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!