More Uphill 😅

Riding

Always Friday

Yesterday's ride was absolutely grueling. Leave Montagu. So far 👍🏻. Through Ashton 👍🏻. By the way, they have built a 🌁 there that must have cost 💰💸💳. Next 🦵🏻 to Robertson 🆘️🅾️. Had a quick 🍪. Very nice. Then I depart Robertson. Back 🛣 to Villiersdorp. The 🥇 20kms windy. Then holy 💩🙈🙊. It was like dying in slow motion. If you weren't pedaling you were being 🌬 (and not the good one) backwards at a 💯 miles an ⌛. The language was appalling 🤬🤬. One of the reasons I ride alone. I think the worst wind I have ever, forever ever, yip ridden in. No matter what I did, 💸💶, 🤬🤬, 😭😭 or even promise to become religious, it just kept getting worse. I was truly broken. 

Anyway. In Villiersdorp. Spar! Few goodies for my effort. Few baddies too 🍔🍟🍦🍐🍏. I wasn't too sure about this day but after the conditions I had it was to be off to my spot near the dam. There I managed to pull myself together and have a great 🛌. I was just happy not to be in a headwind anymore. 

Today was 🆙️. Clean 🧼🧽 and over Franschoek pass. It was an enjoyable ride. Nothing much to do! Into town for a coffee. At the 🏕 for twee nights. Chilling out. Hopefully get to 👀 my brother and his family on Sunday. 

Otherwise not much to report. This trip is ending soon. It has been a blast. Can't believe how far I have gone and how much I have 👀. Met some fantastic people. Looking forward to seeing my mates in CT. Missed them.

Hope you are all well. Strong. Happy. 

Until then. 

🗜™️

Wednesday 17.

Another cold night. 🥶 not quite as bad as the night before but full winter 🛌bag. The 🛌 itself was one of the best in a long ⌚. Packed and ready to go it was off. A slight uphill to the boss ladies office. Pay the 🧾💳 and gazoom. Through the main 🚧. It's a ⬅️ turn. Joe obviously! Not long into my ride but what do I 👀👓... another 🚵🏼‍♀️. We chat. She lives in the area 🤔. She owns a company that does bike races. Business is 🤫. We depart ways. More joe. It is a splendid ride. Not too 🌡. Not too 🌬. Great riding conditions. As I am passing another farm I see another rider. Mmmmm. This one not sure. It is a 👳🏽‍♂️ fella. On an ⚡⚡🚲. With no ⛑. Flip flops. No 💧💧. I ask him if he is okay. He says this way to Montagu?? I said nope you are going the wrong way. He looks confused. I said follow me let's go. He turns around and we ride a bit. We are doing almost 0 kilometers per ⌛. I tell him I need to push on and 👋🏻 goodbye. I take an impressive lead 😉. After about 30 or so minutes guess who is back 😳🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️. He must have ramped up his electric ⚡⚡. I don't even see him pedaling up the hills. Just pushing a button. F this I said. We get to the top of a pass. Let's test your skills now mr durbanite. I take the hell off. If he beats me now I am walking the rest of this trip.

Here is a lesson 👨🏻‍🦱👨🏻‍🦳 I don't like being beaten. My skills are tested. ➡️↘️⬇️↗️➡️↘️↘️➡️↘️↘️⬇️➡️↗️➡️↘️⬇️↗️➡️ you get the idea. Needless to say I didn't see him again. I am not being a 🐈 here. The guy was lost. I offered him 💧. He declined. Then he was going at 🐌 pace. Then he is overtaking me. WTEFF. Anyway I hope he made it back safe.

Down the pass. It is a lot of fun. I get to the 🍵 junction. ➡️ turn. Next T junction. Right turn. A little over a kilometer and I am in town. 🍔🍟 for lunch and off to my usual 🛌 spot.

Clean and fresh I am resting up. Been quite a fun day. Looking forward to tomorrow. Beers soon compadres. Chin qui. 

Over and out for today.

🗜™️

⚠️

🌬

☣

☢

Catch 🆙️ℹ🆖️

Sleep was worthless. Got about a pennies worth. Not sure what is going on. Not to mention it was absolutely 🥶🥶🧊🧊 when I got 🆙️ I think an arctic wind. 

The 🚿 was long and hot. I was basically defrosting! Clean, dressed and ready for this 🌝 it was go ⌚. 🔙 the way I rode yesterday. It was easier today, downhill! Then ➡️ onto the tar. Luckily for Ⓜ️e my ol friend headwind was joining for the day. 🤨🤐. The first 5 or so kilometers were a gradual uphill. With.... a headwind 🕺🏻🕺🏻. Seems at the 🔝 things changed. Slight tailwind and much much better speeds. About 30 to go. It was nice riding. Probably a lot more moaning in my head than needed, but now I think about it, it was pretty good.

