Day 1 - Hella Hella Fun Ride

Great start to today's 100+km ride. Got to Minerva's famous soup & bread kitchen around 10am after about 50 odd km's and then headed off to the new section from the top of the Umkomaas escarpment down an incredibly steep concrete road.

So steep the brakes were smoking & I got such severe brake fade that I eventually jumped off the bike and scrambled down the concrete track to let them cool off.

Both me & the bike went for an unceremonious dunking in the river, twice & after blundering thru, over, under & around a varigated thorn forest we emerged battered, torn & bruised from the river at the foot of a lovely little ascent fondly known as Hella Hella - All 6km's of it, straight up the side of a mountain !

What an awesome day of mtb'ing !!!

Tomorrow is a 05:00 am start again & poor Erol of the mass destruction snore fame has been relagated to the McKenzie pub by himself for the night so we can get some shuteye ! He's fantastic company on the trail & a pleasure to know.