Day 4: The Queens Mercy

Well, it had to happen sometime - THE SADDLE & THE PAIN ! The track across the Queens Mercy wetlands is very bumpy especially if you head off the ridgeline into the wetlands proper where grass knolls & dried cattle tracks abound. I took another swan dive over the bars today because I was riding too gingerly to save my bottom. Smacked the same shin as before and now it's very painful & swollen thank you very much.

Anyway enough doodah. The route was stunning once again and worth every bit of pain & suffering. The company was fantastic & the sights amazing. The picture was at a tea break just on a rise looking away from the wetlands towards the Lesotho mountains.

After leaving the wetlands we headed up a mountain, got lost for a while before heading onto the top. Dave Wadilove passed us on the district road & advised us to head for & turn right at 'those huts up there & you'll be ok' Yeah right - Those huts up there happened to be a rather large rural settlement with about 300 huts !

Anyway the views from the top of the mountain were amazing - Beautiful grass & farmlands below on one side & stunning views of the Lesotho mountains on the other. We stopped for a break before blundering our way back down off the mountain & on to Malenkoloyane. The local ladies at the lodge treated us to freshly baked vetkoek & honey and later to a delicious supper of rice, pap, mashed potato, butternut, marog (spinach) & chicken.

So what was my memorable moment ? Well as Sam said to Frodo in the Lord of the Rings :'You have to be able to believe that there is still some good in this world Mr Frodo'. And there is everywhere we've been so far. Smiling, happy, incredibly helpful people all around us. That has made our race / journey an incredibly rewarding experience. I'm not afraid of getting totally lost out here because Mama Africa will take me in, feed me & care for me...

Anyway it's a long day ahead tomorrow: A 4am wake up & hopefully a 5pm finish at Vuvu village, some 85 odd km's further along.

Day 2: Ntsikeni Nights

Another good day today, but a tough second 50km's again. We started riding @ 05:30 this morning. We got to Centacow Mission (46km odd) @ 10am & then negotiated two serious climbs, one immediately after the mission & the other up to the back of Ntsikeni NR. Bloody hell !

We took a scenic shortcut this morning in the dark and ended up two ridges/valley away from where we ought to have been. The funny side was being warned by my snoring friend Erol that one of the farmers cattle fences was electrified after he climbed over it. It sure saved the family jewels from a nasty surprise !

We were rewarded today with many friendly faces & cheerful greetings from the folk along the way. The girls (30's & 50 yr's) in our group are certainly held in awe by the local woman - Hau thombazane !

We met the smiling Beatrice who runs/owns the green tuck shop just above the Gungununu river bridge crossing. A cold coke before negotiating a massive climb straight up & over a Drakensberg mountain sure is welcome near the end of a long day. We eventually got to Ntsikeni @ 6 pm in the dark after riding through the wetland & crossing yet another stream.

I'm tired, ravenously hungry, but ecstatic about the awesome mountain biking & great company on the ride. Now I just have to figure out how to make my backpack lighter than 10.5 kg's - Damn that thing is heavy, especially at the end of a long day of climbing massive mountains !

Oh and just for fun the temperature is -5°C here in the morning !

Day 3: Westwinds Blowing

We thought it was going to be a -5°C morning, but with a stiff warm Berg wind blowing the morning air was bracing but not cold. Autum riding kit sufficed.
Left Ntsikeni across the veld at 06:00 so we could pick up the track thru the grass plains in some light. It took 3 hrs to cover the first 14km's. Beautiful scenery, but tough going.

I took a serious swan dive over the bars when the front wheel dug into yet another grass ball. My lower shin is a bit wrecked - its swollen & very stiff now.
Lunch at Glen Edward farm on the St Bernards road was a tasty soup with bananas for afters. Then it was off into the mountains again on district roads & foot paths.

We climbed up a mountain after dropping down to cross the little Umzimbuvu river with the bikes to reach a road from which to head off into yet another valley. It was a foot path section down into & then way up out of the valley. It got dark with 16km still to go.

Anyway we reached Masakala rural village where we are staying at around 8pm, tired but elated from our days riding. The company was great and most of us are feeling strong, but very tender in the saddle.
We eat constantly & I have the equivalent of about 6 meals a day. We're burning up significant amounts of calories negotiating all these mountains with 11kg backpacks.

Another fantastic days riding today with more to follow tomorrow. Just need more sleep....