On day 5, our journey begins in the picturesque town of Ladybrand, nestled on the border with Lesotho. Known for its serene beauty and sleepy vibes, it became the backdrop for our epic escapades.
As dawn broke, so did the sound of thunder, signaling the start of our rain-soaked odyssey. But fear not for we were armed and ready for battle! Clad in an assortment of rubbish bags as ponchos and sandwich bags as some sort of makeshift aqua shoes, we braved the elements with the grace of medieval knights… well, maybe not exactly graceful, but certainly entertaining!
Amidst the downpour, a spontaneous rain dance erupted, led by the fearless duo of Silli and Lungi. Perhaps they should have tried a stop-the-rain dance instead. But anyway, who needs a fancy choreographer when you have Mother Nature as your DJ?
After the obligatory send-off photograph, we headed off to meet the daunting incline that awaited us outside Ladybrand. Grueling doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was like cycling up Mount Everest… if Mount Everest was made of molasses. What made this gruel worth it were the many Strava records and PB’s to be broken amongst the team to impress Strava followers and kudos givers, because, hey, Strava or it didn’t happen! 
A stop was made at the top of ‘heartbreak hill’ for an obligatory photograph of the 2024 team and to bid a fond farewell to nom-Pinkie, who had generously sponsored the previous day, who was heading back to Jozi, but not before making a detour back to the Cranberry Cottage in Ladybrand for a hot shower. (Pic to follow)
As we pedaled onwards, we encountered sights that would make even a Scotsman shiver. Rolling green hills? Check. Wet, windy weather? Double check. Dark clouds looming ominously overhead? Triple check. It was like Scotland had taken a vacation to South Africa. The only thing missing was that wee dram after slaying the dragon. 🙂
And speaking of unexpected challenges, who could forget the epic saga of the Sigqibo tire change? It took the combined efforts of ten brave souls, with Kaya providing colorful commentary and Tony assuming the role of project manager. Move over, Formula 1 pit crews, there’s a new team in town! However, this proved to be valuable practice for what was yet to come. 
Of course, no cycling adventure would be complete without a few spills and thrills. After an e-shifter battery pack ejection, thanks to the bumpy roads, Nopasika took an unexpected mud bath, earning her the title of “Mudslide Queen”. The next to take a slide would be Kaya, who will tell you that he was following Janine’s back wheel through the potholes, which was not a great idea considering that unbeknownst to Kaya, Janine is actually a mountain biker! So when Janine went directly over a pothole, Kaya’s last minute avoidance techniques saw him scrumming with the gravel. Thankfully there was minimal injury time stoppage.
The next victim of this treacherous section would be our fearless leader, Tony, who picked up a puncture, followed by Morris who fell victim to the same fate.
Unlike our socks, our spirits remained undampened. Pitstops aplenty kept our mouths and tummies warm, despite the onslaught of flat tires, potholes reminiscent of lunar craters, and weather that made us seriously consider investing in a tandem hot air balloon.
As we headed further down the R26 towards the town of Hobhouse, the road steadily improved and the rain seemed to abate. The weather gods took some sympathy on our group and gifted us with a kiss of sunshine and some wind from behind which saw us reach speeds of around 30kph quite comfortably.
And just as the sun seemed to appear sleepily from behind its cloudy curtain, we were met with the most beautiful sight of fields of yellow sunflowers peering longingly into the sky almost as if to welcome us to their land. A reminder too that while we need to keep our eyes on the road, we mustn’t forget to also look around and find the beauty around us.
The day’s incidents were not yet done when on an uphill, Kaya’s bike decided it had had enough of this nonsense and decided to spit out its rear derailleur and toss Kaya onto some soft turf on the side of the road. Kaya’s second tumble of the day. With Kaya’s ride seemingly over, the brains trust of the group, I forget who exactly, suggested that Kush’s bike could be a viable alternative. This was a possibility as Kush had taken up the role of resident videographer, taking videos from the window of plush German engineered comfort.
The remainder of the journey was incident free as we crossed the Caledon river and made our way to Wepener and the oasis of the Lord Fraser Guesthouse.
In Lord Fraser, we gave our normal day five bicycle wash a skip: Who needs soap and water when you have mud and rain as your natural exfoliants?
That evening we were treated to a ‘plaas fees’ (farm feast), served up by Tannie Wilma and Oom Willem and which served as a little reminder of simpler days past.
And now, for your viewing pleasure, let’s delve into a recap of “What’s the Stats?”. Drumroll, please…
Ascent: Enough to make a mountain goat break a sweat – 894m
Descent: Like a rollercoaster ride without the safety harness – 1,038m
Elevation dropped from 1,745m above sea level to 1,423m
Once again proving that Uncle Tony is right – “Folks, it’s all downhill to Queenstown!”
Travel time was 6hrs and 47 mins over 96.1km at an average speed of 21kph – again proving what a difficult it day it was.
This day has earned the title as: buggered bicycles and plentiful plummets day. Sandra and taMorre!
