The Sweetest guesthouse serve a lovely breakfast in their garden room, a great start to the day! Stuart and I are in the same guesthouse as Holly and Bev.
We have a fairly late departure because we are all spread out across different guesthouses (they are so small they only take about 6 guests). We drive to Franschoek town where we unload the bikes, fix a couple of punctures..
.... and do some bird watching!
By the time we start the ride it is around 11.30 and scorching hot. We are now riding up the Franschoek pass, a 7km climb as midday approaches. The climb is a fairly consistent 7% and at midday I check the temperature on my Garmin it is 36.5 deg!
I didn't think I was going to make the climb, and as we refilled with water at 90% of the way up I nearly got on the support bus, because the gradient looked like it was about to double.
Somehow in the searing heat I finished the climb, and the view was amazing!
Although I finished the climb, I think the climb finished me! I cycled the rest of the segment to lunch but once I arrived I knew I couldn't face another minute of sunshine on my bike. After lunch it was an easy decision not to ride in the afternoon.
I missed out on a flat ride with tail wind, but Stuart really enjoyed being able to batter along with the group, which I know he misses out on, because he is keeping me company at the back.
From the bus, I manage to get a few photos of the group
When I see the state some of the people are in after the final segment I realise that I made the right decision not to ride in the afternoon. Paul needs some serious rehydration to recover.
We then transfer to a delightful winery....
.... where we find the table is all set awaiting our arrival.
This is the only picture I remembered to take in the evening. I was so tired I forgot to take a second picture when everyone was seated!
I didn't even have a glass of wine this evening, despite staying at winery, that is how serious the heat was!
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