Mr Legs

We got the ok from the owner of the highest house/holiday farm on the track. According to him it is a public road, but the gate at the start of the climb was erected by another neighbour.

About 25 years ago we stayed at Whipstock Farm outside McGregor and I did a solo trip up the Galgeberg. I was young and slim. From the gate it was 1hour 15 up and 15 minutes down. This past weekend we stayed at Drecaso Cottages near Bonnievale about 30 km from McGregor. I am no longer young nor slim. On Saturday morning five of us started the trip from Dracaso to the Galgeberg. after 30 km we reached McGregor and we had coffee at the Saturday morning market. At McGregor we were joined by three wives on e-bikes. We then continued past Lord's Wines, and up the hill. The road to the top of the mountain is steep and narrow and very long. We lost two companions and two e-bikers along the way and one of the e-bikers stayed with the remaining three. I stopped two or three times just to catch my breath, but eventually managed to cycle to the top after a climb of about 1 h 25 min and was rewarded with the beautiful views down to Greyton and the Boesmanskloof Valley. To the east we could see Ashton and McGregor and to the north was the town of Robertson. Downhill was easy. Six min 8 seconds down to the gate. I rolled further to Lord's Wines where the rest of the party was doing wine tasting and lunch. I then decided to skip the wine and the lunch and to cycle the 40 km back to Decraso and as I could not find a partner, I was on my own. I reached Decraso with a few cramps starting to nibble at my thighs for a 100km with 2416 m of ascent. I had a few beers and felt good. Yesterday we cycled on the trails at Decraso, I was clowning around, went off track, hit a rock and went over the handlebars for the hardest fall of my cycling life. A dislocated little finger, lots of blood and there might be a cracked rib. Four beers later I was planning another adventure.

Karwyderskraal

Cederberg

Last year I reported on our Cross Cape adventure: https://forum.bikehub.co.za/topic/193597-two-mature-cyclists-and-the-cross-cape-cycle-route/#comment-3911429 Before we knew a year had passed and we needed another adventure, but age, health, fitness (read as social life first, training second) all played a role and we decided on a 4 day Cederberg breakaway with 3 cycling days and one day hiking. We roped in our recently retired buddy, Big Ron, as our backup driver and planned a route, two big days, a hike and an easy last day. Then while was away for most of April, my cycling partner, H, caught a serious covid type bug and the planned distances was scaled down. Day 1 was about 40 km from the top of the Katbakkies Pass east towards the Rietrivier and then a right turn towards Mount Ceder. Big Ron picked us up about 10 km before Mount Ceder, we booked into a chalet at Mount Ceder and H braaied steak. On Day 2 Big Ron took us back to to yesterdays' pick up point and we had a quick first 8 km, it took us 16 minutes to be back at Mount Ceder and the Grootrivier. The next 5 km up the Grootrivier Pass took nearly an hour. 400+ metre of ascent. Age, health, weight, red wine: choose your excuse. We passed the famous Cederberg Oasis then took a left at Matjiesrivier and ended the day at Sanddrift's Venus cottage. A mere 36 km for the day. We rested the afternoon like men who cycled 136kms. The evening Big Ron was in charge: a cheese platter and nuts for starters, then he grilled chops and wors. Day 3 was set aside for hiking. We had crisscrossed the cederberg on foot over the years, but one route we still had to add to our palmares was Wolfberg Arch from the north. I was aware of the Langkloof - Gabrielskloof option, but then I saw another option on a Slingsby map ; Jouberts Path. We drove to Langkloof and then went east via a tweespoor track. We could not find the start of the trail, but I knew that if we bushwacked in an south easterly direction we will eventually cross the path. But I failed to keep Big Ron's world famous aversion to camping, exercise, hiking and proceeding without a clear plan in mind. Within the first 1.5 kilometer he was standing hands on hips. I knew that the first words out of his mouth will be: Listen Ouens... and then he said: Listen ouens, this is leading us nowhere, I am going back to the bakkie. H also not in the mood for adventure and I agreed to go back with them. Later I checked our tracks on Strava, we were going in the right direction, but by that time it was too late, we were having beers on the veranda. That evening I grilled Cajun chicken with potato and onions as side dishes. Salads were beetroot, Sousbone and Three Beans. Red wine and losts of talking. We had about a 90 minutes to cycle on the last morning as we had to check out of Venus at 10:00. We did a quick trip past the Observarorium and took the trail towards the Maltese Cross. We had time to do a short section of single track just above Lot's Wife. Then it was a shower and the trip back to Cape Town. We agreed that we will be back, we wanted to do much better on the Grootrivier Pass and next time we will find the elusive path from the north to the Wolfberg Arch. Listen ouens: with or without Big Ron.

Hemel & Aarde on Sunday

The rehab of the Hermanus Trails in the Hemel and Aarde Valley to repair the damage caused by last year's Heritage Day floods are coming along nicely. Both the Blue and Red routes are a joy to ride.

Karwyderskraal single lane metal bridge over the Bot River.

No, the damage has been extensive. I do not know what happened to the upper section of the Black Route or the eastern side of the Red Route below Rotary Drive. In my opinion they will have to do a complete re-design of the trails, the Blue Route has taken a hammering, in more than one section hundreds of meters of the trail is simply gone, it will take many many months.

Hemel and Aarde

Cycling between Perdekloof and Langkloof in the Tankwa National Park.

Test ride for new frame.

We cycled from Swellendam to Riviersonderend in Feb. We stayed above the N2 except for the last few k's. The gravel was fine and did not present any issues. There are a few low bridges on that route that might have taking a beating in the recent storm. My Strava file will not be of much help, we got lost at one stage, doubled back, eventualy caught a lift with our support driver to another section of the route. You can download the file for this route from the Cross Cape website https://capecycleroutes.co.za/route/cross-cape-route , had we followed the route instructions we would have stayed on route.

Just a shoutout to Fred from Geko Cycles at Cape Gate who negotiated with Scott to get a new replacement frame for my two year old Scott Spark. The old frame started losing its paint on a few spots. Paint started flaking, it looked like corrosion or oxidation, I am no scientist, but it did not look good. Thank you Fred and obviously also to Scott who seems to look after their brand and their customers.

Sunday Morning, The Blue Route, no not the M3, the one in the Hemel and Aarde Valley.