My good buddy jack….. (Sunday middle of the day!)

Sunday 28 June Day 14

Another day of rain!

We left Toekomst this morning in the dark at 6:00. We had to head out through a large flat land area (part of the Sundays river valley national park). We headed off in the correct direction and within 45 minutes found we were riding over our own tracks again. Navigation in the dark is not easy.

After the park we headed out according to the maps. Fiona had an uneasy feeling about the route the rest of the group were taking so we stopped an rechecked. We found that the route the others were taking was completely wrong and we found the correct route. This saved us about 3 hours.

The day was generally cold and wet with very little view because of the low cloud. There was an intermediate support station listed but when we got there we found no one home. All we wanted was a hot coffee to help us warm up. We continued on the route and about 30km from the end we came across a small shop with a restaurant attached. We dashed in there and ordered some toasted egg & bacon sandwiches with some coffee. I had a Jack Daniels that we didn't drink last night so took that out as well. It went down a treat and warmed us beautifully.

When we got outside again the rain had stopped and the rest of the ride was fantastic. Arrived at Bucklands at 16:30 with time to do some maintenance on our bikes. This is a beautiful place, nestled in the base of the very imposing Perdeberg.

Today I tried to tape up my shoes with duct tape but this only lasted about half the ride. When Derek came on this evening he said he had the ultimate solution. Cut up a bicycle tube into a long strip and wind that around the shoe to support it. I found some rubber based glue which I used to stick it on with. Tomorrow will confirm if this will work.

Total distance covered today, 110km

Tomorrow we go over the Perfeberg

Note from Aileen – only 6 more sleeps til I see my hubby – yahoooo!

Sat 27 June Day 13

We left DeDoorns at 5:20 this morning. We skipped a day ahead yesterday so we had the group ahead of us hanging onto us. The route lead us up and over a mountain and the a hike down the gorge on the other side.  This would have been classified a difficult hike even without a bike.  Well this seems to have completely trashed my shoes. By the time we  got to the bottom the group had split up so Fiona, Sean and I continued on alone. We reached van de Venterskraal at 13:15 and had a quick lunch. At 14:00 we left to skip another day. We had an 11 km technical downhill through a nature reserve. At one spot we came across heard of Giraffe.

Today was the best day of riding we have had so far. The weather conditions was also perfect. We arrived in record time at 17:30 after cycling at total of 140 km today.

Note from Aileen – not such a fantastic wife – the shoes did not arrive this morning so i need to try find away to forward them onto the next available post office.

26 June Day 12

Today we left Elantsberg at 6:15 and Fiona, Carl and myself setoff at at blistering pace while there was no wind. The temp at the start ok the ride was -5 Deg C, but this was not at problem as we were generating a lot of heat. In the distance we could see all the snow covered mountains, not realizing we would be crossing right over the top of them later ok the day.

We arrived in Stuttart around 11:30 which is a support station. We decided to have lunch there and continue.  The next support station is De Doorns but there are two large portages and an estimated 7 hours in good conditions. The approach to the Skurweberge wes very slow going as there was thick clay that was un-ridable an un-pushable. We struggled on this 5 km section for around 2 hours. We the started the ascent of the mountain covered in snow. We made steady progress an eventually reached the top an had to descend the other side. The snow on this side was much thicker, about 300 mm deep. In the beginning it was quite difficult but with a little practice I was using the time of my life flying down the side in this deep snow.

The next portage we reached just before the sun was setting so we could find the start of it. The rest of it was quite challenging as it is very dark out there, no moon at the moment. Our navigation was faultless and we arrived at the support station at 19:45 13 hours our today.

My fantastic wife had organized new shoes to be delivered tomorrow so everything is going fantastically well at the moment.

Thurs 25 June

 

Pie shop in Hofmeyer

About 20 seconds of sun – looks like Doug is trying to catch a tan so that when he gets back he looks like he had a fun holiday!

Messages for Doug and Fi – 25/26 June

Thank you so much to everyone who sent messages to Doug and Fi.  Doug can’t read his blog along route so I emailed him the messages – I am posting them all on this blog.  He is able to read all the comments that you guys post tho.

