Just keep pedalling: all the way to Namibia

The longest day of the tour. 208km. That's about 30000 circles with my feet. 7.5 hours riding time. Everyone was up early this morning, and waiting for the coffee to be put on the table. There was a bit of anxious anticipation, similar to Blue Nile Gorge day, but less intense. Errol had pulled out the stops today and made French Toast to accompany our usual spread. There was a collision in the lead peloton yesterday which seemed to have made people a bit more reticent about group riding. I left at about 6.20am, navigating the 3km sandy track as the sun was rising. Alistair and Marty were pulling out at the same time. I managed 2 of the 3km of the sandy track. Some people walked the whole thing. I get impatient and jump back on when the ground seems more solid, even if just for a few meters! I was pretending I was a cyclocross rider. I hit the tar just as the sun was rising. Alistair and Marty were out of sight behind so I set off. The tar was fairly smooth and the wind was in our favour, I clicked on to average speed and targeted 25km/h. I was drastically under this having taken 15mins to do the first sandy 3km. Marty and Alistair caught me up at about 20km and I tagged in behind. Team 208 was formed. We did 5km pulls for the whole way. The wind was largely behind us. Again lots of horses and foals, little much else to see. The road was semi rough, by an hour of cycling I was in need of the toilet. The vibrations were not helping the situation. I had been aiming for the 46km turn but ended up calling at 25km that I would catch the others up. They stopped too. It's always difficult in a group, you want to stop for some reason but don't want to make the others stop, but don't want to get left behind and lose the benefit from the group. Back in the bike and I could spin a lot more freely, comfortably and faster. The two highlights of the run to lunch were: 1. A turn! No joke a right turn. A 90 degree definite turn. The biggest change of direction we have had it in days. It was pretty exciting. Now we were heading dead East. Signed to Namibia.

2. Someone with a sense of humour put 10km of roadworks at the 65km mark. This was unexpected but actually entertaining and manageable. There was a detour signed to the left, a dusty and uneven road. We jumped the barrier and went over the road that was being resurfaced/built. Benefits: intermittently smooth sections, no vehicles approaching at high speeds and covering you in dust. There were smooth sections of rough tar, but towards the end was a deep gravel section. I managed to pick a line, drop my gears and mission through it. The others took a bit longer, but only marginally.

Lunch at 80km. Not many people there yet. Errol and Steph were running it so it was quite a relaxed affair. It was only 9.30am and I wasn't all that hungry, Still managed a sandwich, French toast and my usual Nutella fix! Energy up for the next 120km. We carried on as we were. Pretty focussed on the job in hand. The temperature was rising but the wind was more or less in our favour, we switched between peloton and riding across as the wind changed. By 140km I was looking for the Hilux with the rolling refreshes. I was running low on water, and also a bit sick of water- needing sugar. I spotted a white vehicle pulled up on the right. Was trying not to get my hopes up, while desperately hoping it was Tallis. As we got closer I was relieved to find it was. Half a bottle of Fanta later and I was refreshed. Marty and Alistair were starting to fatigue too. I was playing a mind game with myself. Essentially pretending I hasn't done the first 100ks - so was 40% of the way through. It worked very well. It meant instead of feeling tired because I had done 140km already, I was feeling like I had only done 40! Bizarre but true :) The wind picked up from behind and our paces went up to 33km/h. A quick stop at the service station, I bought some Jelly Babies ( a newly available treat :)) to keep on my bike for the long days. The border crossing was very smooth. For the first time there were tourist leaflets advertising accomodation at the immigration desk for Namibia too. Country number 9.

The camp is right beside the border. We rolled in at 3pm. The tents were pretty wet from the few from last night so I left it open to dry while I enjoyed the shower. I also pitched Erin and Catherine's tents, as they were working hard to beat sunset. I got pretty tired and grumpy putting them up and I could t figure them out and plenty of people asked what I was doing,but no assistance. Eventually Allain kindly came and helped me finish them. The redeeming factor was Don buying me a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar. He often supplies me with chocolate, the gesture and consideration today was very much appreciated. Two days to Windhoek. Could really do with a shorter day. Instead we have 150km and 153. Just need to keep pedalling. It is achieveable.