December 8, 2025
To Beaufort West
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
For some reason I didn't sleep that well last night. I had a small fan on, but the window only slightly ajar, and so the room got a tad warm which kept me up. I eventually succumbed to the dreaded use of AC which I always try to avoid. It seems ridiculous to artificially cool a room to the point that you need a duvet, when the outside air is a perfect temperature, if only windows could be left open with adequate mosquito protection in place.
Heading out of Travalia Farm, I turned onto the perfect surface of the N1 and headed south right into the the wind. The freshness of the morning always cheers me up. Alks was telling me yesterday how impressed she was with me waking up so early to start riding. In London I am hardly up before 8am. Here, the fact that the sun is up at 5:15, and its nice and cool (not freezing and dark) makes all the difference to my morning enthusiasm!
The prevailing wind seems to have changed direction recently and become Southetly, which doesn't help me one bit. It looks like it is staying that way for the next week at least. I tried to put this thought out of my mind and just focus on the beautiful scenery I was lucky to experience daily, and the tranquility of my rides.
A few kilometers later, a lorry passed me. It was one of those long trailer juggernauts with 16 wheels on the trailer alone. After it had passed me by about 400m, there was a mighty bang, a huge plume of smoke and the distinct smell of burnt rubber. One of its trailer tyres had blown! Thankfully the failure did not lead to any instability and the entire lorry carried on forward keeping its line, with a periodic thud thud thud sound as the blown tyre flapped around the wheel as it turned. The driver didn't stop, and just carried on driving. As I rode past the site of the explosion, there were long pieces of rubber all over the road. I was careful not to ride over any of these rubber fragments as they contained metal wire used to reinforce the tyres which are notorious for causing punctures for bike tourers. I watched the lorry gain distance, the thud thud thud sounds gradually fading. This was a bit of unexpected excitement for the morning!
Double cab pick-ups are very popular in this part of the country, in models varying from Fords to Toyotas to Isuzus to Mahindras. They are extremely practical with their ample passenger and trailer capacity, an make an ideal road trip vehicle. A lot of people have them, and I thought to myself that I would certainly fancy one for myself and Alks if we lived here. Apparently, the Toyotas hold the greatest theft appeal. One such double cab vehicle passed me a few kilometers after the lorry tyre incident, and then stopped a few hundred metres ahead of me. Two young people got out and waved me down. This is how I met Casper and his girlfriend Inke, two delightful young travellers on their own road trip heading towards Capetown. I was absolutely thrilled to have someone stop for a chat! They offered me delicious grapes and cold water, and we stood out there exchanging brief stories of our lives. Casper was a newly qualified Vet and Inke an Architect, and most interestingly, they were both cyclists with substantial touring record between them! It was an absolute pleasure meeting them both, and easily the highlight of my ride today.
I spotted a baby deer of some kind later in the day, sprinting and springing along parallel to the road. I would like to think it was a baby Springbok but am no expert, so will not claim that sighting on this occasion. The young deer was super quick and disappeared into the shrubbery before I could stop and ask for a selfie.
I was pleasantly surprised with Beaufort West as I rolled in just before midday. Wide, clean streets with lots of old colonial buildings still being used and maintained by the local municipality. There is a memorial to "The Great Trek" featuring tracks of one of the thousands of ox-drawn wagons that participated at the time. The Great Trek was a massive migration of Dutch settlers (Boers or Voortrekkers) between 1835 and 1840, who moved into the interior lands in search of independence from British rule. Needless to say, this migration and re- settlement caused extensive conflict with Indigenous Xhosa and Ndebele tribes.
Beaufort West has a very well stocked Checkers supermarket in the middle of town, which I instinctively spotted as I rode towards "Beautiful Betty's Guest House", my home for the night. Betty was the original owner of the house, and the current owners, Lisa and her husband, honoured her by giving their guest house her name. Beaufort West is often called the capital of the Great Karoo, and is the home of the heart transplant pioneer, Doctor Chris Barnard. The people are very friendly, returning smiles and saying "hello" and "welcome", with the usual curious look when they see me ride in. Afrikaans is the first language of the majority of people living here, including the lovely house keeper at the guest house, Pauline. Pauline, explained to me how she doesn't speak any Xhosa, despite it being her African heritage. Pauline is ethnically a "Cape Coloured" and it is quite normal that Afrikaans is her first language, as it is for many like her. I liked Pauline a lot. She was very motherly and cheerful and even gave me an extra sachet of filter coffee powder for breakfast when I asked her for one after telling her how good it was!
Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 2,138 km (1,328 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |