Beauty: approaching the highest point on the Vigne-a-Vigne mountain bike ride

This morning’s Vigne-a-Vigne mountain bike ride (someone of my ability couldn’t possibly call it a ‘race’) zig-zagged around the hills and mountains above Lourensford Estate in Somerset West. It is one of the most spectacular organised mountain bike rides of the year … but not for the faint-hearted. Take a look at the route profile below:

The Beast: the route profile

Regardless of my limited athletic ability, the point of the exercise remains to get around the course in the least possible time, so my iPhone was only pulled out a couple of times. Here are a few more pics:

Another view of the Hottentots Holland mountains (to the left of the pic at the top).

The ride takes place on the Somerset West side of the mountains, in the 'bowl' above Lourensford. From the point marked Nek on the route profile one has a fabulous view over the Stellenbosch vineyards, which are on the other side of the mountains.

And, finally, for reference here is the landscape from the perspective of the Google satellites:

The 'Lourensford bowl' from above