Yesterday we left Windhoek for a nice 115km ride to Weissenfels lodge in the desert region of Namibia. When I got back to the camp after staying at the Proteas Hotel with Luke I noticed my rear tyre was flat. That really pissed me off considering it was now raining to add to my woes.
I fixed the flat and was on the road by 6.30am. The first part of the ride was a 5km climb and then we hit the dirt which would follow us for the next 8 days. After these 8 days it will be all tarmac to our final destination Cape town, South Africa.
The dirt section was nice and compact and easy to ride on, very little sand and the occasional corrugation to contend with. Still I haven’t seen many animals on the trip. The mountains that surrounded us today was simply stunning. I would have to say that today’s sunrise was one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen in my life.
As we climbed the mountain the sun was chasing us to reach the top. By the time we reached the summit we could see for miles as the sun started to light up the valley and the mountains surrounding us, showing it beautiful greenness and brownness which was amazing.
The whole day was just fabulous. We rolled along the plains of Namibia all day with beautiful clear sky and a fantastic tailwind. After all the long desolate tared roads of Namibia and now to be subjected to a dirt road with a brilliant landscape was so enjoyable. It actually made all the hard work of the last 10days all worthwhile.
The mountains that we could see in the distance were for tomorrow but for today there size as they appeared to just grow out of the plains and sit there all alone was making the riding an absolute pleasure.
We rolled down into camp at 12.30pm and relaxed the whole afternoon away. Tomorrow we’re going to spend as much time as possible calling into places and not spending too much time in camp doing zippo
30th April 2011. Weissenfels to Solitaire 125kms.
I forgot to tell you that yesterday afternoon I had a sleep for 1 & ½ hours as I’ve been so tired lately and not getting enough sleep. Why do I say this? Simple, I went to bed last night at 7pm, fell asleep straight away and woke at 5.35. That’s no good as breakfast is served at 5.30am.
I frantically got dressed, packed up a wet Tent Hilton, threw it in the locker and then noticed the breakfast was now packed away. I went over the lunch truck pinched a couple of slices of bread for Peter and myself, grabbed a few bananas and soon we were eating a breakfast of banana on dried bread. It sucked. At least my tyres were still up.We headed off together for what would be one of the finest days of riding in my life, both in Africa and back home in Australia.
Firstly we had to back track 7kms to the turnoff to Solitaire, our destination for the day.
We just rolled along a nice smooth dirt road with the occasional watercourse along the way. Some of the watercourses were very deep and packed with rocks just to make it much harder for the rider to navigate. We had to contend with a bit of mud as well from the heavy downpour last night. It was so much fun riding through the water and balancing our way through the muddy creeks that were in our way.
The surrounding mountains were getting closer and shortly after lunch we would be climbing the pass that would give us one of the most amazing views of a landscape I’ve never seen any place on this planet.
Just before lunch we stopped at a nice lodge for a cup of coffee and some homemade biscuits. We sat around for about an hour just chatting about the holiday so far and some of the interesting people we had met on the tour. As more cyclists made their way towards the lodge Peter would blow his whistle letting others know where we were. Soon we had 10 other cyclists sitting down drinking coffee and biscuits. The longer I spend outside of the camp the more I enjoy Africa. The lady who owned the lodge told us about the cheetahs and leopards that run wild in the mountains around the lodge and the damage they cause to the livestock of many landholders in the area. I was amazed to think that they lived out here in no man’s land.
Just as we were about to get up and leave the sweep turned up. The sweep is the TDA staff member who rides behind the last riders. Well, we’re last, who cares?
We got back on the road and made our way to the lunch stop at 65kms. We had a nice lunch sitting on the side of the road surrounded by nothing other than mountains and open wilderness. The majority of landholders in this area deal in cattle and the properties are the size of those in Australia.
We rode about 2kms after lunch and found Sharita bogged deep in some serious mud. I thought it was quite hilarious to see the boss deep in the middle of about 30 metres of mud. They had to get another vehicle in to pull out the jeep. It took some time but eventually freedom came and our illustrious boss was on the road back to camp. When I say boss, I do so in a jovial fashion as Sharita is one professional lady who does an amazing job in ensuring the circus makes it from camp to camp each day.
