Autumn Zoo Lake Breakfast Ride

I showed a few friends the route that I cycle to work on commute days. we entered Delta park just next to the school, and then up to the botanical gardens before we turned away for a moyo breakfast at zoo lake.

The spruit was on its best behaviour yesterday morning. mud-sections gone, all that's left were fast flowing tracks. With oak leaves everywhere, people walking their dogs, jogging, riding with kids.

Lots of people greeted us or smiled at us - it may have been because of the grins on our faces. 'twas a happy place yesterday. 

Vroegherfs - NP Van Wyk Louw


Die jaar word ryp in goue akkerblare,
in wingerd wat verbruin, en witter lug
wat daglank van die nuwe wind en klare
son deurspoel word; elke blom word vrug,
tot selfs die traagstes; en die eerste blare val
so stilweg in die rookvaal bos en laan,
dat die takke van die lang populiere al
teen elke ligte môre witter staan.

O Heer, laat hierdie dae heilig word:
Laat alles val wat pronk en sieraad was
of enkel jeug, en ver was van die pyn;
laat ryp word, Heer, laat u wind waai, laat stort
my waan, tot al die hoogheid eindelik vas
en nakend uit my teerder jeug verskyn.

Fun Gaalens

The Impi-challenge took place at Van Gaalens on Saturday, so we had to start early. It was a glorious morning after the previous night's torrential rains which left the tracks muddy. The backwheel slipped a few times, and the bike behaved quite different from what I had gotten used to. The cement-track climbed seemed much steeper than usual and I walked parts of it. (Will have to spend more time on my bike, I guess.)
Up and over the Daggapad, then along the railwayline. When we got back to the rivertrail, it was closed for the Impi-runners. We had to find an alternative route to get on the Greek-church climb. Nothing a bit of adventure-racing background couldn't fix. On the way down, we cycled on the Impi-spectators route, so we could get a glimpse of the fun that the runners had.

Often, after a particularly cool piece of singletrack, I wonder if there's anything better in life.
There is.

The absolutely best part of a Van Gaalen daggapad-ride is not getting to the top of the cement-climb.
It's not bombing down the rocky first piece of singletrack dodging cow-dung, or the flowing forest-part, or the riding slowly and chatting to each other on the gravel-road. It's not chasing one another on the piece of hidden singletrack that runs far above the boring gravelroad below. Nor is it the fanta at the fanta-stop, or the railway-track on the way to more river-singletrack. It's definately not the climb up to the Greek church. although it come close, the best bit at Van Gaalens is also not the easter-egg-end-nicknaks-picnic at the Greek church, or getting a bit of air on the downhill back to the rivertrack, or the rivertrack itself, or the floating bridge, or the screams of sheer pleasure from the other riders as they enter the bush tunnels. Or the coffee-milkshake afterwards.

The BEST bit of a Van Gaalen-ride are the facial expressions and remarks from people who rode there the first time. That's why I can't take all my cycling buddies there at once. Only 1 or 2 van-gaalens-newbies at a time, to keep experiencing the first-time-ecstacy over and over without running out of cycling friends :)

--

You can't buy happiness. But you can buy a bike, and that's pretty close.

When did we grow up?

The previous night's storm made the Dark&Dirty tracks dust-free. Those tracks that we could find, anyway. Long after-summer grass and lots of new construction sites made the once-familiar tracks hard to find.  First we couldn't find Vetseun - we hiked the bikes quite a bit to get back on track - with a low plane coming in for a landing, and city-light below us on both sides of the koppie. Later (after Python-grins) we couldn't find Quadbuster either. We portaged the bikes up to the birthday-tree, and celebrated DK's birthday with easter eggs, jamcakes (thx Adri) and gluhwein (thx Ducttape).

Going down heartbreak-hill was much easier than the usual drag up. Then up the St George's tracks (where a new fence made it difficult to get through to the singletrack next to the highway). A fast chase down Shebeen Queen, up Mieliemuur, and back at the Spur just in time to order some hot chocolate and chips before the kitchen closed.


Still the most fun you can have on a Thursday night.


Thank you Oupa Gerrit for Trailmeistering, Ducttape for Sweeping, and everyone else for the laughs and the chats and the companionship and for having our childhoods all over again.


When did we grow up? 

Just do it. Now.

I cycled to work today. It's on cyclepaths, some backroads, and through Delta Park and parts of the Spruit. People walk there with their dogs, or run, or walk with their babies in prams. Commuting by bike is one of the most efficient ways that I know of to clear my mind. 

My dad's in hospital. The middle ear infection turned out to be a benign brain tumour, which then turned out to be malignant, which then turned out to be systemic. There were still some unchased dreams that now may stay unchased forever.

A friend died in a motorbike accident in January. He would have done Cape Epic with his wife. She is riding without him.

Many years ago a bunch of my friends did the Double Century with me. We were all on mountain bikes, some with slicks. When we climbed Franschoek pass the second time, I passed 2 guys who seem to not have seen each other for a while. The one asked the other how he was doing.

"Vrot", came the reply.

 "No man, I mean in the other life", the younger guy said.

"There is no other life. There is only now."

It's not important that there won't be time to read all the marketing chapters properly before the online tests.

It's not important that a team member again told me how crappy my contribution to the group's assignment was, just to have him present it as his own a few days later.

It's not important that the SQLserver reporting tool kills the server, or that the fuel price go up.
Lots of deadlines before the next block of classes.
Not enough time to prepare for the tests or put more effort into the group projects.
Not enough sleep.

Good coffee. Friends. Singletrack. My mountain bike(s). Being fully alive, because there is only today. That's what matters.

Tonight I will charge my night-light's batteries. Tomorrow morning I will pack the Trance on the car, and tomorrow night I will go ride Dark & Dirty. And I'll ride in purple, because the passion is back.

Join me. 

Irene Mall (spur side) 19:00. Mountain bike, light, helmet, and some money for hot chocolate afterwards.

------------

"... that moment," the King went on, "I shall never never forget!"

"You will, though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of it."