The mist this morning gave the purple confettied a soft, even romantic edge. I know one couple who must be feeling romance sweeping them into this weekend; they're going to Dullstroom. The cool mist though gave Jozi a sort of early-morning-at-the-seaside feel. The day before the Argus in March this year was enveloped in just such cool swirling vapours.
And as I say, in the early deserted streets, it feels like the aftermath of a giant celebration, like the end of a world war, or the marriage of the saviour of a nation to a charming princess. But it is just a late spring day, with the Jacarandas shedding their blossoms, and a bunch of cyclists slithering superlight over these soft carpets.
We were late for the bunch today, so it ended up being quite a hard chase on a Friday. Friday is usually an easy day. We caught them at around halfway, at about the Hendrik Potgieter flyover. When we turned, a car had stopped in the middle of a 4 lane highway, albeit it the lane closest to the sidewalk, but the problem was that approaching cars would have a problem seeing a white car over and above the headon glare of the sun through white mist. Did the driver run out of fuel?
Nice ride back, in the safety and comfort of a large group. My body was tired, I could feel it, and my HRM confirmed it. My heart rate reluctantly approached 160, and despite major efforts, would not go more than a beat or two beyond. Recently I;ve been capable of getting it to around 171, but this morning my body retreated to at least 10 beats shy of that figure. Here are the stats:
Time: 1:35:46
HR: 138 ave 163 max
Distance: 44.6km
Ave Speed: 27.9km/h
Alt Max: 1696
Temperature: 11/12/24
Ascent: 435mKCal: 1382
What was interesting was the final stretch in Illovo, or Rosebank. This is another beautiful treelined section through suburbia, sleepy streets. A blonde runner, beautifully toned smiled and waved at us. We see her fairly often.
As we turned up the street, a few riders intoned: "I feel better now." "You know I suddenly feel very strong."
I said: "It's a beautiful world," and everyone laughed.
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