Karoo to Coast the closing stages of the race. Men: Women: Karoo to Coast The Karoo to Coast is an annual 100 km mountain bike race held in September down the Prince Alfred's Pass from Uniondale to Knysna in South Africa. In 2007 this was voted one of the top ten mountain bike races in the country. All proceeds go to the Lions Clubs International “SightFirst” fund, financing sight restoration surgery for the poor. Started in 1999, this event is considered extremely arduous along a route of which 93% is on gravel roads, from a high point of 1045 m down to sea
Ryn Desert can drop to a low of . Many small towns are scattered throughout the Ryn Desert, and population density is between 1 and 15 people per square mile. The Ryn lies in a semi-arid climate zone, and receives very little rainfall. High winds sweep across the desert, and in 2001 a dust storm in the Baltic Sea was determined as originating in the Ryn Desert. A study of long-range dust transportation to the Baltic Sea region—by analyzing dust pollution in Scandinavia, showed that aerosol concentrations there were influenced more by the Ryn Desert region than the Sahara Desert in Africa.