Goodbye Namibia, hello South Africa! This morning we had our last border crossing. They get easier and less expensive as you go along. Otherwise it was a day on well paved highways with some climbing and more tailwinds than headwinds.
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Our first 10km were along the Orange River. Workers were out walking on the road on way to jobs in the vineyards. At 12km we went through the Namibia exit station. We cycled across the bridge and then came to South Africa for entry. Yeah!
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South Africa started similar to Namibia with a well-paved highway going through the desert. Trucks and cars drive reasonably fast but all still pretty easy. From 15km to 50km we had a long gradual ascent. It started going through canyon areas but then opened up to tilted open country. Time to put things in lower gear and slowly ride up the hill.
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After 50km the terrain was more rolling hills. We briefly turned west shortly before lunch and were treated to both tailwinds and downhill into our lunch stop. After lunch, it kept with rolling terrain and I was a bit slower riding this stretch. My brakes started making interesting noises. First when I applied the rear brake and then even when I didn’t. Last bit into Springbok was down a hill and into a caravan park. Happy to get into camp.

We also now have the remaining ride schedule from here to Cape Town. Still a few tougher days in the mix with 3-4 days off road and a few longer days. It will also depend on the wind and the road surfaces.
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It was hard to tell which direction the wind came from, but believe it was mostly NNE during the day so we had more tailwinds than headwinds today. Hooray! We started mostly cycling to the west. The road had occasional soft bits, but was otherwise reasonable road condition. We cycled around a huge rock outcropping to start. Nice views as we came along the rock, though it did seem like we climbed the same short hill a few times. I started with many layers on but decided each 10km mark I’d take something off (though not quite to the naked mile point). So at 10km I could remove the extra long tights, at 20km removed wool hat, at 30km removed outer jacket, at 50km swapped long gloves for short gloves, etc. It took us until 20km to come around the large rock outcropping.

After 20km mark we had a longer straight and then a good descent for multiple kilometres towards the Fish River Canyon. That unfortunately came to an end closer to 30km and then it was a good climb. However, this was excellent scenery as we went along the larger hills. At the 45km mark the sweep came up to me. While I’m normally slower than average this was first time the sweep caught up to me. Where are all the other folks that normally are behind me? I’m told pretty much rest of them were on the truck.
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We had right turn at 56km and for next 12km there wasn’t much pedalling as the wind along with slight downhill just pushed us along. Had to still watch occasionally to stay off the worst soft sand and worst corrugations. At 68km going downhill there was a right turn here. Unfortunately, another rider ahead of me missed turn here, so eventually I wasn’t last before sweep but she had an extra long ride. After the 68km mark it was a slow climb up and over a hill and then another long sweeping descent. That last few kilometres before lunch were an uphill.

Ate my lunch quickly and assessed the situation. It was just past noon and I had 82km to go. Unless road was awful, should make it just before dark. I was told there would even be pavement the last 40km. The next 20km from lunch were stunning scenery as we followed a drainage and to our right was a large set of rock outcroppings. The combination of wind and descent even meant there wasn’t much pedalling involved – but instead having to watch carefully the track on the road. After this was still some occasionally pedalling but until 124km was a spectacular ride.
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At 124km I found the road was still gravel. What was worse is we turned now into the wind and this part of the route had soft sandy bits. It was tough riding here. There was a “refresh” stop I noticed just in time at right side of the road. The TDA staff member had gone off hiking and I was along (except for the rider behind me who had ridden the extra credit distance). After the refresh we could see a large vineyard area – as well as one of the largest shanty towns I had seen. The simple workers huts were a bit shocking to see.
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It took to 130km before reached pavement. Yea! The next 40km were mostly cross wind though also some headwinds in here. I was getting tired as was riding over the last of the hills. As I rounded the last bend, I could see settlement on the South African side as well as where Felix Unite Camp should be. Was even pleasantly surprised to find it appear two kilometres earlier than expected. I was in at 4:30pm, a long but beautiful ride. Had enough time to get me tent set up and not long after 5pm sunset.

We’re now camped at Felix Unite camp for a rest day tomorrow. Not quite sure what to find here, though will be time to get laundry and other chores done. Otherwise also a chance to relax and get ready for the six day riding section that will bring us to Cape Town.

