South Africa - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 301

shower and then made some tea. With Father Peter's permission, I called Father Seery to
let him know that I arrived safely in Fort Beaufort. I also called Nicole, a student at the
university in Grahamstown for she was expecting me.
The next day was equally challenging. I woke up at 7:20 a.m. and prepared a sand-
wichforlunch.Thehousekeeperarrivedearlyandpreparedmybreakfast.Whowouldhave
thought that I would need every one of those calories!
I left before 9:00 a.m. with only 80 kilometres to cycle. The road was called the
Queen's Road and was designed in the mid-1800s. The cycling was OK for the first two
hours. Then the wind picked up and it was fighting me tooth and nail for the rest of the
day. I took a few pictures along the way just to take a break from the cycling. There was
an eruption of colour in one spot, but then as I climbed, the bleakness of the terrain took
over.Thefirst40kilometrestookme3½hoursandthenext40kmtookmealmost4hours.
The crosswinds scared me to death especially when I cycling through exposed parts of the
terrain. I even had to cycle on my granny gear going down the mountain! My nerves were
frayed and I began to swear at the wind… and at everything else. Thankfully a passerby
from Johannesburg stopped his car just to say hello. That simple human contact was so
welcomed andtaking thetime inourconversation gavemeabreakfromboththewindand
the solitude.
I resumed cycling with a renewed spirit. Even though it began to rain as I neared
the top of the mountain pass, I didn't mind. Let me clarify: mentally I was OK, physically,
however, it was difficult. Adding the cold air and strong winds, I soon lost all feelings in
my fingers and toes which was made much worse during my final decent into Graham-
stown.
As I lowered in elevation, the heavy rain turned to a light drizzle. Completely cold
and soaked, I entered the town and thankfully found where Nicole lived without much dif-
ficulty.Imet one ofthe six girls wholived with her.Asshe made me some tea to warm up,
I quickly changed into some dry clothes.
Eventually Nicole and the other roommates arrived and dinner was prepared. Then
we all went out to the university pub. I sat there among the students reminiscing how less
than an hour earlier I was freezing my ass off in the mountains. Who would have thought
that I would be sitting on a stool with pumping music in the background yelling across a
table to be understood? I couldn't help but smile. When we returned I made a quick phone
calltoManieinBloemfontein.Hewasgladtohearfrommeandaskedmetocallhisstudio
while he was on air.
The next day was a rest day and I spent it with Nicole. After breakfast, we went for
a walk to visit her campus and then spent the rest of the day strolling through the town.
We went to mass in the evening and returned home where I prepared the bike for the next
morning.