Once a year, Johannesburg does something no other day allows: it hands its streets over to bicycles. Highways that are usually thick with traffic go quiet except for the hum of tyres and the rhythm of thousands of riders moving as one. For one Sunday morning, the city belongs to the people who pedal it.
That's Ride Joburg, on Sunday, 22 November 2026, the streets are up for grabs again.
Ride Joburg began in 1997 as the 94.7 Cycle Challenge, named for the radio station that helped launch it. Over almost three decades it has grown into the world's second-largest timed cycling event, beaten only by Cape Town's Cape Argus Cycle Race. Today it draws somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 riders each year..
The name has evolved along with its sponsors over the years, but the spirit hasn't: riders come to test themselves, and to experience Johannesburg in a way that's simply not possible from behind a windscreen. It's a race that's earned its own unofficial motto over the years, riders come to own the streets of Joburg, if only for a morning.
The long way round (and we mean that as a compliment)
The main event covers 97km of closed roads, taking in some of the city's most recognisable sights: stretches of the M1 highway with not a car in sight, the sweep across the Nelson Mandela Bridge, and a lap of the legendary Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit partway through the route.
2026 brings a genuine first for the race: for the first time in its history, riders will cross the finish line inside Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit itself, taking on a final lap of the circuit before the finish. It's a fitting way to mark nearly 30 years of the event, ending on tarmac that's hosted some of motorsport's biggest names.
What's kept Ride Joburg growing for almost three decades isn't just the distance or the closed roads — it's what the event stands for. Alongside the racing, Ride Joburg has long partnered with charities through its Ride for a Purpose programme, including:
- CHOC, which supports children and teenagers battling cancer and blood disorders, and their families
- Smile Foundation, which helps fund corrective facial reconstructive surgery for children
- Diepsloot MTB Academy, which uses mountain biking alongside reading and maths tutoring to support underprivileged youth in Diepsloot
For every rider chasing a personal best, there's another riding in memory of someone, or riding for a cause bigger than themselves. That mix of competitive edge and genuine community spirit is what makes the finish line at Ride Joburg feel different from almost any other race.
Why we're on the sidelines, all in
At Pam Golding Properties Gauteng Metro, we spend every day working in the neighbourhoods this race rolls through, the same streets, the same suburbs, the same city we're proud to call home. Ride Joburg is, at its heart, a celebration of Johannesburg itself: its roads, its resilience, and the people who show up for each other, whether that's 20,000 riders on the tarmac or the crowds cheering from the pavement.
This November, you'll find us among those crowds. To every rider taking on the 97km, in memory of someone, for a cause, or simply for the joy of it: good luck, ride safe, and enjoy every closed-off kilometre of this beautiful city.
See you on the streets of Joburg.
