Swartstraat to Upington

Wednesday 25 July 2007

Woke at the usual time and had quite a lot to do, with cooking breakfast, washing dishes and generally tidying up and sorting out. I left a bit later than I would have liked (05:30) and as I sat on the saddle, a white-hot stab of pain shot up to my brain. I tried again, slower this time, but the same thing happened. The 176km of getting bashed around through corrugations had taken a serious toll on my bum, so much so that I had sustained some heavy bruising and open blisters. I really couldn't sit down at all, not without shouting out aloud with pain at any rate.

This was serious, and could quite easily put an end to the trip if I couldn't find some way of managing the situation.
After some experimentation, I was eventually able to sit, letting waves of pain wash over me, as I tried to keep most of my weight on my legs. I found that if I kept in a lower gear than was needed, I pushed harder on the pedals, and this lifted me slightly off the saddle, taking some of the weight off my bum. As my speed crept up, the pain would get worse, and I would be forced to stand up. I would then slow down and go through the entire process again.

The road to Upington was not good at all. They were grading the road, and as a result, the completed areas were very loose and strewn with small stones. I stopped and had a chat with some of the road workers - a good excuse to get my seat off the saddle.

Joining up with the tar road just north of the airport, I rode the final few kilometres into the town, going directly to Tienie's house in the suburbs.

I dropped off the key of Swartstraat Farm and phoned ahead to confirm my next stop, a farm 65km south of Upington. Yet another blow, as due to a change in circumstances, they would be unable to accommodate me on the farm. This posed a problem as it was already 11:00 and if I didn't stay at the farm, I would have to push through to Kenhardt, 120km away. At that point, it felt as if I wouldn't be able to ride 10km, let alone 120km. At that point, things were looking pretty grim; nothing seemed to be going according to plan. I had changed my route on the first day, and now I would again be changing my plans. I just couldn't see how I was going to ride any further.

So now what? Tienie and his wife happened! After feeding me the most fantastic breakfast, they insisted that I stay over with them for the night, relax, recover and then see how I felt in the morning. That's exactly what I did. I showered, rested, shopped for a new camera, cleaned my bike, washed clothes (well, handed them to the domestic!) and generally recovered. It was just what I needed to get me back on track and motivated.

That evening Tienie, his business partner and I went out for supper, sharing the restaurant with a small community of film makers currently working on a feature film in the Upington area. I remembered the 'Iraqi village' complete with tanks and burned out car wrecks I had seen as we left Upington on the trip up to Askham.

That night I slept between luxurious sheets under a mountain of down. I couldn't help worrying about how I was going to cope with the saddle tomorrow, but that reality would just need to wait for a few hours of blissful sleep to pass.

Day two: Swartstraat to Upington
Distance: 67km
Hours: 4hrs 40mins (05:30 – 10:10)
Ave riding speed: 17.00