Distance: 110km
Climbing: 1900m
Weather: sunny 28 degrees.
Plan: Gently wind up the effort, attempt to move up in category, but without big efforts. Don’t crash.
Tough, rough and very dusty. We rode at a good pace all day. But also had to overcome some issues – a large tear in the sidewall. Repaired good but chose to replace the tyre at next feed station. Then Michael had a nasty crash and broke his prescription Oakley’s – repaired at another feed station – riding for 2 hours without any protection or sight! Another crash and another, that will affect anyone’s confidence. So we descended steady, but attempted to push on when climbing.
Some good banter with the South Africans on course. Brilliant feed-stations with all sorts of repair and respite options!
Summary. Long day in the saddle. Michael is beaten up by his crashes. So it’s rest, eat and drink now as much as possible. Same again tomorrow.
Verity Appleyard 