BB2BB Day 9

We forgot to plan for breakfast and the resort only started serving breakfast at 07:00 so I had to settle for a biltong breakfast.

We got going just before 06:00 as today was going to be an easy day. We were going to follow a track which Hennie have ridden twice before. Ww were riding on a good district road to Chrissiesmeer. We were going up a gentle incline. After about 5 km we reach a good farm road down which Hennie took us. Initially the going was good, as we progressed it became tougher. Eventually the track disappeared and we had to push our bikes through the longish grass. Hennie had a general idea of where we were heading. After going on like this for about an hour, we found a the track again could spend sone time riding. Hennie pointed out a house on the other side of the valley and said we were heading there. Unfortunately the farmer, Piet Steenkamp, was away for the weekend so there was no possibility of coffee!

When we got to the farm eventually, there were two guts working with the cattle. It turned out Pier got his dates wrong. We had our coffee and during the discussion it transpired that the track Hennie wanted to take was in a very bad state. We therefore decided to use the road which they now use to link up with the main road. This was on the other side of the valley. The first kilometer of riding went OK, but then the road went up and up and up and up! We pushed our bikes up this hill for the next two hours! By the time my odometer indicated 30 km, we were traveling for 5 hours. An average speed of 6 kph!

In the meantime I was having problems with my saddlebag. We could not get it high enough and whenever I went through a dip, my rear wheel would touch it. Eventually Hennie suggested that we remove it and that he will tie it to his back pack while I tied his shoes to mine. From there on the riding went much smoother.

We reached the N17 after 5:50 and a distance of 36 km. Once on the tar road, our going was much better and were averaging 19 kph. We stopped for a Coke and after 17 km turned off on a farm road, which led us to some forestry road and then no road again. We followed some ridable cattle track and then picked up a very nice track through a blue gum plantation. At the end of the plantation we took a short cut through some short grass and picked up a farm road which took us through to a district road, down which I will start my journey tomorrow. We now could see our destination, but still had to cycle 4 km until we reached the farm Edenvale, where we would spend the night with Stryker and Bellie Celliers.

We did 72.5 km in 8:36 while we ascended  1,295 meters

BB2BB Day 8

When we got home after supper last night, there was nobody around to make arrangements for breakfast or to settle the bill. We therefore decided to get up st 05:30 and hoped that there would be someone around by 06:00. When got downstairs just after 06:00 we did find "life" but a cooked breakfast would only be available at 07:00. We helped ourselves and managed to get going at 06:40

We were going to follow one of Steve Thomas' tracks again and after yesterday agreed to stick to it! That flew out of the window when we could not find the first turn off. We did see that the track we took  did link up with the correct track within the first 5 km and ours was more scenic. Once we linked up with the track we were taken through some plantations and along the top of a cliff, through some more plantations to the edge of a spur. We then started descending down the mountain what must have been a well used road many years ago. It was breath taking stuff. I did managed a couple of video clips and look forward to see what they look like. In some places the grass was a meter high!  In other places there were two meter high pine trees in the middle of the road. The scenes from above were breath taking. The effort which went into making the pass boggles the mind! Once we reached the end of the pass, we had to further negotiate our way down a disused and eroded track until we reached a derelict farm house. The road did improve after that but not much.

After 4 hours during which we travelled only 29 km, we reached a good district road. We now were in the bottom of a valley, which we had to get out off and the only way was up again. For the next hour and a half we pushed and cycled and pushed until we finally crested the last hill. This again provided us with an unbelievable sight over the next valley to the hills far beyond. During this time we covered only 11 km!

First we had a wonderful ride down the hill into the next valley. The road was in pristine condition and only our tired bodies kept us from making better time. We covered the next 22 km in one and a half hour. All that was left was the 14 km to Badplaas, which took us 57 minutes.
After 7:55 and 75 km we booked in at the Badplaas Adventura. Another eventful day, but definitely easier that the previous two days. Tomorrow should be an easy 60 km to Chrissiemeer.

I have now covered 736 km in 8 days.

BB2BB Day 7

Yesterday it took us 11:47 to do 96.78 km!

As today was going to be an easier day, we decided to only start at 06:00. The first thing we looked at after we woke up was the weather. Prayers were answered and it was dry outside with very little cloud cover! The first 9 km was downhill on the Long Tom Pass to Misty Mountain Inn. There we picked up some jeep tracks which took us down into the valley. This 7.25 km took us 54 minutes. There after we joined district and farm roads through to the N4. A distance of 39 km which took us 2:57. At the end we missed a turn with the result that we had to do a couple of kilometers on the N4 to link up with the track which would take us to Kaapsehoop, a further 34 km of which most was going to be uphill on forestry roads.

