To the Sea
Wednesday 2nd May Garies to Strandfontein, 158km
After a good night's sleep it was a bit of a hike to breakfast this morning; only about a kilometre, and a small price to pay for a comfy bed, shower, sofas, kitchen and not having to put a tent up and down. It was bizarrely unsettling to break the routine. It brought home how practised and efficient we have all become at 'breaking camp'; there is no thought required anymore, everything now fits in the day bags with relative ease, and we know what side to queue for breakfast, who to talk to and who not to talk to (after all, not everyone is a morning person), who is in the queue for coffee first, who prefers a more leisurely start... Initially we were all over the place, and there was definitely more than one person sitting on their bag to try and get it closed.
It was to be a long day - 158km, with another section on the dirt. I had changed my tyres back,so had a skinny 28 on the front, and Stevie's 35 on the back. I also had Neil's saddle, and Jordan's helmet...while grateful to all the above for getting be back on the road, it was not without hesitation that I set off this morning. It sounds silly, but I have built up a rapport and a trust in my bike, when you have a big fall it takes a while to re-establish the trust, especially when you have new components, and the brakes have been readjusted!
Inadvertently, Steph, Jenna and I ended up leaving together. David, was looking out for me again, and has suggested we ride together for the morning, to make sure there were no repercussions following yesterdays misadventures.
I was pleasantly surprised. The bike rode well, the saddle wasn't too uncomfortable, and the helmet fitted as snuggly as one would expect an adult helmet to fit my child-size head! (I had initially tried Marty's redundant helmet, but this was very definitely too large...falling down over my eyes whenever I moved my head. It may have improved my posture, though.) The four of use rode together until lunch. It was a nice relaxed morning, it felt like we had an understanding that we were riding 'together, but not together'. By this I mean, we were keeping each other company, and were together because we were more or less the same speed, but there wasn't a structure to who went where. There was no pressure to hold a certain speed, or to rotate off the front. I did have a period where I started kilometre counting, and stressing about being too slow, but as soon as we started talking again these fears subsided.
The terrain of the morning was undulating. The scenery was gaze-holding, and filled the gaps in the conversation. We had atleast one photo stop en route.
We made good time, lunch at 75km came quickly. I was slightly nervous about the dirt section after lunch. We had been told to ride on the hard shoulder whenever we were on the tar in South Africa, and to ride single file,under no conditions ride two or three abreast (again, because of driver attitude towards cyclists). This morning I had found riding on the hard shoulder uncomfortable. The road surface in that area caused the bike to vibrate, the vibrations were painful on my left shoulder and right elbow...no unrideable, but it was noticeably preferable to ride on the 'wrong side' of the white line. Given that the off road 30km section was meant to be corrugated, it promised for a slow afternoon.
Ryan was riding today, so lunch was run by Steph and Harriet - 'girls lunch'. There was a superfluence amount of food today - left over pancakes (or as the South African's call them, Flapjacks?!) from breakfast, left over mince and spaghetti from last night, veggie left overs, bread for sandwiches, crackers, salad, plus the usual offerings. Errol definitely doesn't leave us wanting. We had been warned at the beginning of the trip we would get bored of the food, and we would only be eating what was locally available - I swear I have a more varied and more gluttonous diet on this trip than at home! There was a warning from the girls' as we left lunch, about riding on the hard shoulder,and not in twos or threes. It felt very directed a David, but was too everyone. I understand the underlying motivation - no one wants to get hit by a car, at any point in the trip, but particularly not so close to the finish line. It is hard to stay on the uneven surface, which is less comfortable, and takes more energy to cycle over,when less than a foot away is smoother tar. It is also difficult to spend four hours cycling behind someone, with stilted conversation, when you could have easy conversation side by side. The road this morning was quieter than the last few days, and the drivers a slight improvement, but nevertheless the risk remains.
Straight out of lunch we were on the dirt. I left with Jenna, Mo and Steph but advised them I would be slow due to the discomfort and slight nervousness. Steph had quite a tumble on the dirt in Namibia, essentially she hit something when going downhill too...we stuck together this time round. I joked that it was the two of us toddling along with our zimmerframes while the unburnt youths disappeared off into the horizon!
Once again it was nice to have unassuming company, and interesting conversation to pass the time. I had calculated that if I could manage 10km/h, it would take me 3hours, and that should still leave time to do the last 60k before dark. Fortunately we managed to cycle faster than that and cleared the dirt in 1.5hours!
