Blombos Trek

[Mr Legs]

Day 1 Stellenbosch to Onrus:

 

Last week four friends and I cycled from Stellenbosch to Blombos over four days. We travelled unsupported, carrying all our own gear and clothing, we stayed in beach houses and on farms along the way. I did not have panniers and carried my gear in a K Way 25 litre backpack. An extra warm top, one set of clothes for the evenings, a tooth brush and toiletries and some tools and lots of electronic toys.

 

From Stellenbosch to the Strand is mostly downhill and as it was low tide, we cycled on the beach for about one kilometer. Our first drinks stop was at Gordons Bay and then we had an unscheduled stop along Clarence Drive to fix a broken chain, the only mechanical issue for the trip. The sea was as smooth as glass and it was a pleasure to cycle between the mountain and the sea. Lunch was taken at Drummonds in Rooiels. Fish and chips. I was the only one who ordered a second beer. I felt that beer on that small little hill just outside Rooiels, but the rest of the section to Arabella was done at a good speed, maybe a bit too fast as the long drag up to Hawston took its toll. At Onrus we visited the liquor store for some more beer and then booked ourselves in at the holiday home of one the cyclists after doing 105 kilometers for the day. The little town was quite busy for a Wednesday evening with lots of walkers and dogs and the odd cyclist as well. We strolled to Molteno’s for dinner, also very busy for the middle of the week. I had pizza and the rest had steak. The food was very good. The wine was good. The company was good.

 

After dinner we walked back and I was in bed at about 10 pm.

 

Day 2 Onrus to Black Oystercatcher:

 

I brewed some early morning coffee and then we cycled to Hermanus for rolls, scones and more coffee. The section between Hermanus and Stanford was perhaps the only spot where we felt a bit exposed and vulnerable as it is a narrow road but it does have a decent gravel shoulder. I took up the rear and warned my friends whenever a vehicle approached. Fortunately the traffic was light, but then it started to drizzle. We noticed two cyclists further up the road and finally caught up with them in Stanford. It was a Dutch couple on day one of a 16 day cycling tour through the Boland and Overberg. We invited them for tea and brunch at Stanford. They had proper touring bikes, panniers front and rear. Despite the fact that they only arrived in the country a couple of days ago, they developed an affinity for Rooibos Tea and drank copious amounts of the stuff. They have extensive cycle touring experience in Europe and last year cycled in Vietnam and Cambodia.

 

We then took the R 326 for a few km and then turned right and cycled the gravel road, I knew that we would encounter some hills and I thought I was properly prepared, but I struggled for the better part of that day. When we reached the Baardskeerdersbos – Elim road we had to cycle against the wind and we all suffered a bit. I do better against the wind as I am not a small person (slight understatement) and I decided to break the wind for the rest. I started feeling slightly better, maybe because I felt I was adding value to the team, but I was very grateful when we reached the little town of Elim.

 

We stopped at PJ’s Hardware and I bought 5 cold drinks and a piece of dry wors. We made a quick tour through Elim and then carried on along the Nuwejaarsrivier to the Black Oystercatcher. We were made very welcome, we pre ordered drinks and meat and salads and pap for a braai.

 

But tired legs and bodies notwithstanding, we had a good braai and I even had some Rose, not my favourite, but theirs is more than ok. Some serious discussions about parents getting older and weaker had the emotions going, maybe it was the wine, but I was definitely tired and emotional. Again we had an early night, but I was awake in the middle of the night, probably because I was worried whether I would be able to complete the trip.

 

Today was the shortest day distance wise, but we all agreed that it was the hardest.

 

Day 3 Black Oystercatcher to Verfheuwel:

 

We started our day with left overs of last night’s pap and then carried on to Bredasdorp. Our plan was to grab a quick breakfast at the Wimpy, but Amelia had other plans. She took us to the best restaurant in the town, now that is not such a bad idea, but this place is located on top of the highest hill in the town. It was a good breakfast, one of the best I’ve had in a long time and fortunately we could start the next leg on a long downhill.

