BB2BB2 Day 10

Ek het gesê elke tweede dag is Engels, maar dag 4, 5 en 6 was Afrikaans so om die balans te herstel is dag 10 nou in Engles.

Let start with last night's supper at Ararat. That is the name of the bar/restaurant at Vyeboomdam. It is constructed from zink and looks "ruff". I had supper there and felt like an oil can afterwards! 4 chicken wings, 4 chicken strips, a russian, pieces of spare ribs and chips washed down with sparkling water and an alcohol free Savannah. 

As I was expecting an esay day, I decided to only start at 07:00. Slept well and got going at 06:55. When I woke up during the night, I heard rain falling again, so when I got up and peeked outside, I was pleased to see that the rain seems to be over. There were some clouds, but no rain. 

I had to replace the batteries on my tracker, so stoped at Total Energies to attend to that. Then into town for some breakfast. That I got at Forever Resorts, which offered a buffet breakfast for R185. I got away from there at 09:00. 

The drag out of Badplaas is a 30 kilometer climb during which the ascent is from 1,031 to 1,798 meters. This took me 3:45! The climb is not so strenious, but it is relentless. Fortunately there were a number of "downs" to give the leggs a rest. The scenery was exquisite on all sides, but I was really relieved when it ended. 

I did plot today's route last night on Komoot and got that transferred to my Garmin. Now Komoot has gotten me into "trouble" a number of times because it takes you on routes which are not always accessible by the public. Now part of today's route towards the looked "doggy". This started just after I had to turn off the R532. Fortunately all went fine up to the N17. After crossing the N17 I once again had to go onto a gravel road, which was similar to the previous one, so I felt confidant all should be OK! After a couple of kilometers I came to locked gate! Now my cycling friends know that one of my failings in life is to honour the purpose of locked gates! As far as I am concerned, if you can get your bike and yourself over the gate, just continue! So this is what I did. I must also mention that this gate had a "no entry" sign, but to turn back would have added 20-30 km to my ride. The road was in and excellent condition and the fields were green with soya plants. With about 5 km left I passed very close to a house with beautiful lawns and a open garage with a vehicle parked in it. Now my moto is to ride untill somebody stops me and as I did not notice any "life" and nobody called me, I continued. With 3 km to go I heard the ominous sound of a motor cycle aprpoaching from behind me. A young man pulled up alongside me and asked me where I was going. I stopped and we started talking. He was not impressed by the fact that I ignored a "no entry" sign and climbed over a locked gate. We had quite a cordial conversation about the "do's and dont's" in situations like this and that I should turn around and go back. In the end "sanity" prevailed and Isak Roux gave the "old man" permission to continue. As a matter of fsct, he rode with me the the gate to the main gravel road to make sure it was open. It also turn out that Isak is a passionate Christian and he therefore confronted me with the million dollar question "what happens if I suddenly die". It was with a greatful heart that I could confirm my faith in Jesus Christ and asure him that I will join my wife in heaven. We greated with a "love hug" at the gate and went our separate ways. What a wonderful encounter!

The rest of the trip went find and I got to my accommodation at 16:00. After a shower I went to "town" and found a "Take Away" where I got some more oily fish and chips for supper and a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, which I will keep for breakfast. 

Dana Murray posed some interesting guestions about what I eat and drink on the road and what I do about washing. As this is all ready a long report back, I will address those points during sunsiquent blogs.