The Tour kicked in from Saturday night with a scrumptious meal prepared by Rita Koch.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> We were all a bit nervous at the Grand Depart on Sunday morning . Family and friends wished us well as we bade our farewells to Sedgefield and headed towards the Vleie on our way to Wilderness. Robert, our youngest rider at 13 years decided to jump in the backup van as we discarded the warm clothing in preparation for our first test on the trip. I don?t know the name of the road, but it has a sign at the beginning and one at the end that says ?Map of Africa?, the steepest sections are13%, the average can?t be less than 10%. Enough said. Cyclists are tough. It was a long day in the saddle that ended in a long ascent up to Zingela Game Lodge above the hills of Bonniedale (not Bonnievale). News filtered back from our advance party that the owner of Zingela had 3 cases of beer waiting for us. The second day to Riversdale via Herbertsdale is a never ending series of switchbacks, some easy but many short but steep. My memory of the day is of a numb bum and very steep climbs out of valleys and of a town that just wouldn?t appear on the horizon. Day 3 was supposed to be the shortest day of 78 k?s but turned out to be the longest time wise, as we missed a turn somewhere along the road and ended up getting to Barrydale via the Tradouw Pass. We caught the end of the Tour on TV and Philip provided enough pasta to feed an army. I could of easily fallen asleep in front of the log fire in the dining room. It all happened on Wednesday. Some rode the additional 28 k?s to Warmwaterberg Spa, including Jaco our mechanic from CMC, the rest of us got ferried to the Spa in vehicles. A quick cup of coffee at the restaurant and then we headed towards the east gate of the Sanbona Games reserve to meet their head conservationist, Paul Vorster, as we were to be escorted through the reserve. Paul and his assistant gave a short lecture. and then took a few photos for their ?propaganda?. Our first fall, Kirsty?s front wheel gave way on a very rutted and rocky section and her thumb swelled up immediately. We spotted a few rhino and eland but none of the big cats or giraffe. After we exited the reserve the fun and games started. Our backup went ahead to Montagu to drop off our gear and then headed back to support us. The road to the end of the mountain is long and straight and climbs steadily in a series of steps for about 30 k?s. A strong head wind didn?t make it easier. Oubergpass, from the top its 30 kms to Montagu, all downhill. You think it?s easy. Its fast, terrifying, exhilarating. Oh, and every now and then you get the whiff of something burning. Why does steel turn blue? You want the answers? Ride down Oubergpass. 2 Kms to our destination for the night we had a fall, which resulted in Gary and Steve having to withdraw from the rest of the trip as well. Thursday?s 90kms flew by as half of it was on tar. We were having our fotos taken by the local Worcester newspaper at 2.00 pm. That night we enjoyed a lekker big T bone steak. We took the decision to call Conrad to ferry us to the foot of Bains Kloof thus cutting 50 kms off our 122 km trip to Bellville. We had a date with the Burger, sponsors and the organizers of FAITH who were receiving us at a restaurant in Durbanville. Tasted rain for the first time on the trip that delayed our arrival by half an hour. Glad to be home. In Summary: For this roadie, it was hard BUT the route was fantastic, if somewhat long and at times tedious. The scenery??I haven?t words to describe it, you?ve got to see it for yourself. The food was excellent. Rita, in sometimes difficult and unfamiliar kitchens prepared a 3 course meal every day except for the Barrydale stopover. Fantastic. The vasbyt meals at lunch time were absolutely delicious. We had our bikes cleaned, checked and lubed every day by Jaco of Cycle Maintenance Centre. They could not have received better attention. In fact no-one experienced any mechanical problems on the trip. Will post more pics 2 moro
