Wed 5 Dec, 2018. Day 367

Staying with Vic + Carol Els, Protea Valley, Cape Town
Distance 70 + 20586 = 20656
Average 15.4
Time 4 h 31 m
Location S33.866235, S18.607859

We are getting far too spoilt but it’s so nice to have a comfy bed, a loo nearby for those early morning visits to the porcelain bowl and the use of a real towel compared with our microfiber ones. We enjoyed Grande Provence’s home baked muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit and juice. Peter also had a humongous omelette that he said was delicious.

Left at 07h25 with no wind, a wide shoulder, smooth tar and friendly motorists giving us a toot when they see my ‘Amsterdam 2 Cape Town’ sign pinned to the back of my jacket. Peter spoke to a reporter from the weekend Argus, Saturday edition, who is interested in chatting to us tomorrow. We turned off the busy Franschhoek to Paarl road and rode through Simondium and Klapmuts, going past a few famous wine farms… Anthonij Rupert, Rupert and Rothschild, Babylonstoren, Backsberg and Villiera. From luxurious wine estates to riding through the suburb of Kraaifontein that looked very similar to many villages we rode through in Africa … fruit and veg for sale on the pavements, barber shops, car spares, small spaza shops and many informal taxis brought back memories of rural areas higher up in Africa.

A policeman manning a roadblock called out on the top of his voice … ‘have a wooonderful ride’. We stopped at R&D Offroad in Brackenfell to say hi to Cris and Elizabeth Ingram and where Peter’s baby (a 2002 Toyota Hilux) is parked. We’ll use the bakkie to drive back to Knysna some time next week.

Next stop was a visit to Specs Direct in Parow where Peter’s having his eyes tested and getting a quote for his broken spectacles. It has been such a lovely riding day with perfect weather and I have the perfect riding partner, though I do have to reign him in at times ??.

We climbed the dreaded hill up to the suburb of Welgemoed and two further hills to finally reach Vic and Carol’s home. Vic was patiently waiting with camera in hand. It has been great catching up with them and the champagne was a lovely surprise. Peter and I have been talking about following a normal diet of fruit and vegetables when we return home to Knysna and Carol’s baked veg and the two quiches were delicious. Apologies for the boring diary but I’m too tired to be creative at 23h09.

Lala salama everyone xx

– Outside our room at Grande Provence and surrounded by vineyards

– The road out of the Estate

– Well known wine estate,  Backsberg

– Cris, Elizabeth and their crew at R&D Offroad where Peter’s Fortuner has been resting while we pedalled over 20000 km

– Carol and Vic Els who kindly gave us (single) beds for the night. Peter was horrified that we were in separate rooms