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I left Seeheim roadhouse out the back road. It immediately climbed and I walked part of the first hill. After this
we turned right and into the wind. At first, I could ride ~15km/hour but as it got later the wind strengthened and
it was closer to 10km/hour.

We followed a set of railroad tracks. Otherwise it was flat open terrain without much vegetation to block the wind.
At 40km we crossed over those tracks and looked like there had been recent rollover car accident. Believe all was ok
though.

It was nice to see lunch at 67km. After this we at least had some changing scenery with a shorter climb and then
brief turn away from the wind. The last 10km were again with strong crosswind until reached Canon roadhouse.
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The roadhouse has a big interior area with old cars, signs, license plates and other memorabilia. Also serves a good
cheesecake. Our evening was cold and looks like our south wind might have brought colder temperatures.
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Overnight I could hear wind in the trees. Checked with the stars and was happy to find it coming from the northeast.
I started cycling in cool morning air. The road was sandy, particularly between 10km and 15km points. I found myself
walking several times. Otherwise it was a slow gradual climb up to a pass at 30km and then a descent after that.
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We crossed a broad valley and then by 50km started another climb. Once past 56km we came through some hills with
several sharp climbs. It was however very scenic. The lunch truck was parked beside some of these hills at 79km.
It again took me close to 1pm. Rumor was the road became flat after the next town and even some tailwinds. However,
decided to take it easy for rest of the day.
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The road did slowly improve and at 103km it was briefly paved. We stopped in town for coke stop and discovered one of
the battery cables had severed. It took a while to get that fixed. After this drove last bit to camp and was happy
to find camp also had showers. Today the morning was definitely toughest riding though, I’m glad I did this more scenic
bit than the second half.

After this back on the road where tailwinds kept up to 63km where we turned. Along the way one of the riders had marked the 10,000km point.
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At 63km we turned east and for rest of day it was cross winds with occasional headwind and tailwind. I stopped for lunch at 9:15am at 70km and three days earlier than day before. After this a few hills to cross and some riding on top of plateau. Our last 10km were mostly descent to a river. We crossed a larger bridge and then turned right into Seeheim camp. This was former site of a railroad stop, and now looked a bit like a castle.
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In evening I did my dish duty (last for the trip) and got to bed early.

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Left Sesriem on a tolerable road. The first 20km was still feeling strong, though struggled through a few soft sandy
spots. You could tell when they came since tire tracks would track both left and right searching for better route.
As we cycled, the wind slowly picked up and the grade also increased. It was first a cross wind, but after 20km
it became a head wind.
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Fortunately, at 30km the road turned again and we were back to cross winds. There were still rises and descents to go
over. By lunch we had climbed 500m and descended 100m, but toughest part was the soft sand. It also got warm and I
started to ration water after 50km. Fortunately, one of the vehicles came back and helped us refill. The last few
kilometers to lunch were rocky. It had taken five and half hours and I wasn’t only one late into lunch. As I calculated time remaining, realized I would likely arrive after dark, so decided to take the truck from lunch.

I wasn’t the only one and the truck was completely full. One person even opted to ride on the roof. As we got close
to camp, one rider in the truck was feeling the heat and we paused the truck to get him cooled down. With such a full
truck, I asked the driver how close we were to camp. He said, “3km”, so I volunteered to walk to make a little more room. Others made sure I had hat (helmet) and water (camelbak).

I was walking for about twenty minutes when one of our vehicles came past. He informed me camp was still nine kilometers away, so got a ride from there. As I came into camp the truck driver noticed his mistake, but I could joke with him about it.

Overall it was a tough ride and riders who normally would come in early were at camp late in the day. Photo below, some TDA fashions.
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Today a day off in Sesrium and next to Sossusvlei region with its large sand dunes. This morning I went on a tour organized by the neighboring lodge. Plan was to leave very early, hike around the dunes and then have a good breakfast before returning mid-day. We went with eleven of us from TDA in two vehicles (and additional twenty-five went on a different tour).

