It is Friday and my first day not cycling. I am in a town called Springbok, 580 km north of Cape Town and 120 km south of the Namibian border. Springbok is much like the other towns I have stopped off at since leaving Cape Town. There is a main strip, off which lie low rise white buildings and a smattering of diners, guesthouses and petrol stations. I ask the waitress, at the restaurant I am in, whether she likes it here. She says it is too small. There is nothing to do. At the weekend people drink until they can drink no more. There is one club. The same people each time. There is always a fight. I feel lucky to have the freedom to come and go as I please. Lots of the people I have met, in the towns I have passed through so far, seem to feel trapped.
Over the past 6 days I have bicycled up the main highway, the N7, stopping at Malmesbury, Piketberg, Citrusdal, Vanrynshorp, Garies, and Springbok. Arriving in each town is surreal. Everyone stares as I pedal wearily to the first bar with an orning, in search of shade. On the road I have crossed the Cederberg Mountains by the Piekenierskloop pass, which winds up and over the range via a steady 3 km climb. The mountains rise out of the sandy wilderness and from the summit I see the dark tarmac I have ridden until it disappears between the desert and the sky. The climb itself is hard for me. It is still early, but the heat reaches the mid 40s by noon and even at ten the sun is high. I take regular breaks and wave at the passing lorries, who crawl up past me like broken mules. They always honk their horns as they pass, which spurs me on. The descent is a wonderful feeling and I arrive at Citrusdal by 11, where I decide to call it a day.
I leave Citrusdal at dawn and decide to take a gravel track towards Clanwilliam instead of the highway. The riding is slower but the landscape more varied. To my left there is a stream which runs across pale stones and near white sand. There are lots of trees and the track itself is deep ochre. It is still early as I pass through the first village, which has a tiny school. As I cycle past the playground all the kids look up and as one yells out something in Africans they all clap and shout. I wave back and speed up for the next 15 km. At the first turning I re-join the highway and cycle up past the Clanwilliam Dam, arriving at Vanrynsdorp by mid afternoon. I cycled 140 km and get an early night in a pretty little B&B.
Leaving Vanrynsdorp the landscape is pleasantly flatter: the hills soften, rolling into the Karoo. The road is long and straight and empty. The air is cool and I cycle at a decent pace. After an hour or so the sky darkens and I hear thunder and see lightening flash ahead. The storm makes me anxious – I can see no sign of life in all directions, only the rain, the black clouds, and the scrub. As it passes I relax and feel glad to have seen it. I cycle for another 7 hours and arrive at Garies, having covered 150 km.
The final day of riding is the toughest yet; all the way to Springbok are hills. After each climb my heart sinks as I see another rise ahead of me and the sun saps my energy. It takes 9 hours to cover only 120 km. In the evening I have some drinks with a couple of English overlanders and look forward to a lie-in. The past 6 days I had set off early and seen the sunrise from the road. Tomorrow I head to Vioolsdrift where I cross the border to Namibia.
Over the past 6 days I have bicycled up the main highway, the N7, stopping at Malmesbury, Piketberg, Citrusdal, Vanrynshorp, Garies, and Springbok. Arriving in each town is surreal. Everyone stares as I pedal wearily to the first bar with an orning, in search of shade. On the road I have crossed the Cederberg Mountains by the Piekenierskloop pass, which winds up and over the range via a steady 3 km climb. The mountains rise out of the sandy wilderness and from the summit I see the dark tarmac I have ridden until it disappears between the desert and the sky. The climb itself is hard for me. It is still early, but the heat reaches the mid 40s by noon and even at ten the sun is high. I take regular breaks and wave at the passing lorries, who crawl up past me like broken mules. They always honk their horns as they pass, which spurs me on. The descent is a wonderful feeling and I arrive at Citrusdal by 11, where I decide to call it a day.
I leave Citrusdal at dawn and decide to take a gravel track towards Clanwilliam instead of the highway. The riding is slower but the landscape more varied. To my left there is a stream which runs across pale stones and near white sand. There are lots of trees and the track itself is deep ochre. It is still early as I pass through the first village, which has a tiny school. As I cycle past the playground all the kids look up and as one yells out something in Africans they all clap and shout. I wave back and speed up for the next 15 km. At the first turning I re-join the highway and cycle up past the Clanwilliam Dam, arriving at Vanrynsdorp by mid afternoon. I cycled 140 km and get an early night in a pretty little B&B.
Leaving Vanrynsdorp the landscape is pleasantly flatter: the hills soften, rolling into the Karoo. The road is long and straight and empty. The air is cool and I cycle at a decent pace. After an hour or so the sky darkens and I hear thunder and see lightening flash ahead. The storm makes me anxious – I can see no sign of life in all directions, only the rain, the black clouds, and the scrub. As it passes I relax and feel glad to have seen it. I cycle for another 7 hours and arrive at Garies, having covered 150 km.
The final day of riding is the toughest yet; all the way to Springbok are hills. After each climb my heart sinks as I see another rise ahead of me and the sun saps my energy. It takes 9 hours to cover only 120 km. In the evening I have some drinks with a couple of English overlanders and look forward to a lie-in. The past 6 days I had set off early and seen the sunrise from the road. Tomorrow I head to Vioolsdrift where I cross the border to Namibia.
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