There is this one guy called Bastion, a very good rider and one who will do anything if given the chance. Well while Sharita was trying to get the jeep out of the mud, Bastion did this long run off and dived belly down into mud and slid face down showering himself with mud from shoe to the top of his head. I would’ve given him about a 8 out of 10 for execution, it was close to perfection.
The next part of the day was the climb one side of the mountain down into the valley beyond. The climb was much easier than I expected. Short, but extremely steep. As we rounded the ridge and looked in front of us, all I could see was a land of imaginable beauty. We were standing on the edge of the mountain looking out into the abyss. This land just dropped 500 metres before us like a sheer cliff we would ride down shortly into the valley floor. To stand atop of the mountain and just gaze over the valley with its small ponds, large rocky peaks standing before us is something I wish every member of eXsight could see. The flat plains, green grass, scattered trees, absolute wilderness, a dirt roads that dissected the valley was just one of the best days of riding in my life.
We had to take it easy on the descent as we dropped 500 metres in 4kms.
As we hit the valley floor we just looked back in Auer at this incredible mountain, a mountain that would wind its way to the east of us for the next 40kms.
We rode along the valley with a nice tailwind until we came to the Gecko Camp where once again it was time for another coke and relax with the other riders who were having an afternoon break. It was so nice to take so many breaks today and spend so much time in the African wilderness.
By the time we got back on our bikes and rode the last 30kms into camp, we had spent over 9 hours on and off our bike today. This is a day I will not forget for some time.So we reached the town of Solitaire in the middle of the Namibian desert safe and sound. Tent Hilton is now up and dinner is about to be served. After dinner I’m going to listen to REM and just relax the night away. Until 5am tomorrow, when I should get out of bed, its goodbye from yet another amazing day from the ultimate cycle journey on earth.
1st May 2011. Solitaire to Sousseliev. 85kms. 30km individual Time Trial.
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| What an amazing view looking down into the Namibian Desert. |
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| The group of us just sat for an hour looking out over the valley below. |
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| Not sure whether the storm in the distance is going to stay away today. |
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| Major sponsor of Windhoek to Cape town, South Africa. |
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| Tent Hilton. |
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| Just another beautiful day on the gravel roads of Namibia. |
Last night we had another one of those thunderstorms that would send a dog around the bend. With thunder and lightning cracking like a whip and now my F….king tent has a leak, I didn’t get much sleep at all. Not good preparation for the 30km time trial.
I rode the 15km out to the starting point and within minutes I was off. By the time I had completed the 1st km it was over. My legs just didn’t want to work at all. With the gravel road going ever so slightly uphill into a headwind, I couldn’t see what the hell I was doing it for in the first place. I had my stage win so I’ve achieved what I set out to do.
I rode and took photos and met up with Horst and his partner for the final 10km to the end of the time trial. I was so slow I didn’t even worry about checking out my time. I grabbed a quick sandwich and then got back on the bike for the ride to Soussielev camp, the end of the 85km stage.
Perhaps I should go back a bit. Once again we were shadowed by spectacular mountain ranges all the way today. With brown rock faces and green in between it was just another beautiful day to go for a ride. The grass in some places was so short it looked like a bowling green right up to the base of the mountain.
Once at camp I found out the lodge up the road was $150 per head and I just wasn’t prepared to splash out when I really needed to fix my rear wheel which was buckled with a broken spoke. I had some tubes to repair and just thought it was the right time to spend my rest day chilling out around the camp.
The camp has a nice bar but the food is pretty ordinary. The pool is nice and I’m sure to go for a swim when I get back from our walk tomorrow morning. The rain has held off today and I hope it stays away for another 13 days. Yes, we have a rest day tomorrow, then 5 days of dirt riding, another rest day and then it’s all downhill for the final 6 days into Cape town.
I spoke to Graciella and Matt today and it was obvious we’re all ready for the end of the journey to happen. I love Namibia and the landscape, but I’m getting tired. My bike is holding up, but other things are starting to show serious wear. My shoes are nearly dead and my clothing is a disgrace. There’s no use bringing half my gear home because it’s so worn. I’m sure someone will get some use out of the gear we’ll be donating to the local charity in Cape town.
I’ll try and post the story as soon as possible.
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