The dunes are numbered based on their distances from the Sesrium Gate. There are three dunes tourists normally climb up: dune 45, Big Daddy and Big Mama. We drove past Dune 45 and could see several buses stopped. This is one of the more accessible and more photographed dunes. I got a photograph also to celebrate my brother Tom’s birthday (45) today. However, the tour continued and we went through soft sand for a short while to get close to start of Big Daddy Dune.

Big Daddy dune is 325 meters high (~1000ft) and wasn’t too difficult of a climb. In the steeper bits, you would slide backwards a little but within 45 minutes we had climbed to the top. Stayed at the top briefly before descending down – partially sliding on my bottom, partially running and partially walking down. It was a fun and quick descent. At the bottom was the “Dead Vlei” or salt pans from remains of a lake. We collected there and walked back to our excursion jeeps. After this a fancy picnic breakfast and drive back as it was getting warm. Overall an excellent excursion.

Otherwise just a few rest day chores to wash some clothes (dries very fast here), charge up the electronics and lube my bicycle chain. A relaxing time for rest of the day, though it gets warm here in the desert. I’ve enjoyed the last three days of cycling off-road in Namibia. The scenery is stunning. The temperature swings are big but still not quite as hot as in Sudan. The gravel roads are sometimes filled with soft sand, but still reasonable to ride.

We’ve got five challenging days of off road cycling further here in Namibia. Two of them are “mando” days which are always tough and another is over 150km – so expect to have a tough ride from here to South Africa border (and probably beyond). However, Namibia is definitely on my “top 3 countries” list for this trip (along with Tanzania and Ethiopia).

Also by the way, in addition to celebrating Tom’s 45th birthday, today we also celebrated my 50th birthday and hence the photo at top of this page. Below are some additional photos of the dunes trip.

Unknown crop circles of dead spots.
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Sybille takes a photo of Jenny and Erik
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Tracks in the sand
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Dune45
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Big Daddy Dune
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View from top of Big Daddy with Deadvlei below
[singleic id=546]

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We got off just as sun was rising. This meant shades of red and purple on the mountains ahead. The road started out
well graded and was quick to travel. At 15km we started a 30km time trial. This route was mostly flat, though did
go over a low hill with quicker downhill. At the 40km mark, stopped to watch some giraffes cross the road and then
stand over on the right. At 45km was end of the time trial and also lunch.

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After lunch was point of a different TDA tradition, “the Naked Mile”. Many of the men had already gone in a good
and the women were collecting together waiting for the rest to go. I undressed behind the truck and rode on for 3km
before getting dressed again. Not long enough to worry about extra sun burn. Photo below was evening before when
staff decided to serve dinner aprons only.
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It was warm in the afternoon, but otherwise good cycling and was still early on arrival into Sesriem. Looking forward
to a rest day and chance to explore the dunes. My brother Tom turns 45 tomorrow so this gives me an excuse to visit dune 45.

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We started with an 8km ride back to the junction with D1265. We had ridden on “B” roads from Botswana and “C” roads so far. Fortunately, the “D” roads weren’t much different. There was soft sand in parts though. We cycled past our
first set of low hills and then skirted along a longer range. This made for constantly changing views. We passed some farm ranches and occasionally a pickup would go past to kick up a cloud of dust.
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Without much difficulty, I was at lunch at 62km. This was at a junction in the road. The trucks would take the left
fork. We took the right fork and passed a sign warning of steep grades, and also forbid trucks or caravans. We were
going the scenic route over Spreetshoogte Pass. The next 13km to top of the pass was straightforward without much more climbing. However there were a few short ravines to cross and at bottom of one of those my water bottle rattled off the bike. Turned back and picked it up again.
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Once on the top, the view was amazing (reminded me a little of the views in Southern CA looking down on Borrego Springs). We could see far across the valley below. The top parts of Spreetshoogte Pass had were some of the steepest road I’ve been on. Rather than gravel, they had fortunately put paving stones. Rather than ride pumping my brakes down the entire route, I elected to walk down the steepest bits and not much difficulty reaching the bottom.
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At this point we had 31km left with plenty of soft sand and it was getting warm. Fortunately mostly flat cycling.
At 111km was a road junction back onto C16 and not much later made my way into the small gas station/roadhouse named
Solitaire. There was a bakery here with excellent brownies and apple pie and good camp sites. Overall a spectacular day.
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