In a cycling-mad country littered with mountain-bike stage races, the options for enjoyment might seem unlimited.
But on closer inspection lots of stage events offer the same packages - great trails, but then come the tents, the mass-prepared meals, the extra expense of purchasing drinks, a massage, or supplementary food.
Even the great trails only cater for those who like riding trails, and not necessarily those who just like riding their mountain bikes along scenic routes.
The Tour de Braai is a five-day gravel ride from George to Swellendam conceptualised by Jan Braai, the man behind the National Braai Day initiative.
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Taking in some of the most scenic passes in the Klein Karoo and Western Cape, the Tour de Braai offers riders the opportunity to cycle at leisure and then enjoy their post-ride surroundings to the maximum.
As the name suggests, the Tour is also about lighting a fire and enjoying a braai.
Forget race gels, snack bars, tasteless muffins and sweet, sticky energy drinks. At the Tour de Braai the water point of the day is a braai, with all the good things you normally find around the fire - delicious food and ice-cold beers.
"The Tour de Braai aims to give cyclists a few great days of touring, holiday, braaiing and riding a bicycle through beautiful parts of South Africa," says Braai.
"Our main goal is to have fun."
Riders of the inaugural Tour de Braai made their way up Montagu Pass this week on day one of the tour.
The Tour de Braai route is not designed to be the toughest challenge of a rider's life. It's been developed to be a cycling holiday in which the only work you have to do is turning the legs - but it does require a certain level of fitness.
There are enough passes on the route to get the blood pumping. The stronger you are on a bike, the more fun you will have off the bike.
Braai says: "To put it in the most South African context possible, if you can ride a sub-three hour Cape Town Cycle Tour (Argus) you are 100% there. If you can ride a 3.30 Cape Town Cycle Tour you are definitely there. If you can ride a sub-four hour Cape Town Cycle Tour you will be absolutely fine. If a sub-four sounds challenging to you, you will find Tour de Braai do-able, but challenging.
"That is why a daily sports massage and the healing qualities of wine and beer are included in your entry fee," Braai says.
• Entries for the November edition of the Tour de Braai are now open.
• This article was originally published in The Times.
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