Best Beach Accommodation for Cyclists!

Cycling is one of the biggest and most popular sports in the Western Cape and Cape Town is rife with bicycle riders who love the sport. Many cyclists book their weekends in Fish Hoek at Seaside Cottages during races, training, fun rides out and fitness cycles around Cape Point. 

The name says it all. Seaside Cottages offers a diverse choice of 30 two- and three-bedroom self-catering accommodation units on Fish Hoek Beach.

All chalets are privately owned, set in delightful gardens with braai (barbeque) facilities. Each cottage also includes outdoor facilities, television with DSTV and Wi-Fi.

Seaside Cottages suit your budget and are conveniently close to the swimming beach and all Fish Hoek town amenities.

All cyclists stop here for the night or a weekend when on holiday in the southern Peninsula, touring False Bay or training for one of the many races in the province, pre or post-Cycle Tour.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour has just ended another year – its 45th year!

Read this Route Description according to the official website and see how the race come via Fish Hoek en route to Cape Point.

 ‘Then it all gets hard again, with the flat run back to Fish Hoek straight into the South Easter softening the legs for the Chapman’s Peak/Suikerbossie double-feature. Chapman’s Peak is a two-part trial; Little Chappies is short and steep, but over quickly and buoyed by the spectator support at its foot. The main climb is longer, but flatter, and offers distractions aplenty (force yourself to look) as you ride one of the world’s most beautiful roads. After a speedy descent into Hout Bay, it is time to face the demons of Suikerbossie.’

More About the Cycle Tour

• It runs the second Sunday in March every year
• The first race was in 1978
• The first winner was Lawrence Whittaker
• Recently the race has usually followed a scenic 109 km (68 mi) circular route from Cape Town down the Cape Peninsula and back. 

South Africa hosts some of the largest sporting events in the world by the number of entrants, with three being the largest of their type.

• The Cape Town Cycle Tour, with as many as 35 000 cyclists taking part, is the world's largest individually timed cycle race, in Cape Town.  
• The world's largest ultra-marathon running event, the Comrades Marathon, Durban to Pietermaritzburg or Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
• The world's largest open-water swim, the Midmar Mile, at Midmar Dam, Howick.

The Cycle Tour formed the last leg of the Giro del Capo, a multi-stage race for professional and leading registered riders, last run in 2010.

It is traditionally staged on the second Sunday of March and has enjoyed well-known competitors from Hollywood, local government, and leading international cyclists. Many people ride for charities.

In 1978, Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann organised the Big Ride-In to draw attention to the need for cycle paths in South Africa. The Ride-In drew hundreds of cyclists, including the Mayor of Cape Town at the time. Lawrence Whittaker first won the ride in September 1978.

This race was initially planned to run over 140 km (87 mi), including a leg to Cape Point, but was reduced to a 104 km (65 mi) route when authority to enter the then Cape Point Nature Reserve was refused. The organisers convinced an initially reluctant Cape Argus, a local newspaper and sponsor, to grant the event the right to use its name.

The event now forms part of one of five cycling events which take place over a period of one week starting a week before the Cycle Tour and culminating in the Cycle Tour.

Cycle Races Coming up in March in the Western Cape:

18 March – Barrydale Tarras Doas - not a traditional MTB race but more of an MTB gravel experience, choose 22km, 44km or 76km routes

19 March – Dragonfly MTB Lap Ultra – A mountain bike lap ultra at Capaia Wines, Botterberg Road. Do 1 lap or see how many laps you can do.

20 – 25 March - Cape2Nam Titan - Riebeeck Kasteel, Main Street start

21 March – The Boomerang, Autumn Edition Living Colour, Wolwefontein Farm, Darling - a 40km cycle on jeep and single track on private farmland that is mostly otherwise inaccessible.