Easy Ladies Breakfast run Sun 26th June

Annie's picture

You may wonder why so many ladies events on 1 weekend.

This was to be a follow-up ride for the basics training session the day before.

A few ladies booked, then cancelled - 1 overslept, the other's bike ran out of water (or shall I say coolant) (ahem) the day before... and there was the mist....

Then there were the sudden bookings....

So I said to Andy, well I'm going to lead the ride regardless of numbers and at least try out the new restaurant I'd booked.  Although I must say, when I booked, I told them I was expecting 5 or at a push 10.

BUT with SO many other rides and events going on, a lot of the ladies were joining these.

Andy (our sweeper) and I rode to our departure point in Durbanville in the mist.

We had 3 ladies join us there:

Charlotte Weaver and Marthie Kemp-v.d.Werf (did the training the day before) and Charmaine Noy.  So we were 5 people in the end.  A nice easy manageable group for a trip leader Cool

We breezed our way through any traffic lights we encountered via the back ends of Durbanville, passing through stunning winelands.  We turned right onto the R312 and then again at the next intersection on towards Stellenbosch, crossing over the N1.  Closer to Koelenhof I could see mist drifting in thick layers over the valley I wanted to cross. 

At Koelenhof we turned left onto the Kromme Rhee road, stopping cautiously at the unguarded level crossing and finally encountering the pea-soup mist a km or so away.  I must say, I was a bit concerned about crossing the R44 in that condition, but fortunately it thinned out just enough for us to see a reasonable distance either way.  Turning right onto the R44 we continued in the mist into Stellenbosch, turning left up the Helshoogte pass.  I knew Marthie was somewhat anxious about the pass, but she managed fine.

We came round the bend at the top - oh-oh - a full traffic road block was awaiting.  One lady traffic cop with superduper acryllic immaculate nails was so excited, she was taking our autographs, as was the other lady traffic cop.  But the male traffic cop had an axe to grind and gave Marthie (who had a certified copy of her learner's licence) a fine.  He became more and more obstinate, and when Andy and Charmaine tried to intervene, he confiscated the copy and refused to give it back or speak to anyone other than Marthie.  In the end we got on our bikes and left.

An unpleasant situation - and I'm sure not exactly within the strict arm of the law (the confiscation I mean).

However, the law is that you should have (unless it's a weekend emergency) an original version of your driver's or learner's licence with you at all times.  Keep it in a ziplock bag for those dreaded washing machine moments.

We continued down the Helshoogte pass, meeting up with a tri-cyclist who was stupidly using the whole of the right-hand lane, while her cyclist partner was using the left.  They didn't budge, and we had to overtake them.  What kind?

At Klein Drakenstein we turned left back towards Paarl.  The weather was stunning - we couldn't have asked for better.

We turned right and then left, snaking our way up towards our breakfast point - the Taal Monument.  We were all sorely in need of a cup of coffee.

A numbscruptious breakfast (a little on the slow side) was had, and afterwards we strolled around the monument, taking in the views.

Our return journey took us along the Berg River Boullevard, through Noorder-Paarl and back to Durbanville where we all peeled off our separate ways.

Thanks to all who rode along - a nice stress-free (except for the road block incident) way to be introduced to group riding and riding more distance and winding roads.

AnnieRoad Block Helshoogte: Mr Traffic Cop had an axe to grind...the sharper we got, the blunter he becameRoad Block Helshoogte: Mr Traffic Cop had an axe to grind...the sharper we got, the blunter he became

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Joined: 2011/01/08

Lol... Annie. Thank you so much for organising such and enjoyable ride and to Andy for the time and advice.

Looking forward to many more in the future.

Charlotte