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Went for a great ride yesterday. Met with Quinn and Lisa at Has Beans Coffee and headed South-East out of town a little before noon. The plan was to climb Table Mountain and enjoy a picnic at the top.

I secured small pouch to the back of my saddle with binda straps, in which I packed a handful of fruits and vegetables. Combined with the bell, full fenders, and Sakae “RANDNNER” handlebars, my Atala is starting to look more like a Randoneurring bike and less like a minimalist racer. (I think it needs more bags. Currently lusting after some Lemolo panniers, but due to the lack of rack eyelets I’ll probably just make my own larger saddlebag.)

Riding along the shoulder of the highway we passed a man selling alligator jerky out of his truck. “Five dollars a bag!” he yelled as we passed, and I responded “On the way back!”

Lisa split early and Quinn and I made it to the top after a relatively uneventful climb. We had a picnic, a good view of the valley, and not enough wind for kite flying. Apples and tangerines and pears and crackers and cheese and avocado and water and lemon tart and spicy noodles and hummus and chocolate are some of my favorite snacks.

The top of Table Mountain is supremely flat. The Edges drop away suddenly and spill out into the valley below. As such, most of the roads up or down include more than a few twists and turns. I took the descent very slowly, with handfuls of brake. We didn’t buy any jerky, and made it back into town just as the last sunlight was leaving the sky.