24 May 2010 - Heideplaas Conclusion?

I have been back at the farm for a week now and am finding it hard to get back to a "normal" life. What is a normal life anyway? We all have different priorities, dreams and ambitions and this does not make any of us more-, or less normal than the next guy.

In my last blog, I said that I would try to write a conclusion. I don't think I am quite ready to do that yet, since I don't feel that this trip is over. But, I will try to write a bit of a summary and share my feelings and thoughts with you.

While sorting and labeling all my photo's I was taken on a trip down memory lane. Looking at a photo I took at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town of the rising full moon, I could not believe that I took a picture a moon month later, of the second full moon for the trip, in the Kgalagadi. How absolutely extremely different the settings... This makes you realize how vast the area and distance is that we covered.

In the title of my blog, I wrote that I wanted to "discover" my beautiful country and now I feel that one can never stop discovering all the beautiful places. I do however also believe that the world is full of beautiful places. During the week, I watched a bit of TV footage of both the Cycle tour of California and Italy. Incredible scenery! Now I want to discover the world! So much to do and so little time (and money!). A friend stated his disappointment that my ride was over, because what should he read now in the mornings (my blog). I replied that if he was prepared to sponsor me, I would continue touring and writing my blog just for him! To date he has not replied.....

26 May 2010 - He has still not replied, but I am busy planning my next ride! If all goes well, I am departing for Port Elizabeth on Friday. It should take me about 3 days (with distances just under 100km per day) to get to PE. The plan is to spend the week visiting friends there, then on Friday the 4th of June, I will cycle out to Shumba Lodge between Hankey and Patensie to spend the weekend with the De Vos / Jansen / Gryffenberg family. After that, I will cycle back to the farm again.

So, cheers again, I am busy packing and getting everything ready. This time I am going solo!

15 May 2010 Home! (from George via Knysna)

Today is the 15th, I am home! I could not write yesterday afternoon, because it started raining heavily on the way to Knysna. I ended up staying in town with Oom Sarel and Mari, the owner of the farm where I am staying now. Thys and Nerina came through to the farm, and had my laptop with them. So I will give you background on the last two days. A bumper edition, and possibly the last, unless I find the inspiration to do some summary / conclusion - I might just do it.

We had a lovely evening with Sus and Hendrik Vorster, whom I have known since I was 1,5 years old. They truly are like a mother and father to me. I was battling with a slow puncture on my front wheel the previous day and decided to fix it on the morning before riding to Knysna. I took my time, did my best to remove all the little thorns that were stuck in the rubber, but alas, after putting it all back together again, I still ended up with a flat tyre. This forced me to change the tube, which solved the problem.

After a lovely breakfast I hit the road, taking the old Saasveld road which is part of the Seven Passes dirt road to Knysna. What does "passes" say to you? Yes, the day with the most accumulated ascent of the whole trip! I climbed 1264 vertical meters! (Descent was second most of trip, at 1504 m).

The weather was great at the beginning. Mild wind, clear skies and cool, though sunny. The old road takes you through some lovely forest areas and I soaked it up. After about 32km's, I met Thys and Nerina along the road. They were busy making us some coffee - the last we would have together on this trip. Nerina warned me that a short distance ahead I would find a lovely downhill, followed by a climb of 100 meters vertical. I did not want to know this, but since I had checked the route profile on my gps maps, I knew that this would be just one of many climbs to come. The prize winning one, the Homtini pass to follow, ascended 177 meters within 2.6km. (think of a 59 story building and you have to carry a suitcase up the stairs!)

After the coffee I got going again, but the weather started changing. Clouds were being blown in from the sea and it started looking like we might get rain. In a very short period, the temperature dropped significantly and as I was climbing up the Homtini Pass, it started raining. Hard enough that I got soaked through my sleeveless rain jacket. This just made me realise again how blessed we had been on this trip. The only other day I cycled in the rain, was when we went from Hermanus to Gordon's Bay.

My rides through the "vast outback - the Groot Karoo", were far more relaxing in a way than cycling on the tar roads near Knysna again. I had a serious fight with a Nestle truck, which very nearly ran me off the road. This driver was simply not prepared to slow down and wait until it was safe to pass me. I don't know where he expected me to go, as there was no rideable surface next to the road at that moment. Anyway, again thanks to God, I managed to stay in one piece.

When I met up with T and N again, I told them that I did not feel like pitching my tent in the rain. We decided that they would head out to the farm from where we started our tour two months earlier and that I would try to find accommodation in town. This is how I ended up at Oom Sarel's place. T and N stopped for coffee and I sorted out the stuff I would need for the last leg of my journey. It was a lovely bonus and surprise that Amanda, my friend from the farm had arrived seconds before I went through the security gate.

The De Vos family (Oom Sarel, Mari and Amanda) and myself went out for a lovely meal after a glass or two of wine. I only got to bed near 11pm, which is far past my bedtime.

Distance I had covered for the day was 80.35km and I was out on the trail for 5h41 (4h39 cycling). Taking into consideration that I had to climb 1264m, I can see that I have grown stronger during my tour. My luggage weighs quite a bit, but I managed to climb some of those passes with gears to spare!

I had a good night's sleep and woke up to a beautiful morning in Knysna. Blue skies and crisp air after the rain. By 8:34 I was on the road and had to tackle the very long climb out of Knysna. I received a phone call from Braam Greeff, the people from George whom we had met at the Augrabies Falls (Braam and Joy). He said that he had passed me the previous day near Hoekwil. How small is this world! I had promised them a phone call when I arrived in George, but there just did not seem to be time, what with all the "lekker kuier" with the Vorsters!

The ride out to the farm was the 3rd shortest of the tour, but it had enough altitude gain. Over a distance of 27.86km, I climbed 570 meters. The N2 main road was quite busy and it was a relief to reach the turn-off into the forest (the back road to the farm). The road was still wet from the previous night's rain and it was very cool under the forest canopy.

I love a forest and could not help myself. At one stage I stopped dead and just listened to the forest talk. Green, lush and beautiful. I couldn't quite capture the forest with my camera, but I include a picture here of one of my favourite fern spots.

Just past 10:45 I arrived at the farm and after saying hi to T and N, I headed straight to Amanda's house to give Liefie, my cat a big hug and kiss.

My washing is done, all my luggage is lying around in my room and I "have nowhere to go".  I knew it would be a big adjustment to be back at home, but I think reality will only kick in later.

The total distance I covered is 2926.77km. It would have been great to hit the 3000km mark, but then I suppose I would have said, it would be great to do 4000km and so on! Where do you draw the line? I spent 34 days on the bike and the rest of the 2 months we had a lovely holiday.

There are so many highlights, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank Thys and Nerina for their selfless support, love and care. Without them it would have been a lot harder and less enjoyable. I thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. Cheers to you.

I am going to Amanda's house now for a glass of champagne, so please excuse me! Will write a last something in a day or two's time. Thanks also to my friends who sent e-mails and sms's. It made all the difference.

And here, a picture of my bike as I arrived home, you have not seen the end of me yet! This poor bike is in need of a serious service, but we might just tackle another few mountain passes together. I did not buy good quality pannier bags for nothing!

13 May 2010 Oudtshoorn to George via Montagu Pass

I saw the sea!

Only got going at 10:30 this morning! We spent the earlier part of the morning doing the touristy things in Oudtshoorn. We kicked off with a visit to a Belgian Chocolaterie. Big mistake. We were entertained by a lovely sales lady, who knows and loves her product. We were allowed to taste some of the ingredients used in making the chocolates and then we bought some treats.

Next stop was the factory shop of Olea. A company manufacturing olive products. More tasting and buying was done, before we visited Tantinki, a shop specialising in goat's milk products, where we did even more tasting and buying!

By the time we got to Trix's house, I was in a knot about the trip still ahead. The wind was not too bad, but the road to George was a concern. It is very narrow and winding. The highest heart rate achieved today was every time a car stressed me out. There were more than enough occasions this happened. As a matter of fact, I would rather cross the Swartberg Pass again, before attempting the first part of today's route.

I also had some concerns about my front wheel. It was losing air and the sealant was not sealing a tiny puncture I must have picked up along the way.