Hi Dough & Fiona,

Good to see you guys are hanging in there! Respect from all of us back home. Sorry to have missed you on the road to Rhodes. Did the chaperone thing this year - even that was hard! Surprise-surprise!  Take care & hang in there, even though conditions are clearly horrendous.  If you quit now you will come back to do it all again (ref Mark Fussel)

Ben de Lange

Hi,

I rode with Doug and Fiona to Rhodes. Please pass on my very best wishes to these 2 extremely brave people. I am following their progress as much as possible on the website/blog. The conditions seem diabolically atrocious and I admire their strong will and spirit. Sitting in an office it is easy for me to tell them to hang in there but I am sure they know by now to take each section at a time and they will get there in the end. Tell Fiona with her photographic this adventure will be imprinted on her mind forever.

Ray Farrenkothen

 

Hi Aileen

We pray that God keep Doug safe and help him to succeed in his Journey .May God guide and protect him every step of the way .And May you all at home be safe and may God look after you too while your husband is away.

Kind Regards Phidelia Cornelson Debtors Clerk

GO DOOGLE!!!!!!!!!!!  You’re making us all very proud of you!!!!!!  See you soon and ride safe!!!!!!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sue Eddey

 

Hello everybody,

As you all know our Famous IT director  is on a journey of a lifetime some of us have been following his blog , as you all may of heard that the Cape Town weather is at it extreme and Doug has to do this challenge in these conditions I thought it would be great if we could send some motivational messages to encourage him on his journey and wish him safe travels , please forward these on to his Wife Aileen and I am sure she will pass them on

GOOD LUCK DOUG STAY STRONG ……………….

Doug

I told you a it would have been easier on horseback-horse would do the running!

Just keep up with the guy in front and you will finish!

_______________________________________________________________________________________ Nigel Pilling Dear Doug, Fiona and the other heroes You have finished the most difficult bit (except for the little stroll near the end). You are doing brilliantly. Just hang in there. The weather is changing for the better, you are going to cycle through fantastic areas and the Boks are again going to beat the Lions. Take it day by day. Tomorrow is likely to be much better because of the wonderful Terreblanches. You have to meet Johan Rissik ( not negotiable) and get to Oestervanger for estelle and Alda's fantastic food and hospitality, and then you are only 2 days from the end. Hell, even I made it in 2006. If they had trackers then I would have had days and days of penalties. Fiona, Myprodol (plus lots of water) worked wonders for me. Gerrit "Agteros kom ook in die kraal" Pretorius   Just a Quick Hi from everyone here in the IT dept. Keep it up, our thoughts are with you guys. J Lee Zurcher Doug Thinking of you all from behind my desk. Keeping you in my prayers Keep warm, Keep stretching, keep eating!!!!!! The Monk I tried to use the blog but I’m soooo blonde and it’s not working .. I’ve sent Doug a sms and will again sometime today .. Rory and myself are thinking about him and Fiona in their great trek across the country and we pray that he is safe and comes to no harm .. please relay our love to him and we know he can make it we have all the faith in him … All our love to you too .. how are you holding up, your nerves must be finished … If you need anything at all please don’t hesitate to call us .. All our love .. Nats and Rory

 

This is from Sue Ngema – there is writing on but it won’t transfer across

Thurs 25 June Day 11

I have lost track of what day it is.

One of the things that makes this race doable is the hospitality of the families we stay with. They are absolutely fantastic, they pre-prepared huge delicious meals, do our washing, and essentially give us all the support we need. (dankie Stephanie an familie).

Today Fiona, Greg and I started from Romansfomtein at 6:00. It was bitterly cold, snowing and a driving 40kph wind. We couldn't do the portage over the mountain because it was in the clouds with no visibility. We had to detour around the mountain on the road (50km) We stopped in Hoffmeyer at 14:30 and had some lunch, they are famous for their pies after the Freedom Challenge Tv show. I then bought some plastic gloves from the co-op. The famous SealSkinz gloves are a load of shit. They get soaked after an hour of riding in the rain, then when you take your hands out the inner liner comes out and you can't get them back together easily.

After Hofmeyer we left for Elantsberg. This has a portage over the mountain but due to the strong winds we only got to the start of the portage as the sun was setting and the snow started falling. We had to navigate the mountain I'm the dark. We eventually made it with only one mistake and arrived at 21:00 this evening.

Early start tomorrow as we are going to try and skip a support station.

My cycling shoes have eventually packed up from all the hiking in them. I will be calling tomorrow to arrange for Aileen to send me some more, and a space blanket sleeping bag and may be some waterproof gloves.

  There were no notes attached to this picture from Doug but he is smiling and not being rained on!

Note from Aileen – I managed to get shoes and the space blanket – there is no such thing as water proof gloves.  I also put some choccies and fudge in the parcel.  It should hopefully be in Jansenville tomorrow morning and the farmer will collect it from the town.