The update for May 3rd first because it is super easy. Today is a rest day at the entrance to a sand dune park in Namibia. I am sure it is amazing, but I have seen eough sand dunes to last a life time so I took the day to chill out. I woke up and did laundry. Cleaned my bike and fixed a slow leak in the back tire and then went to the gas station. Got on the internet for a bit and didn’t upload anything because I could not plug my computer in and the 2 computers they had are hidden so that I couldn’t put a USB stick in. Guess everyone will have to wait for the updates. I had lunch at the gas station, snacks and a steak and kidney pie and then headed back to camp to work on this update. I will finish this update, take a nap then have dinner at the lodge next door to our campground. I had dinner there last night and I am sure tonight will be a similar experience. More on that at the end of the May 2nd update.
May 2nd. Well it was a short day into the rest day and it was a nice change. Lunch was at 50 kms and I started out thinking I would try and see how fast I could go. Right out of camp I was passed by Stu and Jethro 2 of the race leaders and I decided that this was the day I would hang on to them. I stayed on their tails for 7.5 kms with Lynn joining up 1 km into the ride. I knew that they could not keep up the 27 km pace all day and knowing that I couldn’t either I was waiting for them to slow down. They did change pase, but unfortunately for me it was not to slow down. I guess they do a 7.5 km worm up each day and they pushed the pace up to 30 as we were heading up a slight incline. I dropped off and watched them peddle into the distance. I guess I have to be satisfied with my effort on this trip, but it would be a lot of fun to be in contention for the lead. On the other hand, waking up everyday and riding as hard and as fast as I could wouldn’t be much fun. I guess the bottom line is I am having a great amazing experience and I am happy with the way it is going and that is all that is important. Sitting on the bike less would be nice though and the fast guys are on their bikes about 60% of the time I am so, yea, I guess their bums are less sore.
At 50 kms I saw the lunch truck and was quickly informed by Dave that today was the naked mile. Not many people were at lunch and I thought it would be a big group thing but what happened was a few people riding down the road 1 at a time naked. I didn’t really see the intrigue in that at that time and decided to just ride on, finding a gap in the naked people.
Made it to camp well before noon and went straight to the bar for some food and a beer. Got the tent all set up had a shower and decided that chores could wait until the next day. We hung out at the bar for a while, went to the gas station down the street for internet and then found out that the lodge next door ($200 a night for a room without a TV) had a buffet dinner that was only $220 Namibian or about $30 US. We headed over just before it started and had no idea the treat we were in.
I started out with some salads, crisp lettuce, ripe peppers, baby tomatoes and feta. Pasta salad, and even some smoked fish. Pretty good start, but now I was ready for meat. I headed back to the buffet and saw the stir fry station. I put some veg on the plate and some beef and chicken and had soy sauce put on as the lady across the way cooked it all up for me. Then I looked up and saw the grill. The plan was to go and look to see what I wanted next, but I was trapped. I was staring at 7 different kinds of game meat and instantly knew what the nights challenge would be. I was going to eat 9 different animal steaks in 1 night. I accomplished my goal and even had room for desert, it was amazing. Oryx was my favorite, springback was great, Kudu was also amazing. Warthog and Wildebeest were surprisingly tasty. I had driven and Impala before, but eating one was just as much fun. I also ate an Eland which I have no idea what it was, but it also tasted great. So with the beef and chicken in the stir fry I ate 9 different animals in the same meal which I think was pretty cool. Not sure if I will ever be able to top that and I am sure I will not be able to top it for less then $30 US.
After that it was back to camp, a beer and then bed before I woke up and started my rest day routine.
Pretty simple 2 days but it has been nice, most of my body is pain free, bike is ready to go tomorrow and things are looking up. 1 more riding days until we hit the Cape Town waterfront. What a trip so far, so much to enjoy in the last days.
Later all
Ricky
