Be safe, wear a helmet

"The secret is out, cycling is cool". In my opinion, Levi’s has hit the nail on the head. Cycling is cool. Yes my friends, I, the reformed anti-cyclist am here to tell you that it is. “Not in that poser kind of way. Not in that hipster, part-time model, I’m-wearing-a-vest-but-also-a-beanie type of way”. Brilliant.

This is coming from the person that once swore she’d never cycle again. One summer on holiday in Canada, I had a fairly traumatic incident whereby I received a strict telling off by my father after point blank refusing to cycle up a hill. The hill was gigantic.  But here I am, 15 years later writing about how cool cycling is. Life’s weird.

I tell you what makes it even cooler -and that is if you are lucky enough to have Leonard (Leo) from AWOL tours as your guide.

Leo is that rare ‘tour guide’ that encompasses all that is pretty damn perfect if what you’re looking for is a fun day out; he oozes cool and professionalism at the same time, he is chilled out yet eager, he adds snippets of interesting history but doesn’t drown you with relentless facts, and is uninhibited yet remains permanently safety conscious. It was only Emma & I on our cycle so we had vaguely more say as to what we wanted out of the trip (Bo Kaap and city centre, but no gardens please). To be honest we should have just kept our mouths shut and let Leo do his thing because he was great at it. He guided us all around the city with ease and we never felt anything but comfortable under his direction. Oh and the gardens were fab. 

I should probably add that (and this is coming from a very unexperienced cyclist) Cape Town can be pretty hectic and cycling through it’s bustling, beautiful streets is not for the faint hearted. Nine times out of ten you’ll have no problems whatsoever but here’s a few tips to keep you safe and happy: 1)always keep to left, 2)please oh please stop at Stop streets and 3)be on full alert for crazy taxi drivers, old people strolling around (always a hazard) and take-no-shit commuters. One more thing -do as your mother always taught you -look both ways before crossing the street. But let me tell you something, with Leo you’ll have no problems -he’s a very vigilant guy. The man seems to have eyes in the back of his head while his arm determinedly gestures to signal to drivers where he is headed next.

Cape Town is the kind of city that makes you want to explore. It makes you want to see everything, do everything, be everywhere. Next time you have such an urge, may I strongly suggest you opt for the saddle instead of the ever so frequently used walking shoes. I have attempted (successfully I hope) to not sound like a saleswoman trying to flog off a new product, but what I leave you with is this -cycling is just as good exercise as walking, plus you get around quicker and you won’t be up against car guards, traffic or petrol prices. You may have a tender bum instead of feet but you’ll have experienced and seen far more in a short time and will have well and truly caught the cycle bug. Here’s hoping.