The N18 becomes the N12
The road is surprisingly wide with a good shoulder for this part of the country which I thought would be a bit of a backwater, but there is a slight head wind that hopefully will not get stronger as the day wears on. We have 72 kms to go to Kimberley which will be a cinch for the two robocops on their bikes.
Later in the day:
Except it wasn’t a cinch. The wind proved to be a pain and Shaun had little strength after yesterday’s incredible run from Vryburg to Warrenton. Pieter however who had his knee examined in Ulco by a personal trainer and who felt that Pieter had pain from overuse, worked out how to bypass the knee pain by pushing down with his toes and lifting with his stomach muscles. His confidence has been restored and he did really well today.
We reached Kimberley later than expected. Roland posed for a photo at the ‘Welcome to the City that Sparkles’ board as this is his last day with the Cycle Tour. He leaves us very reluctantly tomorrow to return to Jozi and work.
We arrived in Bloemfontein, with bicycles loaded that is, at about 15h00 to a warm welcome from Leigh (Shaun’s wife), Heather (Roland’s better half) and enthusiastic 6 year old Nicholas who was very happy to see Dad and Grandpa. We had a delicious supper of roasted chicken and veg followed by a night Easter egg hunt for Nicholas. We were in bed by 08h30! Tomorrow we pay another visit to a Saverite store, do some shopping and catch up with ourselves. Bliss!
Thank you today to:
• Leigh and Heather for the warm welcome in Bloemfontein
• Leigh’s sister Marcelle and her husband Basil Melonas for the use of their home in Bloemfontein, for Marcelle’s lovely note telling us to use their home as our own and for being able to use the washing machine
• Roland Murphy for his excellent driving, for his help with loading the van, carrying, washing dishes, and the development of a Cycle Tour sign language that has caused much amusement.
Some stats:
Number of snakes seen by cyclists: 3 (2 dead, 1 alive)
Number of baboons seen in Ulco despite the enthusiasm of the locals: 0
Number of LBJs seen: 963
Number of LBJs identified: 1 (house sparrow)
Number of ant heaps/sunflowers/mealies seen: 3 billion. Each.
Number of glowing Easter eggs found by Nicholas: 12
Number of contents of glowing Easter eggs eaten by Nicholas: 12
Glossary:
LBJ: A birding term for Little Brown Jobs, the little blighters that are very difficult to identify.
OT: Occupational therapy/therapist.
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