Day four started off on a cold 🥶 7 degrees at Farm Valuta where we woke up to the smell of a great breakfast being prepared for us. Tannie Petra doesn’t miss a beat once again with her delicious breakfast that lived up to the same standards as last nights dinner.
There is a lot of excitement about on this 4th and very special day we call PINK DAY it has really become so synonymous with the ride.Its a day sponsored by one of our long standing sponsors Houston and Asscociates who continue to support this ride year in and year out.
The usual start to the day begins with our team photo,the only difference this time the photo would be in our compulsory bright and pink regalia courtesy of our sponsor who only wants to see all things Pink on Pink Day.
The pink day photo shoot was over in no time and the wheels would roll shortly after 8am.
Getting out of Valuta would prove to be quite technical and complex for some of the roadies which saw a few walk some 500ms or so to get to the R26 main road.A lot of us have no exposure to anything off road and we simply just not ruin our days trying to prove a point.
We soon set off on the R26 towards our final destination of the day which is Ladybrand via a small town called Fouriesburg. The 1965 ride crew set off to a decent pace which quickly unsettled the team due the high tempo that was being set.
As luck would have it Sili got his 3rd puncher of the tour and that allowed us to regroup and catch its breath.That was quickly resolved and we soon set off back to somewhat of a quick pace.
After climbing many hills the first official stop would only come 32kms in,it seemed like an eternity as though to the support crew was trying to teach us a lesson of never ever instructing them where to stop ever again.
Fortunately there is very little hardship that can dampen the spirit of the riders on pink day.There us but one particular spot we all look forward to which is the Constantia Cherry Farmstall between Ficksburg and Ladybrand.You will not taste a better pancake anywhere else in the world than the one they make here.
This was to be our second pit stop which would see us devour our pancakes 🥞 as fast as we had received them.A little bit of shopping is also available here at Constantia for those who have the skill to but on impulse.
This pit stop is a special one and has also been a favorite of the ride for so many years,the manager insisted on our yearly photo with her at the entrance of the establishment a request we can’t refuse as it is often followed by a small envelope that adds to our cause.
We soon set off from Constantia albeit without 3 of our strong 💪 riders who snuck out during lunch and left us without a word only to discover 5kms from Constantia that they decided to be a faction that for a moment would chase the comforts of life that are so dearly missing on a long ride like this.
We discovered that Chief Justice Nopinki,Ash and David decided to leave all of us behind and chase the massage appointments at Cranberry which would be our last stop for the evening.
The rest of the cyclist made steady progress towards Cranberry in Ladybrand maintaining a very good pace for the most part between Constantia Farmstall and Cranberry.The legs were really starting to get heavy with 10kms to go or so but the team pushed on into Ladybrand and arrived shortly after 15pm.
We all quickly checked in at Cranberry lodge and had the opportunity to refresh and eventually get together for dinner at 18pm.Dinner was served perfectly on time much to the relief of the famished crew that needed it most.
Dinner was followed by a Fine Fines meeting held by non other that Nopinki who dished it out even to her own brother Davis who didn’t quite meet the full requirements of Pink day.
The fines were followed by the usual Ta Morra Stats episode which wrapped up a wonderful day of riding.We now look forward to day 5.
Tshele Family
