walkerr

Quick bit of mental math - that CUT line travels at about 10kph, and Patsy is rolling at around 15. There's quite a few fast stretches coming up where if she's strong she can push quicker, but even so it's a lot of ground to make up. Edit - interestingly, unless my math is out she's got about 750km to go and 75 hours left, which makes the CUT line on the map feel a bit advanced. If Patsy can plug a moving average of say 15km/h, and eat quickly/on the move, she should still have time for some proper naps of 3 or 4 hours each. Or did I make a miscalc somewhere?

Shout out to couple of Audax buddies right on the CUT line (Derek Lawrence and Marcus Franz) - both experienced endurance riders. Nice to see Chantal (who has friends on here) is keeping some clear ground between hersef and the dreaded line.

Tall order, but fair play - looks like she is battling on and having a go

Yeah - I've had more than a few moments of FOMO watching those dots and picturing the trails and adventures

Ouberg Pass - amazing bit of road and incredible views, but it's not best surface in places and has some sharp bends

Oops - missed the split by the looks

I wondered if Benky's tracker fell off there - maybe he's secretly up the road

Mental math is something that I find myself doing all the time to keep myself awake - riding buddy used to always keep asking me how much time we had in the bank, how long could we sleep, when do we hit the next WP etc etc

Tough but doable if she doesn't have any incidents and can keep her mind strong

Benky has it then - the springs in the Lauf fork will have delaminated by then

The wind could punish them from Gouda - those extra Kms are going to make it an interesting final Edit - Benky seems stopped at the RV. Hope it's planned and not mechanical - valuable time lost.

Cut off just passed Patsy's dot - but she's showing by the gate now, hopefully sorted whatever was wrong and can start rolling

And gaining on 4th too - his pace seems higher than both Michael and Brian. He's like royalty/family at Pampoenpoort - should give him a boost to see friendly faces there.

Yeah - imagine he's a bit broken after that leg getting to RV1. He seems to be rolling again tho now Edit - Patsy's dot seems to have gone a bit passed the gate where you leave the nature reserve. Don't recall fully, but maybe there's a water tap or some shade there? Perhaps trying to sort a mechanical or take a break from the heat

I remember more deep sand into and out of Britstown. Could be failing memory, but I don't recall too much more after these points - maybe a bit into Loxton, and some in the Tankwa just before the rocky climb on the way to WP10

You do have to replace the gearbox oil every 5,000km / 1 year though - so they definitely do need a regular service. In other words, if you started Tour Divide on fresh oil you'll need a service soon after the end. From memory, Pinion is similar but at 10,000km

Interesting. Guessing it could well come down to who does best on limited sleep as it reaches the latter stages. Hansie obviously doesn't mind a bit of sand as he'll have had a fair bit of that to power through already. There's a short/rocky stretch waiting for them after Fraserburg ...

Interesting to see what they each do at Loxton

She'll be coming up on the famous "fridge in the middle of nowhere" soon ... (photo from 2018) For a moment, we thought it was the actual waterpoint ....

I think if you are way behind timewise at an RV, they can mark you out - tends to be some leniency though. I know some riders have been allowed to complete the riding even once technically out of time, but obviously then they may also not get anything at a WP or RV if it's packed and gone.

If you guys are messaging with her, tell her she's going great - plenty ahead of the cutoff. Looking at her dot heading into Petrusville, I'd say she's similar pace Theunis and I were at in 2018 - we sat almost at the back, but comfortably ahead of cutoff. If she can grind out a steady pace today and not dally too much, she should hit Britstown by sunset and have time for a decent eat and few hours sleep. Day 3 is then way nicer after that! Also, she has a couple of great WPs today to look forward too - proper food and hospitality to keep her spirits up across the rough tracks and sand.

Good for her - sand patches were horrible along there, may even be worse this year. Not being used to it, I went over the handlebars somewhere before WP2 in deep sand. Lucky a couple of guys were nearby to help me gather all my gear up and make sure it was all back on the bike. Learned a lot about riding deep sand over the next few days!

Yeah - harsh. Second time the SR dot has gone off course too in this edition. He's not having a good time of it on navigation. Edit - ah, I see the other comment now on him being in the car. Darned. Feel for him.

Pinions and Rohloffs are pricey and with a big weight penalty. I'd def consider one for a long ride like Tour Divide, where maintenance over many days can become an issue. But on Munga, a well maintained regular drive train is fine. I went hardtail to take rear suspension issues out of the mix - was fine with front shocks to save the hands, and a compliant seatpost and wide tyres to lessen the rear blows.

As a tail ender the first leg into VdeK is a shock to the system - hard, and you arrive at RV1 late. You wanna just sleep, but know you need to eat and only have time for a short nap. Luckily the next day isn't so bad - hot, dusty, rough/corrugated roads but you settle into a rythm and if you didn't dally at RV1 you hit Britstown by sunset and can grab a few hours sleep.