Cape Bike Travel

Feel the wind in your hair with these motorbike rentals and tours

“I’m going to stabilise the bike, then you can get on, put your feet up, sit back and relax,” says Cape Bike Travel owner Jörg Vogel. Relax? Not so much. This is my first time on a motorbike and I’m a little nervous, to put it lightly.

Cape Bike Travel is the official rental outlet and tour operator for Harley-Davidson Cape Town. One of the services they offer is the chauffeured ride that Jörg is taking me on now. “It usually takes about five minutes for people to relax,” he tells me afterwards and this is true for me. It’s not until we leave the city centre and go roaring up Kloof Nek Road that I start to enjoy myself. I’ve driven this route a hundred times but this is a completely different experience.

Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window

“When you get to the top of Tafelberg Road you don’t just see the ocean but you smell the pine trees around you too.” Winding down the road to the beach is exhilarating and I soon get used to leaning to go around corners. The people strolling along the sidewalk in Camps Bay are right next to us and I catch snippets of their conversations as we speed past. We’re right in the middle of everything; there’s none of that separation from your surroundings that you feel in a car.

The bike draws admiring glances from people and I start to understand the attraction of driving such an iconic bike. There’s no waiting in traffic as Jörg easily weaves around cars as we head back into town and the stretches of empty road give him a chance to show me just how fast and smooth the bike is. The nods and greetings between Jörg and other bikers show me how much of a community there is amongst petrolheads.

I arrive back in town feeling windswept, happy and just a little bit high on adrenaline. Riding on a bike lets you experience your surroundings in a new way and going fast is really fun, but add the dramatic scenery of the coastal roads in Cape Town and you have an absolutely amazing experience.

These chauffeured rides are a good idea for an anniversary or birthday present or even a corporate outing. “It’s for those people that always wanted a motorbike, this is their chance to be a Hell’s Angel for the day.”

Jörg drives many of the chauffeured rides himself, he also has other drivers available, each of them drives their own bikes so you’re getting someone who has a passion for motorbikes and will be able to show you some of their favourite routes in Cape Town and surrounds.

Live to ride, ride to live

Jörg moved to Cape Town ten years ago and started Cape Bike Travel as a natural extension of his work in hotel management. “It’s good all year round, even in winter and it only takes half an hour to get out the city.

“Why bikes? “Why not? What else? I’ve been messing about with bikes from a very young age. I got my license at 18 and I couldn’t afford a car so I bought a bike. I’ve even transported a tumble drier on the back of a motorbike.”

As well as the chauffeured rides, Cape Bike Travel organises motorbike tours for overseas visitors where they are picked up from the airport, booked into accommodation and given bikes with a guide or a GPS if they prefer. If tourists or locals want to rent bikes for the day or the weekend they offer that as well, complete with comprehensive insurance and 24 hour roadside assistance. Bikes for rent include Harleys, and they also have BMW and Ducati bikes available.

So if you’re a tourist who wants to experience Cape Town in a unique way or a local who just wants a couple of hours on an empty stretch of road, contact Cape Bike Travel and they will make a plan. The chauffeured tours start at one hour for R650 and go up to a full day at R2200.

By Lindsay Callaghan

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