 

We then did about 3 km on the R 319 and then took the road to Potberg and De Hoop. Long rolling hills and the temperature started to climb. I took a Gu for the second time in my life and G supported me with some stories of his afkak days in the Naval marines to help me through a bad patch.

 

The Neethling family farms on Verfheuwel, I was in res at varsity with the one brother and my cycling friends are also good buddies with the younger brother and they arranged the invite for us. Verfheuwel (Paint Hill) is named after the kaolin found in the rocks just above the house. Again we were welcomed with open arms by the family and after a shower we joined them for lunch. Have you ever wondered what a Overberg farmer has for lunch on a Friday afternoon? A massive big bowl full of lamb rib, potato, a vegetable cannelloni and salad. The cyclists had some beers, but the farmer declined, he mentioned something about the damage caused by a Boerevereniging meeting he attended the previous evening.

 

We hang around for the rest of the afternoon and rested and I drank a lot of water. At sunset we lit a fire and had another braai, this time big portions of chicken and home baked bread and vegetables. We learned of the challenges a farmer has in the modern day South Africa.

 

We turned in early as our hosts also had to leave early the next day.

 

Day 4 Verfheuwel to Blombos:

 

We were up early and had our earliest start, it was cloudy and cool when we took the road to Malgas. At the pontoon across the Breede River we were the first customers of the day, we had to walk up to the hut where the ferrymen lives. Cyclists can cross for free, but we gave the three men a generous tip. A few rain drops started to fall and we also pedaled into the wind for the next hour or two. It wasn’t easy, but we were buoyed by the knowledge that we will soon meet up with our spouses for refreshments.

 

We did indeed meet up with them somewhere north of Witsand and enjoyed egg and mayo sarmies, chicken and mayo sarmies, chocolate steri stumpies, coffee and refilled our bottles with energy drinks. We could also dump our luggage in the vehicles and be released from the burden of carrying extra weight. This was the only planned stop, but as the wind started to pick up from the east, we arranged another refreshment stop at the low water bridge where the road crosses the Duivenhoksriver.

 

The next 15-20 km was into the teeth of the wind, we had to work hard to exceed 15 km/h and again the white ‘Tuna was a welcome sight. Down in the drift the wind was still and the temperature started to rise. Refreshed we tackled the climb out of the little canyon and upon reaching the crest found that the wind has indeed subsided and it was getting very hot. We continued up and over another steepish hill and then went down the steep hill to the town of Vermaaklikheid. I was doing about 60k’s/h on a seriously washboarded section, when the clamp holding the GoPro to the handlebar snapped. The camera, safely encapsulated in the perspex box rolled and bounced along the gravel road for about 30-40 meters, it actually gained speed when it first hit the ground. No damage, not even to the perspex.

 

The toughest hill of the whole tour was the climb out of Vermaaklikheid, but I pedaled out a rhythm at my own speed and despite the heat and the sweat in my eyes, finished the climb strongly. At the crest of the hill we turned left and after a kilometre or two saw the sea again. We had a friendly dice with a donkey cart, the animals carries the illustrious names of Byter and Breker.

 

The last 10 to 12 km went by in a flash, suddenly the breeze was in our backs and we knew we were close to home.

 

Our “home” in Blombos was just this side of heaven. Located high above the sea with no nearby neighbours and with a 180° view over the aquamarine sea. White breakers rolling towards the coast in perfect lines. A warm solar powered shower, cold (gas powered) beer, a short rest, coffee and milk tart. Then a cheese platter and bubbly, followed by thick New York cut steaks and salads and red wine. Lots of talk, some light hearted and some serious about our trip, life and about friendship made this an evening to remember.