⬅️ onto the N1. About 9 to do here. 🚳⚠️⚰. Luckily I made it. I get to the garage and stop for a coke and some 🍳🥓🥓🍞🍟 yum. While I am there 6️⃣ 🚛 massive lorries pull up and park on the N1. But why 🤔🤷‍♂️. Hold on I am getting there. They are carrying blades. No not 🪒 but wind turbine blades. And what 👀 like the base towers. Really an impressive sight. Apparently about 70 meters long 😳😥. Off to Sutherland to a new wind farm. I inform them no need as I have been eating copious amounts of bread and I have plenty of 💨💨 I laugh, the driver laughs, the pedestrian walking past laughs. A rare occasion in 🇿🇦, a white, a black and a coloured laughing at the same terrible joke. I kick the dog!

We go our separate ways. I was on this road about 5 days ago, going the other way. I know what to expect. Through the bustling metropolis of Touws Rivier. 🚽 The joe arrives. I am 30kms from my destination 🥳🤠😎🕺🏽. I take it fairly easy. The wind is an ever so slight tailwind 😳🤨. I check to make sure I am going the right way 🤠✅☑✔. It is just magnificent. Beautiful surroundings. I feel grateful for my journey. 🙏🏻

I come to the intersection where I came from a few days ago. 2 farmer chaps have 👀 me and pulled over for a chat. After about 10 minutes we bid our farewells and get going in our respective directions. 

No sooner than I have gotten comfortable the sign to my destination. 🦎 rock. I am so happy to be here. I spot 2 massive gemsbok just through the 🚧. As soon as they see me they head up into the veldt. I greet the owner. She signs me in and I am on my way to my campsite. Only me here. It is just beautiful. 

🚿🧼🧽🚽🧻 I am sitting enjoying a glass of water and a few biscuits. I am happy. 

My return journey is in full swing. I will be back soonish. My mind is still abuzz with life. I need sponsors. So far none of you have come up with anything 😅🤣🤪.

See y'all soon. 🍻🍺🍷🍷 you are buying. My 🚲 has just been incredible. I think it wants a faster rider 😞😭. Hard to believe what has happened so far since I left. Closing in on 4000 kilometers. There will definitely be a story to be told at the end of this trip. It has been an experience I have loved. Lonely at times. Very lonely but this is life. I would not change a single thing. 

Thanks for reading. It's not over yet. 

💙

🗜™️

Catch 🆙️ 🆗️🆗️

It was a 🥶 🌚. The days may be waruum but the nights are winter sleeping bag cold. 🆙️ and go. It was a bush sleep so no 🚿. Oh dear 👃🏻🚫. Off to my favorite shop for 🍳🍳🥓🥓🥓🍞🍞🐷🐷. Yummy! I am satisfied now. 🤤. 

I go to the spar on my way out. Few items. Not much needed. Then onto the 🛣. About 18kms before it's a ⬅️. It's a grand day. Well it was at this point. Road turns into joe. Nothing to see here. Keep going. Round a corner and a slight ➡️. 🥴😵😳😱😖🤬. Yip you guessed it. Life turns to misery. I do what I can. It is extremely frustrating as I have probably mentioned a million times when you have a strong headwind. It just depletes your energy. Well energy depleted. Good on you.  I just try and keep myself together. It is really hard going. Because of this fact I don't 👂🏻 🚘🚙 come up from behind me. They don't get too close but I nearly jumped out of my 🧦 when they passed. I could then 👀 they were racing each other once they had passed. Damn crazy!

The road gets no easier. It feels like I am just 🧗🏻‍♂️ all day. 😓😅. Eventually I 👀 the sign I have been looking for. Yip... I saw the sign and it opened up my 👁👁 I saw the signnnnn. It was a 🍵 junction. I knew there was a ⬅️ here and then shortly a ➡️. It's down a pass. Fast. Losing altitude is not good at all. It just means I have to find it further down my journey. Just after the ➡️ it comes back 👀 for Ⓜ️💊. Yay 😶🤭🤐. 🚵🏻‍♂️🚵🏻‍♂️ seems all I have done today. After about 3️⃣2️⃣5️⃣6️⃣⌛ the road I have been aiming for. MATROOSBERG 🕺🏻.

It's really not far down and a little up. Sign in. Pay the lady. Off to campsite. 🏕🕺🏻. Great success. Very nice.

🧦🧥🧤🦺👘🩳🩲 all washed. Dinner time. 🍞😅🤣. It's a good night from me and good night from me!

🗜™️

Catch 🆙️ 🆗️

It was a ©️®️🅰️🅿️ sleep. I had put my ⛺ very poorly on a rock. Basically no matter what I did I was rolling into the side of the abode. I learnt my lesson. 🌝rise the next morning was just 🏆. You could 👀 pools of 💧 from the previous days ⛈🌧 it really was beautiful. No ⌚ to sit and watch. It was off. Not a hard stretch. Well it shouldn't have been. I get to the Cederberg roadg ➡️. I know this joe well. Nothing to speak of. It's fast and furious. I get to the last hill. Done this 1️⃣ a few times. New record today 🤷‍♂️. I get cracking. Good stuff. After about ⏸⏺ minutes I find myself 🚶🏻‍♂️ pushing the 🚲. Absolutely blown up. There is ⭕% of energy left. It is survival mode. If takes me close on double what it should have. I just had nothing to give.

