Houw Hoek Challenge Day 2

After the first day of the Houw Hoek Challenge I ran into a minor snag with my seat post. More about this in another post. The end result was that I was riding the second day on my trusty old hardtail. On a trail that was not technical by any stretch of the imagination, I actually enjoyed all the feedback from the rear stays and tyres while racing.
The day started off at the Houw Hoek Inn.  Day 1's fast group almost doubled in size. Somehow riders thought that finishing day 1 constituted being a fast rider. I started once again in the second group with a very gentle pace from the front. The old Houw Hoek pass remains a gem. If you ever pass the area with your 4x4 and have 30 minutes to spare, turn off at the Inn and follow the old pass to Botrivier. The railway line running next to the trail takes you back to an era where rail transport was the pinnacle and bicycles had funny wheel sizes (some things never change).
After the Pass we skirted Botrivier through farmland with interesting little sections of single track. The weather was hotting up nicely and I removed my long sleeved cycling jersey at one of the stoppages where riders were not able to negotiate a small A frame bridge.
Once we passed the steel bridge, the climbing started. The sun was shining and the gradient was gentle. The water point was well stocked with jelly babies, potatoes, coke, water and sarmies. I simply filled my bottle and moved along. I had to constantly tell myself to slow down as I was definitely not racing this one. I judged my effort quite well to ensure that there was a reasonable gap between my group and the group ahead of us. I took the front and cleared down the single track in the reserve. After about 2 minutes we caught up with the group ahead of us. They seemed to be more intent on chirping each other than focusing on riding their bikes and I had a few choice chirps to add myself. After some more friendly banter I moved off to find less chirpy company ahead.
The Hermanus trail network has eluded me for years, but suddenly I found myself right in the middle of it. I was pleasantly surprised by the work done here and resolved to make a return at the first proper opportunity to get away for the weekend to the Whale Route. The trail is beautifully constructed with provision for water run off, settled properly cambered berms and nice flowing lines. I opened up the throttle and flew on the parts where I had clear track.
The second water point was as well stocked as the first, but I opted for a simple water fill and a small piece of banana.
The celebration table just beyond Fernkloof at the top of the hill served a very well rounded Pinotage of which I had a few glasses. With views of the coast line from de Kelders to Sandbaai on our left we sped down to hook up with a nice little stretch of single track with a few small rock gardens and ruts to negotiate it kept us honest.
The Hemel and Aarde stretch of single track provided some fun as well and all too soon I was crossing the finish line at Hermanuspietersfontein to enjoy the wonderful vibe with fellow riders and supporters.

A huge thanks to Johan and his dedicated team for a fun weekend. It was really well organised and the overwhelming feedback from fellow riders was that it was very positive on the whole.