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Frosty

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On Thursday morning, early, we start our tour to Durban which includes riding the Amashova (day 4). Our club has done many Durban tours in the past, but we haven't done one for the last few years. This thread will be a blog about our journey from Germiston to Durban, with photos and comments from as many of the tour group as possible - some of them are hubbers (but they like to keep a low profile) - pending internet connection at our overnight spots (and my willingness to sift through photos and type up a story).

 

One of the reasons for the tour is to raise funds for the NSPCA (our chosen charity for the 947 Cycle Challenge this year). We have setup a Back-a-buddy campaign as well as an SMS number (947-67 to 38018, @ R25/sms) for any donations. Like most others, raising funds is hard as everyone has their own preferences of where to donate (if at all). If you have already donated, we say "thanks". If not - chose from one of the two methods above and help us help the animals.

 

The route

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Comprising a group of 27 (24 riders and 3 providing permanent backup), we have a mix of abilities ranging from Vets to beginners, old and young, experience and inexperienced. Very few members have cycled more than 200Km in one go, so day 1 will be a big challenge (224km) for many members. Personally, the longest ride I've done is 191Km so nailing the DC will be something I've been looking forward to ever since we started planning this tour.

 

So far, the forecast for Thursday is looking promising... a tail wind (forecast is at Standerton - at the dam), which is 170Km into our ride. Let's see what the post-ride feedback it like. The biggest concern, I would think is this heatwave we're currently experiencing, so I'm guessing a lot of fluids will be consumed by all.

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Day 2 appears to be a good recovery ride, if you can call 157Km a recovery, while day 3 will be a favourite among most as we make our way through the KZN midlands before we reach PMB on Saturay afternoon. Day 4 is on the Amashova, starting in TL (for 3 of our tandems) and BB (buddy batch) for the rest. We'll be riding in club kit on Sunday, so look out for the "minions" on the road on Sunday...

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Three sleeps and counting...

 

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20070211135919!Green_tick.pngAutomatic "Out of office reply"

20070211135919!Green_tick.pngBags packed

20070211135919!Green_tick.pngIt's the start of a long weekend

 

Time to switch off and enjoy 4 days on the bike.

Hopefully I can update our progress every afternoon/evening.

Follow our progress on Twitter for short updates.

Good luck Gerald!
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Day 1 done.

225km, +1331/-1236m elevation, 32.4km/h average. 7:05:07 moving time. That's the fast group, while slower group finished about 45-50 minutes later.

 

After an initial 30km ride to Heidelberg with a tailwind, we had some hectic crosswinds between Heidelberg and Balfour. The group of 24 riders and 3 driving backup split up on the drag just after the N3 (Heidelberg-Balfour).

 

Road conditions were okay, nothing that we're not used to in local races (potholes, patchy bits and uneven surfaces).

 

We stopped about 5km short of Greylingstad for our first of three stops to munch down some eggs, potatoes, banana bread, fruit cake, cokes, bananas, apples and biltong. Shortly after starting again we had the first of our tailwinds and the pace picked up from low 30's to mid 40's (km/h), and then we reached the first of many stop/go cobtrol points. This made for great riding as traffic was unable to pass us on these sections, while the sections inbetween were newly tarred roads and super smooth.

 

Standerton arrived, and another stop before another fast section to Perdekop (last stop) and then some rolling hills to slow the group down before we arrived in Volksrust.

 

Some fines will be issued for (1) riding off the front, (2) swearing, (3), farting (4) bike repairs on the road and a few surprises for the moaners.

 

Tomorrow is 157km from Volksrust to Ladysmith. Looking forward to the descent off the escarpment and a nice recovery ride before Saturday's monster day.

 

Slow group pics

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Fast group pics

post-1372-0-93930000-1444916893_thumb.jpg

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Day 1 done.

225km, +1331/-1236m elevation, 32.4km/h average. 7:05:07 moving time. That's the fast group, while slower group finished about 45-50 minutes later.