At oasis! Food. 🥪🥪🍟🍟 ➕🍺🍺. I drink lots of 🧊💧 for the rest of the 🌞. Sleep was sufficient and ready for 🌞day.

I want to get going 🚵🏻‍♂️ early, so I am packed and settling the 🧾 sharpish. No plan 😳😲😅😅. I am going to take the long way round 🔙 2️⃣ op die berg. Short way 60kms. Long way 160kms 🦧😅🤣. To the same place? ✅☑✔🧐🙈. And off. Love the start. 30kms to uitkykpas. The descent is magnificently fast. Brakes smoking. Tyres screeching, some 🐈 on a 🏍 comes flying past ⚰⚱ the music is playing china 🎶🎵. 

I get to the bottom safely. No sign of street hawk. He must be home already!! Short flattish. Small very rideable climb. Another fast long descent. I am McDonald'sing this day. Another fun section into Citrusdal. 

😳😲😥😞 that town 👀 and 👃🏻 like a rubbish dump now. I am sorely disappointed. At the cafe for a supply or two. From here it is a 1000 meter climb to the top of the next pass. Not that steep. Well it has short sections, but what has 🎣 my 👁 is the ☁️🌧☁️🌧 moving in. I get cracking. Probably 30 minutes in I look to see what is what. The rain, not purple has arrived in the town. I push harder. Luckily it seems to be trying to wash the town clean 😳😅🤣. I keep an 👁 on it while I move. 🤞🏻🤞🏻.

Somehow I make the 🔝 without getting more than a few 💧💧💧 on me. Great success 🕺🏼. The descent on the other side is almost my last ride. I notice a 🚘 coming behind me. I move to the ➡️ so we should both be safe. As this happens another 🚘 coming up the ⛰ comes round the corner. Well. How on 🌍 this guy did not hit me is an absolute wonder. Entirely my fault. Understood. I thought I was doing the right thing. No 🚙🚘🚗🚐 for hours then one from both directions at the same ⌚. Que the music 🎼🎵🎶⚰⚱. No one stopped. I was sort of in the bush. It took a few minutes to compose myself.  😅🤣.

Back on it. I keep going. It is getting late. I look around for places to 🛌. Stopping here and there to see if it is safe. No luck. I end up at my spot on the other side of op die berg. The 🌝 has gone and I setup in the dark. Bedtime!!

🗜™️

☁️

🌧🌧

⛈

W A D

I need to find better places to 🏕. I really like Simonskloof but 2️⃣ yes ✌🏻 days in a row the bloody 🐓🐓🐓 I think I 👂🏻 about 3 of them start yakking away at 🕒am in the morning. THAT IS 3 AM IN THE MORNING❗ and they don't shut the f up until about 7. 🤨😬😫🥱😡🧯🧯🧯 bloody rodents. Time they filled a serving dish 🍗🍗🍗🍷 deelicious.

So anyway. I was up at 3am. In and out of 😴💤 until I decided to get 🆙️ at about 🕕. I went to 🚿, cold water only. Not too bad. Fresh as a 🥀. Packed I am ready to 🛫. It's a 200 meter climb over about 5 kilometers. Not too bad if your 🦵🏻🦵🏻 are warm. I get to the top. Downhill for 6 kilos. Into the shop. A quick coke and a small niknaks will do for now. From here it is 🆙️ lunch bar. Another pass. The one I descended yesterday on my race lap. It's not too bad. Few 🚛🚚 pass me coming the other way, obviously in a race of their own. Over the pass. Halfway down the other side it's a ➡️ turn. On to the joe. Doing nicely. Pass a spectacular campsite in the middle of nowhere. Got their name for my next trip. 🍵 junction. It's a left turn. Not too far down this road and I arrive at Touws Rivier. It's a town not a river. When I say town I mean 🚽. I 🛑 in at the... yip. Not a bad shop. The till driver 🛃 is an absolute 🧠 dead moron. Needless to say she pissed me off. I depart. 

I have a 10 km stretch to do on the N1 🛣. This really made me unhappy. Anyway halfway down the road I pull over as it looks ⛈🌧. I wait 20 minutes and continue. It's a ➡️ turn off the 🛣. I am pleased I survived. The evidence is clear it was a 🏆 choice. Water everywhere. They needed this so good times. At the end of this road another 🍵 junction. A motorist has pulled over. More of a van driver. I think quick. WTF. Is he going to 🔪🔪 me and steal my 🚲. Or throw me in with the bike and 🔪🔪 me later 🥺😭😭. Actually dadah he is a watermelon supplier. He has cut me one up into pieces and is waiting for me 🦧🐒😳😳😲 I 💩 you not. Wow but does it go down a treat. 

