It was weekend and on the “to do” list was a bike trip through the Cederberg Mountains.
The “not so little anymore” daughter just completed her introductory course to off road riding under the watchful eye of Countrytrax instructors so hubby was confident that she will cope with the ride. And she? She was excited as hell to prove her new skills.
It was an early start in Stellenbosch as dawn was breaking and we needed to avoid the early morning traffic as we still wanted to sleep at Clanwilliam that night. So a long day (some 300 km via the R303 ) in the saddle!
Our breakfast stop was just around the corner at the Wimpy in Wellington (you cannot start your day without a Wimpy breakfast). From here on we followed the tar road via Hermon through Ceres and up Gydo pass to hit gravel where the dust and fun started. As it was chilly when leaving Stellenbosch we layered ourselves wisely against the cold. Next stop was at the small settlement of Op die Berg to get rid of some of the layers. The sun was getting hot.
Hubby was riding at a steady pace for the “little one” to keep up – not that it was necessary! She was pushing us while eating dust. We were enjoying the ride and stopped every so often to rest the legs and bum and have a swig of water to keep us hydrated.
Then she, that is now the little one, will pull up, covered in dust, with a wide smile from ear to ear, anxious to get going again. While we were taking a break she was showing off her newly acquired braking skills she was taught on the Countrytrax course.
And Me? I was getting a wee bit worried by now as she seemed too confident for her mother’s liking when practicing those emergency stops on that bike of hers ……..
But no worries in the end, all went well – we arrived safely back in Stellenbosch without any accidents or incidents. What I can vouch for, after having done that course myself, is that it teaches you valuable skills to ride with confidence in any situation. And yes you need to practice those emergency stops! I did too!
oOo
“Every sunset is an opportunity to reset”