The going was not too bad, and by 13:00, I took the turn-off to the Montagu Pass. It amazed me again to see how quickly the landscape can change. Within a kilometer or two, the countryside turned from a barren dry landscape, to a green, lush inviting landscape. Mountains clad in Fynbos, trees and ferns. Majestic mountains and an impressive pass built by hand (before my time!) I was careful on the downhill, as the road surface is quite eroded and I had a scary incident on this road before, when one of my front brake pads came undone!

I include a photo here, of my first glimpse again of the sea. This is seen when you reach the top of the Montagu Pass.

I am tired again as it is late because we have spent the whole afternoon and evening catching up with my "other Mother and Father", Oom Hendrik and Tannie Sus. We were also treated to the tastiest meal I have had in a long time, and don't forget the dessert!

Tomorrow we head out to Knysna and our last night of camping. We will follow the Seven Passes dirt roads. The scenery is better and there will be less traffic, the route however will be more challenging than the N2, with lots more steep up's and downs. But once again,  we are doing this for fun, aren't we?????

I must just thank God at this stage, for divine protection on this trip. No injuries, illness, accidents or anything bad. And this in spite of dangerous roads and serious physical workouts. Thank you Father.

If you will excuse me, I will jump into bed now. Hope to catch up tomorrow, but otherwise will write a conclusion once I am back on the farm by Saturday. Thanks again for all the comments on the blog, emails, prayers and support. Without you, my Friends, I would not have made it this far.

12 May 2010 Prince Albert to Oudtshoorn

Feels like ages ago that I wrote my blog! Can't remember what I said and what not, so excuse me if I repeat myself.

The ride to Prince Albert was tough, as I mentioned and the weather was still not promising on Monday. After the visit to Ailsa and Andrew, I convinced Thys and Nerina's to stay in Prince Albert for one more day, so that we could wait for clear weather to do the Swartberg Pass crossing. It seems such a waste to do that lovely road in poor visibility. I could not stay in my cottage any longer as they had a booking for it and so we moved out of town, to Bushman's Valley.

T and N camped, but I took a "Bushman hut" for R100 per night. It is a thatched shelter, but inside they have a canvas tent, which means you have no creepy's crawling into bed with you. There is electricity and they provide towels. The setting is beautiful, amongst the mountains. I include a photo of my accommodation.

During the night, I heard some rain falling, and was worried about today's weather. All worries for nothing, as the day turned out to be clear and sunny with a mild breeze. It was cool, but we are well into autumn after all!  I only got going at 9:00 this morning, but was planning a relaxed ride anyway.

The word "awesome" is used too easily nowadays, and I believe it was created to describe this beautiful part of God's creation. The mountains are magnificent, massive, indescribable. Photo's can't capture the sheer majesty and size - you have to see it for yourself.

I crawled up the pass slowly and gently. It took me 2 hours of cycling to do the 998m of vertical climbing to "The Top", but you can add another 35minutes to this for all my photo stops. I wanted to brew myself some coffee at the top, but wind was howling up there, and very cold as well. After a quick photo or two and putting on my wind breaker, I jumped into the descent. Because of all the weight in the panniers, I had to take it easy - this I did not like one bit, as I love a fast descent!

Included here, is a photo of me on day 31, at the 31km marker going up the pass. I had to balance the camera on the stone wall, run across the road and put a big smile on my face. Didn't come out too badly?! You climb from 676m to 1587m in just over 16km. The views are indescribable and the air was so crisp and clear.

As mentioned above, the wind was howling on the going down side. I just kept going, but did stop again for a few photo's. One just can't help yourself.

Where the road leading from the Pass links up with the road to the Cango Caves and Oudtshoorn, is Wilgewandel, a farm stall and adventure center for kids. They offer camel rides and also have meals and coffee. I sent T and N an sms and told them that I would be stopping for coffee, and before I could order, they joined me. We decided on having a light lunch as well before I got going again.

The road from Wilgewandel winds all along the Grobbelaars River through Schoemanspoort (gorge?) and Thys joined me on his bicycle for the last 15km into town. We reached our destination just after 15:00 and are now spending the night again with friends of mine. We are staying with Hannes, Trix and their son Jaco. It is always great to catch up with old friends, and Trix treated us to some pea soup and "vetkoek". My stomach is full, and I am ready to curl up in bed.

Tomorrow I am going to George via the Montagu Pass. This pass is even steeper (downhill) than the Swartberg Pass, but I am choosing to use this road rather that the much busier Outeniqua Pass. Weather on this side of the mountain looks promising, but there might be some rain on the George side of the mountain.

So, it is cheers for now. Hope to have time to write tomorrow, as we will be staying with my "other Mother and Father", who gave me a second home when I was growing up. Oom Hendrik and Tannie Sus, who joined us for supper on the first night of my expedition!

Today was the 31st day and I have done 2748.6km to date. It looks like I am not going to make the 3000km mark, and Nerina suggested that I cycle to Port Elizabeth to make up the shortfall. To this I replied, that I might as well then aim for the 4000km mark! I don't think so!

9 May UPDATED Beaufort West (Karoo Nat Park) to Prince Albert

I am here, and I am too tired to write tonight. Today would rate as the hardest day yet, due to very strong wind. I will write more tomorrow, but now you know I am safe. Will be in Prince Albert for 2 days, so backside can have a rest tomorrow!
Cheers

Here follows the news - I am now all there again!:

As mentioned in the first paragraph, yesterday must rate as one of the hardest days of this trip. It was not the furthest, highest, coldest or even windiest, it was just very long, because of a head wind for the last 55km. As a matter of fact, I was out on the trail for 9h25, of which 8h55 were spent in the saddle. I had over 1000 metres of vertical climb and as mentioned above, a very strong head wind for the last 55km. This means that you have to sit and pedal non-stop, unless you want to come to a dead stop. It also means blisters on your bum! And I am doing this for fun?

I left Beaufort West at 8:15. (Photo of view back towards Karoo National Park in northerly direction) It was quite cool and the wind was very strong. I again, had a short stretch to cycle on the N1, fighting the wind and having to contend with big trucks. Scary stuff! Once I turned south on the N12 (road going to Oudtshoorn via Meiringspoort), I was flying. The wind was more or less from behind and I was doing an average speed of 25km/h +, even though I had some climbing to do. I stopped for a quick bite to eat at the 50km mark, but after that things started getting more difficult. The wind was blowing at 50 - 60km/h, and probably gusting up to 80km/h (I kid you not!). At times the wind was from the side, which meant that I was being pushed all over the road. It is just by God's grace that I did not end up under the wheels of a big truck.

By the time I turned off the tar road and headed west to Prince Albert, my average speed had dropped to 21km/h. This was where the fun and games began. I still had 55km to go, straight into the wind. My average speed for this last leg of the trip was only 11.1km/h! At times I was doing only 5.5km/h. BUT, I made it. Nerina was waiting for me just as you enter town, to show me where we were staying. It was 17:45, cold, windy and very grey! What a long day. I did however see a Kori Bustard while on the bike. This is the world's largest flying bird, weighing up to 19kg and they are under serious threat and one usually only sees them in our National Parks - a big bonus for me.

I opted for a self-catering cottage, while Thys and Nerina pitched their tent.

We spent today exploring Prince Albert and had a fantastic, late breakfast at the hotel. Most of the old homes are in good condition or beautifully restored. The gardens are neat and the Bougainvilleas love this climate - all colours to be seen. There are water canals that run through town, and the residents have "irrigation rights" (lei beurte) and may channel the water to their gardens on particular days/times.

I include a photo here, taken at Bougain Villa Guest House. The owner, a retired farmer, is keeping himself busy, training his Bougainvilleas.

At 16:00 we visited the local dairy to buy some cheese. After this, we popped in to see Ailsa and Andrew Tudhope, friends of mine from when I still lived in Cape Town. They have lived here for 12 years and have seen the changes taking place in Prince Albert. It happens so often that the sleepiness of an old town appeals to people from the city, but once they move in, the character of a place gradually starts changing. One can even see that some of the newer houses have different architectural styles than the original homes. I suppose this is what we call progress?!

Ailsa and I joked about the number of grey hairs that we have acquired since we last saw each other but she takes the prize as she recently had to play the role of the 90 year old Miss Sophy (Dinner for One) in a fund raising concert. I must admit though, that she used baby powder on her hair! A play I would have loved to have seen. After coffee and scones, we returned to our campsite.