Weird that... I woke up 10 minutes later in the back of his 🚚 😅🤣🤣 just kidding. 

I thank him for the offering. It really was good. Especially in today's heat. It's a right turn and onto the joe. I know where I want to be tonight. But at that point I was nearly done. The ☁️ were building up. Massive massive electrical storm. ⚡🌩⛈🌧. I am just into the Tankwa and I need to send it  full power if I am going to miss this thing. It was absolutely draining but I managed. 🥵🥵 40kms of the Tankwa, up a pass and 5kms down that road. 

I look out over the Tankwa. I have 🛌😴 here before so hopefully all well. I am tired, but today has been a day I have absolutely loved riding. It had everything I needed to know I can ride a 🚲. 

It's bedtime. I am pooped. 

Sleep tight all. Check out the pictures. I promise they do it no justice. It was amazing to watch.

Chat soon.

🗜™️

☮

Race Is On

The reason for my ✌🏻 day stop here is simple. Worked it out yet? Oh dear. Let me explain. Last ⌚ I was here I was informed about a route around the dam, over another pass and then back here 🗺. All in about 38kms. Now I am on something called strava. It's an app that records your performance and 🚲 accomplishments. Some rodney sole had the winning ⌚. So my trip here was to 👀 if I could beat him. 

This morning I absolutely gunned it. I was fresh. Well fed. Full power. Bike in top condition. Rider in some condition. Down towards the dam. I have no suspension so it was probably a bit more careful than I would have liked. Then round the side. Still feeling good I gave it the gass. Then arrives a fairly respectable hill. Yusses but I thought by the time go to the top I had died of corona. I couldn't breathe. I could hardly keep pedaling. Luckily it was down a pass for long enough to catch my breath and regroup. Right on to the joe again. Giving it all the beans I had I gassed it to the Simonskloof turnoff. Another short climb, through the gate and back.

Well I have no 📶 here so I don't know what happened yet. I think 🤔 I did a 1.38 and he did a 1.43. So not sure. Need to update when I get 📶 again and 👀 what is what and who is who. 

I am resting now 🛌 as I have not ridden that tempo for ages and I feel shot. So once I have seen the results I will either tell you or not. Quite simple really 😅😅.

Okay off for a 🚿. Chat soon my friends. I look forward to 🍻🍻 soon. Probably under 2 weeks I will be back. This ⌚ more effort in to finding a 👨🏻‍🔧👨🏻‍💻 or maybe not. Let's see. 

Until then ☮

🗜™️

Oh Dear!

So my plan tomorrow was to move one up to Matroosberg. I have been informed by a camper who has just arrived that it is full. Apparently walentines weekend or something 😳😅💔 ka boom. So will just have to 👀 what happens tomorrow. 

Yesterday I 👈🏻 Montagu. Can't stay there for long. It's a town and not much fun. I had this placed booked down for ✌🏻 days anyway. Will get to that❕❗ So out of town. Not much crappening. It's a fairly 🆗️ road. A little busier than maybe I like. Once  about 2️⃣0️⃣ or so kilometers it gets much 🤫. Perfect. As I am settling in it arrives. ⛰. Burgerspas. Not lunch.. an actual pass called that. Absolutely no cuisine shops around. Please dear 🛐 tell me why it is called that 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️😅. With the 🌡 rising anyway who has got ⌚ to eat 🤷‍♂️. I pedal like a madman. I have done this pass 🅱️4️⃣. The summit is reached and a sigh of relief is exhaled. Quick 🛑 in at the shop for a coke and the rest of the journey is completed. It is a joe road with a few slight ↗️ and ↘️. Not much to see really. 

Once at the entrance 🚧 you can 👀 why I have returned. Absolute ☮ and serenity. I pay my dues at the reception and set up 🏕🏖. The rest of the day just blends in and I relax to the max. It's a very good 🌚🛌. 

Fetch 👉🏻 🙄

Sunrise

Beautiful House

The Continuation

I got 🆙️ to the most beautiful 🌞 rise this morning. Packing was fun. Still managing to find thorns a plenty. Once done it was back down to the 🍴 less the 🔪  that led me the wrong way. About 1️⃣8️⃣ I think to the 🛣. The ®️6️⃣2️⃣. Yip the road Ronnie's sex shop is on. It was ⬅️ turn. The wind had dwindled down and was allowing me to get somewhere. 🙏🛐. 

It was about another 1️⃣5️⃣ or so to Barrydale. Unpon arriving Barry or Dale were nowhere to be found. I did st🅾️🅿️ the garage for a coke. All done I continued my ride for the day. First to the onslaught was Tradouwpas. I mean how much luck can I have❓ Another 🤬 pass. Yay! It is dealt with painfully. All the aches from yesterday have resumed work. I feel grateful. Once at the summit a little bit of joy makes it's way out. 

