November 28, 2025
To Vryburg
Not every day on a long bike tour is fun. Today was one of those days, for the most part. Today was a day that tested my resolve, and challenged my discipline. All it took was rain and a stiff head wind.
Leaving Setlagole village, I turned left at the junction to rejoin the N18 South bound. Infront of me dark clouds loomed, and I struggled against a head wind from the start. Dark clouds in front of me and a wind blowing in my face spelt one thing: a trickle of rain was heading my way. I don't like riding in the rain, but rainy days are commensurate with being on a bike tour for this length of time. It is inevitable, especially when it's the rainy season in Southern Africa! Rain shouldn't scare or distract me because it is an uncontrollable. The controllables are the right clothing for rain, high visibility gilet, waterproof panniers, lights and a well maintained bike that handles well in wet conditions. I had all the controllables, so shouldn't have felt any dread. But human nature will prevail, and I found myself slightly nervous at the prospect of wet kilometers.
Sure enough, about 10km into the ride, the rain arrived. It wasn't torrential, but it was significant enough to drench my raingear within minutes. The beauty of it was, unlike rain in the UK, it was warm(ish) rain. I had 78 km to go, and the weather forecast had said the rain would last 3 hours. This meant that the majority of my ride today would be in the rain, and against the wind. I succumbed to this realisation and put my head down. "Turn the pedals, concentrate on the road ahead, and time and distance will pass.", I thought to myself. The traffic slowed down dramatically due to the wet conditions, which was a welcome side effect of the inclement weather. Hours passed this way, and I actually found myself embracing the situation and feeling good that I was getting through it. A sense of euphoria came over me as I realised I was comfortable with the riding conditions and able to carry on for longer as required. With 8km to go, the sun came out, and I was dry in 20 minutes.
As I rolled into Vryburg, I stopped to take a couple of photos of the main street and main shopping mall. Shopping malls seems to be the flavour of the day in South Aftican towns so far. "Hello Sir! Where are you from?", a voice called to me. I turned to face an elderly woman with a shopping trolley. Her name was Doreen. We got talking and I instantly took a liking to her. She had children and grandchildren and was happy to tell me all about them! Then she told me something disturbing... A few weeks ago, she was attacked by a man with a knife. Doreen told me how she taught this man a lesson by biting into his face with all her might! "My jaw just locked like steel", she said with a smile, "And he screamed and begged me to let go!" The man fled the scene, and Doreen was miraculously unharmed, and she insists he will be easy to identify because of his facial disfigurement! "I am on the front page of the local paper because of this attack!", she said proudly, "You can get a free copy from that petrol station there!" Violence against women is rife in South Africa. Last Friday, in an act of unity and defiance, women across the country refused to work, in a bid to raise awareness of feminicide. Doreen was proud to be a woman in South Africa, and good on her, I say! We chatted some more, and eventually got talking about Kujali, our family charity. Doreen gracefully presented 50 Rand as a donation! I was stunned. I promised that I would make the donation on her behalf, as I couldn't bring myself to take this poor elderly lady's money. She said a short prayer for me, wished me well, and we went our separate ways.
I checked into my accommodation which was Castello's Guest House, with its very well manicured garden and nice rooms for the night. I tried an ox-tail stew today, with mashed pumpkin and papa, a local delicacy, which was delicious! The nearest mall, Mompati Mall, housed a Super Spar Supermarket which provided a restock of porridge oats, toothpaste and the regular fruit and fresh veggie quota.
So, a day that was mainly wet and windy and grey, ended in sunshine, and a very pleasant encounter with an extraordinary grand-mother.
Today's ride: 88 km (55 miles)
Total: 1,436 km (892 miles)
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