I had decided to join Team RSAweb on a training ride at stupid ‘o clock in the morning, in preparation for the Coronation Double Century in a few months time.

Seven of us took in the incredible weather and quiet road conditions and set out towards Chapman’s Peak. It was great to have Rory back on a bike after his big crash 2 months ago and frustratingly, he was still as strong as ever!

It was amazing to see just how many road cyclists there are on our roads and we met up with friends at regular intervals. At Chapmans Peak Rory and I turned towards home while the rest of the guys and girls carried on towards Noordhoek (spotting a few whales along the way). Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera along and so there are no photos of the ride.

After a great 75km road ride it was time to hit the dirt. The mountain bikers crammed into Eric the Storm trooper (the iRide Africa van) and we headed out to Hillcrest while the thermometer continued to rise.

Lundy had just arrived in Cape Town that morning, and had to do a rush job of building up her bike in the parking lot. We headed straight up the nasty climb to get it over and done with and I think I can safely say that it was worth the effort with views like these!

Onto the switchbacks…

Through the flowing singletrack…

And down the exciting ‘Elastoplast Valley’ with many whoops, screams and much nervous laughter

We cycled across to the Majik Forest (sic) via Nitida (the singletrack is not finished there and goes through a huge wet bog-not recommended at this time of year!)

The Majik Forest trail is just so much fun with an excellent variety of trails. We are so very lucky to have this playground right in Suburbia! This is Louise, Lundy and Jemma enjoying ‘the whoops’.

We popped out at the bottom of the forest and gulped down some ice-cold cokes (the temperature must have been at least 30 degrees by now) before riding back on the road to our van at Hillcrest.

All in all, about 6 hours in the saddle for me and some quality time with great people. It’s your turn now…
Get out there and enjoy our magnificent world!