The grey skies and the rain have passed by and normal service is resumed.
Monday, 4 February 2019
What the weekend is for?
A very pleasant Braai on Saturday afternoon with Sue and Ally and Cam, along with Nicole and Ailsa visiting from the UK - thanks to Cam for the cooking. A glass or two of the Graham Beck MCC, and a Tokara Chardonnay to follow - in preparation for Sunday's ride I was trying to be good.
Home in time for the Six-Nations and a win for Scotland - although they'll need to be more controlled for the other games. Disappointing performance from Ireland - not the start we were expecting.
After the heat wave last week, wasn't sure whether to believe the rain that was forecast for Sunday morning, but sure enough, as I left the house at 6.45 the drizzle started. Thankfully it was dry at the start and stayed that way mostly for the first 60km. It was a very grey morning but the temperature stayed around 20C which was ideal for the race. There were a good number of hills but none of them seemed to match the race profile that had been published so I was quite grateful. However by the time we reached the final 10km marker, the rain arrived and stayed with us till the end.
Managed to complete the 72km course in under 3 hours without any mishaps and was home by 11.30 for a celebratory glass of the Muratie 'Lady Alice' MCC Rosé. Have to admit I didn't stir much for the rest of the day - other than a gentle stroll to the Clubhouse for a sundowner.
Home in time for the Six-Nations and a win for Scotland - although they'll need to be more controlled for the other games. Disappointing performance from Ireland - not the start we were expecting.
After the heat wave last week, wasn't sure whether to believe the rain that was forecast for Sunday morning, but sure enough, as I left the house at 6.45 the drizzle started. Thankfully it was dry at the start and stayed that way mostly for the first 60km. It was a very grey morning but the temperature stayed around 20C which was ideal for the race. There were a good number of hills but none of them seemed to match the race profile that had been published so I was quite grateful. However by the time we reached the final 10km marker, the rain arrived and stayed with us till the end.
Managed to complete the 72km course in under 3 hours without any mishaps and was home by 11.30 for a celebratory glass of the Muratie 'Lady Alice' MCC Rosé. Have to admit I didn't stir much for the rest of the day - other than a gentle stroll to the Clubhouse for a sundowner.
Saturday, 2 February 2019
A flaw in the plan?
Having set ourselves the goal of only buying wine from the cellar door, we chose the Dieu Donne Winery for our tasting and lunch yesterday. Impressive location on the hillside looking down on Franschhoek, a good restaurant and a selection of 4 or 5 whites and a similar number of reds.
We only needed a couple of bottles of each so didn't expect there would be a problem. However, what happens when you don't like any of the whites? Thankfully, the solution to this unexpected problem was close at hand - visit another winery!
So, after an excellent lunch - the Springbok Loin was particularly good - and with our two Dieu Donne reds - a very drinkable table blend and a good Shiraz - we headed off to Tokara to taste their whites and found an Elgin Sauvignon and their estate Chardonnay more to our taste. Of course, making a detour via the Delicatessen on the way out resulted in the purchase of their premium Olive oil and a Balsamic and a bottle of Rosé just in case. I do love shopping after a good lunch.
We only needed a couple of bottles of each so didn't expect there would be a problem. However, what happens when you don't like any of the whites? Thankfully, the solution to this unexpected problem was close at hand - visit another winery!
So, after an excellent lunch - the Springbok Loin was particularly good - and with our two Dieu Donne reds - a very drinkable table blend and a good Shiraz - we headed off to Tokara to taste their whites and found an Elgin Sauvignon and their estate Chardonnay more to our taste. Of course, making a detour via the Delicatessen on the way out resulted in the purchase of their premium Olive oil and a Balsamic and a bottle of Rosé just in case. I do love shopping after a good lunch.
Thursday, 31 January 2019
Wha's like us?
Damn few it seems.
Some of you may remember our last encounter with an expat British couple in 2017 which didn't end in a long-term friendship! (See What the Feck is that??? - 2/20/17)
When we were planning for our extended stay in South Africa this year, we realised that we would need to do a bit more homework to ensure that we would be able to make the most of our trip.
