The route on Day 1 was changed slightly from the year before to take out the Lebanon section as this was very early in the ride and caused huge bottlenecks last year. We had a few short steep climbs to warm up the legs and to sort out the men from the boys. Once again the self-seeding system failed spectacularly as just about everyone considered themselves fast riders. Even though this was not a race, some consideration for faster riders would have been much appreciated. I hear the trail etiquette in Canada is beyond reproach and I'm sure that at BCBR there will be better skills all around. The few hold ups did not detract from a very pleasant ride.
Day 2 had a very chilly start. I cheated and started just after the racing group to avoid major traffic jams. My strategy worked well and once through Botrivier I slacked off to a more leisurely pace. Day 2 of the tour did not disappoint and fun non-technical single track kept us entertained all the way to the celebration table 8km from the finish. This table is a tradition that was started a few years ago and takes the form of a wine tasting with a magnificent view of the bay from Kleinmond to Gansbaai. The only finer detail to negotiate after a few glasses of Pinot Noir is what is known as the mine shaft. I let the group I was in pass through and waited a minute or so to drop into the single track with a clear run. Unfortunately a lady rider fell on a technical section. After a brief enquiry to her health, I proceeded to catch the back end of the group again and sat on the back all the way to Hermanuspietersfontein (thats a mouth full...) to end what was another great 2 days of riding.
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