On Saturday 25 July 2020, I ventured out and enjoyed a fabulous Gravel Ride in the countryside ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ด๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐โ๏ธ๐! The Cow-House-Oxbow-Gran-Fondo Ride ๐ฎ๐๐๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ด๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐คฉ kicked into action at 8 am.
What is a Gran Fondo Ride? It is a long-distance bicycle ride exceeding 100 km, on either a road bike or in my case a mountain bike, in modernday cycling. The Gran Fondo ride originaed in Italy in 1970, and roughly translates into English as “Big Ride”
Safety in Numbers ๐ช at the order of the day, responsibly doing a great ๐ฆ Social Distancing Ride with a few friends! Mask and Buff clad, we alternated between, fours ๐ด๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ด๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ and twos ๐ด๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ! ๐ The split ride with regrouping along the route worked like a charm, and allowed the guys and gals to enjoy some fresh country air!
The route surprised us with Jeep track along the railway line ๐! Toot toot, we saw two lovely locomotives ๐ with cargo ๐คฉ! Then the wide open gravel roads welcomed us ๐ด๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐จ! Farmland ๐พ๐ฑ with cows ๐๐๐ฎ, pretty horses ๐, tractors ๐๐ and large trucks ๐๐ met us en route!
Awesome to push the limits at times ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐จ๐จ๐ ! Then also to fall back some, to support and encourage my teamies, at a more casual pace ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ค๐ดโโ๏ธ! Itโs about having some well deserved fun in the sun โ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐จ๐, combined with great camaraderie ๐คฉ!
The Black Stallion ๐ฒ behaved himself beautifully! Every pedal stroke and gear shift smooth, the chain humming sweetly, making my heart sing with joy ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐จ! At nearly 14 yrs old, my little Vintage gives me so much pleasure ๐ฒ๐! Love it!


This ride also completed the Versus Socks Virtual Ride which I supported ๐งฆ๐ช๐๐ฅณ! Magic ๐! Managed to snag a couple of badges on STRAVA ๐๐ฅณ! Little motivators to do the next ride, a little faster, a bit better, a couple of clicks further ๐ช๐ดโโ๏ธ๐จ๐๐!




Back at Cow-House, I devoured two scrumptious muffins ๐ง๐ง๐ and some chilled ice-tea, because this ๐ฅ worked up an appetite of note ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐! Reflecting on a fabulous day!
โญ๏ธ #Garmin gave a little Tech Glitch, nevertheless, thereโs always a solution to everything, managed to upload my ride to STRAVA and Relive ๐! โญ๏ธ
NOW ๐ Ready for a recovery ride ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐! Rubber side down! Stay Motivated! Keep Moving! Be Safe! REBEL Life ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ท๐๐ถ๐ฅณ!
Photos by Luculle Stols – @real.life.rebel on Instagram