What I learnt about mountain biking part 2...

A few weeks ago David and I attempted mountain biking for the first time, http://alittlebitofcrazi.blogspot.com/2015/04/what-i-learnt-about-mountain-bikining.html. This weekend we attempted our first fun ride out in Somerset West. It turned out to be a lot more fun than I imagined.

Mountain biking and what I learnt this weekend...

1. When arriving for a race you don't need to arrive 3 hours earlier than the start time. You don't need more than an hour to set up you bike and register for the race.
2. It's ok to walk up a  hill - there is no shame in getting off an walking up a steep, scary and rocky hill. It's way better than falling down it.
3. Carry spare tubes - the chances of getting a puncture is a lot higher than on the road.
4. Carry a pump or an air bomb thing to inflate your tyre.
5. Don't let the professional riders freak you out by their speed.
6. Don't let grumpy riders throw you off while cycling - you're there to have fun.
7. There are nice people doing the race for fun and are willing to help you when things go wrong.

More about the race...

The race was called The Nissen TrailSeeker Western Cape Series #1 Helderberg.

 We cycled through three, (I think) wine estates in Somerset West and the views were breathtakingly beautiful. There were moments where I just wanted to look at the view. The terrain was nice to cycle on - it was mostly grass, gravel and sand. The only bit of technical was a rocky hill which I walked up, as did many other cyclists. I even managed to get a puncture. luckily it was 4km from the end and a nice couple stopped and gave us a bomb to put air in my tyre which got us to the end. I found some of the down hill parts a bit scary - but I'm sure in time I will get over that.

My favourite thing about the race was that I got to cycle in a beautiful place with David. It was really nice to just be outside chatting, encouraging each other and having fun.

xKx

Be still..

I was looking at Exodus 14:14 now  and I kind of linked it to Psalm 46:10...

 

 

 

To be still before God in my world is to just sit with Him and to just absorb Him. It's to be around him and to feel his strength and power - kind of like a daughter sitting on her daddy's lap. To be still is to get to know Him better by listening to Him - kind of like two best friends having tea. To be still is rest in who God is, all His promises and all of His greatness. When I rest in God, I kind of get my focus back and my batteries get recharged. It also allows me to stop fighting what's going on round me, it allows me to take a step back and to just breathe deeply. While we do this it gives God a chance to fight for us. We get out of the way and God has a chance to step in and "zap" whatever is attacking us.

 

Life can get super overwhelming at times. Sometimes it even feels like we have the WHOLE world coming at us and nothing is going right. Sometimes it even feels like we're at the front of the battle all alone. God doesn't want us to feel like that because He's always with us - but he also wants to fight for us and let's face it - God is way more powerful than us and besides that He already has the victory over the battle. Jesus won that at Calvary.

 

On Sunday someone on camp quoted Ephesians 6:13 - "therefore put on the fill armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." and then said, God doesn't tell us to put on the armour and then rush into battle - he tells us to stand. The armour protects us from the attacks - but because God has the victory, he's already won the fight we can just stand in the truth knowing that God's got this. How cool is that?

 

I can only stand firm with all of my armour if I can trust God and to trust God I need to know Him. The only way to know God is for me to spend time with him and to rest in who He is. The more I do this  the easier it becomes to stand firm on who He is and His promises. When I'm able to stand firm I am able to let Him fight the battle for me - which is what He wants to do.

 

I hope this makes some sense in some way...

 

xKx 

 

 

 

The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Scarf

One scarf... Five girls... And it fits us all!

 This weekend we had the ladies camp at Mizpah Youth Camp in Grabouw and it was AWESOME! Amanda has a blue scarf that was worn by her, myself and three of my other close friends this past weekend. I can't remember who was wearing it at the time but Wendy was like, "It's like the sisterhood of the travelling pants - only more realistic". It's a great movie and I love it but the idea of one pair of jeans fitting four very differently shaped girls didn't gel to well with us... but now we have our version... a blue scarf.  :-)

xKx

Camping

Last weekend David and I went camping just outside Kleinmond at the Palmiet Caravan Park. It is a really nice campsite with stunning views of the ocean and surrounding mountains. It's also clean with nice ablution facilities - which is always a plus when camping. For me the ablution facilities are often the make or break if I'm going to stay there.

We arrived on Friday evening and after setting up camp we went for a walk on the beach - one of the best beaches ever!

 

Saturday arrived with some over cast weather, warm enough for shorts but not hot enough to swim which made the perfect conditions for the hike David had planned for us. We hiked all the way from the river mouth all the way to where the road crossed over it. We attempted a few ways of crossing the river but eventually decided that the safest option would be to use the road. The fynbos we saw along the way was very, very pretty and the views breath taking.

We had lunch at the end of the hike on the beach before heading off on our next adventure... Tea and cake at the Arabella hotel. It was divine!