We picked up a district road and after about a half an hours riding came to a split. The GPS said we must go left, but the road to the right looked much better. There was a local coming down the road and Hennie used his knowledge of the local language to confirm directions. The young man confirmed that we could use the right road as they converge further up. This was a big mistake. This road took us away from the track we were suppose to follow and when we realised that the two was not going to converge, we were too far up the hill to turn around. We could see the correct track about 2-3 km to our left on my Garmin, so we decided to continue with the hope that we will meet up with correct track sooner or later. We tried to get directions from the local forestry workers but most of them did not even know where Kaapsehoop was! We got to a point where we saw a "better"  looking road about 100 meters below us. There also appeared to be a good road about another 100 meters higher up and we knew we still had to gain altitude before we get to Kaapsehoop. After a lengthy debate and some difference of opinion, we decided to go up. When we linked up with the larger road, we went left, but a further km or two, we came to a dead end. We went back to the first link and went higher up, but in the wrong direction. Fortunately this road went around a corner, which got us in the right direction. This happened a number of times where we felt we were going in the wrong direction only to find the the road made a u-turn in the right direction again. We were moving up the mountain about 2-3 km to the tight of where we should have been. After about 3 hours of laboring up the hill and covering only 15 km, our tracks started moving closer yo where we should have been. We finally linked up with the right track again after 3:50 while progressing only 21 km. We still had 15 km to go and this took us a further 1:52 as most of it was uphill.

We finally reached Kaapsehoop after 10:03 covering 92.83 km for the day climbing 1,916 meters.

A special thank you to Tim van Coller who joined me for the past two and a half days. His wife, Annette came through from their lodge near the Kruger National Park to fetch him after he left his home last Sonday and cycled to join up with me half way between Tzaneen and Ohrigstad.

BB2BB Day 6

What a day!! Probably my most difficult day on a bicycle ever!

We were treated like kings last by Jan and Ronnie Ferreira, friends of Hennie de Clercq.

We got going again at about 05:00. The fist 12 km was tar and then we took a left turn, which would take us to Crystal Spring. We had some problems getting a security to open a gate for us, but Hennie conversed with him in his mother tongue and after a lengthy discussion, he opened the gate.

Within the first kilometer we saw a beautiful giraffe bull in the middle of the road. Unfortunately is was still too dark so we could nit take any photo's. A little while later we came to split in the road. My GPS said right, but Hennie said left and as he knows the area, we followed his advise. The weather was overcast but actually perfect for cycling. We saw zebra, oribi, warthog, koedoe and waterbuck. Just before we reached the resort, my GPS joined our track. Hennie informed us that there is a fence across that track and that is why we could not use it.

We stopped for a second breakfast at the restaurant.  As we left, it started to rain! We put on our rain gear and got going. Hennie new about a track which followed the ridge line. We took a tight turn where the road to the resort entered from the left. We reach the signage to  Mt Sheba and took a left turn into the resort, losing a lot of elevation in the process. When got there, Hennie realised that we mussed the ridge line he wanted us to take. I looked at my GPS and saw that we could ride through Mt Sheba and pick up the track I would have taken from Pilgrims Rest to the Long Tom Pass.

It took us awhile to find our exit route. This turned out to be a long forgotten and disused road, but it was ridable by bicycle.    After quite a while we picked up a forestry road which we saw linked up with my GPS track. We now were into forestry area and followed this road until it linked up with the GPS. We though it would be easy going from there, but when I looked at my GPS I saw that we still had 30 km to go! Every now and then we were guided onto some very interesting and lesser used roads.

At just over 7 hours my GPS informed me that the battery is low. I stopped to connect my Power Monkey to recharge the batteries and we were on our way again. The GPS and the track which I downloaded from Steve Thomas' book Riding the Dragon's Spine was invaluable! We would have had major problems selecting the correct tracks without it. Every now and then it would peep "off course" and we had to back track until it "found course" again. Hennie also felt that he would have had problems finding his track in this weather.  

We reached a plato with no trees and thought that we were near the end, but another 30 minutes of riding, we were amongst the trees again. We then got to a point where the obvious road went straight but the GPS directed right up a track which was very disused! We started pushing our bikes up this track. We were amazed. It definitely was not used and most 4x4's would have major problems going up there. We came to the conclusion  that it must have been an old wagon trail. The effort which went into building this trail was obvious! It took us another half an hour to get to the top. There my GPs indicated that we still had 7 km to go. We also though that our guest house was a further 5 km up the road! We reach a gate and nearly made back flips when we saw the entrance to the guest house across the road!