 

Later I went outside and lay on my back on the deck, gazing at the gazillion stars of the Milky Way. I pulled out a fat cigar. And then, just when I thought life could not get any better, Mrs Legs curled up next to me and friend G pulled out a battered old guitar and softly sang a few songs, just loud enough that we could hear him above the roar of the waves breaking down beneath on the beach.

[DJR]

Great report!

[Mr Legs]

And now more than 6 years later we did a repeat of this trip. But as we are now older and wiser, we arranged support vehicles with our wives standing in as seconds. We were also lenient with one another, no pressure, if you felt you had enough, you could get into one of the vehicles. We also amended to route a bit. Day 1 started at Gordons Bay and ended at Onrus. Day 2 was from Onrus to Black Oystercather via Stanford and Elim. Day 3 from BOC to Malgas Hotel and the last day was across the Breede River via Vermaaklikheid to Blombos, with 2 participants going all the way to Still Bay where we also spent this past weekend, recuperating.

[DJR]

Mr Legs, two miserly pictures of that epic jealousy inducing ride is a little like taking a very sneaky shortcut, now that I think about it. Come on, post more pictures and sommer a ride report too! ????

[Mr Legs]

7 hours ago, DJR said:

Mr Legs, two miserly pictures of that epic jealousy inducing ride is a little like taking a very sneaky shortcut, now that I think about it. Come on, post more pictures and sommer a ride report too! ????

Ok, give me a bit of time. Just keep in mind we are 4 guys who all turned 60 this year. Even when going at full speed, we are very slow.

[Mr Legs]

Six years ago, five friends did the cycle tour as described in the original post. At that stage we thought similar trips will be a regular occurrence, but then life happened. Four of us turned 60 this year and in March this year some of us spend the weekend together and the idea for another trip was born.

We decided that we will involve our spouses as support drivers and we also decided to shorten the route a bit.

On Wednesday last week we cycled from Gordons Bay along Clarence Drive, it was one of those special Cape days, no wind and blue sea and skies. Our destination was Onrus. On the way we stopped at the Howard Porter Nature Reserve, beautiful garden and scenery, but o my, the restaurant was really below standard.

We were joined by our wives at Onrus and had dinner at Molteno’s.

Our destination for the second day was the Black Oystercather outside Elim. We thought that we would have to catch a ride to Stanford due to the roadworks between Hermanus and Stanford, but everything turned out well, as we had a full car free lane to ourselves for the full distance. We had a brunch at Stanford, then took the Papiesvlei road over the hills to Elim, were we had tea. At the Tearoom they had Heineken sponsored umbrellas, but as Elim was a mission owned town, no alcohol was served. We had to cycle the 10 or so kilometres to Black Oystercatcher for a shower, a cold beer, and a quick wine tasting. We had a braai the evening.

Friday morning was a quick pedal to Bredasdorp with a pumping north wester in our backs, then another brunch and then the rolling hills towards De Hoop and the Breede River. On the way we were joined by one of our friends, a farmer from the area, who took a break from harvesting to join us. We stayed at the Malagas Hotel. They served a five-course meal of old style boerekos.

Saturday started with a few rain showers as we crossed the Breede River on the new motorised pontoon. Then it was about 50 km to Duivenhoks River and then the dreaded double hills to get out of Vermaaklikheid. A rennie stopped the cramps as I crawled the last few hundred meters to the crest of the hill. Our official end was at Blombos, at the entrance gate to one of our friends’ property. But two of our party decided to cycle the extra 25 kilometers to Still Bay to make up a hundred km for the day. I was happy with my 75 km for the day as I was still recovering after an illness and did not train at all for the trip during the last month. We averaged about 75 km per day.

We rented a beach house at Still Bay. It was time for a beer, some red wine, a braai and just lounging around. I was privileged to do this trip at the age of 60, with my wife, with my friends and with their wives. We have known each other for the last 40 years or more. I was at school in Grade 1 with one of my cycling buddies, that was in 1968 and we still have fun together.

[DJR]

The "like" button doesn't do it justice Mr Legs. There should be a "lekker" button!