I have convinced T and N that we should stay another day, as the weather forecast for Wednesday is more favourable than for tomorrow. We are a day ahead of schedule anyway and my backside can do with another day off the bike. I might have to move back to my tent tomorrow evening though, as there seems be a booking for my cottage. We will get confirmation tomorrow morning, but it seems that I will tackle the Swartberg Pass on Wednesday only and in sunny weather.

So, it is cheers for now, until a day or two!

6 May 2010 Loxton to Karoo National Park (B West)

Another short blog tonight, I am tired! The wind was pumping today and I was doing some low flying (that means the wind was from behind, yippee!) until I got to the N1 just before Beaufort West.

I left Loxton later than planned. Don't quite know why this happened, but I think it was because I was so relaxed! Just out of town I got onto the gravel road, which was really not as bad as the locals claimed! (again). It was very chilly and I was wearing arm- and leg warmers. The wind was probably blowing at around 40km/h from the NW, which meant that for the most part it was from behind.

The landscape again changes all the time. Autumn is here and there were many copses of yellow poplar trees. Too beautiful for words.

I passed a family riding to Loxton by donkey cart. They were very friendly and were also freezing. Nerina had passed them earlier and stopped for some photos. I wanted to stay on the move though, as I had asked T and N to stop at the 65km mark for some coffee and so I did not take any photos myself. Poor T and N battled to keep the gas stove going in the wind, which had picked up to 50 - 60km/h by then.

The total ascent for the day was just over a thousand metres, but my descent was around 1500m. Beaufort West is reached via the Molteno Pass, a spectacular gravel pass which drops very fast (my top speed was 76.6km/h on the gravel, with a wind that could not decide from which side it should blow! Exciting stuff!)

Once I got to the bottom of the pass and reached the N1, my average speed dropped to 10km/h (I had been doing 24km/h until then). Cycling through Beaufort West was challenging with a lot of big trucks fighting for space on the road. Add the wind to the equation, and it was quite scary coming through town and on towards the Park. I was pushed off the road by the wind following some of the trucks, but fortunately the Park entrance is not far out of Beaufort West. Once I got to the park, the real hard work started, as the wind was now directly from the front and there was still some climbing to be done.

But, I made it, and we are now camping under the trees, in a sheltered spot. We have had our supper and will go for a drive in the park tomorrow.

The total distance done so far, is just over 2,500km. There were 7 days in which I could not record data, due to the loss of my gps, but for the rest of the trip, my total ascent is just over 13,000m and I have burnt more than 48,800 calories! Now you know why I eat so much!

We will be in the Park for 3 nights (2 days) so don't expect too much blog news. If we see some lovely things, I will try to post a new page. So cheers for now.

5 May 2010 Zandvlei Farm to Loxton

And here we are, in Loxton. I had a cold 110km ride today and had a bit of a tricky wind part of the way.

We stopped over for 'n toasted sandwich in Carnarvon, at the hotel. They have a pub with a very impressive collection of beer cans from all over the world - I have included a picture.


While we were there my phone rang and I had a lovely surprise - a call from my brother Hansie, all the way from New Zealand. Hansie, thanks, it was so lekker to hear from you and thank you so much for all your encouragement and support. It means more to me than you will ever know!

To get back to the start: I didn't give you much info about our stay on the farm. I know the Bernards from my years as a kid in King William's Town. They lived 4 houses from us and their oldest son was in class with me. Their daughter, Jean, was a year after me and we spent many an evening, sitting on the pavement, somewhere between our homes chatting away. Jean visited us a few times in Upington while we camped there a few days ago. It was great to catch up again.

The Bernards farm with sheep and currently have about 1800 sheep. They lost many animals recently due to "Slenkdal Koors". They started shearing the sheep on Monday and use contractor teams from the region. Back breaking work. It was interesting to watch the whole process from shearing, sorting and baling the wool. See photo's. "Tannie" (Aunty) Mima, was a good friend of my mother's and we had a few good laughs and cries about the past. It was good to be there and we were spoiled rotten.

We are staying in a little guest house in Loxton tonight and leave for Beaufort West tomorrow. We will then spend a few days in the Karoo National Park. I have been warned (again!) that the road from here is in a bad state, but have decided to forge ahead anyway. The alternative would have been a detour of more than a 100km! Part of the road is tarred, but the bigger part is gravel. There is a fair amount of climbing involved, but there is a long down-hill pass in the last stretch.

The weather seems to be turning and winter is approaching fast. It has cooled down a lot and more cold is forecast. We will more than likely have a cold stay in the Karoo National Park and I am thinking that it might be worth my while to buy a hot water bottle tomorrow!

So cheers for now, will hopefully have signal in the park.

3 May 2010 Van Wyksvlei to Zandvlei Farm

Hi all, just to let you know that all is well. Mobile signal is very poor here, so no long story today.

The ride yesterday was great (3May). Wind was from behind again, road surface good and very easy climbs.

We are staying on the farm with the Bernards, old family friends from King William's Town, where I grew up. Hospitality like nowhere else.

They farm with sheep and are busy shearing at the moment. Interesting to watch.

We are going for a drive on the farm now, and I will tell more later. Just so you know I am safe and happy.

2 May 2010 Kenhardt to Van Wyksvlei

Day 26 on the bike, can you believe it!

What a day, I had the wind from behind and I believe the people of the Northern Cape must be spoiled by their roads department. I was warned by 3 people that the road was in a very poor state (at least the first 30km, followed by some rocky bits), but as far as I am concerned, this was one of the best dirt roads I have been on since the start of this trip. So, people from the Northern Cape, appreciate what you have!

Today was also the longest distance I have done on a dirt road. 143,53km and it took me 7h25 (6h30 of which cycling). The route profile for today also shows a very slow climb most of the way, with very little down-hills. As I mentioned yesterday, this means very little freeing down-hill. All hard work, but with the wind from behind, I was doing up to 35km/h on stretches of flat road.

After the upsetting incident with the Steenbokkie yesterday, I had another one today, but I think this bokkie was training for the Comrades Marathon. He ran along the fence just ahead of me, for approx 7km's! He must have died from a heart attack after this....

Also saw another dead porcupine today, the 12th one I think.

My butt hurts today, but I know I will be fine tomorrow. We have a short day tomorrow, only 40km to the farm of old family friends of mine. We will stay there for 2 days, then head off to Loxton.

Amanda, my friend from Knysna has asked for the rest of my itinerary, so here goes:
From Loxton to Beaufort West (Karoo National Park for a few days), Prince Albert, Gamkaskloof (The Hell), De Rust, Calitzdorp, Oudtshoorn, George, Knysna and back home. I might still decide to change my route and cut out the trip to Gamkaskloof, as it is tough enough without panniers! Will see how I feel when I get there.

We are staying in the one and only Guest House in Van Wyksvlei this evening (Thys and Nerina are camping in their rooftop tent though, but are using the house for computer work and bathroom etc) Another one-horse town. It is just incredibly sad to see how the ... my English deserts me: Die ontvolking van die platteland is ontstellend. There are so many farm houses standing empty and falling apart. The people have for various reasons, moved to the cities or larger towns.

I am quite tired this evening, but still feel good. My visits with "Tannie Mima" (Aunty Mima) are always very pleasant and I am looking forward to a rest day there. They farm with sheep, and start shearing tomorrow. This should be quite an experience to watch!

So cheers from me, take care and catch ya later.

1 May 2010 - Upington to Kenhardt

Hi again! Sorry, seems some of you missed my blog of yesterday. Seems that the blog page does not automatically date the entry correctly. I have fixed it now, so catch up on two days worth of news.

I am writing now from Kenhardt, a tiny little dorp (village) south-west of Upington. If you drive too fast, you might just miss this town! We are camping out in the back yard of a local odd's-and-ends shop.

We had a good stay in Upington, but I must say, my last day on the bike was on the 19th of April. This rest has been too long and I could feel my body protesting today. But then again, I had to do 122 km for the day, and maybe that was too much to kick off with?

First stretch out of Upington was good, and after approx 30km's I crossed the Orange River for the last time at Kanon Eiland. The river splits into 2 main streams which are still quite impressive when you cross them. Weather was good this morning and the road was good, till I crossed the river and got onto some corrugations and loose gravel. The scenery made up for it, and at 50-odd km's, I was back on the tar. The total ascent for the day was just over 600m, but there was very little down-hill, which meant pedaling all the way. By 75km I was ready to go home! But, again, this is about endurance (vasbyt) and I just had to keep going.

