Just because I can

Today is yet another miserable day in Cape Town. For the past couple of days Cape Town has been hit by one cold front after the other. I shouldn't really complain about the rain, we always need rain, but unfortunately I am not a winter person and my mood changes with the weather. Secondly, when it is cold and raining like this, I prefer not to ride with the bike, meaning I get stuck in traffic. Capetonian motorists take a while to adapt to driving in the rain, so they tend to make the traffic experience worse than what it normally is.

Well, yesterday it was different. In between the cold fronts we were blessed with a "no-rain day". I cannot say sunny, because I don't think the sun was actually shining until later the afternoon, but I know for sure that it was not raining. So yesterday I obviously took the bike to work. After work I decided to go for a ride instead of heading straight back home. For no reason, but just because I could. While I was riding towards Melkbostrand I was thinking about appreciation. How much we should appreciate things we have and how little we actually do. We had the nicest longests summer, and after 10 days of rain I start complaining because of the weather. I have a bike that I use most of the times but after taking my car and getting stuck in traffic I start complaining. So my ride yesterday was a just-because-I-can ride, a ride out of appreciation.

On my way towards Melkbos I drove past a couple of guys taking off with their powered paragliders from Dolphin Beach. Maybe I should've stopped to take pictures, but I see them so often, actually know some of the guys, that I just drove by. Further along the beach were all the joggers, even people on rollerblades. This is one thing about South Africans, they cannot get enough of good weather. One gap in a cloudy sky and they are all out there. There were guys surfing next to the Sely 1which is sinking deeper and deeper into the sand. The plan is to refloat her and to sink her somewhere else. I think she should stay, it improves the waves. Further along the coast people were fishing, some just walking on the beach. I was just cruising along enjoying the view and the fact that I could do it. At Melkbos I stopped for a while next to the beach. What a beautiful place. The sun was already low and I knew that taking a picture of the sunset with my mobile phone camera was not going to do it justice. So I just took one in the opposite direction. What a privilege to live here. What a privilege to know that this cold spell is just temporarily. What a privilege to be able to get on your bike and go for a ride just because you can. Maybe we should do more things just-because-we-can and stop complaining about the nitty-gritty stuff....