From here on it is probably another 50 or so kilometers until my destination. Sort of a rolling road. Absolutely magical if you don't have any 🎒🛍. Another story if are carrying 15 kilograms of stuff 🧦🦺🩳🩲🧤🧢🛠⚒🔩⚙ etcetera. One thing that happened that blew my 🧦 off was a particular 🚛. 

In this country if you are descending a ⛰ in a truck then you must go into low range gears so that if the brakes break you don't go flying down the hill and kill everyone. Comprendè. Well until now I haven't 👀 this happen. As I am descending one of the moderate ⛰ this 🚛 is going rather slow. Much to the annoyance of about 5 🚘🚙🚗🚙🚘 behind it. I give absolute credit to this dude for driving correctly. Thank you Sir 🎩. 

Anyway. So here I am. Back in Montagu. Off to Simonskloof tomorrow. No 📶 up there. 2 days maybe 🤷‍♂️. 

Today was actually a really good day. 4 hours 45 minutes riding. 99.68 kilometers 😅😅. I feel great. Much better than a few days ago. So I am happy.

Sleep tight all. 🅱️💊 safe. 

Chat soon. 

🗜™️

💙

Montagu

Wow yesterday was a tough 🚲. The 🥇 part was fun. Down into Calitzdorp. A superb ride. Little ⛰ but nothing to destroy the 🦵🏻. 

Spar for some goodies 🍞🍔🍟🌭🥛🚰 lunch bar 🤦‍♂️. Having eaten some of the bounty it was full speed ahead.  A short meander to the bottom of Rooiberg Pass and this is probably where the joy left me 👋. It was getting into the triple digits 🌡 again. Probably around 1️⃣8️⃣ teeeeeee. Well it was warm. I barely managed the climb. I have done it before but last ⌚ it was refreshingly overcast ☁️⛅. No such luck yesterday! Anyway once at the top ⛰ the views were breathtaking. Yes I was still catching my breath. The descent. Well again... yay!!! I can't really descend that fast. I have luggage. One item being a 🖐, yes five liter bottle of 🈯️ h2ooooh! You 👀 I can never be 💯% sure on whether I need it or not. Rather too much than too little she 😭. 

Past Rooiberg Lodge. Not camping there this time. Noooooo. Much better idea it has. So I continue. Van Wyksdorp. Wow. 😲. What a 💩🕳. I am guided 👉🏻 to the shop. A coke. They have no water. No one in that town has money for water. It comes from the 🚰. And I concur. So off again. I don't really have a plan yet. Was going to go to Herbertsdale. I keep pushing. To my good fortune a respectable 🌬🦲 has arrived. It just keeps getting warmer. 🥳. I get to the turn off. Herbertsdale straight or Montagu ➡️. Without stopping I turned ➡️. I can't explain why. So now I am going down this road with the mountain on my left. I mean it is pretty. But why I did this I don't know 🤷‍♂️. Searching new areas this was supposed to be. 

I am doing what I can to keep moving. The 🦵🏻 are sore. My bum is burning and now 🤯🥳 my ✋🏻 has decided to be painful too 🕺🏼. I feel like used parts. The ⏳ keep rolling by. I suddenly get a little nervous that I have not found a 🛌 spot. I get a section of road that has a ⬅️ or a ➡️ turning with the same ending. I choose ⬅️. About 4kms down what the hell do I find 🤔🤷‍♂️ well I'll tell you. It's a 🔒🚧. I know right. If I unpack my bike it will be dark once I have gotten over and repacked it. There is absolutely no other way around this gate. So I turn around... every now and then I fall apart. Just kidding. About a kilometer I see a fairly decent place to sleep. Bit of grass etc. 

So there is where it was to be. Except was it 🦧🐒. Nooooooooo. I had managed to miss the thorn 🌳 that was growing right next to me. So guess what I was doing last night? Come on guess. Okay okay. I was removing thorns that had pierced the bottom of my ⛺ and injected me with 5000 neurons of pain. I think I found them all so no worries for the next person that 🛌 there.

TBC...

Always Seems Like Monday 🗓

What a relaxing day yesterday! Easy ride. Nothing to it. Today is Monday. The start of a grand week. Everything new. Everything fresh. An absolutely gorgeous day here. The 🐣🐔🦆🦅🕊🐧🐦🐥🐤 have woken me up at 🕠 to let me know 🤔🤷‍♂️ that I must get up I guess. So 🆙️ I am getting. Looking forward to the ride. Van Wyksdorp it shall be. That is the interim 🥅. Once there an assessment will be done on further proceedings. Need a bigger ride today to clear everything from the stiff 🦿 to rhe 🧠. It all needs a little adjustment. My stop here has been good. Kruisrivier. Super campsite. I was the only attendee last night. So quiet. So peaceful. There is much to be seen. Much to be ridden. I feel I have been looking at the coin from the wrong direction the last few days. 

