South Africa
Day 116 – May 8 – Stage 82
After a quick breakfast, we left a chilly Springbok in the relatively early hours of Monday morning, and I must admit, after about 10km into the ride, I felt both physically and mentally challenged. It seems the longer the Tour continues, the more fatigued we become, but I continued on the ride, ably assisted by Mike Vd Berg, who decided to ride with me for the rest of the day, thanks go out to him, as he provided me with much appreciated motivation and encouragement.
Lunch was at 80 km, and the ride to lunch was extremely tough. Although Judith chose to ride to the Lunch Truck, she made the sandy portion of today's ride look like a Nursery School outing - cycling through the sand and not stopping once to walk. That was very impressive, as not even I managed to cycle through all of the sand, and had been forced to walk on a number of occasions.
Mike and I came in late after a very long day of cycling, while behind us, Marie who was riding with Liz, was involved in an accident. Close to Camp, a bakkie (utility vehicle) overtaking the two of them on a very sandy section of the road, crashed into her, resulting in her suffering from a suspected broken elbow. An unpleasant end to Marie’s last few cycling days and unfortunate for her, but quite lucky actually as it could have been a lot worse!
On our arrival in Camp, we were met by Murray, who true to form, had managed to organise a few cold “Big Boy” beers (750ml quarts) for us, proving that, “A crappy day on TDA, still beats a good day at the office”.
Judith had organised a room for us at Camp, but she gave it up to Marie and Dr Helen, since Helen needed to monitor Marie continuously throughout the night. A small distraction for us, because we both agreed Marie’s needs came first. Come morning, Marie would be taken to the Hospital in Vredendal for x-rays and treatment.
Cheers,
Mike T
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| Sunrise over the Namaqualand |
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| Mike vd Berg kindly waits for me and rides the rest of the day with me. |
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Granite Hills surround the Town of Springbok
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| Lunch Truck position and a well earned rest and replenishment interlude |
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Mike vd Berg checking out a Farm Dam for some suitable drinking water
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| Some of the Ladies (Liz, Marie and Justina) walking a sand section |
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Mike vd Berg ready to cycle again after stopping for lunch
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Greeted by a well earned beer after a tough day in the saddle
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| Riders relaxing before tomorrow's Briefing Session |
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Supper time at Kliprand
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The two Mike's enjoying a scrumptious supper
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| Tomorrows ride - Kliprand to Nieuwoudtville |
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