The Spraypainters

If anyone was wondering about the funky blogging,forgot phone in outside pocket for cold start so it has been doing some weird things.

The stopover at Chesney Wold was as to be expected, something else. The amazing food (which unfortunately never stayed in very long), a warm reception and great hospitality made me feel ready for the next big push. Thought i could try for Kranzkop with an early start and try and catch up to Marnitz a bit. After a hearty breakfast started a bit late, 6.30, and hit the nice and crispy weather outside (about  -8), making drinking almost impossible, both bottles froze solidly along with my beard. The best freedom advise i could pass on would be the tips from Carl and Marnitz, when in doubt aim south then west, follow the telephone lines, never ever get frustrated, and my own from experience, grow a beard.

Anyway, as every day there was a lot of scenic riding and i just started getting into a nice rythm climbing up to the first portage when breakfast decided to stay to admire the views. Not the best way to start the day, but almost at the next support station so just gather yourself and keep going. The descend down Kapokkraal was very much rideable this year, the muddy parts still being frozen. Very fun downhill, stopped quickly at the painted farmhouse, so much to see on the trail, should be touring it.

Arrived at Slaapkrans and found Marnitz bike standing there, probably felt the same way he did when he found my bike at Ntsikeni. Went inside and found him in bed, as oom Andre said he should think about starting a spraypainting shop the way he has been redecorating their house. Since i wasn't feeling too great either, and would love to ride with marnitz again, decided to call it a day as well. Stopped at 10.30, a bit unheard of but hey was a fun day out and now i get to rest a bit and give the knee a bit of a break.

Had a lovely middagslapie, woke up close to supper when tim james arrived, a big legend of the race and amazing person. Thought would be really special if i could ride with these two as long as my knee held, might even come close to last year's experience with carl and marnitz. Had a great supper with andre and oyce (can't really thank the support stations enough, these people make you part of their homes and lives and make the journey that much easier). Went to bed early planning to stay with marnitz and tim. Had a peaceful sleep for about 3hours when the fun games began. Give or take an hour every hour till 6 i had to run to avoid a rerun of marnitz's spraypainting of the house, had a interesting cycle going alternating between...well lets not go into the details. Needless to say i really did not feel like riding, rather try and sleep and recover.