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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Day 1: Pmb to Allendale



109km/10h30min. A tougher day than expected! Initially the weather was perfect and we rode as a group but the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. We split up on the first climb and I only saw the other guys again at Allendale when they arrived at 7pm. Marius was not with them because he decided to pull out at Minerva - he had been battling with illness before the start so it was probably a wise move. Two big climbs today, the first up to the soup stop at Minerva Reserve was rideable with one gear but the long haul up Hella Hella was a lot steeper and I had to walk. The bike was brilliant though - I could ride all the technical stuff with confidence and even the treacherous drop down the cement track into the Umkomaas Valley was no problem. I only got into Allendale support station after 4pm which meant the choice to stay or go was made easier - with only an hour of good light left and lots of tricky navigation through the forests around Donnybrook, I opted to stay - blame it on the crackling fire and good food. Depending on tomorrow's weather, I'll leave a bit earlier and try to catch up a bit of time but now it's time for bed.

2 comments:

  1. >>Donnybrook, I opted to stay - blame it on the crackling fire and good food.

    Rest and recovery is good. Even in the early days. But you already know this ..

    Is someone feeding the blog comments back to you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love how uncluttered the bike looks. How big/heavy is your pack?

    ReplyDelete