West Coast Cycle Tour Day 3 – Oh Darling, we made it!

Technically if you’re awake past midnight it’s the next day right? We were lying in bed since 22:30 and not able to fall asleep. I knew we shouldn’t have had that (amazing) cappuccino at 20:30 the night before; the caffeine was still in rushing mode through my body causing heavy palpitations, busy thoughts and adrenaline running through the veins. At one o’clock the last hotel guests were returning from the bar, howling and banging on the hotel doors causing a ruckus.

At two o’clock we reached for the considered sleeping pills, and each took half. I’d never taken a sleeping pill so I was curious to see how quick it was going to kick in and how I was going to feel the next day. 45 minutes later, I was still not feeling sleepy and heard my husband playing around with the medicine box. He nudged me and I reluctantly responded that I was still awake. He was kind enough to apologise after realising he gave me an allergy pill instead of a sleeping pill. Today was going to be a good day!

Alarm clocks rang at 07:00 and we were up and ready to take the day by the horns. No time to complain about lack of sleep! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the waves were crashing on the rocks, and we were commencing the journey back home!

We had a late breakfast (the restaurant staff was not as hurried as we were) and we were on our bikes by nine o’clock. The first 15 kilometres out of town is a quiet tar road as its only stop is Paternoster. We pedalled as hard as possible to get a proper head start for the day. The wind was manageable. When we reached Vredenburg, we knew the long uphill we suffered the previous day was going to be a glorious five kilometres of downhill.

Our original plan was to ride through the West Coast National Park, but we decided that we would cut out 13 kilometres and rather stay on the R45 having seen that the yellow shoulder was broad enough for us to safely cycle. The R45 road was long and straight as far as the eye could see. The occasional car honking a short hoot of encouragement kept us motivated and pedalling. We realised how much we actually appreciated the uphills and swerving roads of the previous days to keep us entertained as opposed to the monotonous straight line we were travelling on. 70 Kilometres into our day, we spotted the greenest, most fluffy looking, gap in the greenbelt next to the road to rest our legs. Actually, by legs, we meant bodies; and by rest, we meant afternoon nap. We passed out for 20 minutes in the sun and enjoyed some much-needed sleep (not knowing this would be the cause of some outlandish sunburnt artwork).

As we turned left onto the R307 towards Darling, we were welcomed by rolling hills of freshly blossomed farmland. As it was spring, the hills were filled with purple flowers, late bloomers of the ever-popular West Coast flower season. For about 500 meters, we were accompanied by several ostriches running parallel to the road in the adjacent fields. There was, unfortunately, no yellow shoulder on the road, forcing us to go onto a narrow gravel path next to the road. Trying to keep a heavy-laden bicycle upright on single track while tired is not much fun. We had to push through the remaining 20 kilometres to reach our destination for which you will be forgiven for thinking was our overnight accommodation. No, not entirely, it was an ice-cold beer at the town’s favourite microbrewery, Darling Brew.

Darling was our final destination for this mini-cycling trip. The original plan was to cycle back to Paarl, but the fourth day’s last 100 kilometres was a bit much. If we planned a day’s rest between day three and day four, we would have completed our trip all the way back to Paarl. Alas, we all have jobs and limited amout of days leave. Nonetheless, we cycled from home, made it to the sea and cycled back! That’s 270 kilometres. No cramps. Well prepared. Amazing companionship. Great memories. No support. Such a story to tell.

Rean Coetzee, thank you for joining us on this crazy cycling adventure!

Lessons learnt:

• Check the weather beforehand to prepare clothing and equipment
• For every uphill, there’s an awesome downhill
• 3+ people on a trip is a great number
• The wind has no mercy on roads surrounded by open fields – we appreciated trees, buildings and trucks a lot more
• If you see windmills, there will be wind
• The day after a sleepless night isn’t always so bad
• Include rest days
• Starting point: Paternoster
• Destination: Darling
• Route: R45 — R307
• Total KM for the day: 92km
• Average speed: 18km p/h
• Unexpected highlight: A beer has never tasted so good after 270km!