Date 2 – 5 May 2019 | Distance 243km | Ascent 4807m | Cut Off 72 hours | Meals 9 | Overnight Points 3

Inspired by the Camino de Santiago – pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela – the Bikamino is a pilgrimage of a different sort. A journey by bicycle; through the ancient heartland of South Africa, past copper mines which pre-date European colonialism, to the wildest of coastlines – the Namaqua Coastal Route. There are easier ways to traverse a region, but besides hiking there isn’t a way that immerses yourself in the landscape quite like cycling. Now throw everything you need on your bike and you’re bikepacking.

The Bikamino, launches in May 2019 as a three-day/72 hour experience which can be raced or ridden from Okiep Country Hotel an historic mining town to the great coastal plains of the Atlantic Ocean at the small fishing village of Hondeklipbaai.

The lure of the event is the landscape and the people. A region like no other Namaqualand provides endless unspoilt horizons; seemingly harsh but surprisingly fertile soils, rich in minerals and floral biodiversity; and some of the most welcoming people you will ever meet.

In the inaugural Bikamino riders will have 72 hours to navigate the 243 kilometre route from the Okiep Country Hotel to Hondeklipbaai. Part of the adventure of the event is choosing your bike, your route and how you will take on the challenge. There are two route options, a red and a green route. The red is shorter and rougher – more suited to mountain bikes. Longer and smoother the green route is – navigable by hard-men and –women on gravel bikes. Either way riders will receive the route as a GPX file along with a map to ensure they reach the designated check points where they will have to have their Bikamino passports stamped.