I saw another dead porcupine today, and was greatly upset when a tiny Steenbokkie jumped up and ran into a fence trying to get away from me. He hurt himself (concussion perhaps?) and I picked him up and put him on the other side of the fence so that he could at least get away from the tar road. I truly hope that he will be okay.

The total distance traveled to date is just over 2,100km and I am happy to be heading home now. This is a fantastic experience, but it will be good to get home, not that I really have a home that I can call my own. Rolling stone for ever?

Tomorrow is going to be another big challenge. Distance around 143km and many people have warned about the bad condition of the road. I put my off-road tyres on the bike this afternoon, and might just leave my panniers in the trailer tomorrow. We will see.

As I am quite tired and the time is moving on, let me get off-line and get into bed for a lekker rest.

Cheers and keep those comments rolling in, they mean a lot to me.

30 April 2010 - Upington

Hello again all! Hope you are all keeping well and out of trouble?! We had such a great time in the Kgalagadi that we decided to stay a day longer! We got back to Upington yesterday, but because we have to repack all our luggage again, we decided to stay a day longer in Upington.


I should be repacking now, but I am waiting for my laundry to dry first.



We had an absolutely fantastic time in the Kgalagadi and even though we did not see "thousands" of lions and other big cats, we were blessed with lots of other little things. As little as the 15 to 18cm high Pearl Spotted Owl and many other owls. We even experienced flooded roads in the "desert". This is a very dry part of the country, with about 200mm of rain in a good year (mostly in spring and summer) and this is what made it so amazing to have rain now. We could not travel very far to the north of Nossob camp, as the roads were flooded. We weren't traveling in a 4x4 vehicle and were not prepared to take any chances.


The air up north is so clean and fresh, and you get the most incredible blue skies and clear nights - fantastic for star gazing, except that the moon was very nearly full. With the thunder clouds, you can imagine how beautiful the skies must have been. The veld is looking very good (I think I mentioned this in my last letter?) and we could not stop ourselves from saying oohh and ahhh all the time.




Without going into too much detail, we saw many big herds of springbok, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest and Gemsbuck. We were fortunate to see a badger, lots of black backed jackal, 3 cheetah's (mother and 2 older cubs), a lion, leopard with cub, lots of squirrels and mongoose (my favourite for spelling of the plural: mongii, mongooses, a mongoose and another mongoose?!)




The second last night at Nossob was very special. We had two male lions roaring away for most of the night. The word "reverberates" comes to mind. It felt like they were inside the campsite, it was deafening. Magic beyond words...


I am looking at my route from here quite seriously. An old school friend had coffee with us yesterday and told me that the road conditions going down south are very bad. I will be looking at the maps shortly and will make a decision after that. We are leaving Upington tomorrow, and will either go to Kenhardt, then Van Wyksvlei and then to my friend's folks on a farm, just a bit further south, or I will go to Groblershoop, Prieska en then the farm, via Van Wyksvlei. Will have to look at distances.


When I have finished here, I will wash and oil my bike. I have bought some tubing to protect the carriers from further chafing by the pannier bags and also have a new tyre to replace the off-road tyre that got cut on the West Coast road.


If you look at the map of SA, it looks like I will be travelling down-hill from here, I wish it worked like that though! There are still some mountains to cross before I get home. This is however, very much the start of my journey back home. One of my cats, Hartjie, has been missing for close on 3 weeks now, and I can't wait to get back home to see if I can't find her. Amanda, who is looking after them for me, thinks Hartjie might still be visiting the room where I slept when I was still in Knysna, as the food she puts out there is being eaten.


Let me get on with it and prepare for day 25 on the bike. I will hit the 2000km mark in this next leg. Sometimes, when I look at my photo's of this trip, I look back and it feels like I have been going for MONTHS! What an incredible time.

22 April 2010 Twee Rivieren - Kgalagadi

A quick hello. We are camping at Twee Rivieren in the Kgalagadi. They must have had good rain here. The desert is lush, with tall green and yellow grass.

My bird list stands on 191 (I think...) and we saw our first lion today. An old male lying next to a dead porcupine. Poor lion must be on his way out since he has no other lions around. His paws and torso were full of quills.

Here are big herds of Springbok and Gemsbok with the odd lone Blue Wildebeest (Gnu) and we saw only one Red Hartebeest, some Blackbacked Jackal and big owls and raptors.

The days are lovely and sunny, but the nights are freezing. I am sleeping in thermal underwear, cotton sheet, thick sleeping bag, fleece blanket and still get cold at night!

Anyway, got to get going, so catch ya later.

19 April 2010 Augrabies Falls to Upington

Guess what? I had the wind from behind yesterday! But with the wind from behind, I could not outrun the midges which are a serious problem along the Orange River. This meant I had a swarm of "muggies" around my head! Can't win, it seems!

The two pictures on the right are 1: of the main falls at Augrabies and 2: the view upstream, from Ararat (which is a short drive down the river). Truly a spectacular sight.

I left Augrabies at 7:41, after saying good bye to new friends I made in the camp. Joy and Braam are from George and heard about my trip at the hotel in Kamieskroon. Small world! They were leaving for Sutherland in the morning to take their kids to the Observatory to do some star gazing. A holiday, I am sure the kids will never forget.

The morning was cool with clear skies and a day one can only dream about. I made good progress, but had woken up in the morning with a slight headache. This got worse as the day got longer and it became a painful exercise to ride over any little bump in the road.

Kakamas, was my first little dorp and I made a quick stop there to withdraw money and buy airtime for my phone. Just outside town, I caught up with Thys and Nerina at the "Pienk Padstal" and was glad that I had cash on me. They sell the most divine fresh dates from Pella and other snacks.

Just outside town, you cross the mighty Orange river to the North bank. The landscape is absolutely beautiful, with orange and black rocky outcrops, green vineyards and yellow grassy plains.

Next town was Keimoes, after which I really started battling with my headache. It was from here that the midges became bothersome, but fortunately I dropped them after about 25km or so. The wind from behind was an absolute blessing and I got to the campsite at 14:25.

At the campsite I pitched my tent, chucked in my sleeping bag, grabbed two disprins and bombed out. I couldn't eat and after an hour or so, I got rid of the contents of my stomach! Then off to have a relaxing bath, after which I slowly started feeling human again.

Distance for the day was 122.35km, and I spent 6h44 on the trail (6h04 cycling). The going was quite good in spite of a total ascent of 652m. Wind makes a big difference!

Nerina made supper for us and we all went off to bed quite early.

This morning (the 20th) is a lovely sunny day, but the temperature seem to be dropping. Our vehicle has gone in for a service, so we are stuck in the campsite today. Thys has gone fishing in the Orange River (which flows past our campsite) and we will sort out all the packing for the Kgalagadi today. We will be leaving the trailer and bikes behind and need to pack carefully so that we can fit all necessary items in the bakkie.

Tomorrow we leave for the Kgalagadi and will not have mobile reception for about a week. So, if you don't hear from me, you know why. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a very big National Park, sharing land with Botswana and neighbouring Namibia. It is very dry there, with big red sand dunes. If the condition of the veld we have been traveling through is anything to go by, then I suspect that the Kgalagadi is going to be beautiful, with lots of grazing. This park is renowned for its big cats and I was fortunate, on my first visit there, to observe a cheetah kill. The birding is also good and I will try to add to my list of 170-odd for this trip so far.

Just to summarise: I have cycled on 24 days since 15 March and have covered a total distance of 1984.73km. If I had a measurement for suntan, I think I would be off the charts!

So, cheers from me, for now!

15 April 2010 Pofadder to Augrabies Falls

Sorry, a day late, but was supposed to be a "short" 136km ride, ended up being 153.04km, because of a bad section of road that I was hoping to take as a shortcut! Oh well, can't have it all my way?

I will try to give details of the previous two day's cycling (today is the 16th of April), but firstly, to put you in the picture: We are camping at Augrabies Falls National Park. This park is in a very arid part of the country, but the Orange River flows through it and at the main camp area, there is a waterfall of 56m. The current flow rate is just over 500 cubic metre's per second, that is 500 000 litre's per second plummeting down the ravine! Port Elizabeth has water restrictions currently and every household is restricted to 500 litres per day. That means that in every second, enough water goes over the fall, to supply 1000 households for a day. Multiply this by 86 400 seconds in a day, and you can supply 86.4 million households of water per day! Hope my maths is correct, but it is frightening if you look at it in this way!

