No chain day

How does one go from the ridiculous and overwrought to the sublime?

This is the nature of this race.

Arriving at The Willows yesterday in a complete state made me fearful for today - the same distance of about 170km.

Six hours of solid sleep and it was back on the bike.

The route was flat and fast and many times I could use the much under utilised big chainring.

We took it easy, mindful of the distance but still averaged over 18km per hour for the first 100km. This may not sound a lot but when you have been averaging less than 10km/hour, it's huge.

The massive support from so many people also gave me wings today.

We had a superb lunch at a farm called Rondavel (my first ever vetkoek) before heading off on the next leg to Prince Albert.

It was long and straight and my butt took mega strain. Not even two pairs of cycling shorts helped. When we thought we still had about 40km to go we came across the Village Headman - Johann Rissik. Famous for popping up all over to help riders, he had set up a coffee/tea spot under the trees. We liberally helped ourselves and enjoyed the soft chairs.

The best news was that it was less far than we thought to the end.

Buoyed up by the good news, Doug and I rode the last 30km like it was a sprint finish. It was with a sense of complete satisfaction that we arrived at the amazing Dennehof B&B.

My earth angel Johann had organised me the best suite where I luxuriated in a hot bath and got most of the tangles out my hair.

My bike was whisked away to be looked after and I had a leg massage.

Prince Albert and its people must be the centre of the universe!

What a beaut day - weather, ride, people here and all over.

Yesterday seems like a bad dream and I can start the last haul refreshed.

Thank you everyone!

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