Jamestown

Wednesday 4th April – Cycling in the Winelands

I was excited to awake to yet another fine and sunny day. Since this was to be the day when we would get on the bikes to ride through the famous Winelands region, we had been hoping for good cycling conditions. It was only when I stepped outside that I realised that the wind was blowing an absolute gale. I could only hope that our cycling route would be downwind and not against it.

At 8.30 am we were met by a young South African who introduced himself as Kevin. He was from a company called “Day Trippers” who specialise is group adventure cycling. On the rear of his minibus was a trailer loaded with 13 mountain bikes. We drove for about an hour out of Cape Town to an area studded with prosperous looking vineyards and surrounded by imposing mountain ranges. We stopped at a very picturesque town called Franschhoek.
The name means “French Corner” and it was easy to see why. This place really did feel like you were in France. Most of the buildings were constructed in the French provincial style and the restaurants and hotels all carried French sounding names. Originally settled in 1688 by French Huguenot refugees, this is one of the oldest towns in the entire Cape Province. Nowadays it is the sprawling vineyards that the area is most well known for.

Kevin parked the van and started unloading the bikes. Fortunately, the howling wind had settled down somewhat to only a modest gale by this time. I selected a large bike but could not find any other helmet apart from a size SMALL. I somehow managed to squeeze my 10 gallon head into the 2 gallon helmet and tried out the bike. It felt like my cranium was jammed into a vice, but I decided to just grin and bear it. On the other hand, the bike was quite good, even if the suspension was a little softer than I am used to.

The first leg of our ride was not long but took us through a lovely rural area with glorious mountain views all around us. After about an hour of riding we arrived at the first winery for a wine tasting. For some this was undoubtedly a highlight but for those of us who have no love of wine, I have to admit that each new wine smelt like turpentine and tasted even worse.

Another short ride brought us to the second winery and even more servings of turpentine. After this many tasting we were deemed unfit to get back on the bikes and were driven to the third (and final) round of even more tastings. I think that by 3 o’clock even the keen drinkers in our group were getting rather sick of the wine and were becoming desperate for something to eat. It was only then that Kevin finally unveiled our “picnic lunch” and we were able to get some sustenance into our stomachs. Unfortunately, the lunch was not as generous as the wine servings, and we were left feeling a little unsatisfied.

After the late lunch we returned to the bus for a detour through the town of Stellenbosch. This is the second oldest town in Cape Province after Cape Town itself and still has numerous classified historic buildings, most with thatched roofs. It is also known as a university town with Stellenbosch University home to some 25,000 students.

It had been a very long day when we finally arrived back at our hotel. Bob and I looked for something simple to eat for dinner and found ourselves at a SUBWAY outlet in the Victoria Wharf complex. The food was good, but it was served by two of the surliest and unhappiest shop assistants I have ever dealt with. I felt like reminding them that a smile would have made both them and their customers feel so much better.Read more