West Coast Cycle Tour Day 2 – The Shortest Route isn’t Always the Easiest

After a great night’s sleep; our day was off to a good start as we headed out of Hopefield. We stopped at a fascinating farm stall (padstalletjie) called Plaasmol Padstal with the most interesting objects, creative art, and items for sale. The property also boasts an animal farm, nursery and coffee shop which could keep you busy for a while. We had a quick search for the geocache located within the premise and was soon on our way.

Just outside of Vredenburg, the wind started picking up. Picking up is an understatement; 34 kilometres per hour head-on winds is what we had to deal with. Every time a big truck passed us, we would take the opportunity to enjoy the two-second break in the gusts before pushing forward once again. As if that wasn’t enough, what followed was pouring rain! And of course, we were halfway up quite a long uphill with no cafe or shelter spot in sight. Our hope was to find shelter from the elements in Vredenburg, at the top of the hill we were currently ascending. After hours of averaging nine kilometres per hour, we were thankful to find the Sunchaser Bar (ironically!) on the second floor of a shopping centre where we could enjoy lunch and a few hot chocolates while waiting for the weather to clear.

Once the rain subsided, we took our chance at the last stretch. We were 15 kilometres away from our destination. Dressed in dry clothes and as water-resistant as possible, we headed out once again. We were greeted with a beautiful downhill and rays of glorious sunshine all the way.

We reached our destination; Paternoster! We were welcomed by groups of local kids on their bicycles. Instead of congratulating us on our arduous journey, they felt it best to compare the number of gears on the various bicycles. We stayed at the Paternoster Hotel which is situated a street away from the beautiful beach. A well earned barefoot walk on the beach was in order. We just cycled 176 kilometres for this feeling! Keeping with tradition, we logged a couple of the many geocaches in town before heading to the hotel restaurant for delicious seafood.

The Paternoster Hotel is famous for its bar with the iconic ceiling filled with hanging panties and bras. It’s quite a sight to behold! We spent evening stretched out on the hotel lounge chairs exchanging stories with the friendly hostess, Roske, who admitted it’s much better to spend time with guests than help wash dishes!

• Starting point: Hopefield
• Destination: Paternoster
• Route: R45 — R399
• Total KM for the day: 55km
• Average speed: 15km p/h
• Unexpected highlight: While checking in, the hotel employees mistook the flashing red light on my backpack for a bomb…!
• More photos of the day: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFu2U3ojwln/