Great views, missing 7de Laan and a question of brotherhood: Tales from another long cycle ride

This is unfortunately not a phlog. After barely 5 hours sleep, and a rush to meet Hans-Peter in Rondebosch (because of running a bit late), the camera was sadly left behind. Yet again, Reinhardt decided not to join us for another crazy (but shorter) cycle trip; but gave no reasons this time around.

During the past week or so, Hans-Peter and I considered going to Hout Bay over Constantia Nek. However, considering the sizable uphill trek back to Constantia Nek, I convinced Hans-Peter, that it would be better to cycle through Chapman's Peak, into Fish Hoek and there after, depending on time, cycle back to Rondebosch or take a train like our last mad trip.

The weather was near perfect, with no wind. But there was quite a heavy cloud cover, so it was a bit on the chilly side, and Hans-Peter was hoping to catch a tan - but the sun never really shone through. The first part of the trip to Constantia Nek was surprisingly not too tough (with Hans-Peter showing his higher fitness levels by making it up the hill by Kirstenbosch without stopping in his first attempt). Except for the mad bus drivers that drive at seemingly insane speeds through the narrow roads, there isn't much to say. The ride down the hill was a lot of fun, esp with the surprising lack of other road users.

The cycle up Chapman's Peak was not as demanding as I initially feared, although we did make a few stops to admire the scenery. It was also quite pleasing that cyclists do not have to pay toll fees for the road. The cycle down from Chapman's Peak was even more fun, especially as we frequently broke the posted speed limit, and even caught up with a few cars that had passed us previously. In fact, the entire ride was worth it from that downhill alone. We stopped briefly at a farm stall in Noerdhoek, primarily to clarify directions, but I can testify that they make awesome chocolate chip muffins.

The ride into Fish Hoek was surprisingly short, and the only notable event was the naming of the side streets that whizzed by. I think the numbering started about 20, counting downwards as we approached Fish Hoek ... 20^de Laan, 19^de Laan etc. except when it came to 7 ... for some reason, it was 7^th Avenue - and the sign was the same on both sides; so doesn't seem to be a case of Afrikaans and English names ... maybe a bit more practical road name changes?

We stopped for Pizza at Lakeside ... can't really say it was brilliant, but it was not bad. Afterwards, there was a very curious boy (about 6/7 years old) who was asking Hans-Peter few questions about his bike, like how the bike chain works and where he could acquire one for his bike. But it was the last question, that really brought a smile ... when he asked whether Hans-Peter and I were brothers or just friends. I think Hans Peter should have answered that we were brothers ... just to see what he would have asked next.

For the record, the trip was just over 60Km, and we covered it at an average of 17.1 Km/H ... still not good enough for the Argus, as it does not consider the rest periods, but not a bad time.