We could not believe our luck, a straight road disappearing into the distance with soft rolling hills which allowed for high speed downhill chases! It was the first time in 2 days that we could actually use the tandem’s big blade (for those non cyclists, translate this as being able to pedal harder with not much effort being exerted due to downhill’s or no wind) and took full advantage of it by reaching speeds of up to 62kms/h. Once again the terrain was pretty uneventful – scrub bush, a few Salvador Dali-type rock formations, lots of strange sheep with black heads and a few wild cat roadkills. But 2 things that did stand out for us were these corbelled houses built many years ago which are typical of this region (see below a corbelled house that we managed to find in town – the others along the road were too far away in the distance) and these bizarre train stations in the middle of nowhere! I mean, once people got off the train where do you suppose they actually go as there is nothing out there??
We were also definitely in windmill country now as every couple of kilometres was a windmill turning (sorry guys, I didn’t end up counting those!!). And we later discovered in town a windmill spares yard where you could buy all the bits and pieces for your windmill. Goodness me!
And God really wanted to bless us today as there seemed to be a few clouds as the sun came up which kept the temperature down and a noticeable tailwind picked up which pushed us all the way along to Carnarvon. Today’s food on the bike included ‘blikbrood’ (yummy bread baked in an empty jam-tin) with peanut butter, raisins, oranges and chocolate muffins and when we got into town we found the local coffee shop and delightfully added apple tart with ice-cream to our daily menu!! Shew, not sure about me losing weight of body fat percentage on this trip!! But at least I can have a guilty free conscience. We reached town at 9:30am and were not sure whether to eat breakfast or lunch but settled down to a meal of toast, pilchards (yes, we need the protein!), butter beans and scrambled egg. A strange combination, but its all about getting those carbohydrate and protein levels up.
Tomorrow is another 140kms to Victoria West where we will meet Anton Geelhuizen’s uncle, Hannes and we’ll be spending 2 LOVELY rest days with him. It will also be the last day that my parents in law will be travelling with us – after that we’ll be on our own!
Thank you to Marie Jacobs from Out of Africa Guesthouses for giving us a free night!
Today’s Stats:
Total time including stops: 4hrs02mins
Total Distance: 125.8kms
Average Speed: 33.3kms/h
Maximum Speed: 62kms/h
Average Heart Rate: 128 (Jaco), 129 (Christie)
Average Temperature: 23 degrees
Maximum Temperature: 33 degrees
Climbing: 665 meters
KCalories Burned: 1726 (Jaco), 1998 (Christie)
Number of Bottles of Energy Drink Consumed: 5
Number of wee stops: 5
Number of cars which passed us on the road (both sides): a whopping 29!
Christie’s highlight:
The road welcoming us with the most beautiful sunrise over the mountains at 5am
Christie’s lowlight:
Having to ask why my father in law had not peeled an orange for me at our first food stop on the road (I was getting spoilt and used to the idea of having my own personal orange peeler!!)
Jaco’s highlight:
Cycling alongside an eagle soaring in the air with us for about 1km
Jaco’s lowlight:
Forgetting the 4 baked potatoes in the microwave that we had cooked the night before which was our cycling padkos. (Oh well, chocolate muffins would just have to do!)
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