I left the Cape on 91kg and returned on 84kg ... not much less, but I recon a lot is pure muscle ... ;-)
I was real skinny and gaunt in Arusha ... 5 days of hectic runs ... but put a lot back on as the food got better closer to South Africa.
I have not been able to take my measurements ... as I do not have an appropriate measuring tape ... mmpph ...
I know I'm going to leave some people out of this ... purely by mistake ... and I'm sorry if I forgot ...
Firstly to all of you reading this regularly ... thanks for sharing this most amazing trip with me! Thanks for the comments and thoughts and those for just reading it regularly.
First and foremost ... thanks for my brother, parents and Phil Head ... for being my contacts back home for queries, needs, computer stuff, blog updates ... and boet for keeping my life back home on the right road!!! I couldn't have done this without you ...
Obviously also thanks to Tammy for looking after the practice.
Thanks to all my family, friends, clients and others who bought raffle tickets and contributed financially to my trip!
Gecko cycles for my bike and stuff and the sponsors of the prizes ... look right on my blog page ... for your contributions.
Lastly thanks to all the riders and staff on this trip ... the organisation and trip itself was absolutely superb! and the riders were real great ... really nice to have met you all ... some more than others, and I'm sure you'll know who ...
There are two things that are near to unbelievable and that I will be forever grateful for ...
The Weather
It was simply amazing! It is crazy to believe that we only had two days where it rained ... I only had a good 40 minute (torrential) downpour in Tanzania and then another good hour or so just over the border into Zambia. Furthermore probably only another two times where it spat briefly ... and we hardly even noticed it. And last year they had three weeks of rain every single day!!
We did have several nights where it rained ... we counted 14 nights in total.
Besides the lack of rain, the temperatures were also really great ... Egypt was not too cold and Sudan not too hot (the hottest though was a good 47 degrees). It really only got chilly again down the west coast of South Africa.
... But therefore it has been pissing with rain for most of the time back in Cape Town.
My Tyres
I didn't need to fix one tube/tyre while on the road ... YEEHA!!
For anyone doing this or a similar trip ... tubeless IS the way to go.
I must admit I did break 5 or 6 spokes over the trip ... but then I didn't have the best spokes ... and I will learn from this!
Regarding the tyres and tubes ... I punctures two tubes (which were in my slicks), but both were filled with slime, so they stayed inflated and I merely changed them at a later stage when servicing my bike. I had to refill the slime in my tubeless off-road tyres once, when there were some holes ... but they easily sealed with the slime. I also had one majorly irritating rest-day where I really struggled to seat my slicks to my rims ... a note to all wanting to use tubeless and fit slicks - try them out and find a pair of tyres that seat easily. All of us tubeless riders eventually ended up using Michelin XCR Road Tyres/Slicks ... they seat real well!
Sailing at sunset ... ah ... how nice it is to be back in Cape Town ...
Cape Town from Table Mountain
Gee ... it feels like easter ...
The South Africans!
Ze Germans and ze Zwiss, Ja!
Adri, Patrick and Eva
Party Time!
Andy C. ... in the final convoy ... any guess which country he comes from ...?
Done It ... YEEHA!
Patrick, Tiger and Helen Zille
Thanks Boet for all the help and support ...!
And they all came to see me!! ;-)
The SEA! ... Eilands Bay
Patrick and Remy ... after the race leaders fitted "Race Leader" signs ...
The roads are always long and straight in Africa ... merely tarred back in S.A.
Remy, Janet and Gerhard in Melkbos Strand
Phil's Bike ...
Andy ... when you going to cut your hair?
Phil, Remy and I continued to alter, hide, deface and torture each others bikes and rides ... as noticeable with Phil's bike in the picture above. Some people also kept growing their hair ... either too lazy or they couldn't find a hairdresser ... Andy P. looked especially sexy when he took his helmet off ...
We had one more dirt road section thru to Eland's Bay ... where we got to see the sea!! YEEHA! The second last day, to Yzerfontein was really quite tough ... we were all real tired, head-winds all the way and a definite chill in the air ... but arriving here was a definite highlight for me ... it is nearly like home (I work a lot at a stable yard around the corner and I used to own a smallholding up here till two months ago).
Hi there all!!
I've done it ... actually several days ago already ... I've just been running around like crazy and haven't set up my computer yet (sitting in Stellenbosch in an internet cafe) ... and therefore only sending this out now ... we cruised in last Saturday and have not stopped since ...
It has been absolutely amazing!! The best thing I have ever done and worth every penny and all the debt I have accrued to do so!
I'll update you all with information and pics early in the next week ... still running around with friends from the tour and trying to find some peace and quite here and there - actually, to be honest, I would rather be back in Sudan in the open, empty sand-pit with little to do and surviving out of my little red box ...
Well, I've got a couple more tourist destinations to go thru ... off to Hermanus and the wine farms today, Greenmarket Square on Saturday and dinner here and there. Already done Table Mountain, Cape Point, Peninsula Tour and some sailing (Thanks Rob Meek and Gordon Kling for the sail) ... weird how one becomes a tourist in one's own town ... ;-)
Later guys and gals ...
Back in South Africa ...
Well, I'm back in South Africa ... exactly four months since I flew out of Jo'burg International (I know the name has/is changing, but I prefer the old one).
We stayed at a lekker camp ... Fiddlers Creek ... just on the Orange River, on the RSA side. We have made it to Springbok and are spending some time in this major city ... well, not really major.
Once again we have another little bug going around the camp ... my stomach packed up two nights ago and I've been blessed with a head cold too ... lets get it over with now and then come charging into Yzerfontein and Cape Town in top gear on the weekend.
Well, this will probably be all for a while ... don't think we will have more e-mail connections pre-Cape Town ... so I'll do some more from home (wherever that is going to be ...?) and sumarise some other information too.
Well, hope to see lots of you back home soon. I'll need a holiday to recover and get back into things ... so to all my dear clients - I'm only going to get back into the swing of work towards the end of the month ... end of May!
Lotsa luv all
Patrick
P.S. ... lack of photos was due to lack of USB connections on computers since Botswana
Namibia - heading to Ai-Ais (as if you couldn't guess!)
Quiver trees at Garas Park
Quiver trees earlier in the day (notice arty composition of photo)
Gerhard you should cycle not push
Go tandem, go!
Gunther stocking up for the day
Here comes Thor!
Hi there all.
Just a quick note to say hi!!
I've had a nice ride from Windhoek ... not too cold, a little boring and monotonous regarding the scenery ... but really beautiful and good fun!!
Had another problem ... or rather repeated issue with my one eye ... pain, red, swollen and real shit ... ended up going to the specialist at the Keetmanshoop Hospital ... nice, friendly "front shop" staff ... useless Dr to say the least ... as a fellow cyclist said: "She might as well have kicked you in the balls and you'd have had the same results!" ... i.e. USELESS!!
Otherwise real well ... entered the Ai-Ais area today ... real beautiful and back on dirt road - real good dirt road! Went to the Fish River Canyon for sun downers ... awesome ... and enjoying some drinks for the nurse's birthday this evening.
Off for a rest day at Ai-Ais tomorrow and then cross the border the next day ... back HOME!!!
See you soon, and I'll update this again from sweet old South Africa
Lotsa Love,
Patrick
