Kleinmond to Betty’s Bay on a Sweltering Saturday Morning
By: Anelda van der Walt
On Saturday 22 January my son (12) and I joined the Kleinmond Cycle Club (KCC) “leisure group” on a ride out to Betty’s Bay. The “leisure group” is led by Neels Kleynhans and aims to get people back on their bikes, or in our case, get first-timers onto a bike!
Neither my son nor I had ever cycled further than a few kilometres (mostly in town). Frankly, I haven’t really been on a bike for 27 years and had only acquired mine in December 2021. We joined the Club on 19 January 2022 and when I noticed Neels’ message on the Club WhatsApp group, I was curious to meet some of the members and see how far we could go.
Our group was made up of 6 cyclists, including my son and me. At 7:30 we headed out of Kleinmond in the direction of Betty’s after I had warned the other riders that we weren’t going to go all the way and that we’d be turning around when we couldn’t go any further. They were all very kind and assured me that they’d wait for us and take it slowly. I thought to myself “Yes, sure, sure, but don’t worry, we’ll still turn around when we need to.”
But our fellow riders were amazingly patient and stopped at regular intervals without ever making us feel unwelcome or as if we were inconveniencing them! The best thing about the stops was that each was scheduled near a lesser-known landmark. So during the breaks, while we caught our breaths and took a sip of water, we were entertained with stories about our surroundings and getting to know our beautiful environment.
The Rhino and the Elephant
A few kilometres outside Kleinmond, after crossing the Palmiet River, one can see two huge rock formations resembling a rhino and an elephant if you look carefully. When you’re next travelling between Kleinmond and Betty’s Bay, try to see if you can find our own “Big two”! But please be careful. They’re best viewed from an angle on a part of the road that doesn’t allow a car to pull off safely, so best to visit this landmark with your bike.
A unique river mouth called David’s End
In Betty’s Bay, we visited the spot where the David’s Kraal river meets the ocean. Locals know it as David’s End. It’s quite unique because the mouth is completely rocky rather than sandy, as can be seen in the image below. For some context, the David’s Kraal river flows through Harold
Porter Botanical Gardens and the mouth can be accessed at the end of Marine Drive just past Waterfall Street.
With patient encouragement, we made it all the way to Coffee on Clarence for a much deserved cold water, coffee, and milkshake (in retrospect the milkshake may not have been the brightest idea!). After the break, we headed back to Kleinmond into a headwind and soaring temperatures. Nevertheless, we were never left to our own devices and had great company on the way back to the starting point in Kleinmond – a total of over 26 kilometres (plus the distance from our house to the SASOL where we met the other riders!).
What a wonderful experience! I’m so grateful for our fellow riders, Neels (for organising the ride), Carl, Carl, and Ineke! Especially thanks to Carl Lombard for pointing out all the wonderful landmarks and colouring them in with his stories. Ineke and the second Carl generously shared their energy drinks with us after we ran out of water. Carl also provided technical support and loads of helpful tips for making the ride more pleasurable. They all truly made us feel welcome and safe and made us believe we could complete the full ride. It felt great.
I strongly recommend joining the Kleinmond Cycle Club if you want to experience their warm hospitality and get to know and love the Overberg through the eyes of its members. We look forward to meeting you on our next Saturday morning ride!