Rocket Riders Ride Africa

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Day 104 Wednesday April 24 Helmeringhausen to Alte Kalkoefen

Jeff's Relive

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Team Spokane minus Tim

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Day 103 Tuesday April 23 Tolou's Lodge to Helmeringhausen

by Henry

131 km, 1036 m total ascent, 29°C maximum.

The ride in the morning was advertised to be difficult by Colleen, and quite a number of riders chose to hop on the lunch truck to bypass the morning segment.

The gravel was chunky and hard to ride, but we did encounter several herds of oryx at the roadside. We unfortunately came upon an oryx sitting quietly at the roadside as we rode by. Mia went to investigate and it turned out to have a broken front leg.

There were also herds of skittish springbok.

At 27 km, we had a lovely Coke stop at Betta Farm and I ordered a steak and cheese pie, as well as a slice of red velvet cake.

After Betta’s, the road got even worse. We had to endure long stretches of thick sand and loose chunky gravel. At times, I felt like I was riding with two flat tires and going uphill.

Close to arriving at lunch.

After lunch at 61 km, the gravel road surface began to improve, and our tailwind increased in intensity.

The mountains presented a varying range of pinkish hues.

We were blessed with a decent gravel surface as we climbed from 1300 m to 1700 m elevation. It was also slightly overcast, which diminished the sun’s intensity and eased our climb.

The landscape continue to captivate through this stretch.

Two examples of large weaver bird nests seen in the afternoon.

Upon reaching 1700 m, we then had a 30 km fast descent to our camp in Helmeringhausen at 1400 m on smooth-rolling hard compacted gravel.

We arrived at camp about 4:45 PM; I dropped into the camp store to pick up a beer and some ice cream, and came out to a flat tire (stealth thorn in the sand). Sigh. 😢

With the late arrival, I had to scurry around to set up my tent, take a shower, and change out my inner tube before the daily 5:45 PM rider meeting.

Those who endured the whole day agreed that this was one of the hardest riding days on the Tour.

Day 103 Tuesday April 23 Tolou's Lodge to Helmeringhausen

Jeff's Relive

https://www.relive.cc/view/vZqN1DjLdG6

Jeff

Monday, April 22, 2024

Day 102 Monday April 22 Sesriem to Tolou's

by Henry

Monday, April 22

111 km, 732 m total ascent, 29°C maximum. Clear skies.

Long shadows with the early-morning sun.

Upscale Coke stop at Le Mirage Desert Lodge at 22 km. The outdoor and indoor architecture was reminiscent of a medieval European castle. Normally, we don’t stop so early in the day for a break, but the resort truly was an oasis in the desert for an elegant cappuccino.

The road goes on and on in the desert.

We passed a mini-Matterhorn, but without the snow.

Lunch stop at 61 km in the endless open landscape.

This mountain looked like ski runs were carved into it.

The sun was in full force, intensifying the desert heat, and we use every opportunity to refill our water bottles when TDA trucks pass by.

There are large swaths where the sand is a rare coral color.

The pinkish sand is otherworldly, and it appears at times that we could be on another planet, as might be seen in the 1960s Star Trek series.

Coke stop at 91 km at a private farm. Afrikaans is a strange language, but sometimes even I can guess the meaning.

Isetta was a very gracious host. She was named after the BMW Isetta, a quirky two passenger automobile that was produced from 1953 to 1962. The front of the car was the door.

Entrance to Tolou’s, our destination for the night. It had been a challenging day on the roads; deep sand, corrugation, and crosswind. We arrived around 5 PM. Upgrades to a cottage were only $20, so we took advantage of that.

Unusual tree with equally unusual bark.

The cottages at Tolou’s were very cute and functional.

Bennie, the proprietor, allowed campers who didn’t upgrade to a cottage to sleep on the restaurant’s floor on a mattress for no extra charge.

Day 101 Rest day in Sesriem

by Henry

Rest day in Sesriem, but we had to be ready by 6 AM for our field trip to see the sunrise over the sand dunes in the Namib Desert.

Because our campsite was inside the Namib-Nauklift National Park, we were allowed to drive to the dunes before sunrise. Others outside the national park would have to queue up at the gates, and would not be allowed into the park until after sunrise.

Too many pictures were taken today of the dramatic landscape, and I will only share a few.

We were driven 45 km to Dune 45, which we would ascend to view the sunrise. Although morning light has already occurred, we still had time to hike to the top of the dune before the sun peaked over the horizon.

A human chain like what might be seen on Mount Everest, without all the gear and oxygen deprivation.

The golden orb peeking over the horizon to illuminate the ancient dry Tsauchab riverbed and surrounding sand dunes.

The sand dune spines are artfully sculpted by the desert winds all day and night.

Rather than return via the same path, we all raced down the side of the sand dune and imagined we were all little kids again.

Our drivers then deposited us at Deadvlei (“dead marsh”), supposedly the most photographed site in Namibia.

To reach Deadvlei, we had a choice of hiking a flatter route, versus climbing “Big Daddy” at 325 m. It’s not hard to guess which one we chose . . .

Deadvlei from the summit of Big Daddy. Fantastic descent, but it completely filled my socks and shoes with sand.

The dried marsh with its field of ancient desiccated trees is beautiful, but each tree stands on its own as a timeless work of art.

We returned to our campsite at 12:15 PM, earlier than projected. It was blazing hot. The high temperature was projected to be 36°C, but it felt much hotter. After lunch, Linda and I trekked over to neighboring Sossusvlei Lodge to cool off in their pool. We spent the afternoon relaxing poolside.

At 5 PM, we headed back to our campsite to clean and lubricate our bicycle drivetrains, which were coated with a layer of fine sand. We did a limited amount of laundry, and the clothes dried almost instantly when hung up. We rode over to the convenience store to get an ice cream cone. Dinner was at the national park restaurant where I tried oryx.

Tomorrow we resume riding in the desert heat.

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Day 100 Saturday April 20 Solitaire to Sesriem

by Henry

82 km, 334 m total ascent, 33°C maximum. Clear, cloudless skies again.

It did not get as cold last night, because we are at lower elevation, approximately 1100 m. The desert heat rose in intensity quickly as the soon as the sun was over the horizon.

The gravel road remained challenging. We often had to choose between deep sand or corrugation.

Agama River Camp was a coke stop at 32 km and we happily stopped there. It was an incredibly modern lodge and facility.

Nothing wrong with an early morning strawberry milkshake at their infinity pool. Over the edge of the pool, they had farmed warthogs and oryx.

Mountains in many shades of brown and red surrounded us all day.

The Namib Desert covers a vast expanse of territory. Our destination today was Sesriem Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) campsite. Blissfully, the last 12 km was very smooth tarmac.

The nearby Engen petrol convenience store supply of ice cream treats was decimated by the TDA locusts.

Colleen gave a presentation at the day’s rider meeting on what to expect in the next six days of our journey through the desert.

An oryx wandered through camp before sunset. We were warned to keep our tents sealed securely, because jackals and hyenas roam around at night.

Tomorrow is a rest day, and we have a 6 AM scheduled departure with NWR guides to hike the sand dunes and see the sunrise.