With eyes set on the 2014 HANSA Great Fish River canoe marathon the canoe was taken wherever there was a river but the bikes always came too. Wilderness was a great base while Gus took part in the Independent Schools Hockey Festival at York High beneath George Peak. Ebb and Flow was beautifully peaceful as usual and paddling on the Touw River is a pure delight. Island Lake and then through the Serpentine to Ebb and Flow and back was even better. On our return along the Old 7 Passes Road from George to Knysna we came across the Garden Route Mountain Bike Trails, and although we knew of the 30km trail, all burmed and flowing, we were totally taken back by this pump track that lead to a delay in our trip but wow, what a blast we had!
A jaunt down the road to St Francis Bay for Sunday's King of the Kromme was good preparation for our paddling this year. The 20km return route up the Kromme meant contending with a strong headwind and the tide to the turnaround point up the Geelhouts River. I was very proud of Gus who coped very well with a demanding 12km race. "The most exciting part of it was dealing with the wake of speed boats passing by!"
