time to contemplate the terror of leap frogging the Armco as you’ll be too focused on planting your kneesliders deep into the road on any one of the many, many high speed corners that meander their way.

This is a scratcher’s paradise, typically devoid of traffic – as habitats are few and far between – without a single speed camera in sight. It’s there for the taking, feeling every bit like a rollercoaster as the coastal road changes its altitude as often as it changes direction. There’s no chance of a dull moment, but there’s a good chance to blast out your bike’s cobwebs on the run to Rooi Els as you reach the only straight section of road, which lasts for just over a mile. Then you’re back into the thick of it, hanging off like a chimp as you muscle your steed in every necessary direction in order to reach the finish line. You’ll have only travelled 13 miles in the process, but they’ll have been the most engaging, enjoyable miles of your life. And better still, you’re only just getting started as from here you can head up into the Kogelberg Nature Reserve en route to the absolutely awesome Franschhoek Pass. But that’s a different ride, and a whole different story.