Completing yesterday's ride - The ninth step ... Somewhere in South Africa - CycleBlaze

January 16, 2021

Completing yesterday's ride

Herold to Ganzekraal

Since all we were doing today was finishing yesterday's ride there was no need to rush out of bed this morning.  But if one is used to waking up before five o'clock it is not that easy to sleep in late. 

While enjoying a couple of cups of coffee and the view of the mountains, a convoy of vehicles loaded with mountain bikes pulled in.  It was a group of riders from George who were heading out on a circular 120 Km ride around the Kamanasie mountains that lay just to the north of us.

The view towards the Montagu Pass this morning.
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Our ride was a lot less exciting than the MTBers'.  A pretty straight road slowly climbing up to Shanzely farm at Ganzekraal barely twenty five kilometers away.

A straight road. No matter how far we were down it, the pointy hill was always at the other end.
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We have a lovely little cottage on the farm and it is nice to have most of the day to enjoy it.  We've spent the afternoon relaxing and catching up with our laundry (it is windy again so hopefully it will dry quickly). 

The lovely little cottage that is our home for the night.
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Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles)
Total: 1,964 km (1,220 miles)

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Dino AngeliciLaundry was on my mind and then you mentioned it in this entry. I travel relatively light, so being able to wash clothing out and get it dried are important. Occasionally, finding a real washing machine and a dryer would be nice. How did you fare with this aspect of bicycle touring?
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1 month ago
Jean-Marc StrydomTo Dino AngeliciHi Dino
We try to launder our clothes as often as possible. Particularly in hot weather. Dirty cycling shorts risk infections on the sensitive bits. In SE Asia we tend to carry two pairs of cycling shorts to decrease the risk of having to wear a sweaty pair. However, in cooler climes are prepared to risk only carrying one pair. We cycle in hiking shirts, which double as normal day-wear. These dry quickly so laundering them is usually not an issue. It helps that there are two of us. Leigh washes and I wring. Wild camping presents challenges and so we might go for a few days in grubby clothing. But as soon as we are back in civilization we make sure the laundry is the first of our chores.
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1 month ago
Dino AngeliciThanks for the information. Good to know that there is the ability to keep clothing clean. Certainly, we don't want to offend nor risk infection. Take good care.
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1 month ago