Photograph: Place of delicious food in Plet

Also appealing was the smell of good food that came from a roadside kiosk housed in a container. I was looking at the menu before I realised what I was doing. This was obviously my culinary day!

“Jo’burg prices!” I remarked to the owner but I settled for a half-beef roll on rye. When it arrived I found it worth every penny and felt a pang of embarrassment about what I had said as he handed me an orange juice on the house.

His name was Dave and he had moved to Plet from Yeoville in Johannesburg, when Yeoville was a trendier and hipper spot than it is today. He had owned a restaurant there and started another in Plet. The container food stall was a holiday season venture.

Heading on to Knysna I gave the Plet town planners a nod of approval for building a wide pavement parallel to the road that made cycling easy. However, I thought they would be wise to follow Pretoria’s example by also planting shady trees along the route.

The pathway went as far as a township area of low-cost houses, which was obviously quite a different world to the playground for the rich that I had left behind me.

Then it was thirty kilometres of cycling through more fairy land to Knysna.

COMMENT: Have you ever eaten humble pie after making a careless comment?