So ended a real character building day and I hope the most difficult day of thus journey.  

BB2BB Day 5

I moved some of my stuff from my backpack to my saddlebag to reduce the weight on my back.

Managed to get going at 05:03. As the Tzaneen/Ohrigstad leg was a late change of plan, I had no track on my Garmin, but it was straight forward to get onto the R36 and head to Ohrigstad. The first 30 km was quite hairy with very little shoulder and lots of traffic, which included a fair number of taxi's. At one point there was a slip road to the left and I was past the entrance when I suddenly notice a wing mirror out of the corner of my eye. I veered left and shouted and fortunately the taxi also slowed down snd let me past, but it was a close shave!

After the rural area, the condition of the road improved snd there also was a wide clear piece of the left with short grass. This was bumpy but ridable so I pull whenever I heard a vehicle approaching.

Just after 08:00 I stopped to phone Johan de Bruyn at Garmin, who was instructed to issue an invoice. He requested a delivery address and promised the invoice in 5 minutes. I caught with Tim van Coller just after 09:15 and used the opportunity to check my email. The invoice was there and I managed to process the payment.

I was under the impression that Tim lived in the area and was riding from home. It transpired that Tim near Nelspruit and left home 3 days ago to with me for 3 days. Now that is what I call commitment. He will be with us up to Kaapsehoop and will ho back to Nelspruit when we head out to Badplaas. He left Graskop at 03:00 the morning and went over the Abel Erasmus Pass to join up with me and we had to over the Pass again on our way to Ohrigstad.

We had a nice leisurely ride up the the Hoedspruit/Lydenburg T-junction where we stopped for a Coke. Next was the Abel Erasmus Pass, a climb of more than 1,400 meters in 18 kilometers. This took us about 2 hours. Down the other side the road was fairly flat with some " irritating" undulations, especially after a long day with lots of climbing.

When we were about 5 km from Ohrigstad, Hennie phoned and said he is 20 km away and we must meet him at the Oasis Cafe. Our only "minor" problem was that the Oasis Cafe was 3 km past where we were staying fir the night!  We met Hennie there and after some cool drinks cycled back to our hosts for the night.

I did 147.29 km in 9:47:49 with 1,456 meters of climbing, most of which done in the 2 hours it took to get over the Abel Erasmus Pass.

BB2BB Day 4

I ordered a breakfast pack, which management promised will be ready at 04:30. When I went looking for it, there was nothing and not a sole in sight! So it was peanuts for breakfast again!

I nearly forgot my water bottle in the fridge. I noticed that it was missing as I was about to leave. I then also remembered that the bladder in my back pack was just about empty, so I replenished that also. Finally got going at 05:15.

There was a faint drizzle in the air, so I stopped outside the gate to put on my windbreaker to stay dry. The first 10 km to the Tzaneen turn off was not very pleasant with lots of traffic on the N1 and a fair number of trucks. Once I tuned left, the traffic died down. The road was in a good condition with a reasonable tar shoulder and a very gravel shoulder beyond that. Riding a mountain bike on a tar road is not one of my favourative pastimes!

The first 30 odd km to Soekmekaar (now called Morebeng) went well and I got there at about 07:30, found a cafe which had ab egg burger on the menu for R30. I ordered one with a cup of coffee. They did not have any tables, but there was a side area with chairs and a wall counter. I made myself at home there and waited for breakfast, which did arrive after a while, nicely wrapped in cling wrap. It turned out to be quite a nice burger and real good value for money.

By the time I finished eating, it was 08:00 and I phoned Garmin. They indicated that they be able to get a replacement unit to me at a reduced price. All this took about 20 minutes and I got going again just before 08:30.

The road out of town took me up a hill and once over the top, the vegetation changed drastically. Where as everything was bushveld until now, I now entered the lush green of the Eastern Transvaal and the country side also became more mountainous. Riding was also more pleasant with the road snaking through the  hills. Traffic was fairly quite. That was until I came to the Polokwane/Tzaneen intersection. From there was a marked increase in the volume of traffic and also more trucks. The road was in an excellent condition with wide shoulders and lots area with three lanes to accommodate the slower traffic.

By now behind started giving me real problems. If was very difficult to find a way to sit that did not hurt! I had similar problems in a most of the previous long distance riding which I have done and will just have to live with it. It normally do get a little better after a couple of days, so I will have to wait and see. In the meantime it us case of applying some ointments to the tender area at the end if each day.

I did stop for a Coke and a Lunchbar at  Modjadjiskloof. It was a fairly uneventful from there to Tzaneen and I arrived at Chrisrie's Inn at 12:45

Managed to sort out Garmin. Replacement, which I will get at reduced cost, to be courier to Con Malherbe in Pietermaritzburg to be picked up on my Nothingham Road stop.

