After a night of mozzies and oversized insects disturbing us, 5am wakeup came and we were up and ready a mere 30 something mins later – yep, I had even repacked the motorhome (gone back to day 1’s version of packing). Problem with being ready so early was that we couldnt leave as it wasnt light so we sat and waited. By 6:15 we were tired of waiting so pretended it was light enough to see and hit the road.
The road out of town as chilled and rolling until we hit the Op De Tradouw Pass. Although not steep or particularly long, it was still a nice challenge.
The next bit flew by and before we knew it, it was time for a coffee break and we had done a good 35kms so we pulled over to a side road and enjoyed a stunning cuppa with sarmies after which we completed the last 25kms into Montagu. On arriving in Montagu we quickly found the people who we were to visit (Belinda from the dog park’s parents who really do have a stunning home). After an hour of resting and enjoying the warm hospitality, we hit the road again through Cogmanskloof to Ashton.
This is one pretty little pass!! We wound our way through this pass to the little tunnel where we found some stranded tourists who thought that the spare tire was the wrong one (it was the standard little spare). Johan quickly helped them whilst I took some pics…
Then came the not so fun. As we hit Ashton we were hammered by a headwind. Wind is bad enough without a full load but this was not funny! Think the worst part was that all the coffee shops were closed, however Johan popped into the grocery store and got chips and bananas and we continued. Johan is a roadie and galantly let me slipstream him which I did with a certain degree of mountainbiker lack of finesse. Those last 15 to 20kms were hard but entertaining but we eventually made it to Silverstrand Caravan Park where we were welcomed, given direction as to where to find space (and wine). Thereafter we put up tents, cleaned up,did laundry (I am seeing how many days I can wear 1 shirt so washing is critical), relaxed and then headed into town for a very early dinner.
93km done and dusted and now we are chilling to some insane wind which is apparently bringing rain.
I am starting to feel a tad tired but my body is holding up really well. Just sad that the tour is nearly over. 1.5 days left of cycling for the tour.
Anyway, I am gonna go hydrate and relax so here is the route and pics from today… http://www.a-trip.com/tracks/view/100299
No comments:
Post a Comment