A refreshing blend with great legs

There are few ways that cycling activism finds more scenic expression than on a Bikes n Wines tour.
The equation is perfect. Scenic winelands in the middle distance, bikes, helmets and refreshments all laid out. Just add cycling enthusiasts. Every opportunity to introduce people to cycling should be embraced.

Today's wine taster is tomorrows urban commuter.

The 21km mountain bike trail advertised as the 'Adventure Route' notes that the course is indeed challenging. By mountain bike standards, there was little in the way of technical difficulty although an above average fitness was an asset on the hill climbs. Our motley crew of adventurers set off promptly at 8:30am from the centre of Cape Town. Not by bike, but initially by train.

The hour long MetroRail train ride to the Stellenbosch winelands was the perfect way to begin our carbon neutral bicycle tour. For many of the participants, both local and international, it was their first experience of South African public transport and the discussions in the carriage bore evidinces of a lack of understanding of what Cape Town was really about. The train was clean, our guides were very helpful, yet the realities of life for the the majority of citizens in the western cape clickity clacked past our window and could not be ignored.

Upon our arrival at Vlottenburg station we walked a short way to the bike shed, our tour was already well underway and I was glad for established banter and casual jeering as we were allocated bikes and helmets. I'm grateful to the guides who summed up my riding ability and matched me with a smaller more nimble bike. We received a short briefing on gearing and safety and, once assembled, we set off as 11 intrepid adventurers ready to be refreshed with water and wine.

On a side note, the combination of alcohol and bike riding was a concern to me initially. Would I be okay to ride after visiting 3 wine farms? The answer is yes of course. The staff who received us so warmly at each stop gave hospitality generously while showing a calculated and subtle restraint while pouring. We were just tasting after all!

As we set off from the first stop, my companion noticed that her bike had been moved from her original spot. She then noticed that her front tyre had been replaced on account of a slow leak discovered by the guide. Thorns.
While we were tasting, the guides were ensuring the bikes were ready for the next leg of the journey! In addition to assisting us in navigating both urban and natural landscapes, they had an even more challenging task. It appears that I was the only participant who interpreted the term 'challenging ride' to mean 'bring cycling shorts' in addition to eating a hearlty carb-meal the night before (..sorry Tim). At least 3 of our participants couldn't remember when last they had cycled. The guides were so gratious and encouraging, even as bikes were pushed and expletives voiced. Last nights wine drinker is todays cyclist.

Our final stop was a surprise.
The hills had ended, lunch was concluded and as we headed back to the shed to say our goodbyes, we came upon a distillery. I don't care much for brandy, but to have been beckoned into a building with such history and elegance was appeal enough. It was a wonderful way to say goodbye to new friends and sneak in a Charlotte Rhys tainted comfort break before stepping back onto Metrorail.

The train ride back to Cape Town saw naps taken and numbers shared. I had a chance to speak more with our guides about their personal journey into cycling. When a group such as Bikes n Wines cares about carbon neutrality, you're sure to find they are not neutral when it comes to other issues of community importance. When not busy with bike tours, our guides are involved with raising up youngsters in and through cycling. It was encouraging and heartning to know that the same love of cycling that had helped more privileged folks up a winelands hill is helping to raise the youth over more formidable obstacles.

Today's cyclist is tomorrows urban leader.

*Thanks to Quintin and the team at Bikes n Wines for allowing me the opportunity to enjoy the winelands from a saddle.

Contested spaces. Contested lines

I proudly handed out my first bicycle map today. Thousands of hours of research, conversations and what I know to be hard fought battles to make cycling a more viable travel option in Cape Town.
On a map. In your pocket.

I have so enjoyed exploring these routes, knowing where the separated lanes are, what routes cyclists prefer and where there are potential dangers. Yet, after hundreds of kilometers of commuting, I am still bothered by the way in which our city is progressing in cycling infrastructure terms. Yes, we are ticking all the right boxes, albeit it slower than my ascent up Chappies.

What is it that just doesn't feel right?
What is the question we are answering?
And of course how can urban design add value to the countless hours already sown by cycling activists?

Here is my hunch. We are negotiating around contested lines, not winning contested spaces.

