Aasvoelberg rocks

We missed out on the Aasvoelberg portage due to weather during the race and man, I was glad to see what is was all about. First off, its mostly rideable - uphill. The downhill is gnarly and adrenalin pumping. Some white knuckle moments. The tandem was incredible coping better than us on the rocky and very steep jeep track descent. At the bottom, we are all grinning like lunatics and this moment was rounded off by coffee and rusks at the Magdala farmhouse.

I was feeling great despite the pumping headwind and we crested a small climb to be faced with the huge expanse of the Karoo. But first there was another wicked pass to descend. We gradually picked up speed and hauled the last 35km stopping only for a brief coke stop when we met up with our vehicle. It was a reunion with the local coffee and pie shop although in much warmer conditions than the last time. We're now ensconced in the Karoobos B&B and the stories of the trail fly thick and fast. The day was 88km and a brilliant mix of terrain, views and hospitality.

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A history lesson

We were scattered all over the Stormberg today. Dr Rudi de Wet (who was the race doc for Freedom Challenge) rode with us and was a massive store of knowledge on the Boer War battles in 1900. We checked out the blockhouses and graves for British soldiers killed in an ambush.

The riding was pretty easy and the views were stunning. Groves of poplar trees were donning their autumn colours and the veld was green and lush. I split off from the group to head back a different way with Rudi and was treated to a panorama from the Stormberg around to De Rust farm all the way to Aasvoelberg. Then a 10km descent to Molteno with a tailwind rounded off an 80km day. Brilliant!

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High Tech not!

Not only have I driven through Hofmeyer (near Molteno) 100 times but I have a map book. The boys have the GPS. First they couldn't find Molteno on the GPS and now they can't find the N1 highway. The route is Jhb to Bloem then Gariep dam to Steynsburg and finally Molteno. For some inexplicable reason they decided to follow the GPS and we are now on a dirt road looking for town called Excelsior. Our speed is 75km/h instead of 130k/h and it is quite silent in the car. We looked at the non technology direction finder - the map book - and saw we were closer to Maseru (Lesotho) than our destination. How these two got to Cape Town in last year's Freedom Challenge is a mystery. Oh yes, they didn't have a GPS, only maps!
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