17 June 2008 - Allendale to Nsikeni

Day 3 Ride to Rhodes

I have had brief conversations with Doug - there is mainly bad cell phone signal. They are all doing well physically and emotionally. Yesterday they rode for about 7 hours in the rain and were frozen to the core. Today is apparently drier but is muddy.
He will hopefully be able to write in the blog this evening.

16 June 2008 – Pietermaritzburg to Allendale

This morning we all cycled from the guest house to Pietermaritzburg Town Hall. We were due to start at 6:00 with to clock tower except it was 2 ½ hours slow. The ride from Pietermaritzburg was a good start to the ride with gentle rolling hills for the first 50km or so.

We stopped for lunch at one of the farms where the owner was a collector of old farming implements, tractors, motors, aircraft engines, motorbikes, in fact anything old and metal by the looks of it. Very interesting though.
After lunch we descended down a monster 12 km downhill to the Umkomaas river, and then a MONSTER 10km uphill. I haven’t checked the elevation of this mountain yet but it was steep and long. About ¾ of the way up one of the locals also cycling showed us a crystal clear cold spring just off the road. This was a life saver. The rest of the ride was very hilly, virtually no flats, either up or down hill. Mark and I stopped at a local shabeen for a coke, quite an experience.

We arrived at Allendale farm, welcomed with snacks and tea and coffee. Just what we needed. We are staying in a modified chicken coop, straw on the floor, covered with a canvas ant foam matrasses on top. I think it will be a cold night tonight.

Todays ride was 105 km with an altitude gain of 2600m

15 June 2008 - Comrades Day

None of us had a particularly good sleep on the train. It is not a smooth ride like you would find on the European trains. The whole night the train stopping, starting, veering from side to side, but I am sure you could get used to it. Our coffee arrive at about 05:30 (twice) good old railway coffee.

We arrived at the station at 6:00 on had to quickly unload all out kit and try and get the bikes off as well. I had to take the saddle off mine to get it out. Not sure how we got it on. So now we are outside the station with a mountain of kit and three bikes trying to find a taxi. Mark dissapeared and arrived back with a minibus and 3 'drivers' we started to load all the kit while Mark negotiated the price. Everything managed to fit onto the minibus, bikes without front wheels stacked horizontally on top of the seats, Fiona and I squashed onto a seat and Mark somehow 'woven through the bikes.

Eventually we arrived at Aintree Lodge, had breakfast and checked in. Mark an I decided to cycle down to the finish of the Comrades Mariton and watch the willnes come in. It was a great experience. Then went down to the local Mall to get some last minute bits and pieces. A quick nap in the afternoon refershed us all.

Final packing is now taking place. They must be crazy, you want us to get all this kit into this tiny box!!!! Sta thats the status at the moment. A lot of excitement and trepidation for tomorrows ride.

Hopefully the post will be from McKenzie tomorrow.

Doug, Fiona & Mark

14 June 2008 – Train Trip

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Today was fraught with having to decide what to pack, what not to pack...what if I need this, etc. Oh shit, I forgot to buy this etc. Then the dilemma of trying to fit everything into this bag, overall a pretty stressful afternoon.

We than got to Johannesburg station, platform 15. It has certainly changed since I last rode trains. We found our coach and compartments. Thanks to Mark, we got 3 compartments, one for the boys, one for Fiona and one for the bikes. Mark made friends with the train manager (conductor), Precious, who has been an absolute star. The train is called the Shosholosa Meyl.

All our loved ones were there to see us off, this made us realise that this is now the beginning of the aventure. It was quite exciting and I think we all felt like excited kids going off in the train.

We had a fantastic meal on board in the dining car... steak egg and chips, Malva pudding, beers and coffee for under R100. Not bad at all.

They are bringing us coffee at 05:00 tomorrow morning in bed (Aileen take note) and we arrive in Petermaritsburg at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

13 June 2008 - Nutrition

"What food you you eat on an event like this?" is a question I frequently get asked. I have done some research on this and come up with some conclusion which I will test on this event. One of the key factors is:'we cannot replace everything we expend during exercise, but we can keep ourselves going all day long if we replenish appropriately'. As a rule of thumb, calorie/water/electrolyte intake will run approximately one-third of expenditure during endurance exercise. Also it should be remembered that fructose, sucrose, glucose, and other simple sugars are poor carbohydrate sources for fueling your
body during exercise.

I have opted for the Hammmer Nutrition range of sports fuels. There is a vast range of products but I have opted to go with Perpetium and Endurolite during the race and Recoverite after the ride each day. It should also be remembered that the optimum time for a recovery during is within 30 minutes of finishing your exercise. There are also different types of protein that you should take for replenishment, a soy based product during exercise and a way based product during recovery. Anyone interested in endurance nutrition should download a free copy of The Endurance Athlete’s Guide To Success. We have also stocked up with biltong, sweets, nuts, fruit cake, hot cross buns etc. as comfort food for afterwards. I have also prepared 2 bottles of Old Brown Sherry with chillies inside, for the long cold evenings.

We have decided to catch the train to Petermaritsburg. The train leave on Saturday at 18:20 from Johannesburg station. The last time I went on an overnight train was when I was in the army coming back from Walvis Bay. This should be an interesting experience, especially arriving at 5:30 in the morning in Petermaritsburg, but its all part of the adventure.

12 June 2008 - Preperation

What is this all about?

Fiona, Mark and I are doing the Ride to Rhodes. It is the first 6 days (600km) of the Freedom Challenge which is is 2300km race from Petermaritsburg to Cape Town. Our 6 days covers some of the most beautiful sceenery in the Natal midlands and Transkei.

Its now 4 days before the start and there is frantic packing, list checking and buying of last minute supplies. What will we need, how cold will it really be, can I fit everything into the allotted space. Its difficult to know what clothing to take for the cold: 2 pairs of gloves (Sealskinz), Sealskinz socks, as well as another 5 pairs, Cape Storm base layers (tops and pants), outer layer jacket, 3 pairs of cycling shorts, leggings, raincoat (top and pants), windjammer sleeveless, Cape Storm windproof top, beanie, Buff, 2 pairs of cycling shoes... and thats just clothing for the ride.


The bike has been ckecked and re-checked, a map board made, lights fitted. A toolbox with bike spares hhas been packed, although a lot of the spares havent arrived yet. We ordered them from Chain Reaction in the UK and ther was a mixup with the order. We hope they arrive tomorrow. I have a sprare chain, rear casette, SRAM X0 rear reralier, hanger, cables, brake pads, spokes, chain links, plus all the tooks for my bike.

My intention is to publish a Blog per day during the event, as an online record of this event. I hope it will convey some of the views, excitement and experiences we undergo.