Brought to you by the same helpful folk behind the 1 000 Miler we featured a few issues back, the Eastern Cape Passes Challenge runs on the same principle: an open-source attitude to route and information sharing, with the only expectation being that you open your adventure up to the dot-watchers.
The route begins and ends at Lady Grey, deep in the mountains of the Eastern Cape bordering Lesotho. The best place to base your stay there is South African bike-touring guru Grant Freeme's comfy Comfrey Cottage.
The route leaves town and almost immediately climbs 556m, to the 2 234m top of Joubert's Pass. You then snake your way up to the Tiffendell Ski Resort, via a few minor passes, and then over the daunting Volunteershoek. This pass is in poor condition, which on the plus side means there are hardly ever any other vehicles; it crests after a gain of 662m in altitude, the second-highest pass on the route.
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