Baked Beans
Pack Dog
Upington to Van Wyksvlei – May, 6th (+/- 298 km)
To my surprise the front tire was still fully inflated! After having the left overs of the “Moerse Hamburger” for breakfast, I took my bike for a service. Needless to say I also got a spare front tube. Since it was still early, I decided to backtrack to Augrabies. About 20 km outside Upington I got that by now familiar feeling. Without even looking, I know the front tire was flat again, so I put in the new tube. Something that I should have done in the first place. So I head back for Upington, get another tube, skip Augrabies and hit the dirt road to Kenhardt. Since it was still early (16:47), I decided to go for Van Wyksvlei. Normally you will do this stretch of 140 odd kilometers in a bit more than an hour. Half an hour later the road become slippery and five minutes later I had to negotiate my first mud pool. The rain of the previous day covered a great part of the interior. Twenty minutes later and I was playing in the mud. Very cautious and with some fancy footwork I took on the rest of the road, the last hour or so in darkness. Just before eight I entered the ghost town of Van Wyksvlei. With droopy eyes I looked at the hotel that is not up and running any more, so I stopped at the first house where there were a sign of life and asked if they know of any place where I can overnight. The guy was more than helpful and before long I was relaxing in a warm bath ( there was no shower). Maybe it was good to soak the dirt for a while. A bit weary of the days encounter, it did not take long before I looked up the comfort of my bed…
To my surprise the front tire was still fully inflated! After having the left overs of the “Moerse Hamburger” for breakfast, I took my bike for a service. Needless to say I also got a spare front tube. Since it was still early, I decided to backtrack to Augrabies. About 20 km outside Upington I got that by now familiar feeling. Without even looking, I know the front tire was flat again, so I put in the new tube. Something that I should have done in the first place. So I head back for Upington, get another tube, skip Augrabies and hit the dirt road to Kenhardt. Since it was still early (16:47), I decided to go for Van Wyksvlei. Normally you will do this stretch of 140 odd kilometers in a bit more than an hour. Half an hour later the road become slippery and five minutes later I had to negotiate my first mud pool. The rain of the previous day covered a great part of the interior. Twenty minutes later and I was playing in the mud. Very cautious and with some fancy footwork I took on the rest of the road, the last hour or so in darkness. Just before eight I entered the ghost town of Van Wyksvlei. With droopy eyes I looked at the hotel that is not up and running any more, so I stopped at the first house where there were a sign of life and asked if they know of any place where I can overnight. The guy was more than helpful and before long I was relaxing in a warm bath ( there was no shower). Maybe it was good to soak the dirt for a while. A bit weary of the days encounter, it did not take long before I looked up the comfort of my bed…
