Despite taking a 5 hour nap from 12-5pm on Sunday, I slept for 8 hours on Sunday evening. Karel and I were exhausted from our 44 hours of travel and we needed the sleep. Being in the same Airbnb as last year was comforting as we were waking up to something famliar. We made our coffee, sat outside and worked on the computer and got ready for the day. We were surprised to hear from our Airbnb owners that we will not be impacted by loadshedding (saving energy in certain areas by turning off the power) this stay as the owners installed solar panels on their house. Loadshedding makes it challenging as you have to work your day around when the power will be off in terms of eating, working on the computer and using electricity.
After we ate, we loaded our rental car with our mountain bikes (Karel had to take the front and rear wheels off to make the bikes fit into our small SUV) and drove the 30 minutes to Elgin Valley Country Club. Karel is doing much better driving on the left side of the road, although he often uses the windshield wiper as a blinker (they are switched as well).
We parked outside the country club and scanned a QR code outside the trail system to pay for our usage of the trail. It was 80 rand each (or $4.19). We were both looking forward to the ride and being back out on this incredible course.
After we ate, we loaded our rental car with our mountain bikes (Karel had to take the front and rear wheels off to make the bikes fit into our small SUV) and drove the 30 minutes to Elgin Valley Country Club. Karel is doing much better driving on the left side of the road, although he often uses the windshield wiper as a blinker (they are switched as well).
We parked outside the country club and scanned a QR code outside the trail system to pay for our usage of the trail. It was 80 rand each (or $4.19). We were both looking forward to the ride and being back out on this incredible course.
But with 2100 feet of elevation gain over ~18 miles, we were quickly reminded of the difficulty of the Xterra South Africa course. And unlike the rocky and rooty surfaces that we are used to at Dupont Forest and Pleasant Ridge, the terrain here is either sandy or rocky (or both). Biking on deep or loose sand is incredibly challenging as the sand either pulls you back or makes you slide. It requires light hands, constant pedaling and the ability to read the sand to know how to keep yourself upright. The rocks are jagged so finding the right line is important. But the scenery is beautiful. There is a variety of flora that makes my feel like I am on a different planet.
So much sand.
Biking into cows
Rocks
A proper (sandy) rock garden.
View of the lake
Looks like a winter snowland.
Finishing off the course
Karel always looks so much cooler than me :)
Karel in his element.
It was nearing 90 degrees and it was dry. Not a cloud in the sky. I went through 1.5 liters of fluid (and 3 scoops INFINIT Fructose) in my USWE hydration pack during the ride, along with a bottle of water for sipping/cooling my body. Karel and I both felt so tired and empty on the ride. But we finished the course in 2:28. We then went for a 2.35 mile run and that was even more miserable. We couldn't get our heart rate down and running on deep sand was exhausting. I had to walk several times as I was so exhausted. We nearly passed out at the end of our run (11:34 min/mile average). It was a semi productive training session as it helped get some of the funk out from travel but it was not a great-feeling workout.
After our workout we went to a nearby restaurant that solid food, coffee, bread and other items. I got a popscicle to cool off (Karel got a chocolate bar) and we also got some bread, croissants (for Karel), ginger beer drink (not real beer) and coffee.
We made the drive back to our place and got a little work done before our last workout.
The neighbor has two dogs (this is Dover) who come inside our house to say hi everyday.
I connected with the Gordon Bay swimming group on WhatsApp and we walked down to the ocean around 5:10pm to meet up with some swimmers who were doing an open water swim at 5:30pm at Gordon's Bay. We swam to the pier (1000 meters) and back. It was a nice to have some company in the ocean.
When we arrived back to our place around 7pm, I made a stir fry meal w/ potatoes and enjoyed it as the sun set on our 2nd day in South Africa.