We will be here till Sunday am, when we head off to Upington, following the river upstream.

To get back to the previous two days:

We had a lovely time at Goegap Nature Reserve just outside Springbok, but I knew I had a long ride to Pofadder and so managed to get going just after 7:00 am. I must confess, I was afraid of the long distance and was expecting a head wind or slightly off the nose wind, and so I decided to leave 3 of my panniers behind. (Thys and Nerina were going to bring them in the bakkie). I only carried my food for the day, kitchen pannier, handlebar pannier and just under 6 litre's of water - all of which I consumed along the way, plus a 440 ml Coke which Thys and Nerina gave me somewhere on the ride.

A big part of any endurance event, I believe, is the mental preparation. If you have not conquered it in your head, don't even attempt it, because the chances of failing are very good. Be confident, but also be very realistic about the challenge you are facing. Plan the event and try to stick to the plan. Be flexible in your attitude. What I mean is, things don't always go exactly as planned (eg. it might be a lot warmer than expected, the wind might be stronger, you might have mechanical problems), but you need to cope with changes and challenges and adjust how you react to the changes. I am battling to express myself clearly here, but what I am trying to say, is that you must maintain good spirits! If your attitude stinks, you get angry, this is a waste of valuable energy.

Yesterday, for instance, my planned distance was 138km (only 138 we said, after the 170 of the previous day!). There was a shortcut I was going to take, but after I had done 600m on the dirt road, I realised that there was no way I was going to survive on 18km of that shocking road. The options were: walk the 18km, or return to the main road and cycle 153km on tar. That is an extra 15km. Anyone can cycle 15km! But you sure don't feel like doing an extra 15km if you have been counting the kilometre's down and think you have only 33km to go. I had to make a serious adjustment in my head and prepare myself for another 48km! I felt like crying, but you know what, that wouldn't have brought me to Augrabies. So, I just had to put a smile on my dile, start pedaling and forget about the sore backside. Remember that I had done a record (for me) 170 km the previous day.

Anyway, enough of the psychology! The landscape around Springbok is spectacular, with large, orange boulder-strewn mountains and koppies all around. There are many Quiver Trees and beautiful, autumn-golden fields of grass. As you leave Springbok and head to Pofadder, the landscape changes rapidly and becomes more flat and open. Less mountains and rocks. The colours also change from orange to black. They must have had good rain in this region and even though it still looks dead and lifeless to someone from the coastal areas, the grass is standing tall and full in seed. Spectacular waving fields.

I saw my first communal nests on the telephone poles (of the Sociable Weavers). These are massive nests made of grass and a colony can have up to 300 birds living in it!

Because of the long distance to Pofadder, I tried to keep my stops short and ended up being out on the trail for 10h13, 8h38 of which were spent actually cycling. This gave me an average cycling speed of 19.68km/h which is not too bad. I wonder how fast I could have done it on my road bike?

I met another lone cycle tourer at the turn-off to Pella. I think her name was Annemarie, from Johannesburg. She is following the Orange river and started her trip at Hopefield with a 400km paddle on the river. She then got onto her bike and is visiting all the little towns along the river. Every two years, she takes 2 months leave to do some cycle trip.

Pofadder was a welcome sight after spending the whole day on the road and in the sun. Who would have guessed, but Pofadder is alive with mosquito's. You must see my legs. It looks like I have measles the way I was bitten!

After a hot and humid night at Pofadder, I got going again at 7:12, this time with my new GPS, which Thys and Nerina had picked up for me at the Post Office in Springbok. (Thanks Des, for sending it to me). As I was expecting to do "only" 138km for the day, I took on all the panniers again, plus 2 litre's extra water. (Remember, 2 lit = 2 kg!) There was slight cloud cover and not much wind to complain about. First bit had some slight downhill, followed by a long slow climb. Just after I got to the top of the climb, Thys and Nerina came from behind and pulled over to get the spare bike out of the trailer. Nerina was the first to take a turn and did a great 40-odd km. After a while, I excused myself and got going. Thys took over from Nerina and also did a 20-odd km on the bike. I am very proud of them both and I think they enjoy being out there on the road a lot.

The image on the right is of the road between Pofadder and Augrabies (The road is long, and many a winding ....)

As mentioned earlier, my short-cut was not a workable option and I had to take the long way around. The amazing thing about this arid region, is the Orange River. It runs through this area like a green ribbon and all along its banks, are grape and stone fruit farmers. They also do a lot of sun dried fruit, which sadly is all finished and done by this time of year.

Thys and Nerina found us a lovely site to camp at Augrabies, and after I had something to eat, we walked down to the majestic falls.

We had a fantastic cool night in which one could sleep last night and again walked to the falls at sunrise this morning. The rest of the day has been spent in a very lazy fashion and I think we all enjoy and need the rest.

I will log off for now, don't miss me if I don't blog again till Sunday pm.

14 April 2010 Springbok to Pofadder

Sounds like we are in the zoo!

Have very poor mobile reception here, and am very tired, so good excuse to keep it short today.

I did it! 170.17km in 8h38 of cycling and 10h13 on the trail! It was far, it was fairly hot and the wind was against me!

I promise to write more when I am able, for now, cheers and get back to work!

12 April 2010 Kamieskroon to Springbok

I am writing a day later, sitting at a laundry about 5km from our campsite. There is no power at our campsite and no mobile / cell reception either.

What can I say. It is getting tougher and tougher by the day.

The photo on the right was taken on the 11th just outside Garies on the way to Kamieskroon where I saw my first Kokerboom (Quiver Tree - Aloe dichotoma) and also to give you an idea of the landscape up North.
We were the only people in the caravan park at Kamieskroon and so I opted to put my inflatable mattress in the bathroom. Less noise from the N7 traffic, no tent flaps making noise and less time to pack up in the morning!

By 7:15 I was on the road and only got to see the sun at 7:50 as there are many rocky outcrops / mountains which were blocking the sun (yippee!). There was however a light head wind which meant harder pedaling. My bright brother Hansie, suggested that I cycle slower, then there is less of a head wind! Again I had a lot of climbing to do, but half way into the ride, the wind dropped and things weren't too unpleasant.

I stuck to my plan of carrying extra water and was glad that I did. The air is very dry op north and with a hot wind (low 30°C's) you dehydrate even if you don't do any exercise! The hot air scorches your lungs and I was taking strain.

The last 25-30km the wind picked up again and it was a very hard slog to get to Springbok. This is when you have to dig really deep and find that extra bit of go! It constantly amazes me: we are so much stronger than we think and we are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Remember this when you are in a challenging situation. Never give up!

I saw my first two Klipspringers (tiny antelope that lives in mountainous / rocky areas - they have specially adapted hooves which allow them to scamper over rocks and boulders) on the side of the road. They have been very elusive thus far.

My friend Garth sent me an sms while I was cycling, but I could not respond as my cell battery was nearly flat and, Garth, at that stage I was about 14km into a 21km climb! He said that he expected my body to be well into the swing of things by now, well, my friend. I wanted to write back that I was ready to go home! I think I am getting fitter, but I am also getting more and more tired. The day off today is good, and I am looking forward to a few days rest at Augrabies Falls.

Distance traveled yesterday was about 77km (have not recorded the trip in my log yet) and I was out on the road for 4h40. We are staying at Goegab Nature Reserve, just outside Springbok. I have only been here in winter before, but in spring it burst into life with a very wide variety of spring flowers and succulents. The landscape is incredibly beautiful, with large open grasslands, big rocky boulder strewn mountains. I absolutely love this area! We opted to rent two little thatched cottages for our stay. Unfortunately, there are millions of flies around the cottages (near trees - there is no problem in the open areas, unfortunately you don't have shade there!).

As I am sitting here now, the sweat is dripping off me. Weather forecast for tomorrow does not look too promising. I am expecting hot, windy conditions and have decided to take the easy way out, by putting my panniers in the trailer (am doing 171km tomorrow!). I am sure you will forgive me! And if you don't, then you can come and cycle 171km in hot weather for me!

Well, we have to get back to our campsite, so I will log off. Please keep sending mail - it is nice to hear from you.

