Thursday 10th March had me arriving in Cape Town for a wedding (Bim & Camilla's - Great fun!), and i was desperate to fit in a ride on one of the 4.5 days i was there. The world's largest cycle ride, The Argus Cape Classic (35,000 riders) was scheduled on the Sunday morning in Cape Town, however (frustratingly!) the wedding was a 1.5 hour drive away, and with a 9am start the next day i couldn't see myself tucked up in bed early at the wedding... even to get on the start line with Lance Armstrong.... So on the monday, i planned on doing a 100km ride around Cape Town, a good way of combining training with some time pressed sight-seeing. After a quick look on the internet, i was able to track down Les at 'Cape Town Cycle hire' who was able to drop off a high quality road bike at my hotel, picking it up that same day, all for around £25... His website here for anyone ever wanting to do something similar. The route i planned was pretty much the main chunk of the Argus 109km ride, however as i started in Camps Bay it meant missing out the eastern part of the ride (ie first 20kms). From the very first pedal turn, the ride was fantastic. The temperature was 35 degrees for the whole ride, so liquids throughout the ride were essential... i think i consumed 6 litres in total in the 4 hours in the saddle. (Great to have Ed Gascoigne-Pees there for the first hour!)
The map of the ride is shown here, and is actually the typical route most tourists would take in a car or on a scooter whilst heading down to Cape Point. Chapman's Peak, Misty Cliffs, Noordhoek Bay & Simon's Town were just a few highlights along the way. The gaytard of Baboons were a bit of a shock! The one that jumped out of the hedge and ran a few feet away from my leg resulted in an out of the saddle sprint that got my heart beat up for sure...Riding next to an Ostrich Farm near Cape Point was also a surprise. Rather than yap on about it, i think its best i just posted a few pictures..
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