Happy Monday everyone. I can say it will be a good week. Let's get through it together. Dusty roads today. A big climb, Rooiberg. I almost cannot wait wait. Off for the usual so I can get moving. 

🗜™️😉💙

🏕

Yesterday at the 🚲🧱 there was a tyre that we 👀 at maybe throwing on the rear of my 🚲. The current one is nearly toast. It was brand new when I started this tour. 📃 note to self... don't buy maxxis again! So I was there this 🅰️Ⓜ️ having a gander. Whilst waiting for the owner, a lightie arrives with a wheel. I ask him his story. He says he is riding from the most northern point to Cape Agulhas. The most southern point. 🤔🤨 for real china? He says yip. 🐈 is 19 years old. He left on the 5th of January. Unfortunately we didn't chat much. His 🧓🏻👴🏻 were there to have a day with him. He was putting a new tyre on the rear 🤔🤨. 

Anyway we depart our ways.

Today for me was to go up Swartberg Pass. 🛌 at the top and then down the other side and 🛌 @ Kruisrivier tomorrow. While I need the shorter days and a bit of rest the downtime can be interesting. 

So I might see this youth tomorrow. He will be coming 🆙️ the ⛰ I have just done 😁😅. I would be interested to see his setup. Very different to mine. See if I can get a 🖼 of it tomorrow. Whilst his journey us point to point, mine has turned into a sight seeing trip 🔭. He seems reasonable and must be a fairly good 🚲.

It is bloody 🌬🌬 up here. My ⛺ has moved locations about 🔟 times. With me in it 🦧😳😲🐒🐵. It normally calms down after 🌝 set so 🤞🏻. 

I am starting to 🧠 about my return. I guess that's why I am a little gloomy. Not sure as usual if I will stay in ©️™️ or another trip. Not sure how long I can keep doing this. I am working on it.

That's it for this episode. Tune in again soon to see the outcome of...

🗜 😉

Feeee ry day

Strange dream night. After thinking about The Ghost Of Uniondale all day yesterday. I feel as though I know this woman. No... I did not have any 🍄🍄 last night.

So up and to it. The usual for a bush get up. All packed I am ready to roll. KA BOOM. Well more of a wheeeeeeee. It's downhill and my 🆓️body makes a 🆒️ whizzing sound. Got about 45 odd kilos to shed through before I can rest up for the rest of the rest day. 🆙️ a bit. 🆙️ a bit more. 🆙️ even more 🤬. Anyway it was very well rewarded at the top. A pass. Lunch bar! Looking over Prince Albert Valley. Beautiful. A little green island in the valley of brown. 

I descend. It's not long. Nor fast. Just enough to bring a satisfied grin to my old mug. The air is 🆒️. It makes me shiver. But I thoroughly enjoy it. The climb had made me work more than I wanted to for a fry yay. The valley is dealt with in reasonable time. No records here.One last little 🆙️ and then a relaxing ride into the town. Feels like home this gaff. I enjoy it here.

At the hotel enjoying a ☕ when a friend stops in to join me. How cool. This is what bike touring is about. Meeting like minded humans who enjoy chatting about what we do. It was grand. Once done it was down to the 🏕 hotel for an erection. Once completed the 🚿 gave me final relief that I was clean and sparkly. No bush camp tonight you dirty sod!

I am at the campsite watching Jerry Springer's sons mow the lawn. You cannot make this shit up. It is one of the funniest comedies I have ever watched. 

With the day to relax I sit here thinking about this trip. I can almost not adam and eve it that this is still the same trip where a few weeks ago I was looking at Hakskeen. Loving its heat and vastness. The absolute feeling of being alone. No one to share. No one to admire with. No one to talk to. It comes at a price. These trips drive me further and further out of society and into solitary. I am not a town person. I don't like the concept of money. It drives wedges between people. It takes control. It causes chaos. 

Enough rambling. I am still looking for sponsors for my riding. Or free gifts I can sell. Or free gifts I can use. Or actually just free booze and bike parts. 

It's Friday my lovelies. I hope you are all well. Happy. Content. Satisfied. So what if they mean the same thing. This is my blog 😉😘.

Tomorrow sees me going into the Swartberg for the night. It's just over 40 here in the pm. I will probably leave around 2. It's a sweat it out day. Then a sleep with the stars night. #excited

Be safe. Enjoy. Until we meet again. 

I miss you all.

G

Cool Shop

Sunset

Sunset

Lost 🧠

Yesterday was a hard day in the drivers 🪑. Luckily🤞🏻for me I ignored the captains advice and went straight 🔙🆙️ the way I had arrived. I know I missed a lot of 🆒️ trails in Plett but I will probably be 🔙 there some⌚. So anyhoo. Slog it back up to the turning 👉🏻. Yip a ➡️ this time. Quite a bit of unmemorable stuff. ➡️↘️↗️➡️↘️↘️➡️↗️⬆️🔄➡️↘️↗️➡️ comprendè? Eventually I get to the spot. Angie's G Spot. We found hers what about the rest of you 💃🏻🚶🏼‍♀️🤔🤷‍♂️🤯. I pull in. No one around. I leave. Usual bloody story I guess. Next is Prins Alfredpas. A 🆕️1️⃣ for me. I am cautioned 🛂 by the 🚺 at the padstal at the bottom that it is tough. I threw her with "I am tuffer" 😉🙃. She laughed, I laughed, her daughter laughed. I left. 

