Sun 9 Dec, 2018. Day 371
THE END, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Distance 22 + 320761 = 20 783
Average 12.5
Time 1 h 47 m
Location S33.905361, E18.420571
Our final ride.
I woke at 03h30 and with the grey matter having been refreshed after a few hours of Zzz’ing I finally finished yesterday’s diary to clear the slate for today. We had breakfast with Una and left at 06h55 pedaling a short distance up the hill to Jaap and Germain’s house, they fly to the Netherlands today.
The famous Suikerbossie hill is well known to both runners and cyclists as a toughie but riding up the hill today was easy. On the downhill at Llandudno and having ridden only 4 km my front wheel clipped Peter’s right back pannier and I hit the tar, falling to my left, my shoulder connecting with the steel barrier and grazing my knee. This is only my second fall in Africa, so not bad at all. I just wasn’t concentrating enough.
Other cyclists on the road mostly with drop handle racing bikes, riders kitted out in the latest lycra outfits. We have found that these cyclists aren’t the friendliest bunch on the road but a father and son stopped us to chat when they saw my Amsterdam 2 CT sign on my back. Abbas Harris is involved with youngsters encouraging them to cycle … better to be cycling than roaming the streets getting up to no good.
While riding through Clifton, a security guard called out to Peter … ‘Are you Peter’, then said that he had recognised us from the article in The Weekend Argus. Then riding along the promenade in Sea Point and scouting for a place to buy ice cream we heard a guy call out ‘you can’t park your bike there’. It was friend, Rodney Stein on his way to the Waterfront to meet us. Patricia and Gert were the next folk we recognized, they were on their way to Sevens Rugby at the Cape Town Stadium.
We arrived at the well known picture frame at 10h00 for a few pictures taken by Elizabeth and Cris Ingrim and Carol and Vic Els. Cris also brought a bottle of bubbly along and Peter and I toasted ourselves to completing our ride and arriving in CT safely and without any major breakdowns … other than his 16 punctures in Europe and 23 in Africa. Mine were 2 in Europe and 1 in Africa. Peter wins ‘hands down’.
We rode the last +- 100 metres side by side to where our family and friends were waiting. I shed a few emotional tears and we were were given loads of hugs. The hectic ride from Hout Bay to the Waterfront with motorists and pedestrians calling out congratulations and wanting to know what’s next is keeping our spirits up.
Peter and I would like to thank our family and friends who came to the Waterfront to welcome us home. We appreciate everyone who has followed us by means of FB and sharing our experiences on email that I sent (at the end) to over 130 people every day. Thank you also for being there and for following us to the bitter end.
A few of us had lunch at Quay Four and followed the Sevens rugby on TV. Feeling rather sad and ‘flat’ that this adventure is finally over, it took a while to load the bikes onto the Thuli rack and we then headed to Bellville to visit my brother, Graham and his family for a cup of tea and some birthday cake. My niece, Sarah celebrated a birthday on the 8th. Feeling exhausted after only riding 22 km we made our way to Claire and Philip’s home in Mowbray. Supper was rotis made by our dear friend, Aleweya who brought them to the Waterfront before heading to rugby with her husband, Achmat. I fiddled with my panniers and now at 10 pm I’m too tired to write more. Once back in Knysna we both plan to catch up on much needed sleep and spend some quality time with our cats.
My eyelids are shutting so I’m off to bed. Lala salama everyone. Thanks again for following Peter and I on this incredible ride that we have just completed.
Take care x
– Jaap and Germain from Hout Bay getting a feel of our bikes for when they go touring
– Beautiful Bantry Bay on the Atlantic Ocean
– Rodney Stein offering Peter coffee … his reply, thanks Rodney ‘I would rather have a beer’
– Family … One McNulty, the other two is Pamela, my sister and Graham, my brother
– Friends Renton and Irene Trollip, dear friends who are taking care of our Girls, Coco and Sophie
– Lunch at Quay Four .. Peter, Rodney, Pam, Eva, Willem, Nick, me and Mark
– My sister in law, Stella and our friend, Carol
