Riding in buses with strangers, and riding bikes with Branson

You will never get as close to someone as you do when you travel next to them on a bus. Somehow we still manage (mostly) to maintain our personal space when travelling on a plane, even though there isn't a huge difference in allocated space.

One thing that was noticeably different when travelling by bus (as opposed to flying, which is my usual mode of transport to further-away places), was the ability to use your cellphone. This was an inconsiderately loud discovery. I now know all of said cellphone user's gossip from her weekend in Cape Town, and not by choice. I was also excessively exposed to her KFC dinner, which, as we all know, has the power to hone out an entire building, never mind just the upstairs section on a Greyhound bus from Cape Town to Grahamstown.

My travel-partner was, luckily enough, not this person. However, though I only met them two days previously, we ended up getting pretty cosy with each other. When suffering with another, you do not condemn the other for snoring on your shoulder. At least I had good company.

Cape Town was gorgeous as ever, and this weekend gave me yet another way to view it: a 109km tour from the saddle of a bicycle, with over 31 000 other people.

The Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour 2013 was my first Argus race, and I loved every moment of it. I completed the course in a time of 4 hours and 10 minutes, which is not a bad time for a first-timer, and not a bad time at all considering I only started cycling properly in January. A friend's response to my time: "you kicked Richard Branson's ass!" His time was 5:33, so I think I concur!

There are too many aspects of the race for me to share about the event: the weather was ideal, the organisation was great (well done again city of Cape Town). I was disappointed in my time because it was so close to sub-4 and I could have pushed myself harder (I expected the race to be more difficult, according to what everyone had been saying). But that's neither here nor there, and I now have a time that I can significantly improve on for next year.

Bring it on!