Day 5 - Lichtenburg to Christiana
We now got accustomed to early rises as we had to wake up at 4am, again!! Breakfast was ready and we can confidently recommend the Scot Manor Guesthouse! Christiana was a long way to go and most were ready to roll at 05h30, the planned time of departure. First we had to pack the luggage into the vehicles and force feed ourselves in order to have as much as possible nutritional products in our system for this daunting task.
We all had lights on our bikes as the stars were still shining in the sky as we left Lichtenburg. Everything indicated that it would be yet another sunny hot day so we started going with pace once we were out on the open road in order to get as many kilometers behind us as quickly as possible.
Everybody was working nicely together with rotations happening continuously in order to give everybody a change to work in the front. A number of the riders were taking strain already due to the fast pace and start missing turns at the front. The bunnies upset the applecart a few times by passing dangerously and upsetting everybody‘s rhythm, however the ride captain Ernest handled the issue without problems. By now everybody got used to one another as everybody was at ease with one another and the riders started building new friendships including Johann and Terence our celebrity riders.
The first major stop of the day was at the Wimpy in Delaryeville and by that stage the heat was already on! The group was doing well thus far with everybody contributing towards the effort up front. A number of the riders prefer to stay towards the back of the pack whilst others continuously worked in the front. The heat continued to rise during the day and we finally stopped for lunch in Schweitzer Reyneke for some much deserved replenishment.
Many riders use the opportunity to take a power nap to recharge the batteries. We still had another 100 kilometers to go approximately so yet again burger and chips was the lunch of the day! We set off after lunch into the hot sun again with the temperature now around the 35 to 40 degree mark and knew it was only another quick Argus to go to our final destination. Just before Christiana Volker broke his chain as the speed picked up! Angelos will later replace the chain with a new one. After a long day in the saddle we arrived in Christiana at about 4pm and went directly into our stretching routine, followed by a massage again to help those tired muscles.
We started the daily meeting at 18h00 and the two awards for support and a cyclist were handed out to Dewald (no stranger to this award!) and Richard ( Sun City) for their efforts during the day. Directly thereafter it was time for dinner and we were all treated to a fine buffet at the Protea Hotel we were staying at before again retiring to bed for the night.
We were very impressed with this accommodation and the food that has been put forward by the Hotel and we would like to thank them for this fantastic venue and their hospitality! The Hotel is definitely one of the best Hotels and the rooms are very comfortable and spacious!