This is going to be a long day! I was planning to go via Beaverlac, but that would add 30 km and a lot of climbing! So I got going at 05:22 and set off to cross the Piekenierskloof via the old Greys Pass. This little exercise of 9 km took me 1:15 resulting in an average speed of 7 kph! With a total distance of 186 km, that ment that I would have to do some serious pedalling if I did not want to get to Bloubergstrand too late. I was hoping to move this up to 14 by Eendekuil, but at that point I was only standing at 12 kph!
After 3:38 I have covered 49 km and reached Piketberg. As the next town was Malmesbury, which was 90 km down the road, I decided to stop for "brunch" even though it was only 09:22. Average speed has "creeped" up to just below 13 kph. The 90 km to Malmesbury also has a fair number of undulations, so the chances of me getting that average up was slim. Generally the roads were in a good condition and I was enjoying the ride. I stopped at Misverstand dam to fill my water bottle and again at a farm after 102 km. Progress was better as I got closer to Malmesbury, where I arrived after 124 km and 10 hours in the saddle. I met an old friend at Seattle for coffee and got going again after 40 minutes.
The last 60 km to Bloubergstrand is mostly tar and not too hilly. I did have a bit of a headwind but did managed to move along at 15 kph. Once I reached the N7 at the Melkbosstrand turnoff, I turned on the "after burners' and cruised into Bloubergstrand at an average speed of 19.6 kph for the last 20 km, bring my overall average up to 12.8. The day's journey was 186 km and it took me 14:34 with 2,171 meters of climbing
So, that was "mission accomplished"! I did 527 km in four days with 6,884 meters of climbing. Total riding time was 39 hours 40 minutes. I will have to do a couple more of these before I tackle RASA in April 2027.
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