Needing to know about health care, property rentals, banking and other such stuff, we found a book on retiring in SA which was published by a British expat in 2017 and was written in a clear and informative style which covered all we needed - and quite a lot we didn't.
The Author had included his email address and when we were struggling to find out how to arrange our own Wifi set-up - since our landlady was not willing to help - Linda emailed him and he provided a very helpful response. We also found that he was living on the same estate as us and joked about bumping into him when we arrived.
Once we had settled in, we realised that we were almost neighbours so, as a way of saying thank-you, we invited him and his wife for a drink on Tuesday.
It started off well when he volunteered the fact that he would prefer a soft drink to a glass of wine - perhaps I should have just asked them to leave then.
Declining the offer of sparkling water, he settled for a glass of wine - his wife was much more enthusiastic in accepting the original offer and drank most of his wine as well - constantly swapping glasses with him - which meant that they stayed twice as long as was necessary.
She also did most of the talking - on the subject of the house they have under construction on the estate and on penny-pinching in life in general. As you can imagine, Linda and I enjoyed the evening immensely and were thankful that they must have felt the same since there was no suggestion of a return engagement.
Still at least we tried....
Some of you may remember our last encounter with an expat British couple in 2017 which didn't end in a long-term friendship! (See What the Feck is that??? - 2/20/17)
When we were planning for our extended stay in South Africa this year, we realised that we would need to do a bit more homework to ensure that we would be able to make the most of our trip.
Needing to know about health care, property rentals, banking and other such stuff, we found a book on retiring in SA which was published by a British expat in 2017 and was written in a clear and informative style which covered all we needed - and quite a lot we didn't.
The Author had included his email address and when we were struggling to find out how to arrange our own Wifi set-up - since our landlady was not willing to help - Linda emailed him and he provided a very helpful response. We also found that he was living on the same estate as us and joked about bumping into him when we arrived.
Once we had settled in, we realised that we were almost neighbours so, as a way of saying thank-you, we invited him and his wife for a drink on Tuesday.
It started off well when he volunteered the fact that he would prefer a soft drink to a glass of wine - perhaps I should have just asked them to leave then.
Declining the offer of sparkling water, he settled for a glass of wine - his wife was much more enthusiastic in accepting the original offer and drank most of his wine as well - constantly swapping glasses with him - which meant that they stayed twice as long as was necessary.
She also did most of the talking - on the subject of the house they have under construction on the estate and on penny-pinching in life in general. As you can imagine, Linda and I enjoyed the evening immensely and were thankful that they must have felt the same since there was no suggestion of a return engagement.
Still at least we tried....
Time Flies.....
Thursday already - how did that happen?
After the ride on Sunday morning, I did little more that sit in the shade watching the Supersports channel - Pro 14 rugby, International Sevens from Hamilton and a ODI between SA and Pakistan. Managed to get out of my chair for long enough to brown a couple of steaks on the braai and drink a decent Shiraz from Delheim. Good practice for the Six-Nations weekends which are coming up.
Since I had managed to drop my SA phone and smash the screen on Sunday after the ride, I was back at the Mall on Monday to get someone to fix it - not quite a 'while-you-wait' job but hopefully not a terminal case. Heading back there today to collect the finished item - hopefully.
We have already settled into a routine which involves early morning cycling or yoga, followed by breakfast and an hour or so by the pool and then a bit of relaxing during the heat of the day - particularly on Monday and Tuesday pm when it reached 39-40C in the afternoon. Even at 6.30 in the morning, Linda's found that we need the AC on for yoga.
We had our first visitors on Tuesday evening - of which more to follow. I'm not sure if its just me, but there do seem to be some odd people around.
We had a day off yesterday and treated ourselves to tickets for the One Day International cricket between SA and Pakistan at Newlands.
This was the deciding game in a 5 match series and it was great to see SA win by a comfortable margin. Thankfully it was a cooler day and we had seats in the shade. We even managed to get back to the clubhouse at Pearl Valley in time for curry night in the restaurant. Not the greatest curry but better than having to cook a late dinner at home.
