Newlands Forest

Went on a 8.5 km run this morning (according to my phone's GPS which sucks).  I started around UCT and ran up to Rhodes Memorial, followed a trail south and ran into Newlands Forest (map of trails below). 

Fell in love with all the trails and thoroughly enjoyed the mist which persisted all morning (see picture below).  I saw all kinds of dogs on these trails and had a moment of inspiration.  When I came home I convinced my wife that we should go later and take the dogs. 

I was so excited that when packing up the dogs and the gear we took I had a little SNAFU (an acronym I learned in the military which stands for, Situation Normal All F&**#$d Up).  After I made sure the girls (Etta and Reeses) were in the car I closed the door with the keys inside.  I didn't know that the car we are using automatically locks the doors if it detects the keys are inside the cabin.  I don't understand why this design option is useful.   After the SNAFU was fixed by the owner of the vehicle we were off on our first adventure as a family.  I was so proud of Etta our big (~10 year old 50 kilograms rottweiler bernese mountain dog mix).  We walked a long way and she didn't complain one bit.  We also experimented with having both of them off the leash and they performed well.  I was proud of them.  Below is a picture of Reeses on a tree stump.  We tried to take a picture of Etta with a foot long drool but didn't quite get it. Be sure to check my wife's blog for her take on how the day went.  I'm sure she will have a different perceptive. 

Recon

Over a week ago, a friend showed us a flat they are moving out of. I really like the kitchen and bath, and I think we can afford to live there. The only problem is that the place is a few neighborhoods away from work and I really like to walk or bike. A friend told me about a trail which goes most of the way so I decided to check it out. The Google Maps video below (sorry you have to download the Google Earth plugin)roughly follows the run. Parts of the run were really nice, going through the edge of the Newlands Forest and other parts followed the sidewalk next to a busy street. I think that it would be a doable commute, but not on a daily basis. Too bad the whole way isn't bike friendly. If more of the way was like the trail close to UCT, I definitely would be hounding my wife about moving there. Unfortunately I would have to deal with traffic.

5/1/2011

Woke up pretty sore this morning.  Ran a nice flat 4.5 mile run, taking two laps around Rondebosch Common at an easy 10 minute mile pace.  This is a 100 acre park in the middle of Rondebosch and provides a wonderful view of UCT. Took the picture with my iPhone, so the quality isn't great.  I also saw a large flock of some kind of bird.  To me, they resemble a female wild turkey.  After a month of not running much, my hip flexor is starting to feel better when running.  I hope this continues as I start adding mileage again.   

For review of a recent trip my wife and I took to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, see my wife's blog.