Western Cape Weekend and The #Cabal

Hello beautifuls!

When Raoul announced he wanted to do a race where only 50 entries would be available, bae and I thought.. hmm.. AND I haven't been in the racing scene for a while nor am I super fit but we thought we could make a trip of it.. luckily, by the time the trip came around, I was about to kill people at the office so the timing was everything!!

Majesty.
Image By : Raoul deJongh

We decided to drive down cause we wanted to not only take our bikes but my diving stuff and a bunch of comfort stuff as well.. aaaaaaand babe and I generally enjoy road trips.. there's something magical about those endless conversations, laughs, naps and Ted Talks.. it just works, this however, was our longest trip and we felt it but still enjoyed it!

Image by : Lebohang Makhetha (aka hubbs aka Bae)

The trip was short but so magic packed, we arrived Thursday morning, checked into Trails End Bike Hotel, did some work and headed to Franschoek for lunch.. the route there from Grabouw was incredible.. Im brought to life by nature.. and this was everything! Food, wine, more Food, more wine and we headed back to the hotel :) :)

Cabal was a 2 day race in Grabouw, Day 1 was a short Time Trial <TT> (15km?) and Day 2 was the Big Day Out (BDO), meant to be 100km.

As the Cabal group started arriving on Friday through the day, the air was charged.. the vibe was fun, the group was different.. fun.. I'd missed this space.. I had a feeling this might have been planned as a Boys weekend.. probably cause I went on to be the only chick in the group, some might say I won the ladies Cats for the first Cabal but fun was had lol,

After the TT
Image By : Ewald Sadie

The TT was incredibly beautiful, the BDO was a scene out of all the fiction movies you've ever seen, a bunch of climbing to get to the magic but the space was so sacred.. I could write a bunch but I don't have words, the knitting of the route was pure art, the event organisers really went out of their way in packaging this piece of Grabouw magic for us!

If there was ever a picture in time that accurately depicted my heart.. my mind.. my thoughts.. this is it.
Image By : Raoul de Jongh

I have respect for all the guys who rode gravel bikes. The skill. One day when I grow up maybe :)

I had my own lessons from the 2 days,

A strong head wind could be just that.. and a distraction.. testing the strength of your thirst. At the top of one of the many climbs, I found, as the wind fought to push me back.. I’d never felt the taste of my will stronger.. it was almost as though this horrid head wind was actually aiding my journey as my legs cut through its thick barrier.. the moment was magic.. as I denied to be held back, I moved forward, stronger, and that little bit faster was the difference..

Her steed
Image By : Lebohang Makhetha

The grass that grew in the middle of the road.. something so special about that.. it was not tar but here it was in the middle of the road.. fighting its own while the side of the road had plenty patches of grass.. the higher you went, the less the grass grew in the middle of the road. The sidelines are always great and comfortable... 'where you're supposed to be' some might say.. but it takes true courage to choose to grow against the gradient.

The prehistoric rock formations.. the reminder of growth - you may not come out the most beautiful.. but to become a magnificent work of art, shaped by God unto which those who will never know the test of time will always wonder what brought you to this incredible place where you defy the laws of nature in your being..

The longest climb of the day which took us an hour.. it was forever.. it was hard.. the higher we went, the more it hurt..the harder it got.. in the midst of this never ending climb, I spotted a rock formation that was so incredible in its being.. caught in a trance I climbed and climbed.. around the areas where it was hidden.. I chased.. just to see it again, this trance must have lasted 15 minutes.. till I got to the top.. it had taken away the pain by its beauty.. by the awe it was I climbed.. I don't know what that means.. but to me, it reminded me that the climb had to be done, but getting to the top didn't mean I had to focus on the climb.. I found my strength when I looked at the things I love..

Funny thing is, its been about 4 years since I cycled heavily and very little has changed

1. I still love downhills

2. I'll climb for mad single track..

3. Climbs are still such an effort...

On the ride, I remembered Kate's words (Annika's Epic 2018 partner), 'decide to do the things you don't like, and get better at them' .. there's something so character building about the idea.. I figured, the faster I eat the frog, the faster I get to the top instead of having it spoon by spoon and half chundering between each take.. so cheers to me and climbs yo!

Ps, Oli is still one of the funniest people I've ever met <this statement>

2nd Ps, I forget how kind the cycling space is, there's something about the sharing of this passion, we're not at the same levels but what brings us together is so much bigger than all of us.. and new aspirations form, for whatever reason.

3rd Ps, the diving didn't happen, broke me a little but the operators were all saying the tide was high which meant poor visibility and generally not the best diving conditions.. sucked.. thought I'd force it then remembered I could get eaten by a Shark from trying to fight the waters ('',)/

4th Ps, when your magic is running low, take a holiday, this country has the most beautiful places to see.. a young #shotleft .. refill the magic so you can pour into those around you.. and hold safe spaces for those you love.. you need strength in order to be this.

The weekend was magical, some more pictures below from the weekend!

Love and happiness beautifuls!