A continuous line drawn down Albert Road, in a few months designated as a delineated painted road surface will be cause for celebration for anyone who has traveled by bicycle. That is for sure. On a map it will look like a victory and it may affect driver behavior somewhat, yet the space will not have changed. The outdoor room that is the street will not, in its enveloping of public life, have changed at all. The contestation of space will continue although the contestation of the line would have been won.

As a newbie cyclist and urban designer, my first experience of commuting was intoxicating, poetic and spatial. A direct route is unlikely to seduce me from my car as much as a meander through a series of rooms that express the gift that cycling brings to the city. The interconnection of neighborhoods. Our unique contribution to the cycling city conversation is not only in the adoption and applicatiion of 'Copenhagenization' (its a word!) but we must connect spaces and communities that were previously separated. It is a spatial challenge as well as a linear challenge.

As a commuter, I dont just want to 'go there', I want to 'know there'

*for the next month, I will be focusing on spotlighting conversations and aspects of bicycle commuting that point to and frame the legacy of the May 25th Freedom Ride. A social ride interconnecting Cape Town in honor of Madiba.

Just a helmet.

I arrived at 4:05am sharp without a bike at the start of the Two Oceans Crash. A bike ride (race) traversing the 56km course of the Two Oceans Marathon before the runners take to the closed roads. Not sure what to expect, 30hrs later, I still can’t wipe the smile off my face.

At precisely 4:10am Du Toit arrived. Two wheels, four pedals and strong beam of light. This exquisite receptacle of synchronized leg power deserves a name and requires a captain. When Andrew Wheeldon suggested we ride the event on a tandem a few days prior, I laughed out loud right at the text message invitation – so much so that I needed to excuse myself from the room at the time. Why not he said?

Why not indeed.

Not having ridden in any timed or planned event that required a water bottle, I went and bought a water bottle…and what I like to call my ‘work pants’. This was the sum total of my preparation. I know enough about endurance events to know that riding hard a day or two before is only going to do your body harm by depleting reserves. So instead I went shopping for supplies, and on the way home, stuck my head out of the car window to catch the wind at 6okm/hr. Preparation done.

My daughter gave me Barbie's helmet for extra protection!

In my defense I have been commuting by bicycle as much as possible and feel like I had built up a reasonable cycling confidence. Not fitness necessarily, but honing what I think are essential ingredients for cycling on Cape Town roads – the ability to navigate/assess obstacles at speed and the confidence to ride as though the street is not the contested space it unfortunately is.

We set off at exactly 4:30am and made our way to Main Road for what appeared to be a rolling start. There were no official timekeepers, no marshals, no safety pins straining to stay connected to jerseys. No cars.

Once we had set off, I wasn’t sure who the race was against. Was this motley crew of experience and dedication to cycling looking to edge past the start of the days marathon events, the memory of events passed, or the rising sun?  For the first few kilometers, my challenge was holding on and letting go.

Tandem riding is quite the antithesis of what I do everyday. I freelance, I set the pace, I direct and I shape. I tie shoelaces, pack lunchboxes, write policy, wipe tears and advocate. I seldom hand control over and trust to the degree that a trip on Du Toit requires.

With an average speed of 34km/hr for the event – Captain Andrew Wheeldon had the gears, the brakes, the strategy and the steering control over it all. My job as stoker (aka back guy/girl) is to listen, follow, ignore comments about being a passenger, and direct all my energy to the job required. In my humble opinion, squealing with joy should get written into the future job spec.

Moonlight on Chappies. 65km/h downhill with a headlight and courage at the helm. The smell of the ocean as we rose up to meet Muizenberg. The highlights in the darkness were to numerous to mention. My legs burned, my cycling workpants proved to be a sound investment and for a brief moment, I cycled in an uncontested space. It was glorious.

But what is it that is keeping me smiling? Not the doing of those things.
It’s the remembering of those things. The stoker gets to look around, behind, up and enjoy it all. Not seeing straight ahead was the hardest obstacle to overcome with the greatest reward.

In all my activism, mommy-crazy determinism and pushing to make/take/change/be better, I realized that I haven’t been looking around as much.

Too much captain. Not enough stoker.

*Kirsten Wilkins is a freelance Urban Designer looking to design spaces of value by understanding the world through the eyes of other.
*Andrew Wheeldon is the Co Founder and Managing Director of BEN (Bicycle Empowerment Network) and has more cycling experience than can be measured.