I'm trying to get my cycle training in as early as possible so usually on the road by 6.30am and home between 9.00 and 10.00. Managed about 50Km this morning including one of the bigger hills but will need to do more in preparation for Sunday's 70Km ride which is over a very hilly route.
After the ride on Sunday morning, I did little more that sit in the shade watching the Supersports channel - Pro 14 rugby, International Sevens from Hamilton and a ODI between SA and Pakistan. Managed to get out of my chair for long enough to brown a couple of steaks on the braai and drink a decent Shiraz from Delheim. Good practice for the Six-Nations weekends which are coming up.
Since I had managed to drop my SA phone and smash the screen on Sunday after the ride, I was back at the Mall on Monday to get someone to fix it - not quite a 'while-you-wait' job but hopefully not a terminal case. Heading back there today to collect the finished item - hopefully.
We have already settled into a routine which involves early morning cycling or yoga, followed by breakfast and an hour or so by the pool and then a bit of relaxing during the heat of the day - particularly on Monday and Tuesday pm when it reached 39-40C in the afternoon. Even at 6.30 in the morning, Linda's found that we need the AC on for yoga.
We had our first visitors on Tuesday evening - of which more to follow. I'm not sure if its just me, but there do seem to be some odd people around.
We had a day off yesterday and treated ourselves to tickets for the One Day International cricket between SA and Pakistan at Newlands.
This was the deciding game in a 5 match series and it was great to see SA win by a comfortable margin. Thankfully it was a cooler day and we had seats in the shade. We even managed to get back to the clubhouse at Pearl Valley in time for curry night in the restaurant. Not the greatest curry but better than having to cook a late dinner at home.
I'm trying to get my cycle training in as early as possible so usually on the road by 6.30am and home between 9.00 and 10.00. Managed about 50Km this morning including one of the bigger hills but will need to do more in preparation for Sunday's 70Km ride which is over a very hilly route.
Sunday, 27 January 2019
Cycling - the reality
I was out at 6.00am on Friday for my first ride on the new bike - managed about 25km - riding laps around the main road of the estate - a good road surface, no traffic and all on one level. On Saturday it was similar but I managed 30km slightly faster.
For the first race this morning, I left the house at about 5.00am, was registered for the ride and drinking my first coffee by the time Ally and Cameron arrived, and set off in the third group for the ride at about 6.30. As a gentle start to the training we had signed up for the 38km ride around the winelands with a couple of gentle hills, leaving the 91 km to the serious riders.
Amazed how many people were taking part between the two events - a very busy place at 5.30am.
Had a fairly easy ride, but happy enough to finish at just over 90 minutes - 1st in my age group. Cameron had a puncture with less than 1km to go and as a result finished outside his 80 min target time, while Ally seemed happy with her result - a few minutes behind me.
Next Sunday, we are signed up for a 70km ride north of Paarl with a couple of larger hills - that may be more testing - I need to get some practice on the hills - and the distance this week. However I have identified a couple of rides which involve sufficient distance and a few hills and finish at a winery so Linda can meet me for lunch and drive me home!
For the first race this morning, I left the house at about 5.00am, was registered for the ride and drinking my first coffee by the time Ally and Cameron arrived, and set off in the third group for the ride at about 6.30. As a gentle start to the training we had signed up for the 38km ride around the winelands with a couple of gentle hills, leaving the 91 km to the serious riders.
Amazed how many people were taking part between the two events - a very busy place at 5.30am.
Had a fairly easy ride, but happy enough to finish at just over 90 minutes - 1st in my age group. Cameron had a puncture with less than 1km to go and as a result finished outside his 80 min target time, while Ally seemed happy with her result - a few minutes behind me.
Next Sunday, we are signed up for a 70km ride north of Paarl with a couple of larger hills - that may be more testing - I need to get some practice on the hills - and the distance this week. However I have identified a couple of rides which involve sufficient distance and a few hills and finish at a winery so Linda can meet me for lunch and drive me home!
Friday, 25 January 2019
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