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

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