I took it pretty easy. Nothing steep. Just long. You go around every corner looking for some kind of summit ⛰. Nada. Nix. Nia. Fook all! Not much to do but keep going. It is pretty. Nice views, yeah I am going that slow 🐢🐛. A mistake I made was I should have found a place to 😴🛌 up there. But as usual I kept going. Finally after about 1️⃣ ➕ 3️⃣/4️⃣ ⏳ I reach the ⛰. It is quite spectacular. With no ⌚ for pleasantries I shift off. Into some disrespectful little town. A coke and chips please shop keep. 🥩🥩 I am in a hurry. The bounty is packed away.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr out of there. Ariva dache mofos. Off to Uniondale. It's been a long 🌞 by now. Quite a 🆒️ bit of road from there. Going like a 🐇. Into Uniondale. 🐒👀. This place. Yusses. I go to a few places. All rather expensive to sleep in a town that is quite frankly 💩. Eventually I find a gaff 🏯 which is about alff the others. Sold I 😭. Not too bad. Think the place was made pre jesus and they haven't quite updated it yet. But it had what I need 🛏🛋🚽🚿🪒🖥📶. So it served me well.

Today, boom bastic. Quick look in the shop before I 🍂. They have rewritable cd's yip. That's what they sell. I left sharply. 

It was a grand ride out. Nice views. Fun riding. Good 🛣. Just very pleasant. 

I had no real 🥅 today. Just ride. So I did. Long roads. Little 🚗🚘🚙🚚🚛🚐 I don't mean as in midgets cars I mean very few. Somewhere along the way I had to go to the 🚽 by the side of the road. This is a tricky 1️⃣. Get it right and 🏆 get it wrong and well all sorts of bad things can happen. Luckily today was 🏆👏🏻👏🏻. 

Into De Rust. What a little 💎 of a place. Clean 🧹 and neat. I like! What do you think... 🧠

Yes yes yes lunch bar. 🍔🍟. Good food too. Dee licous. Yum. Some young over enthusiastic waiter. Chill bra. 🧊🚶🏿‍♂️. No rush in Greg's 🌍. Lunch done. 🚀🚲. G O. 

It finds me here for the 🌚. I think about 50 from Prince Albert. I want to go and 😴🛌 on the 🔝 of the Swartberg Pass again. I did 2 trips ago and it was Fan Tastic. So tomorrow 🛌 Prince then up the ⛰. #excitedIam

That's all for now I guess. If you 👀 for rewritable 💽 then I can assist. 

Peace out people. 

Love. Peace. Kindness. Hope. 

G💙

W T F

600 Years Old 😳

Brrrrrm Brrrrrm

Tooosday

I was 🆙️ relatively early 🕡ish or so. 🚿🧼🧽🧻🦷💄 and so on and so forth. Ready for the 🌞 I have a quick ☕ with the boss. Then it's go ⌚. A quick 🔙 into town for a supply or 2️⃣. All done. I head out of town towards Plettenburgies Bay. Quite a steep climb up the drag. Then make a ⬅️ turn. About a kilometer down this road this absolute piece of 🐶💩 grabs my arm. Now I have never felt scared or threatened on any of my trips. The language I used, was probably not english. I was angry. Very very angry. I pulled my arm away quickly and kept swearing at this piece of shit until I was a distance away. I still find myself angry right now. I kept thinking if I had a 🔫 a real one I definitely would have pulled it on this brain dead dog turd. So probably a good idea I don't have one.

A couple of kilometers down the 🛣 the township ends and I find myself entering a forest of sorts. 🌲🌳🌴 everywhere. It is quite pretty. 🆙️ and more 🆙️ and just keep going up. I don't mind terribly. It's cooling and rather beautiful. The odd mud patch but mostly great riding. Describing this road would be easy. A road through a forest. Da daah! Less traffic. Less bloody everything. I enjoy it. Suddenly a ➡️ turn and I see a whole bunch of 🐒🐵 well baboons scatter off the road. Quite a laugh. 

The climbing continues 🚵🏻‍♂️. It's a sort of easy going ride. I pass a picnic spot. Then another. The third one is where I stop for... 🍞 and biscuits. Yummmmmmy. The journey gets going again.  🔜 after this I reach the turning 👉 for the day. A right turn. Down, well I thought it was down, into Pee let in burg bay. 

