Picture of the week

A little belated, but worth revisiting: March 2012, and Eddy Merckx visits Cape Town to have another go at the local red wine he seems very keen on and also to ride his fourth Argus Cycle Tour. Peugeot invited me and a few other media types to supper with Eddy, who happens to be a friend of the company's South African boss, francis Harnie. We were blessed with good weather, good food (appropriately, Den Anker's Belgian cuisine at the Waterfront) and good company. Naturally, I couldn't pass up the opportunity of taking Steady Eddy to meet his Maker...

On the road again: Farmhouse fare

Er... let's just call it a long break and leave it at that.

Went out over Constantia Nek to Hout Bay to meet Rob Walker, aspirant PBP and LEL rider and a gang of other hopefuls thinking about putting together a social team for this year's Double Century. Sadly, between the weather forecast and a few late withdrawals, they decided to try again another day. Well, they should have ignored the weather forecast for a start. They missed a PDG ride.
Peninsula South at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find hiking trails in California and beyond

In the hope of bumping into the Yellow Jersey Boys I trundled up Suikerbossie, but there was no sign of them. So... it was just me on my own. All right, not entirely on my own: I had the Southeaster for company. Which is why the final 50 km of the ride were significantly faster than the first 60 km. Er... it's possible that the mid-ride breakfast helped ... hence my focus on the Cape Farmhouse Restaurant.

Cape Farmhouse Restaurant: looking east from the intersection at the foot of Red Hill; curio sellers on the right.

There are a few things in its favour:

• It's well located at the bottom of one of my favourite climbs (Red Hill)
• At 9.30 in the morning, it's open for business (you'll wait until noon for  Scarborough's Camel Rock restaurant down the road to open up).
• There is plenty of outside seating under shade - in fact most of it seems to be outside.

It offers a pretty decent breakfast special of scrambled eggs on toast, bacon (my vegetarian alternative was a big brown mushroom), grilled tomato and coffee for R38. The service was friendly and fast, the food was ample and tasty and my Americano kick-started the second half of my ride. Recommended.

Welcome sight on a pretty lonely stretch of road...

Vuvuzelas on the run: Vienna half marathon

Our Vienna half-marathon on Sunday went off pretty much as planned. With no intention to do anything other than a relaxed amble through the heart of Austria's capital city, we settled on a 2.30 as a reasonable result. In the end, we clocked an elapsed time of 2.28, though our actual running time for the 21 was 2.18.

We were lucky enough to be able to spend the night before at a friend's flat right next to the start. I could go downstairs, put our togbags in the bag drop truck (picture right), and go back up to finish breakfast!

The Vienna marathon and half marathon are, unusually I think, run more or less together. The start is at the foot of the Reichsbrucke across the Danube heading into the city; the half-marathon groups line up on the right-hand side of the centre island, and the marathon on the left. Unusually, both events set off more or less together at 9 am, though they are separated for the first kilometre or two. In case you think that's a bit late for a marathon, remember this is the northern hemisphere spring and Vienna in April is chilly. In the preceding week, we'd had to wrap up thoroughly as overnight temperatures hovered close to freezing and daytimes seldom went above the mid-teens. Still, temperature at the start was good for running, at about 15 degrees. It warmed up to about 20 at the finish, though the fresh wind created a noticeable chill factor. I wore a coolmax-type T-shirt under my running vest and was glad to have it, though at times I was tempted to remove it. I took off my Buff at about halfway and replaced it about a kilometre from the finish (for the TV cameras, you know).

Compared with our experience in Paris and London marathons, the first obvious difference is the smaller field (the Vienna organisers said there were more than 33 000 entrants, but I couldn't establish if they meant in total). The overall organisation was acceptable to good, but it could stand improvement in areas such as management of registration and general control of the start and post-finish. Having said that, I'm probably looking at it from the point of view of the foreign entrant, and it seems to me Paris and London get more foreigners.

Registration: I'd have liked better signposting and more English-language assistance. Great goody bag with plenty of breakfast cereal and energy bar samples. T-shirt costs extra.

Start: Lack of clear signposting, no marshalling that I could see to ensure runners were in the right category, and inaudible announcements.

The Race: Nice flat route that takes in Vienna's cultural highlights, a combination of city streets, pleasant wooded areas, waterside stretches.

Beware of uneven road surfaces - some tricky humps and ruts, and stretches of tram tracks. Patches of good spectator support, though not nearly as voluble as Paris and London. Good marshalling management en route, and good management and supplies at the refreshment stations. Incidentally, we met several South African fellow competitors...Saffers seemed to be the only patriotic ones - I was wearing my full kit in the colours of the flag, including a matching Buff.