11 April 2010 Garies to Kamieskroon

Yesterday was far, today was hard! Andrew, our Zimbabwean Maintenance Manager that we had at Elands Nursery, could not speak much Afrikaans, but he had this saying: Die son bak genadeloos! Well, this was the case today, also had a head wind, and loooots of climbing.

As I left Garies and got onto the N7, I started climbing and this carried on for more than 24km's. Don't think it stopped then, there was just a short respite before it continued. Add to this a head wind, tired legs from yesterday's far ride and temperatures in the 30's and you get a tough, challenging ride.

I have a saying: Never underestimate a short ride. This was proven again today. For the last 20-odd km's I was rationing my water and Game (Energy drink) and at one stage considered opening a tin of tuna so that I could drink the water! The lesson learned is that I will from now on, carry the extra 2 litres that I can accommodate in my hydration pack, irrespective of it meaning that I am carrying an extra 2 kg's!

Distance traveled today, was only 49.07km, but it took me 3h57 of cycling (4h22 including rest stops). Average cycling speed of only 12.38km/h! Shocking, but that was all I could manage.

We are camping tonight at the Kamieskroon Hotel Caravan Park. I think the only time they do business, is in the spring flower season. But it is neat and clean. We are the only people in the camp tonight, and I have decided against pitching my tent in favour of sleeping in the ladies bathroom! My inflatable mattress is there and hopefully there will be no mosquito's!

Tomorrow is another tough day with lots of climbing up to Springbok. Distance should be around 80km and weather forecast says more wind from the front, sigh.....

If I reach Springbok (Goegap Nature Reserve) safely, I will be rewarded with another rest day. Well deserved, I think. I have also decided to buy a new GPS, and Desireé, my friend from Gordon's Bay, will have it posted overnight to Springbok for me. Maybe I must ask her to switch it on when she posts it, so that I can get the profile from down south to where we are!

Anyway, let me get offline, our vegetables are steaming away and we will have some sausage with butternut and potatoes and apples for dessert.

10 April Van Rhynsdorp to Garies

I have very poor reception here, will keep message short and fill you in later...

I am tired, I went into uncharted territory today: the furthest I have ever cycled before, was 110km and today I did 146.51km, with loaded panniers! The photo on the right, was taken early this morning looking back towards Van Rhynsdorp, heading in a Northerly direction. The mountain in the background, is Gifberg, where we spent most of our time yesterday driving behind and over the mountain. Spectacular rock formations and views.

I packed up early this morning and got going at 7:30. There were many big trucks out on the road early in the morning, and as you can see from the image, there is no shoulder on this road. Well, I survived okay.

My GPS was sorely missed today, as I would love to know total ascent for the day. Apart from the stretch of road in this picture, I was climbing most of the way, with a few nice downhills thrown in.

Time on the trail today: 8h34 of which 7h40 were spent cycling. The rest of the time, was for pit stops and snacks. Weather was good, nice and sunny with light breeze, mostly from behind. The last bit was not funny anymore, as there was a lot of climbing and the wind started pushing form the front.

We are staying in a Self Catering lodge tonight in Garies. They have no water in town and all water is trucked in. This is due to bad management.

Saw 8 Steenbokkies today, some nice Korhaan's and a Martial Eagle (Saw 2 Black Eagles yesterday at Gifberg), and one dead Porcupine!

Tomorrow should be okay, only 47km, but with a long steady climb for the first 24km. Hope I recover sufficiently tonight.

Last picture, is proof of distance. I took a shot of my odo when I arrived here!

8 April 2010 Strandfontein to Van Rhynsdorp

And it was hot! And the wind blew again! No, please excuse me if it sounds like I am complaining, but it was hot and the wind did blow, big problem I think is that the previous 2 days took a lot out of me with the poor road conditions.

But I made it to Van Rhynsdorp and it is getting cooler outside now as I am writing.

I packed up nice and early this moring, but when I looked out over the sea, I could see that I was going to run into wind once I got onto the plateau above Strandfontein. Just after breakfast and before departing, Nerina spotted two Southern Right wales frolicking in the waves. A great start to my morning.

I missed my GPS very much today. There were no steep climbs, but it would have been interesting to see accumulated climb for the day. There were many ups (more than downs!) and the temperature was also climbing fast. There was also some uncertainty as to route to follow once I got to Lutzville - the photo attached, is of the Sishen-Saldanha Railway bridge just outside the town. All along the Olifants River are vineyards and many tomato growers. A very pretty sight indeed.

The vegetation of the West Coast is difficult to describe to someone who has not seen it yet. There aren't many tall shrubs and most plants don't grow higher than about 50cm. Because this region does not get much rain, many of the plants are prickly and have very tiny leaves. Once the winter rains have fallen, the face of this region changes entirely when the spring display explodes. Namaqualand at its best. Difficult though to believe that this is possible when you see it late summer or early autumn.

Total distance traveled today was only 77.02km, but I was on the road for just under 6 hours (cycling 4:52 of those). With about 15km to go, Thys and Nerina came from behind and I asked them to stop so that I could top up my water supply. The last of my water went onto my head and back, but 20 minutes later I was bone dry again!

Van Rhynsdorp was a welcome sight and we are camping at the Municipal Caravan Park. Tonight we will not hear trains, but big trucks on the busy N7 route which runs between Cape Town and Springbok / Windhoek.

We are planning a drive around / over Gifberg tomorrow - a drive I did about 2 years ago. Incredibly beautiful and hopefully there will be water on the mountain. There is also a massive waterfall, high up in a gorge.

If I don't write tomorrow, don't stress. Hopefully I will not be too tired after the ride to Garies, on Saturday (approx 143km! Weather at this stage looks favourable) and will catch up then.

7 April 2010 Lamberts Bay to Strandfontein

I think I should have stayed in bed today.....Will get to the reasons just now.

I told you that we were going out to the Muisbosskerm for dinner We headed out of town to be there by 6:30 and caught the setting sun. A very cold wind had started blowing off the sea late in the afternoon, so I was prepared with thermal underwear, scarf and beany.

The venue is, as the name says, a "skerm" but it does at least have some kind of a roof over part of the enclosure. (skerm = shelter/screen made out of dried branches from the area). It does keep the wind out to some degree, but it is very much an outdoor dining area.

The food is prepared on fires in the center of the "skerm" and is then placed on trays at the dishing up area. We started off with some herring strips before the hot food was served.

They do a selection of fish (angel, snoek, kingklip etc), paella, calamari, sweet potato, potato chips, salad and crayfish (for which you pay extra!), freshly baked bread and coffee with koeksisters for dessert. You have to eat, using mussel shells (I did not appreciate this at all - I also detest plastic cutlery!). All in all, it was a good dinner, but somehow I was expecting more...

On the drive back to our campsite, I was trying to spot some wildlife using our spotlight. Just before we entered town, we were rewarded: a Bat-eared Fox, too cute for words!

To get back to today: It was freezing cold this morning, but we had blue skies and very little wind. Just before I left camp, I noticed a cut of about 7mm in my front tyre - one could see the tyre liner through the cut. This prompted me to tie a spare tyre onto my back carrier, just in case it blew. I got going at about 8:30 and after I had done 7km, I noticed that my bicycle gps was missing! I turned around, cycled back 5 km, just to find the device shattered in the road (at the gate of the toll road which again runs along the railway line). Needless to say I was very upset, but well, what can one do...

I counted 6 "Kaapse Grysbokkies" and later saw a Meerkat. 3 new bird species as well, for this trip. The road was horrendous and it took utter determination not to throw in the towel. But we all know that I am "hardegat" and so I gritted my teeth and kept going. Yesterday we had bad corrugations, today the corrugations were just as bad, but there was also lots of loose sand. I had to get off the bike a few times to avoid falling off. Don't know how they can charge cars a toll fee for such a bad road!

My sense of humour was totally lost by the time I got to Doringbaai, one of my favourite coastal sites. Thys and Nerina had passed me earlier and stopped at Doringbaai to make coffee. We enjoyed the view, coffee and nice weather and got going again to cover the last 8km to Strandfontein. This, fortunately was on tar!!!!

Our campsite, is on top of the first set of dunes, with a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean. When we arrived here, I took my camping chair, binoculars and a cold Hunters and parked off on the edge of the campsite. And, yippee again, another new sighting for me, this time a mammal: Heaviside Dolphins. They were doing tailflips, launching themselves out of the waves and surfing like pro's (which they are!)

