Tuesday 13 March 2012

Hike instead of bike!


Hi All,

How was the weekend? If you took part in the Cape Argus this weekend and finished, well done. Between the 42 Degree heat, yes that is right, 42 Degrees, and the main crash in the beginning of the race, which put a few riders out of the cycling scene for a while, it seemed in the end to be a very good race and I have heard nothing but good things, once again well done guys and girls.

The last weekend saw me trade in my mountain biking shoes for hiking shoes and my camel-back for a hiking back pack. Every once in a while it is good to mix things up. Otherwise the main things you enjoy doing becomes more of a task than a pleasure, and that is the key to enjoying different activities.

On Saturday morning, my better half, Vix, and I got up at the crack of dawn, no really it was the crack of dawn, the moon was still up. We got dressed into some comfortable hiking attire, went downstairs, filled the flask with coffee, packed our morning munchies and off we went...The Lions Head hike.




We arrived at about 6:45am, which actually was the perfect time, as many other people were arriving and gearing up to do the same as us. At about 6:55am off we went. Now both of us have done this before, but I must admit the beginning part seemed a little steeper than I remember, but after 5 minutes, we were in full swing of things and taking in the views of the city behind us and the sea in front. Standing on the one corner of the trail, I found myself thinking, this must honestly be one of the most beautiful places in the world. After having my self realization moment and feeling enlightened, we carried on and eventually reached the top. The climb to the top is not bad at all, very easy actually, but if you are a little scared of heights, take care, after all you do end up climbing about 1000m up.

Once on top, nothing in Cape Town as far as I am concerned can beat the view that you see. Over-looking the whole of Cape Town you really appreciate everything. We stayed up there for a while enjoying the peacefulness, no stress, no worries, just.....peace.



Eventually deciding to make our way down, we left the mountain top and started on our way. This is the part that got a little stressful for me I must admit and I don't know why. I can go full speed downhill with the Stallion with no stress and just laughs all the way, but now hiking down a chain ladder gets a little hairy while  Vix on the other hand is basically skipping down the side of the mountain without care in the world, and then on top of that, she gets this notion to see if she can turn the hike into a trail run, this being her specialty had no problem and smashed the rest of the trail. Eventually we got down to the bottom, and both of us could not say anything more than just having smiles on our faces and having a great time.

I can definitely say, that swapping the bike once in a while is an experience completely worth it and this is not the last at all!

No matter where you are, there is always something to do, so just do it!

Good luck to our local boys for the UCI Downhill Champs in Pietermaritzberg this weekend, Good Luck to  Greg Minnaar and Andrew Neethling, show them what SA has got boys.

Till we meet again on the trails - Stay Dirty

DC



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