We awoke in Sunday filled with excitement for our first attempt at mountain biking - you can read more about that here.  After the ride we headed back to camp for lunch before heading off to Benguela Cove for some wine and chocolate pairing. This was a fun experience of discovering new flavours and how flavours work together to give your mouth an explosive experience.

We spent the evening at Stoney Point in Betty's Bay watching the penguins - this was a highlight for me. We stopped for some hot chocolate at Jakes before heading for some supper at The Boat House in Kleinmond.

On Monday morning I woke up in quite a bit of pain from falling of my bike the day before so it was quite nice to know that we would be heading home soon. We packed up camp and was on the road by 8am.

The weekend was awesome and it was wonderful to spend lots of time in the wild with David doing what we both love - hiking, cycling, walking on the beach and camping, but it was good to be home.

I am super excited for all the future camping trips we're going to have together...

xKx

What I learnt about mountain biking this weekend

 

David and I went camping this past weekend.  I'll do a post about this later this week. For now I want to tell you about the adrenaline filled, fun and disastrous attempt at mountain biking I had. David was somewhat more successful than me... but soon I will decide if mountain biking really is for me.... 

 We entered the Kogelberg Nature Reserve on Sunday morning at around 10am and headed off along the mountain bike trail, (Palmiet Trail). The view is stunning but the trail was somewhat challenging. I fell twice - once into a ditch and once down an uphill section. The ditch appeared when I tried to stop myself, I kind of leaned over and there was no more ground to stand on. The second fall was way more painful and resulted in my giving up after about 3km down the trail and heading back to the car.  Even though I fell and learnt A LOT about mountain biking this weekend I can say now - two days later - that it was fun attempting it and I am keen to try again before giving up and sticking to road cycling.

 

 

 
The Lessons I learnt...

1. Mountain biking is not for sissies.
2. You will fall - don't be scared of falling because it will happen.
3. You will get hurt when you fall - I have some pretty epic bruises from this weekend.
4. It is harder than you will imagine it to be.
5. Don't start on an intermediate route when you're a beginner - the reason for this is you have a greater chance of falling.
6. It has an element of fun to it.... this was realised once I could move around with a lot less pain than before.  

David and I have entered a 20km race which is on 9 May... It's a fun ride so I don't think it will be too hectic... but it may be the deciding factor for me if this is for me.

xKx

Off Sick

On Friday morning I woke up feeling a little like death warmed up and I should have gone to the doctor then, but I refused to believe I was getting sick so I went to work instead. On Saturday I flt worse and on Sunday I started feeling faint every now and then.... If this wasn't enough of a clue that I was in fact sick I don't know what was.... On Monday morning I started with a small tiny cough and David was like, "you're going to the doctor" so off I went. I returned home with a note saying I had sinusitis and was booked off from work until Thursday, as well as three bags of medicine in my hands.


 Monday passed in a blur of of a stuffy head that felt like it was going to explode every time I moved, lots of sleep and some Roller Coaster Tycoon - a computer game I like to play that involves the creation of theme parks.

Yesterday, Tuesday, David woke up with the same symptoms I had when I first started getting sick so I suggested that he should go to the doctor before he also ended up as sick as I was. He returned home with the same three bags of medicine as me as a note saying he was also booked off until Thursday.

We now have two sick people in one house... one of them, (me) being a whole lot grumpier than the other. Besides sleeping we watched the whole of the first season of Modern Family. After watching half of it David went a bit crazy and went to sit in another room doing computer stuff... he needed to keep his brain active. So that was Tuesday, a blur of napping, a whole season a bit of Roller Coaster Tycoon. 

Today I may go a bit a loopy with staying in bed with a head that feels like it's being squeezed and sore ears... but I guess some more Roller Coaster Tycoon will be in order and maybe I should read a book because they are often way better than watching TV. I can even say I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.... there's only so much of lying around and getting better I can take. My body must just get better while I carry on with life.

xKx

Rainbows

I really love rainbows not only because they are SO pretty but also because they remind us of Gods promises. In Genesis 9:13 is says "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth." God made a promise way back in the day to Noah after He, (God), had flooded the earth to never destroy the world by flooding it again. To this day God has pretty much kept his promise, to me this shows me that God is faithful. When ever I see a rainbow it reminds me of this. It also reminds me that God is creative because I always get awe-struck when I see a rainbow, no matter how big or small it is or if it's a single or double rainbow.

Yesterday I saw a rainbow as I was leaving work, this is what it looked like when I walked out the office building.

... by the time I reached the top of Kloofnek on the bus it had become twice as bright and it had become a double rainbow. If the bus had stopped there I would totally have taken a picture.

This morning as I stepped out of Vida with my hot chocolate I saw a super HUGE double rainbow...

... as I looked at the rainbow I was filled with joy and a massive smile broke out on my face. This morning was cold and I really did not want to go to work... but this added some joy and helped me feel a little bit more motivated to go to work.

xKx