Then off to have a shower - a well deserved shower, just to discover that the water was ice cold! If I thought I had lost my sense of humour earlier, I was wrong! This was the final straw!

Enough complaining.

Thys went fishing again this afternoon while Nerina worked on her computer and I washed and oiled my bike. Also changed to semi-slick tyres again as most cycling for the next week and a half will be on tar. (Looking forward to some good roads, I must admit!)

Total distance today was only 56.14km, but it was one of the toughest. Hopefully there aren't many more like this.

Tomorrow we are off to Van Rhynsdorp and will have a rest day there again.

Supper is ready, so I will log off.

6 April 2010 Elands Bay to Lamberts Bay

This morning it was Thys's turn to get on the bike!

We had a cold windy night initially, but the wind dropped somewhere around midnight and it warmed up a bit. The caravan park is fairly close to the Sishen-Saldanha Railway line and I must say, it has to be one of the most active lines in the country! I counted at least 3 trains - and all were as long as I described in yesterday's blog!

I woke up at 00:30 and went to the loo. As I got out of my tent, Scorpio was rising and was indeed a beautiful sight. Since I always went on holiday in winter, I associate Scorpio with holidays. You don't see Scorpio in summer (unless you go outside very early in the morning), Scorpio and Orion chase each other, which means that Orion sets early in the winter.

This morning I walked down to the beach to watch the sun rise over the breaking waves. Very pretty!

After a quick breakfast and breaking camp, Thys and I got going. There is a toll road which runs parallel to the Railway line. Bikes don't pay and the road was not too bad. We did some good bird watching along the way, but once we got off the toll road and onto the normal dirt road, we were shook up badly. Corrugations the size of "gutter stones" and loose gravel.

Thys cycled on bravely and did extremely well for someone who has not been on a bike for decades. We stopped off briefly at "Muisbosskerm" to book a table for this evening. This place does a seafood buffet right on the beach. Can't wait, will have some crayfish this evening!

The ride today was one of the shortest so far, but was very taxing because of the corrugations. Garth, if you are reading this, the road we cycled last year in April at Vlakplaas, was a freeway!

I am very proud of Thys, he completed the 27.3km without a complaint and a big smile on his face.

We have set up camp at the Lamberts Bay caravan park. Thys did some fishing this afternoon while Nerina tried to have a problem with her camera sorted out.

I forgot to mention! Yesterday was a bit of a mile stone: I hit the 4 digits and stood on about 1027km by the afternoon. Lekker! Still feeling fit and strong and enjoying myself.

We are getting ready now for our dinner at the Muisbosskerm. The breeze off the sea is very cold, but I am told that they provide you with blankets.

Cheers for now and God Bless.

5 April 2010 St Helena Bay to Elands Bay

With a good night's sleep and lekker breakfast in me, I got going from Sandra and Franks beach house in St Helena Bay at 8:15 in the morning. The wind was still pumping and it took me an hour to cycle the first 12 km straight into the wind (Mind boggling average speed of 12km/h!). Once I took a left onto the Velddrif road, my speed picked up considerably and I made good time.

The ride for the most part was fairly uneventful and I was pleasantly surprised to find that dirt roads I had previously been on, have since been tarred. This made the going much easier and for the most part the wind was from behind.

On the first 9 days of my tour, I counted 9 dead porcupines. Well, on the West Coast I have found far too many dead little bokkies, mongooses (mongii, what is the plural? Please!), bat eared foxes and snakes. I counted 5 dead snakes and 2 tortoises today alone.

Thys and Nerina spent a bad night at Parternoster, because of the wind and cold night temperatures. They treated themselves to a good breakfast at the Parternoster Hotel and then hit the road.

I stopped to fill my water bottle at a Potato Cold Store (this region around Redelinghuys is well know for growing quality potatoes) and was told that I had only about 35km to go and that there was a restaurant along the way. When I got to the restaurant, I phoned Thys and Nerina and was told that they were not far behind. I had done 70km by this stage and felt that it would be in order to reward myself with a coffee and toasted sandwich.

Nerina decided to continue hardening up her tender bits, got into her cycling gear and joined me on the ride into Elands Bay. I am very proud of her, she did over 25km today and coped well with the section of dirt road running between the coast and the railway line.

I mentioned the long train in the blog of 4 April. Well, we saw another one today: It had 4 sets of locomotives, with over a hundred cars between each set of engines. I would estimate that there were 350 carts, full of iron ore and at least 12 engines. A sight that brought a lump to my throat. I stopped to take a photo or two and enjoyed listening to the wheels singing on the rails.

The landscape from Velddrif is very flat, but as you approach Elands Bay, there are rocky outcrops (small mountains?) on the inland side. A truly spectacular part of the country even though it is in its dry season now. I am hoping to see a Black Eagle tomorrow, as the area is perfect for them!

Total distance today, was 95.86km and I was out on the trail just under 8 hours. Nerina cycled the last 25km with me and up until she joined me, I was averaging just under 19km/h (remember the first hour at 12km/h). I burnt over 2000 calories but believe that I have consumed far more than that after we had our left over oxtail stew this evening!

Tomorrow, we head off to Lamberts Bay. I am not sure how far it is, but it should be fairly short (well under 50km) as there is a toll road that runs next to the railway line. This does not show up on my GPS maps, so I can't plot tomorrow's ride. Will let you know once I have done the ride.

We are hoping that Thys will find some bait and catch us a fresh fish or two tomorrow! Let's hope for the best!
It's cheers for now, I hear my bed calling me. Please don't stop sending e-mails and writing comments on the blog - it is lekker to hear from you.

4 April 2010 Vredenburg area to St Helena

Well, as you can see from the heading - we were camping somewhere not quite anywhere....

Our day off (the 3rd) was spent mostly in the West Coast National Park. We did not see many animals and the wind once again was blowing. Maybe I should move back to PE, I think we had less wind there! We did however see many Black Shouldered Kites and a few other raptors.

The ride from our campsite to St Helena Bay and my friends Sandra and Frank, was a short one and with a lovely Southerly blowing, Nerina decided to tackle the route with me. The first few km's were a pleasure - good tar road, wide shoulder, strong wind from behind. This is when I really enjoy cycling! We then took a left and got onto some very bad, corrugated dirt road. I was expecting Nerina to chicken out all the time, but she surprised me by riding it out!

The Sishen-Saldanha railway line runs through this area, and up ahead we could see a train that was so long that you could not see the end or beginning. Thys said that this train can be up to 5km's long! An amazing sight.

We were back on tar again soon enough and were flying along with the wind from behind. For more than a km, we had an ostrich running along the fence, trying to keep up with us. This was a very special and beautiful experience.

After an enjoyable 26.1km, we reached Sandra's beach house. Believe me when I say, you can not find a house closer to the sea! The sea around this part of the West Coast is spectacular, with large white boulders in the water, and the bays sheltered nicely from the Southerly. We had tea, hot-cross buns and then Nerina had a shower and the two of them headed off to Paternoster to find a campsite for the night.

After I had a shower, Sandra, Frank and myself headed out to a Swiss Bistro where we had a lovely lunch and glass of wine. Back home, I was instructed to have an afternoon snooze. What a pleasure. My body did not know what to do with the comfy bed and no wind flapping my little tent around.

Later in the afternoon, Sandra and I went for a drive out to Brittania Bay and the surrounding bays. The wind was pumping and we decided against a walk on the beach. On the way back home with the sun setting, we came across a tiny "Kaapse Grysbokkie" (type of antelope).

After dinner and a lekker kuier, we all headed off to bed.

2 April 2010 Yzerfontein to somewhere near Velddrif!

God is good!

Those of you who know the "West Coast Road" will know that it is notoriously dangerous with frequent thick fog. Well, yesterday morning we woke up to thick fog and I started stressing about cycling on the R27 in fog so thick that you can barely start making out the outline of any object less than a hundred metres ahead of you. I was praying all the way and was kept safe.

It felt like scuba diving on bicycle! In the Jaws movie, the two guys are drinking on their boat, boasting about their scars or biggest fish they ever caught (can't remember exactly what it was???) and then they feel the shark bumping their boat..... It felt like I had something creeping up from behind all the time! Believe me, I could not cycle any further to the left of the road than I did! Jaws theme song - da dum, da dum, da dum da dum da dum.....