Quite an interesting encounter with Garmin. I forgot the name of the lady who emailed the price of a replacement unit when I explored the option three weeks ago, but I knew it was Abigail or Alice or something of that order. When I get through I ask to speak to Abigail or Alice. No they have mo one with that name or similar there. OK so I ask to speak to Marc the sales manager. After a further two calls I get through to Marc. He listens to my story and says he will see what he can do. By the time I get to Tzaneen I have not heard from Marc, so I phone again and this nice guy with the name of David is on reception. He informs me that Marc and the sales team are away for training all afternoon. I tell him my sop story and he says yes he knows who I am talking about and her name is Angie. He will get Angie to call me after the meeting she just went into. 15:30 and I have mot heard from Angie, whose name I had forgotten again at that point. Get through to reception and try the other two "A's"  again with no success. In the end I ask to speak to David again. Get through to one of his colleagues who informs that he had gone to the loo! I tell the story again and he immediately realise that I want to speak to Angie and he puts me through to her. Angie remembers me and we get things sorted out in a couple of minutes! Amasing  how helpful people sometimes can be and how can one struggle with a receptionist, who seems to lack some initiative and she is the entry to the business. I did send Marc an email during the morning and he did reply before he went for traning!

Will have supper at Christie's, who will supply breakfast pack tonight. Plan to leave at 05:00 in the morning. Tim van Coller confirmed he will ride towards me from the Houdspruit crossing, so we should meet between 09:00-10:00

BB2BB Day 3

So it turned out that I took the wrong turn last night and that is why I could not find the restaurant. I should have turned right and then left. I turned left where the lodge road joined the larger road. Breakfast was some peanuts and water!

Got going at 05:03. The weather was perfect. It took me 50 minutes to get to the beginning of the Waterpoort, which starts of with Van Coller Pass. The pass and the scenery is very similar to the Mother of All Climbs in the Baviaanskloof on the Transbaviaans! After about an hour into the kloof, I came to a 2 meter locked gate just after crossing the railway line. The gate was similar to the one I encountered at the lodge yesterday morning, but now I had no option but to go over. I managed that but first dropped my bike on the other side. Fortunately with damage, but picking up a lot of dust. As soon as I started cycling, my Garmin told me I am off course! I had no option but to go back over the gate again! This time went considerably better with the bike, but I lost my balance as I jumped down and landed on my back with my backpack absorbing the fall. Afterwards I remembered that the lady who rode with us yesterday said something about a pedestrian gate but I missed that!

There was no other track, but I did remember Casper and John Brand saying something about going down the actual railway line so for the next hour I went down the railway line. I tried to cycle, but it was just to bumpy so I had to walk. One of the interesting thing about going down the railway line is that there is a tunnel one has to go through. Casper's advise was to put my ear on the line. It I hear nothing there is no train coming and it is safe to go through. The tunnel also os fairly close to the end of kloof so I knew once I get there the end is in sight, or so I thought! I got to the tunnel at 07:43.

I continued down the track, but after a while my Garmin once again told me I am off course. This time I left my bike and did some scouting. I could not see any clear track where the Garmin indicated the track, but I did notice that there was a bank through the river by which I could cross it without getting wet. I decided that Garmin was right and negotiated my way down a rocky bank and crossed the river. On the other side there was nothing but a cattle track where Garmin said I should go, so I followed it. After a while it become more of a track and later it did become a ridable track. I was of the opinion that this would take me out of the kloof, but I forgot that there still was a serious climb past Medike guest house. It took me an hour and a half from the tunnel to the end if the kloof. I did meet up with the owner of the guest house as I past it. I asked him if he is farming. His reply was that he is farming with "humans" i.e. guests and making a living from it.

I thought I will stop at the first spaza shop for brunch. That took quite a while and I only found one at 10:25. The only fresh produce they had was tomatoes and onions! I settled for 3 tomatoes, a liter of long life milk and 2 liters of Coke.

The track I was using was once again along the railway line. This was not a railway service road as such, but it hugged the railway line! To make life a little easier it was not 100% straight, but one could see the road the trees for disappearing in the distance. This was all that was on the menu for the rest of the day. The condition of the road was better than the the pervious two days, especially for the last 25 kilometers. The surface was mostly silky smooth and I was going along at 18-25 k.p.h.

Just before Bandelierskop I picked up a gravel road which took me to the N1 and after a couple of hairy kilometers with trucks and cars speeding past, I got to Lapalanzi on the right. I was delighted to see a knife and fork on the signage, so I ensure of supper tonight.