Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts

Friday, May 11, 2012

Beyond the Northeast: Tokai Forest, Cape Town, South Africa

Like Andy, when my wife gets to travel someplace nice, I jump at the opportunity to tag along. So when work took her to Africa this past April we made plans to tack on a vacation in Cape Town, South Africa.

A week in an exotic locale with my wife is a rare luxury, and one normally spent doing things as a couple. However, as it has been her lifelong dream to dunk herself in a cage in great-white-shark-infested waters, it has been my dream for at least as long to avoid stomach-churning boat rides and proffering my body as shark chum. So when she announced the intent to spend one day of the vacation at sea I began searching for the perfect Cape Town mountain bike guide.

Well, I found him. A fortuitous internet search led me to Dan Dobinson and his bicycle touring company, iRide Africa. I made plans to join a ride Dan was leading in Tokai Forest, an arboretum just outside of Cape Town. Giddy with excitement for the chance to ride on another continent, I packed my bike shoes and shorts alongside sandals and swimsuit and boarded a long, long plane ride to the southern tip of Africa.


Map of Tokai trails from the iRideAfrica website