Hermanus to Betty's Bay - Day one cycling in Africa - Kim and Glory - It's in My Soul

March 3, 2022

Hermanus to Betty's Bay - Day one cycling in Africa

Jack's Restaurant and Sea View Inn

Morning did not get off to a good start and Penny left ahead of me as we had a difference of opinion on departure times despite what I thought was an agreement to leave at 8:00am. We’ll just leave it at that except to say, it put a real damper on my mood for today’s ride. That and the rain! Saw a beautiful rainbow though and it cheered me up momentarily. It sucked though, my first day riding in Africa, and I’m riding alone. There were a few decent hills and only one did it become obvious I had lost some cardio.

I had my Brooks saddle replaced in Seattle and let’s just say my nether regions weren’t the happiest. Need to make a slight adjustment and hope it’s better tomorrow. Got to the town of Kleinmond and looked for a store. Apparently, the grocery stores here are in malls. I wasn’t sure what to definitely, but so just wheeled my bike into the mall and parked it under the watchful eye of the security guard and the lady spraying hands with a hand sanitizer before you are allowed into the store. I had arrived at the store pretty wet from a steady rain that had started falling. By the time I left, the rain had stopped and I had dried out a bit. Super glad about that as I could make out the beautiful mountains now. It was gorgeous. Mountains to my right, the Atlantic Ocean to my left. Oh yes, I am riding on the left side of the road here so it is a bit of an adjustment. I was really trying to take in the beautifully scenery, but my mind kept wandering about how the morning unfolded.

Two miles before the hotel, it started raining again, but not heavily. Got to the hotel and called the number the lady had provided. Much to my dismay, Penny wasn’t here and yet I hadn’t passed her. I was a bit worried, but nothing I could do at the moment. Just as I was taking my first bags up, she arrived. She’d been at the cafe/gas station next door.
A bit of a heated discussion took place. We both had completely different takes on the discussion around departure time. Hopefully, we will laugh about this later, but today wasn’t funny at all. I especially didn't like the threat, "We're not going to make it to Cape Town if this keeps up." Wow. Really? You can't work on communicating and compromising with me while we meld our two styles together? I have red flags going off left and right, but hoping everything will work itself out.

Once she calmed down, she agreed to go see the penguins with me. She has a flare up of an old injury with knee so we rode our bikes down to Stony Point Nature Reserve instead of walking. I have only seen penguins in the wild one other time in New Zealand and it's one of my favorite memories. Although I was super happy to see them, I was distracted by today's events so it was hard to be fully present in the experience. I would have stayed another day just to watch them, but she has some friends that are expecting us tomorrow.

Here's some African penguin facts from my pamphlet. It used to be known as the Jackass Penguin because of it's donkey-like braying call. I can attest, that indeed they do sound like a donkey! Their average lifespan is about 10 years. They travel slower than me on a bike. They average 3km per hour, but can go as fast as 10-19 km/hour. They moult annually. Because they can't swim when moulting, they get fat beforehand and then go three weeks without eating! They start breeding when 4-6 years old and stay with the same mate for several years.

The other thing of note is that this community is known for having a baboon problem. Problem as in them entering houses! We were told not to leave the balcony doors open even if we were just running to the bathroom. They can cause a lot of havoc in a short amount of time! Do you think I saw a baboon? Nadda. Not a one.

Caught movement as I was taking down my tent. One of those stick bugs I think

Burned out area. Desiree told me the fire was intentionally started

Shrouded in mist/fog/clouds made for some great scenery even if I couldn't see the whole mountain

See the dog barking at me from out the window?

Smile! This is a rock hyrax, also known as a dassie

Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 1,785 miles (2,873 km)

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