IMG-20150928-WA0013It was a rainy spring morning in Cape Town that I woke up to when I had the rent-a-bicycle tour scheduled. Feeling less than optimistic given the weather for an outdoor activity I proceeded to the meeting point, Oak Valley Estate just outside Grabouw.  Grabouw is known for its beautiful terrain for outdoor activity such as mountain biking and hiking. On arriving at this beautiful location we met the owner of Rent-a-bicycle who was friendly and very informative. He had all of our gear ready for us to hop into. The gear includes, the helmet and high performance mountain bikes. Our guide was also thoughtful enough to make sure the water bottles in the bikes saddle were full and ready to quench our thirst for later.

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Before leaving to the trail we were first able to get comfortable on our bike, making sure we felt secure and that the bike was a good fit for our position. We also did a warm up of sorts peddling up the road to make sure we felt secure and to get used to the bike. This was particularly useful as someone who last rode a bicycle as a child never mind done mountain biking before. Nevertheless, throughout the trip the bike was incredibly easy and effortless to ride.

We did what is known as the blue trail at Oak valley estate, before we left to the trail our guide showed us on the map the route we would follow. It was the novice route of course but definitely an exciting and a nice challenge for a first time mountain biking experience. We began riding, at first merely keeping eyes on the bike looking little ahead to the path that lies before. I chatted a bit to our guide who always alerted me if there was perhaps an incline that I needed to change gears for, or if there was a bit of a puddle up ahead seen as there was what I would call an above average drizzle of rain for most of our trip. Needless to say halfway into the trip I was quite happy for the wet weather as it was refreshing, kept the body cool during our bike ride.

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The rain added a certain charm to the scenery. As I became more comfortable riding it was wonderful to be able to enjoy the scenery. Rich and green plains, meadows with cattle grazing freely, streams and little dams that emerge through the lush trees. The estate, Oak Valley preempts that one can expect to see beautiful oak trees. Being on a mountain bike also gave a very unique experience in the sense that we were able to smell the trees, plants and flowers as well. You can literally feel the air in your lungs and it is nothing short of completely liberating. The route we did even took us through a forest filled with pine trees. It looked almost like Christmas with the beautiful trees and sugar pines that lay on the floor. Also, the forest is home to many creatures such as the porcupine.

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The estate and bike routes are very well sign posted to make sure you know where you are and how to get back, not that this matters much as while on the trip time seems to stand still because of how magnificent the experience is. Rent-a-bicycle offers many options to guests from overseas visitors to local people wanting to enjoy their surroundings. They also allow their guests a lot of flexibility with the option to picnic on route. They also do and have done a lot of corporate events, team building and one on one guides. Oak valley estate is known as the flagship biking route making it a huge privilege for us to have done it.

To contact Rent A Bike please contact Ryno on 076 274 8125 or email him at ryno@rentabicycle.co.za