Oh, and another thing: big marathons usually provide music of various kinds - live or canned - along the route. This must be the only one in which you are wafted along to the strains of Strauss. It's not only delightful, it occasionally seems to match my cadence. Other musical performances included members of the local fire brigade blowing vuvuzelas at the roadside...

Finish: Great end between grandstands is spoilt a little by lack of direction immediately after. Excellent goody bag with recovery drink, snacks, etc. Struggled to find the bag drop trucks; these are located outside the finish festival area, which seems silly. If it had been really cold we would have been very uncomfortable while we tried to find where we could locate our warm clothing. Results were out soon after, by the way.
Startline, 4 hours after the gun: No sign that a marathon start had taken place. A truly impressive clean-up job - the video taken less than hour after the start shows how it should be done.

Overall, I enjoyed the run and would quite happily come back to run the full marathon.

Ashbound

Like tens of thousands of others in the Northern hemisphere, we've been forced to change our travel plans because of the Icelandic volcano ash cloud that closed European airspace. That's kept me from updating Capetowntrax as often and as well as I'd like, but on the plus side it's give us more opportunities to explore routes, sights and interesting places in and around Vienna.

When I am back home I will be able to upload a track of the Vienna half marathon and our various training runs around our base in Gerasdorf bei Wien.

Climb every mountain in Joburg... and tales from the Vienna woods

There's been little time for running, and even less for writing about running. Blame the Rand Show for the first two weeks of silence, and then blame Vienna for the next. After a spell at the Popular Mechanics stand at Johannesburg's big Easter show, it was a day's rest and then straight back to the airport to head off to the Vienna half marathon.
Yes, this is about running and cycling in and around Cape Town. But it's worth comparing what is available in other parts of the country ... or other parts of the world. No graphics and no full descriptions until I return home because I haven't brought along the laptop, but some thoughts in the interim.

• Johannesburg, Northcliff: Our usual B&B when we're working at Nasrec is Rockridge Manor in Fairland. This is ideally located for some testing runs where almost nothing is absolutely flat, and all of it is at altitudes that severely challenge sea-level runners. I've run up Northcliff Ridge before, but this time decided to document the run. Free advice: maps are good, but remember that the shortest distance between two points on a map may be almost vertically up a rocky hillside.
• In Vienna, we're based northeast of the city centre, across the river in the semi-rural area of Gerasdorf bei Wien. It's at a couple of hundred metres above sea level, and mostly flat. It's also, at this time of year, uncomfortably cold, with regular rain and sniping winds. The forecast for Sunday's race says sunny and 18. That will make a welcome change from cloudy, rainy and single digits.

Lion's Head circuit: sundowner trail

Track of Lion's Head circuit

Location: Kloof Nek to Signal Hill, then around Lion's Head

Activity: Run
Category: Trail run
Distance: 8 km
Time: About an hour for slower runners.
Description: Steady climb followed by moderate rollercoaster, then a gradual dowhill... and up to the finish. Views to die for ,especially in the evening.
Altitude: 245 m up to 311 m, down to 185 and back up. Total climb 223 m
Gradient: About 10 % for the first kilometre, easing off after then to 6-7 % average.
Rating: Perfect sundowner

The ideal sundowner run

One of Celtic Harriers' Thursday trail running series, this route is, like most of those on the mountain, fairly tough and slow going at first, but moderate after that. Instead of simply doing the Lion's Head circuit, it incorporates an out-and-back section up Signal Hill. Faster runners may do a loop up towards the view point on Signal Hill, but this particular description follows the progress of the third-fastest group (that is, the first-slowest group) on the day, cutting out the loop bit.

From the parking area at Kloof Nek, cross the road at the intersection and head up Signal Hill Rd (below). 

Starting out: Kloof Nek

At 150 metres from the intersection, turn left up the rock steps (you'll need to step across a drainage channel) and continue up the path as it curves almost immediately to the right. Follow the track above and parallel to the tarred road.

At roughly the 800 m mark, the track dips down to road level where the Lion's Head hike starts at a level area with a boom. Proceed up to the gravel track, continuing in the direction of Signal Hill.

At 1,63 km from the start, you reach a clearing - proceed straight through towards Signal Hill.

Near the turn point

Follow the path past the Kramat.

Time to retrace your steps

At the point where the upper tarred section starts at 2,73 km (right), turn around and retrace your steps to the clearing mentioned earlier.

 

Path leads to the right (north)

From the clearing, turn north on a downhill path (facing Lion's Head, turn to your right) towards the Bantry Bay side.

Stop and savour the view.

