in the zone

Today, Matt and I finally had a chance to test out our mountain bikes since arriving in South Africa.

With friends Karen and Andrea (see pic), we headed out to Jonkershoek Nature Reserve near Stellenbosch in the late afternoon, the perfect time of day for those of us who can't be bothered to do the 3 hour trail before 9am when the day already starts to heat up.

After a grueling uphill climb for the first half, we paused at the top of the mountain to admire the stunning views below - and eat our oatmeal raisin choc chip muffins.

The rest was all downhill through the forests.

The adrenalin racing through me was incredible, my hands, feet, shoulders, brain all intensely flexed.

For me, being pretty much a novice at mountain biking, I loved the excitement of not knowing what was around the bend, of seeing the changing scenery, all incredibly beautiful, and of being so focused on the trail for fear of falling off, that i had no room in my mind to think of anything else.

Another super day in the great outdoors.