Please bring back the summer

The last two weeks I have been walking up and down like a bear with a sore tooth. It's the winter. I cannot stand this miserable weather anymore. This morning I realized that if I don't do anything about it, I might just hurt myself with a blunt butter knife. My Facebook comments sounds as if I have lost the only love of my life, I am even sulking because the World Cup is over. I don't even fancy watching football that much, but somehow I miss that too. This winter is pulling me down into a depression and the sooner the sun comes out, the better for myself and the people around me.

So this morning I decided to change my attitude and got dressed for a nice bike ride. When I left the house I could see that the weather was NOT going to contribute to the "nice" in "nice bike ride", but I was not going to let that drive me back to the knife drawer again. I didn't know where I was going, but I wanted to discover at least one road that I have never been on before. From where I live this is rather difficult. When you live with the ocean to the west of you, with nothing but city to the south and the east, then your options are limited to only one direction. So this morning it was to the north again. The temperature on my clock said 8 deg C, but with the wind chill factor it was definitely much colder than that. I stopped at the beach to take a picture just to show what the weather was like. Completely overcast. If this wasn't South Africa I would've expected snow coming from those clouds very soon. Fortunately very little wind and no rain. At least I could see the silver lining in that observation.

I drove towards Melkbosstrand and then onto the N7 towards Malmesbury. I still didn't know where I was going, but I was hoping to find a new road where I could turn off, and this presented itself about 20 kilometers further on. Kalbaskraalpad. I have never been on that road, so without any delay I turned off and headed towards the little village called Kalbaskraal. This was nothing more than an old railway town and before I could stop to take some pictures I was already through the town and out on the other side. I got to a T-junction and decided to go left...further away from Cape Town. This was a narrow tarred road, but has not seen any maintenance since Madiba's release 16 years ago. It was running parallel to the railway line and both were heading towards Malmesbury. I was looking for words to describe the surface of the road, but all I could think of was "hubbly-bubbly" and "humpty-dumpty". Don't ask me why I thought of that, but there was enough bumps and potholes to make it worse than any gravel road I've ever been on. But it was fun. I even stopped at some point to take a picture or two. At this point I realized that my body temperature must've fallen to close to the outside temperature and that I needed a cup of coffee badly.

I wanted to avoid going into Malmesbury so I took another road back towards Durbanville. I was getting really cold now and not even my heated grips could get the blood flow normal again. I was thinking about heated seats and heated jackets but later the thought of a hot cup of coffee became permanently stuck in my head. I knew that the closest town now was Phillidelphia, so I headed straight back there. I stopped to take a picture of Paardeberg and was wondering if there was a road going up there. I will have to check my map because I had no intentions going up there while I was already half-way frozen. And with the mist hanging at the top, I was convinced that there weren't any roads going there today.

At Phillidelphia I stopped at the Pepper Tree Restaurant. The warm reception was just as could be expected from any small town in South Africa. I was handed a cup of coffee before I could even ask and they even brought me a blanket to cover what must've looked like a frozen corpse to them. I took a glimpse in one of the mirrors to see if I really looked that dead, but I soon realized that this is just kind-heartedness of the people living in Phillidelphia and nothing more. I obviously didn't use the blanket, I am a biker for heaven's sake trying to uphold that mean biker image, but I have to admit I did enjoy the cup of coffee. After getting feeling back into my hands, I could finish the rest of my breakfast with a fork and knife. At this point I could say that I was feeling better again. A new road, some time on the bike, and a nice breakfast. The only thing that probably could've lifted my spirit even more was sunshine.

After restoring the blood flow and cleaning my visor, I jumped on the bike again with renewed energy and headed home. I need more of this is my life. I need more summers and less winters. I need to see more places and meet more people. Isn't this one of the reasons we are on this beautiful planet, to live, to discover, to enjoy? It is amazing how much life a bike ride can put back into anyone, despite the low temperature or the lack of a defined destination. At least I know that I am still alive, that I will get the opportunity to do this again, and that summer WILL eventually come back again.

Wetsuit Depression

The fact that the temperature for tomorrow in Cape Town is predicted at 31 deg C does not means that winter is not creeping up slowly but surely. The sun is already getting lazier in the mornings and much more eager to go back to bed than in December and January. One can also feel the bite in the air, despite the relatively still warm temperatures. So, winter is on its way and there is nothing one can do about it. Some people might like the idea of cuddling up under blankets watching a DVD and drinking hot chocolate, but for kitesurfers this is not a good prospect. The end of summer means the end of the kitesurfing season.

Summertime in Cape Town is associated with constant southeasterlies, and this is what kitesurfers need in Cape Town. Winter is associated with rain and miserable weather. Many kitesurfers pack away their gear while the more fortunate kiters relocate to other destinations to prolong their kitesurfing season. So, when you still get an opportunity to catch a southeastern in April, then you head for the beach immediately.

I haven't been in the water for a while now. A few weeks ago I suffered from a stomach bug. After that I went on my West African trip. On my return I spend some time in Mossel Bay over Easter weekend and the last couple of days I tried to get rid of what felt like a combination of a cold and sinusitis. Today was a windless day, one of those glorious early winter days in Cape Town. At 4.38pm I received an sms from a friends saying that he is going down to the beach to have a look. I initially missed the sms, but minutes later I was standing next to him on the beach....and the wind was perfect for a nice laid-back session. A laid-back session that might be the last one for this summer. One that I desperately needed to help me get over this withdrawel blues I've been suffering from over the last couple of days.

While I was pumping up my kite, I could feel that 6 weeks of doing nothing took its toll. For the first time I had to stop half way to catch my breath. This was not going to stop me from getting into that water though, so I carried on pumping. I have to admit, apart from the loss of exercise I was a bit short breathed because of my recent illness. I left everything on the beach, all kitted up and headed back to the car to get my wet suit. All I had to do was to put on my wetsuit and then it was off into the water. When I got back to my car I got undressed. Usually after leaving a wetsuit dry for a while it shrinks a bit, so pullling up the zip does get a bit harder to do. OK, putting on weight does have the same effect, but I was sure that it was a shrunken wetsuit that prevented me from zipping up. Asking someone else to help with your wetsuit is a definite NO-NO! I tried all positions and stances to no effect. Doing this is tricky enough on a good day. Being out of breath already with a shrunken suit was impossible, but I was not going to give up. Then it happened. I pulled extra hard on the zip chord and felt the zip coming up, but it happened at the speed of white light. Suddenly I was standing with the zip chord in my hand with my back still open. I actually ripped off the zipper mechanism from the suit. The wetsuit is old with a few holes at the seams and on the knees, but still good enough to protect me against the cold water. Without a zip however it is useless. There was no way I was going to go into that water with a unzipped wetsuit. The disappointment was immense. Probably my last opportunity to get some kiting done before the southeastern closes its doors for winter...and there I am standing with the zip cord in my hand and my back exposed to the elements.

Needless to say I had to go down to the beach and reluctantly rig down my kite. I remained on the beach for a while watching the guys having fun in the water. I assisted a few guys with the launching of their kites and decided to go home instead. I felt sorry for myself and staying there was not helping much. But I will not fall into a deep depression now. I will have to fix this wetsuit dilemma or get a new one. Besides, when I started kitesurfing I promised myself a new wetsuit when I perfected my first upwind. I've passed that with flying colours many months ago, but never bought the suit. Maybe this was a good time to do that.....and maybe a good time to get fit and shake that few extra kilo's again.