 

After an initial 30km ride to Heidelberg with a tailwind, we had some hectic crosswinds between Heidelberg and Balfour. The group of 24 riders and 3 driving backup split up on the drag just after the N3 (Heidelberg-Balfour).

 

Road conditions were okay, nothing that we're not used to in local races (potholes, patchy bits and uneven surfaces).

 

We stopped about 5km short of Greylingstad for our first of three stops to munch down some eggs, potatoes, banana bread, fruit cake, cokes, bananas, apples and biltong. Shortly after starting again we had the first of our tailwinds and the pace picked up from low 30's to mid 40's (km/h), and then we reached the first of many stop/go cobtrol points. This made for great riding as traffic was unable to pass us on these sections, while the sections inbetween were newly tarred roads and super smooth.

 

Standerton arrived, and another stop before another fast section to Perdekop (last stop) and then some rolling hills to slow the group down before we arrived in Volksrust.

 

Some fines will be issued for (1) riding off the front, (2) swearing, (3), farting (4) bike repairs on the road and a few surprises for the moaners.

 

Tomorrow is 157km from Volksrust to Ladysmith. Looking forward to the descent off the escarpment and a nice recovery ride before Saturday's monster day.

 

Slow group pics

attachicon.gif2015-10-15 15.39.22.png

 

Fast group pics

attachicon.gifPhotoGrid_1444916162418.jpg

Great stuff, glad that it was safe!!

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Friday morning we woke up to overcast conditions with plenty mist and the occasional drops of rain, and the mercury was hovering around 12oC - this was supposed to be a summer tour and I hardly had any winter gear with me.

 

We rolled out from Volksrust at 6:58 and through town. Just about everyone was wearing their rain jacket over their short sleeve shirt. On the cards was supposed to be a 157Km recovery ride between Volksrust and Ladysmith, with one planned stop around halfway. Wind conditions two days prior indicated a few cross winds (about 10km/h), so nothing really to be concerned about. Yeah, right!

 

After a few rolling hills, the descent over the escarpment (it shows "Drakensberg" in this part of the world, on the map), with about a 430m descent over 17Km would make for an easy start. In the wet, thick mist this would be anything BUT a nice descent. I had a pair of UV sleeves on, my NSPCA shirt (predominately black) that I was hoping to test in the hot KZN sunshine and a rain jacket. As much as I disliked riding in the conditions, I have to admit it was an experience I'd remember for a long time.

 

 

2 hours into the ride, our fast group has split into 3 groups, with the first group stopping at a coffee shop just off the N11 in Newcastle. A coffee and a fudge biscuit (which was probably 10x my daily sugar intake - which I didn't care about) and I was starting to feel a little better. 45 minutes later we were on our away again, and thankfully the rain had stopped, but the overcast and windy conditions didn't help much to keep up warm. A few nasty hills (a bit too big to be called rolling hills) coming out of Newcastle split our tandems and single bikes up - at least the guys struggling to ride at the speed the tandems can get on downhills. Finding that sweet spot behind them is key, and once they go it's hard to bring them back.

 

Just after the turn to Dannhauser, we reach out highest point on the road since dropping off the escarpment and we were greated with a few rays of sunshine for brief periods. Looking at the Strava KOM for a segment called N11 climb, we summited this in 10:18 (17.5km/h for a 3% average gradient over 2.9Km) which compared to the KOM leader's time of 3:57 (45km/h average) makes up look like we walked. I doubt the leader's time is genuine, but that's not up for discussion here. The best part of all the climbs are the descents (which many of the guys enjoyed "racing" each other to the bottom - keeping safety in mind).

 

We stopped for one last refuel and nature break before heading off for Ladysmith. I must admit that the trucks driving passed us in the final 20Km to Ladysmith were very courteous. Giving us more than 1.5m and hooting to acknowledge us as they pass - something drivers around the country can certainly learn from. We were either single-file (with no shoulder) or double-file (with a 1m shoulder).

 

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Ride distance: 159Km

Moving time: 5:41:21

Elevation gain: 1334m

 

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