Jan Kempdorp – Prieska: 396km
We had a good night’s sleep at Eden Guesthouse in Jan Kempdorp and were well-rested to tackle the almost 400km to Nelspoortjie Guest Farm just outside Prieska. It is just before 7 am when we drive out the gates on a cool clear morning. With the weird weather, it’s difficult to say whether it’s going to be hot, cold, wet, or dry but this is a good start.
We pass the munition depot on our way out of town on the R370 and it seems deserted, definitely not the place it used to be during the 80s.
The road is just as deserted and when we stop for a quick photo the silence is almost eerie. The R370 is a beautiful road that starts as tarmac but changes to gravel. This must be one of the nicest roads we’ve ridden in a while. But it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security as you are rolling along at 80km/h on the gravel and nothing wakes you up quicker than a bush pig darting across your bow mere meters away. That is a big piece of meat and will inflict some damage if you hit it.
We ride for two hours without seeing another soul and just before we get to the N8 where the R370 terminates we stop for a quick snack and a nature break. Lo and behold, as soon as the sound of my zipper pierces the morning air all the cars within a 200km radius decide to drive past :).
We stop in Campbell just before reaching Griekwasstad. Campbell, you say? The little town (population 2000) came into being in the 1800s because there was a strong source of water. Why they stayed is anybody’s guess. After an ice cream at the local bazaar, we’re off to Griekwasstad or Griquatown.
We were hoping to get some breakfast here but the only thing open is the café at the petrol garage and we decide to get some pies. It soon becomes apparent that the people in Griekwasstad like their music and they like it loud. Every car that drives past (not that many but they drive by multiple times) sound like the local DJ. While we stand outside in the shade enjoying our breakfast I organize a few things and realize that the lid of the safe box isn’t locking any more.
While I start taking it apart to see why I hear somebody giving instructions on what I should be doing, sort of a running commentary of what I am actually busy doing. ‘Hou hom voor vas meester’, ‘Draai hom anderkant toe meester’, and some other advice. This turns out to be Quintin who felt it was his duty to assist his fellow man in need, and clearly he knew what he was talking about since he was telling me what to do as I was doing it. Initially I was a bit irritated and wanted to tell him to fuck off but then I started playing along, confirming his good advice. He was chuffed when the lid was fixed, feeling like he contributed and that is good. I gave him a little something for his ‘help’ which I’m sure will go towards buying something to drink or sniff but that is fine. At least he ha a sense of worth for a while.
We leave with full tummies to ride the R313 gravel road to Prieska. Again an awesome road. Earlier in the day the clouds were hanging low and the air was cool but now it was starting to warm up a bit. As we went over the Berg Pas we found the road closed and had to detour past Niekerkshoop but this only added an extra 26km to the day. Just outside Niekerkshoop I slow down to ask a group of youngster standing around a car with the hood open if they are OK. ‘Nay ons is OK meester’ came the response from the one holding a bong. Why you would open the hood to take a smoke remains a mystery :).
We stop in Prieska to fuel up and get KFC (today is a junk food day it seems) and tackle the last 50km to Nelspoortjie Guest Farm.
After unpacking and wolfing down the KFC burger I start doing maintenance. I still have to fix the flat spare tire. As I suspected the valve tore out and I figured I’m going to fix the other tube which had the valve gusset separate from the tube. It seems to be holding and I inflated the tire to 1 bar just to put pressure on my patchwork and will leave it like that until we need it. Time will tell.
The top bag also cried enough and not for the first time. Every time it gets pushed back into service after a temporary fix. Not the prettiest work but I think my stitching might just hold 🙂
Tomorrow is a relatively short day of 280km of gravel riding to Calvinia. You know what they say about short days on gravel right? Not? Go Google it. On a good day on gravel you can make up a few minutes, on a bad day you can lose hours.
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