It was not nearly as much of a challenge as we were expecting. Indeed, some parts were corrugated, and some parts were sandy, but on the whole I could find somewhere that didn't provide too much discomfort, or fear! It was harder with the smaller tyres, particularly on the sand. The bike seemed to sink and stick alot more, rather than glide through/over. I am ashamed to admit that, despite wearing my contact lenses, I got pretty excited and took numerous pictures of the sea (which we haven't seen since Egypt). It has been significant milestone and motivation for me - reaching the South Atlantic. Anyway, about half an hour after taking these pictures, and less than 10km later, we went up and over a small rise, and realised what had looked like the sea, was actually just clouds!! Needless to say, I deleted the photographic evidence of my blindness.
When we hit the tar my spirits were starting to dip. We were meant to be almost there, but still had 80km left to go. There was also a headwind, and incessant peaks and troughs in the road, only two of us. The good news was that the tarmac was smooth, and the traffic sparse. I drafted behind Steph for longer than I should have, before offering to swap.
We did 5km shifts, which made time pass faster than if we hadn't or if I had been by myself. The sun was moving across the sky and our shadows getting longer. The days are noticeably shorter and sun lower in the sky. Everything has that wintery washed out look to it that seems to happen when the sun is low in the sky.
We caught up with Alistair, Mo and Jenna at an Engen garage in one of the towns we passed through. They were just getting ready to leave as we pulled in. We called a stop for refuelling.
I invested in some biltong - when in South Africa and all that. I had no idea there were so many varieties of biltong; different types of meat, different spices, some thinly sliced, some sausage like, some succulent, some dry. It is definitely worth remembering the names of the nicer ones. The stuff I purchased was so tough it made my jaw ache..it ended up in the bin shortly after it was purchased! Our coke stop lasted longer than anticipated, a good 45minutes. Partly because the lunch truck pulled up just as we were leaving. It was full to the brim, riders who had had enough of cycling on the dirt in Namibia, and were not looking to repeat the experience in South Africa.
20km left to go, and it was a struggle. There was a headwind the whole way, the temperature was dropping and I was tired. I was glad I had kept my arm warmers and thinsulate vest out. As we approached the true coast we started to see signs for tortoises! Throughout the continent we have seen alot of road signs warning motorists of wildlife, but never did I expect to see a tortoise warning sign! Initally the signs were in Afrikaans, and I had to ask Steph to translate. It pretty impressive that she knew what it meant.
I don't know the word tortoise in any other language but English, it's not exactly common use.
Finally we reached camp. By the ocean. On a cliff, overlooking the waves crashing on a sandy beach. We both embraced the smell of the ocean.
The air had that sea feel to it. The dampness that makes the air heavy, and the salt suspended in the droplet of spray which stick to any exposed surface. It was threatening rain was we arrived, and indeed a light drizzle graced us with its presence as i put up my tent. Incidentally there is a book called 'Sea air and sea bathing; their influence on health. A practical guide for visitors at the sea side.'. Perhaps it is essential reading for all inhabitants of non landlocked countries?!
The campsite, while on desirable real estate, left alot to be desired. The ultimate irony was the fact that I threw out my personal toilet roll yesterday, with the logic 'now we are in a civilised and more affluent country, toilet paper will be provided'. Wrong. There were atleast 8 individual ablutions blocks, all with toilet roll holders, but no sign of toilet paper. Not even empty rolls! Luckily Catherine provided me with a overnight stash.
So we dined on the cliffs. Watching the sun set and the waves crash. Thoughts are turning towards the end of the tour, and the 'next challenge'. Steph and Jenna are considering an ironman in September. David has mentioned a run the building series. Alistair has his new job, and a new city.
Martin and Bill rolled into camp just as we finished our washing up. I have great respect for these two sectional riders. On more days than one they have rolled into camp as we are finishing dinner, and the sun is setting. Having left at 6.30 in the morning, that is a long day in the saddle. And not just one. They get up and do it again the next day. Bill is in his 60s (I think) and has done sections of a number of TdA tours, he has very proudly completed every section he has attempted. His determination to finsh has gained him alot of respect from the full tour riders, I took the liberty of informing him of this while he ate his dinner. I think he appreciated it.
Harriet changed my dressings, and advised that the wounds were looking good. Today had been pleasantly manageable, I had been uncomfortable but not sore. My stitches began aching at about 100km, probability secondary to the prolonged tension they had been under by my position over the handlebars.
As darkness enveloped us, I was driven to my tent in search of a warm sleeping bag...perhaps packing some long trousers in my day bag would have been a good idea.