After about 25km, I reached the turn-off to the West Coast National Park and it was a great relief to get off this busy road (remember that it is Easter Weekend and all the Capies are having their last escape before the winter it seems!).

Cycling in the Park is a great experience although visibility was poor. I spotted lots of tiny Field Mice (Streep Muise) along the road verge and some distance into the ride I even came across 8 Eland. Massive big antelope. The males can weigh op to a ton and because of the immense weight, the ligaments in their legs make an incredible metallic clicking sound when they walk. What an experience to be on a bicycle in the bush among such majestic animals.

Until this point, I was rather cold and wet, but then the fog started lifting and conditions got better. Thys and Nerina caught up with me and it was time for Nerina to cycle with me! I won a bicycle in a lucky-draw in February and we decided to bring the bike along for occasions like this. The roads in the park are tarred and a pleasure to cycle on. All too soon we were through the park and in Langebaan.

Being Easter, we were having serious problems finding accommodation. Thys and Nerina went on ahead to find a spot from where she could phone and try to find accommodation. Luckily I spotted their bakkie parked at a farm stall and popped in to find out what news they had. No luck! Out of desperation I asked the manager of the farm stall if she did not know of a farmer in the area who might be willing to accommodate us and two minutes later she came back and said we could camp at the farm stall! And here we are now, right next to the busy R27!

We made camp and went for a drive out to Velddrif later in the afternoon. This little town is on the banks of the Berg River and is known for its "Bokkom" Industry (salted and wind dried fish). It is also a fantastic spot for bird watching as many waders live on and along the river.

Our night next to the R27 was not too bad, but the traffic was disturbing after I got over my worst tiredness.

Today (Saturday the 3rd) was spent back at West Coast Park, but this time in a car. All too soon the day was over and we are now back at our site, preparing supper. Thys is doing a "Potjie" on the fire, I changed my bicycle tyres back to knobblies as I will be doing more dirt roads again over the next few days.

Tomorrow, I will leave my companions behind and head off to St. Helena (only about 25km from here) to spend the day and night with Sandra and Frank. The following day (Monday, we will be off to Elandsbaai and I am hoping that Nerina will be able to join me on the spare bike again.

So, cheers from a wind blown West Coast Farm Stall on the R27!

1 April 2010 Malmesbury to Yzerfontein

It was hot! I don't usually sweat much, but today it was dripping off me.

Left Malmesbury quite late (after 10:00am) this morning and started with a long climb out of town. The wind was very mild and again I was cycling on tar and it was a joy to be on my bike.

From just outside the town, you get a fabulous view of Cape Town and Table Mountain in the distance. I wanted to stop to take a picture, but was sure I would get a more unobstructed view later - well this didn't happen (until Yzerfontein!).

I reached Darling in just over 2 hours and went to Evita se Perron, where Pieter Dirk Uys has created his little theater, restaurant and museum. Thys and Nerina had to go back to Somerset West first to pick up some luggage that had been left behind. They were going to join me for an early lunch, but their GPS took them on way out roads and I couldn't wait any longer for them. By the time I got going again, it was around mid-day and extremely hot.

Just outside Darling was the sign to Alexanderfontein, a Wine Farm that makes an award winning Sauvignon Blanc. I took the turn off and traveled on an extremely bad dirt road, just to be told that this was not the wine farm, but an olive farm! The Estate was back near town, but I was not going to turn back! I wanted to buy Amanda, who is looking after my cats, a bottle of wine.

The wind picked up and was grinding me from the left again. Just as I got to about 5km from Yzerfontein, an sms (text message) came through from Thys and Nerina to say that there were no campsites available in town. As I was reading the message, Thys and Nerina came out of town, stopped next to me and Nerina started phoning for alternative accommodation. We ended up on a farm just outside town, De La Rey Self Catering unit. It is available for one night only, and we are not having much success with finding other accommodation further up the coast. So, we are not sure what to do tomorrow, but we will make a plan. Even if we have to book into a B&B until the Easter Weekend is over!

Distance done today: 59.9km in 3h18 (or 5h04 on the route)

So, we will see what tomorrow brings. I am rather tired and will head off to bed now.

May you all have a blessed Easter.

31 March 2010 Gordons Bay to Malmesbury

And guess what, rest days are over, so the wind blows again!!! At least this time it was from behind.

I hit the road just before 8am and had to battle into a head wind for the first 4km. Loose gravel as well, but once I hit the tar, things went well and I was doing over 40km/h, competing with the early morning car traffic.

Once I got onto the road going from the Strand to the Somerset Mall, I heard a serious creaking sound coming from the bottom bracket (bearings between the two pedals) and since I will be leaving "civilisation" now, I thought it best to pop into the bicycle shop along the way. They replaced my BB and I decided to buy a new wireless speedo since my GPS was also acting up. (Maybe I should have given my equipment another rest day?!) I had forgotten that I had my credit card on the handle bar pannier, and so I waited for Thys and Nerina to bring my wallet. This meant that I only got going again at around 11am (after doing only 17 of the 97 km I had to do for the day)

The long climb out of Somerset West was not nearly as bad as I expected and I was on my way to Stellenbosch soon. What a beautiful and scenic ride. The majestic mountains as a back drop with some of the vineyards starting to show autumn colours. Wow, what a fantastic country!

As I cycled through Stellenbosch, I caught up with T & N at a red traffic light and we agreed to stop for coffee somewhere outside Stellenbosch. We ended up at a new coffee shop / restaurant about 15 km out of town where I had freshly squeezed orange juice (to die for). The wind had dropped significantly and was still coming from behind. My wheels were singing on the tar and I had a song in my heart (I put on two new, semi-slick tyres the day before - what a difference from cycling on corrugated dirt roads!)

Road conditions were good and apart from some heavy traffic earlier in the day between G Bay and Stellenbosch, I had an easy ride.

I got to Malmesbury with an average speed of 21.3km/h (the fastest for this trip so far) after doing 97.2km. The caravan park is okay'ish, but we have rowdy neighbours again. I am sure they will settle down so that we can have a well deserved rest.

Tomorrow we will be off to Yzerfontein, via Darling. We are planning a lunch stop at Evita se Perron in Darling. The total distance for the day will be around 60km, so there is no need to rush. T & N will probably head back to G Bay first to pick up some luggage they left behind.

And oh, by the way, I had my 4th puncture today, just after I arrived at the campsite! (I also had a flat wheel after arriving at Peter and Desireé's place in Gordon's Bay - in both cases picking up thorns at my point of arrival - amazing!) This after putting new tubes in the tyres yesterday - I did however not put slime in the tyres - this was remedied immediately when I patched the leak!

Cheers then, 'till tomorrow. Thanks for all your support along the way - it is always good to hear from you.

27 March 2010 - Hermanus (Sandbaai) to Gordons Bay

Today is actually Monday, the 29th, but I had a lovely day off yesterday and have only found the time to write now! Sounds like a holiday?!

Well, the ride from Hermanus to Gordons Bay was certainly along one of the most scenic routes in the world. On the one hand you have majestic mountains covered in Fynbos and on the other hand, the Atlantic Ocean with its rocky beaches.

I had the vision of perfect weather for this stretch of my journey, but this was not to be. The wind again, was howling from the West and I decided, for safety reasons, to load my pannier bags in the trailer and tackle the ride with only my handlebar bag and lunch box on the front carrier.

The wind did its best to blow me off the bike and I very nearly did come off a few times. For the most part, I was spinning in smallest chain ring and middle gears at the back (for those of you who don't cycle, this is like driving your car in 1st gear all the way!) There was a bit of rain as well from time to time, but it was not much of an issue.

From Hermanus, I rode past a turn-off to a viewing point for the Cape Epic Cycle tour. Time did not allow me to go and watch, and I would have loved to see the guys who are bigger maniacs than me!

The scenery between Kleinmond, Betty's Bay and Pringle Bay, is fantastic and even though I was fighting the wind, I was in awe most of the way. From Pringle Bay there is quite a long climb (but easy - wind did not help again!) to Rooiels. And what a sight as you crest the hill: The view took me back to when I was 9 years old and came over Sir Lowry's Pass for the first time and got my first glimpse of False Bay and Table Mountain in the distance. I was mind blown then, and I was mind blown (wind blown?) again!

Thys and Nerina joined me for coffee in Rooiels and then continued on to Gordon's Bay.

We are going to CT now, I will write later today!
Cheers for now.