Cycling South Africa

After climbing Cape Town's Table Mountain, Mike (Barrett) and I set off for our CTC tour of South Africa's wine region. Yes, Mike did actually climb the mountain! but needless to say, I took the easy route by cable car - saving my energies for the two weeks of cycling ahead. Following the coast north out of Cape Town to Durbanville, we cycled the now well- established circuit of Wine Towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Villiersdorp, Worcester, and by the end of the first week, Montagu. Cycling in this region is pretty easy-going with modest climbs, good roads and manageable daily mileages. However with temperatures in the high 30's, a stiff 7km climb out off Franschhoek towards Stellenbosch on Thursday nevertheless proved testing for our group of 21 riders. Delightful rural guesthouses and hotels make cycling here very comfortable, especially with refreshing swimming pools at the end of the day! Now into our second week we look forward to more hot days - and try to forget that Surrey is still in the grips of winter, and our summer Lycra will need to packed away again once we return.