My entry into Prince Albert was less than auspicious. We got there at 5pm, and instead of going to stake out a spot in the campsite in preparation for the mountain-bike race, rushed to the hospital with a painful tooth abscess.
This didn't distract from a chilled stay, and an enjoyable race.
I was there for the Medio Fondo, the 53,7km baby sister of the gruelling Swartberg 100-miler Gran Fondo, which starts and ends in the town.
The big race has three gravel sections of 79km, with 3,000m of ascent, and the unforgiving climb of 28km up the Swartberg, then a steep, tooth-rattling descent of 20km down the other side, back into town.
It's billed as one of the toughest Gran Fondos in the world - the race started in Italy in 1970.
Swartberg organiser John Swanepoel says: "We have created a course that goes back to the days of old when mountain passes were all gravel and brave cyclists climbed them on single-speed bikes weighing in at 16kg."
Big winner Erik Kleynhans finished the 171km in five hours, 45 minutes and 36 seconds, and looked fresh and untrammelled when I spotted him chatting to friends at the finish. But then, he would. He's finished within the top 10 of the 700km, eight-day Cape Epic.
"The race was lovely," he told me. "I grew up in George, so I love the terrain and area. It was a beautiful loop." He's done 12 Epics, and many 100-milers. "I like harder, longer races."
Eavesdropping on cyclists as they finished, I learnt many hadn't found the race "lovely": "I'm gonna be honest, I was completely unprepared"; "My legs didn't have it"; "I've never gone so slowly up a hill"; "I almost cried"; "I never had the strength for the climb"; and, "It was brutally hard".
There's much more to Prince Albert than just the race, however.
The town nestles below the northern edge of the mighty and majestic Swartberg Mountains. It's a well-kept town, with an honesty and beauty about its Victorian and Cape Dutch homes and buildings.
It's home to around 11,000 people, the majority living in the "North End" of the town. It has a diverse number of attractions: a golf club, antique shops, a gin bar, a Saturday market, yoga and massage classes, a cooking school, a donkey sanctuary, art galleries and a museum, in addition to the usual stuff like a Spar, a hotel, a cycle shop, a home industry shop, a police station, and a chemist.
It has a magistrate's court with a resident magistrate, and a prison with 80 inmates, most of them locked up for assault and house-breaking. A defunct pillar box stands outside the post office.
And all the while the leiwater bubbles through the town, in 40cm-wide channels, feeding dams in homes, most with a mini fruit orchard.
The water, which rises in the Swartberg Mountains, is the reason Prince Albert exists. Back in 1762, one Zacharias de Beer was allocated the farm De Queekvalleij.
In 1842 the Dutch Reformed Church was built, and the village took the name of Albertsburg.
Three years later the congregation received permission from the British government to rename the town Prince Albert, in honour of Queen Victoria's spouse. The church's cemetery, dating from 1844, stands behind the church, each grave a simple pile of rocks.
The Groet is 'n Moet ("greeting is a must") community initiative, held an informal potjie evening in North End on the day of the race. Some 600 people from across town attended, and there was "a wonderful sense of community - it drew together people who would not normally socialise, with singing and dancing, and a very festive and lovely vibe", says Jeremy Freemantle, a Cape Town migrant.
Parkrun has hit the dorp, and local kids are encouraged to run the 5km race with gifts of T-shirts and shoes after they complete 10 runs. A voucher for a pancake at the market, or for a movie, gives them "exposure to a different world", says Freemantle.
Perhaps the piece de resistance in the town is the five-year-old Art Deco theatre, The Showroom. The 1890s building has seen several incarnations: an old handelshuis or general store, a petrol station, a Toyota dealer and showroom when the Art Deco frontage was added, a restaurant, and a tractor workshop, explains co-owner Johnny Breedt. He fell in love with the town many years ago when making a film there, and describes the conversion as "a labour of love". Live theatre, movie festivals and shows grace its stage and screen, with movies shown twice a week.
The town maintains high standards - the museum, library and hospital have won awards for being the best in the Western Cape. I can vouch for the care at the hospital - in extreme pain when I walked in, I was treated timeously with painkillers and an antibiotic, and was able to do the race six days later.
GO FOR A RIDE
The Swartberg 100 Gran Fondo happens every year over the Freedom Day weekend (late April). MTBAfrica also stages the Karoo Gravel Grinder at least 14 times a year from September to May. Participants stay in Prince Albert B&Bs, ride during the day (different routes available), and enjoy the town's attractions in the evenings. Non-cyclist companions have the option of cooking classes and tours in and around town for the three days.
John Swanepoel of MTBAfrica says it is becoming popular among social cyclists. "We call it a cycling, social and culinary adventure."
The next one is October 3-6. Prices are from R8,500 per rider, sharing; R7,200 for non-riders.
WHERE TO STAY
Olienhof Cottages and Caravan Park: The writer camped on the Olienhof farm, an olive farm of 18,000 trees, producing the familiar yellow can of olive oil, in sizes ranging from 250ml to 5l,which you can buy from their farm store. Cottages are R300 pps; campsites from R90pp, including electricity.
Abrahamskraal: 10km outside Prince Albert, you'll find luxury accommodation for up to 20 people in a beautiful old Cape Dutch farmhouse and cottage. The farmhouse is R350pp.
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