It was simply just not down. It started off nicely but quickly became an 🆙️. I didn't mind. It was a gorgeous day and I had plenty of 🚰. Views no end. Beautiful. Pretty. Well impressive. Booya! Finally the road to the bay. It's a ➡️ turn. I turned. Right. I haven't made town yet. I found me a healthy food gaff and what is next 🚪? Guess... come on guess. Okay okay it are is a 🏕🏖🏝⛺🚐 caravan park. And tents 🐒😉. 

Chat with the bossman. No discount 🐈😶 but he is a cyclist too. Well so he tells me. He is gonna show me a good route outta here tomorrow 🅰️Ⓜ️. So good news there.

After today's incident I need to be slightly more careful. Less nice. I am in this for me. I have to be safe. I will be more careful and more protected from now. 

Otherwise life is absolutely grand. I hope you are all doing well too. Miss you. You probably all drunk. Well enjoy it.

Chat soon.

G.

More Kak

So I am off to Hoekwil. To meet a new friend. Wayne. He has offered to put me up for the night. 🍜🍝🛌🛀 the absolute works. I mean five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. I 💩 you not. So off I go to Hoekwil. Again new area for me. Not sure what to expect. The road is called the 7️⃣ passes. It is super. Magnifique. ➡️↗️↘️↘️➡️↗️↗️➡️↘️↗️➡️↘️↗️➡️↗️↘️ not to mention I am feeling particularly strong. It is dealt with accordingly. Boom. I find the house. Wayne is on his way home. He went for an out and back ride the day prior. On his way home. He arrives in good time and the afternoon is spent talking about... bikes obviously. He too has a Lynskey. Now quickly. If you own a bike you are a cool person. If you own a Lynskey you are like me. A legend. 

The chat is good. The food delicious. The sleep brilliant. What a break from it all. It was grand. The people I have met. The fortune that has bestowed me. Truly grateful. 

Breakfast this morning. Sandwiches for the trip to boot. Man. This is good.

The weather was not on its best behavior. Overcast. Out of luck as I ride the rain seems to stop. Slightly muddy but not too bad. Today saw the 🦵🦵 absolutely struggle. I could not find pace or power. Everything was just hard work. Like a tap was just draining my energy. It felt a bit weird. I have not felt like this for absolutely ages. Anyway. My plan for today changed about 10 times. Nothing was going to be what it should. 

So I find myself here. Knysna. Second time here. It's okay. 

But is it.... 5 star place. No shit. I promise. She asked what I wanted to pay. I said 200. She said cool. Well what a human she is. We have just chatted for 2 hours. Interesting to say the least. Her boyfriend is doing the trail walk. She is Swedish. He is German. I cannot tell you how interesting she is. 

Well that's me for now. I need sleep. 

Chat soon my friends. 

G

Still Here

I sometimes get a bit lost and start with a post and then delete it because I feel it is not right. Today I am good. It has been something of a few days. Mostly just excellent and happy. 

So Saturday it was over the pass. I felt good. Really good. It's a decent climb 🚵‍♂️. Down the other side. Whizzing like a little shit. Fun. Bike in excellent shape. Man I was so happy. Into Oudtshoorn. 🍔🍟 standard by now. 🚰 lunch bar. Out of there. Wheeeeeee. Onto the Joe. ↗️➡️↘️↗️➡️↘️↘️⬇️☢➡️↗️➡️↗️➡️↗️↗️⬆️ you get my drift. 

Suddenly 👀👁. Can it be? I wipe my 👀👁. I clean my 👓🕶🥽. Aweh. Fo shizzle. It can like to be. It are. A microbrewery. I don't mean they serve midgets or tiny little glasses of beer. It is a small independent 🍺 maker. I go in. Sup homie. Beer please. Expecting to be laughed at. Within seconds there it is. Like amber nectar, a beer. A real life fucking beer 🍺. I cry. The barman cries. The dog cries. The other patron cries. I ask "alcoholic". He says fo sho. I cry. The barman cries. The dog gets a kick and the other patron kicks the dog too. 

One foul swoop the cup is empty. I look at it. The barman looks at it. The other patron shouts fill em up landlord. I insist of a half as the ride for the day is not over.

It was delicious. Lip smackingly good. Beer done I get going. Small tip here. Don't ever try and ride after a beer comma five. But today was an exception. There were no 💩💩 to be given. Weirdly this is where the ride got bloody tough. Not to mention the 🌬🦲 that had arrived. I struggled. It was rough. I should have gotten take aways. Lesson learnt.

From here on it was hard going. I reached my goal. Tired. Dazed. Confused. Drunk probably. Accommodation up ⛺ I settled down and slept like Greg. Yes, I slept just like I always do. Bloody poorly 🤣. 

Up the next morning. Down Montagu pass. Which is in George by the way 🤷‍♂️ sup with that! It was outstandingly good. Cold. It was early. Even early for me. Brisk, beautiful air. I was outrageously happy.

Into town. Straight to the bed shop. Well outdoor warehouse. My blow up doll, sorry I mean mattress was at the end of its days. I needed a new one. Deal done. Off to Hoekwil. 

T B C