Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Half way to Masakala

We left at 7 as everyone was pretty tired after the previous days exertions. Ian Waddilove led us through the maze of marshes and we all pretty wet feet early on which made it all pretty soggy going. This was two rides in one day - before lunch at banchory and after.
The first half was similar to being on top the the Dtrakensberg escarpment with spectacular fields of orange grass fields. Miles of stunning scenery and just a few specks which were the cyclists. We stayed together as a group for most of this and the cameraderie we experienced was unbelievable. We simply enjoyed our environment and each other. Andrew Barnes led us up and down dales but was pretty unerring in his memory of the route. There was much portaging today and bikes on backs as we climbed up and down.
Eventually, we hid the amazing wide dirty road in the middle of nowhere which led us to a most spectacular farm. It was time to do major bike wash - thanks to the farmer. With the mud washed off, the bikes creaked and groaned less and we headed off on big district roads for lunch at Banchory Farm. Delicious soup and rolls on the lawn.

After lunch we hedded off again with the sun shining and a fairly cold breeze to keep us cool. There was an optional single track route (compulsury for Freeom Challange) Doug choose to do this single track. It was the most amazing scenery completely unspoilt, with no roads and virtually no paths either. This made for very slow going but a wortwhile experience. The downside of this option is it took a total of 11:30 to complete 95km. FIONA AND mark got in at 9:30. Another fantastic day in Africa.

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