The path doubles back after 200 m and follows a rollercoaster, generally downhill trend. In places there are breathtaking drop-offs on the right, with magnificent views over the Atlantic seaboard. Generally the trail is quite narrow - it's a hiking path.

At times, it's quite narrow.

Treed area above Top Road

As you skirt Lion's Head on the 200 m contour, you enter a treed area and pass above the highest houses in Fresnaye at Top Road.

Lion's Head circuit: profile

At just under 6 km total (if you have done the Signal Hill section first) you will reach the lowest point on the run.

Nearing the home stretch...

About 500 metres later, you bear left off the main trail, up some steps that take you to a shady clearing.

Looking towards Camps Bay Drive

Pass straight through the clearing in the direction of Kloof Nek. At this point, you'll see Camps Bay Drive/M62 off to your right, with the upper cable station directly above.

Within 900 metres of gentle rollercoaster running, you reach Kloof Road. Turn left up the road, and 300 metres later you will have reached Kloof Nek.

Finish line

Ou Kaapse Weg: East (Steenberg) side

Location: Ou Kaapse Weg, Constantiaberg east side

Activity: Cycle

Category: climb

Distance: 3,6 km (Ou Kaapse Weg proper) or 6 km from Main Rd, Lakeside

Description: Steady, steep climb with stunning views. Avoid if the wind speed is more than a fresh breeze (more than about 35 km/h, particularly if southeast) and if cloud obscures the top.

Altitude: 6 - 312 metres/74 - 312 metres

Gradient: Average 6,5 on Ou Kaapse Weg proper and >10 in places

Rating: Never less than tough.

A warning: be EXTREMELY vigilant about traffic on this road. The emergency lane may be wide and the road surface may be good, but you'll still find drivers taking up more than their fair share of road. I like to ride in the Yellow, close to the line itself and well out from the verge, so I can be more visible. The speed limit on Ou Kaapse Weg is 90, and as you'll be going quite slowly for long stretches, you're at a serious disadvantage. Everybody on four wheels seems to be in a hurry, cutting corners and overtaking in idiotic (not to say illegal) places - solid lines, blind corners, the lot.

THIS APPLIES GOING DOWN AS WELL.

The plus side on the downhill is that you'll often be going as fast as the motorised traffic - if not faster. Unfortunately, if they're behind you they seem unable to resist trying to pass if there's the remotest opportunity. Far better to take the lane, or if you're not the assertive type, at least ride to the right of the yellow line (assuming you are descending at a reasonable speed and not holding people up). Also keep an eye on oncoming traffic - people will try to overtake on the uphill if they see it's "only" a bicycle coming towards them.

OK, lecture over.

The biggest road climb on the Peninsula mountain chain poses two quite different challenges depending on which side you start.

• The eastern side from Main Road is steep, but shorter... actually, that depends.
• The western side is longer, but not so steep... er, actually, that depends. And we'll leave that for another time.

Topping out at 312 metres above sea level, Ou Kaaps offers some spectacular views across the Cape Flats and False Bay, even while you're getting there. Not that you'd be in a mood to appreciate the scenery with an average gradient of 6,5 %. Of course, that is for Ou Kaapse Weg proper, which starts at Steenberg Road at an altitude of 74 metres. (On the profile graphics shown above you'll see gradients up to 18 %, but I have to regard those as spurious; on Ou Kaaps you're unlikely to have to get out of the saddle, even).

I prefer to regard the climb as starting in Main Road, which lies at 6 m above sea level. That way, it's really a climb of two halves.

From Main Road, a moderate ascent will take you to the bridge over the M3. On the way, it's tempting to ride left of the yellow line because the surface is so much smoother, but beware of broken glass. Traffic starts to become a problem at the bridge over the M3, where you need to do some tricky lane-changing.

The climb up from Westlake curves around and gradually flattens out as you approach Ou Kaapse Weg proper. Be careful when you bear left up the hill as left-turning traffic tends to take this bend fast and sometimes too sharply. About 250 metres up, watch for traffic emerging from a side road on the left. 

The gradient eases off as you curve right up the hill towards the bottom hairpin. However, it kicks up again as you pass around the hairpin. If a southeast is blowing, watch out for some buffeting as you start up the straight that takes you to the top hairpin. If a northwest is blowing, enjoy the push up the hill!

By now the hard work is really done and you can settle into a steady rhythm until a right-left S bend near the top, when the road tilts further up again. Be especially careful on the last right turn at the top, even if it's not blowing. With a wicked crosswind in action, you can be blown off the bike here. But you're nearly there.

Once around the bend and over a little rise immediately after, you're not quite at the top of the climb, but you will be able to see it a couple of hundred metres down the road as it curves to the left.