South Africa - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 299

metre gash just above the rim on the rear tire. I continued a short distance to an abandoned
farmhouse off to the side of the road and dismounted. I removed the tire from the wheel
and placed my largest patch on the inside of the tire wall to space out the pressure. I reas-
sembled the tube and tire onto the wheel and just as Iwas about to inflate the tire, Inoticed
that my air pump was broken.
I stood up and looked around. I examined my options… calmly may I add. I was
in the middle of farm country and there was no traffic. Suddenly, I saw a farmer driving
through his property on the other side of the road. I quickly crossed over and flailed my
hands to get his attention. Miraculously he saw me and drove through the field right at me.
When I explained my little predicament, he smiled and said not to worry. He had an air
compressor in the back of his buckie! What were the odds? I pumped up the tires, thanked
himprofuselyandpackedthebike.Ithencycledwithin2½kilometresofJamestownwhere
I came upon a farm.
Just as I cycled up to the property to seek permission to camp, I met the owners
outside. After making my request, John and Karen Jelinek invited me to stay in their home
instead and set up the guestroom for me to sleep. We had dinner together and watched the
final episode of 'Stolen Lives' based on a true South African story. I settled into my bed
and fell asleep instantly.
By 8:30 a.m. the next morning I was on the road. I thanked John and Karen and
promised to write (which I did.) I continued climbing into Jamestown. The terrain was
mountainous with very little vegetation and boy, was it cold! I lost feeling in my fingers
and toes because of the biting wind. The faster I tried to go, the colder it became…stupid
wind chill.
The mountain pass I was on, the Penhoek Pass was built in 1892 which explained
its average gradient of 1:10 (quite steep for a road). I crested the pass at 1844 metres and
enjoyedthedescent.Duetothepass'ssteepnessandamost-welcomedtailwindIcompleted
the last 54 kilometres very quickly. I even reached speeds as high as 52 km/h!