South Africa - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 311

InthemorningIwaswritinginmyjournalwhensomethingintheoceancaughtmy
eye. Icouldn'tmake outwhat Iwas looking at. Danie noticed me squinting andhanded me
apairofbinoculars.Intheoceannoteven100mfromtheshoreweretwowhales(firsttime
for me.)
I spent the day doing very little except for reading and watching a France versus
South Africa rugby match (another draw, 20-20). It was a peaceful Saturday and I ended
the day with a phone call to my Mom and little sister.
That evening, I watched the news on TV which started with a report on Eugene
TerreBlanche, theleader oftheAWB(apro-apartheid, white extremist party),andhismen
who stormed the Trade Centre and disrupted the negotiations for setting up the country's
firstfreeelections.Daniewaspro-apartheidandwasshoutingathisTVwhenNelsonMan-
delacame ontodenouncetheAWB'sactions. Mandela saidthathebelieved 90%ofwhite
SouthAfricans-the“silentmajority”condemnedtheactions.Ihadtheprivilegeofmeeting
hundreds of South Africans from all ethnicities and the one wish they all shared was that
there was peace.
The next morning I asked if I could be taken to the Catholic Church for mass. We
drove down to Mossel Bay where I was looking for St. Blaze's Parish. We stopped at a
High Anglican Church and when I asked them directions, they told me it was in the 'col-
oured' area. I went back to Danie who was waiting in the car to tell him the location. He
immediately refused to take me there for he did not have his firearm with him.
I returned to the church to ask how long there service would take and then told
Danie. He said he would come get me when it was finished and left to do some work at
the bank. I entered the church and sat through the service. I was amazed that many of the
prayers, hymns and format were very much like the Catholic mass.
After the service, I spent the day with Bredells visiting their daughter and son-in-
lawinthemountains.Wealsometwithhisson,Riaanandhisfiancée,Helena,whoworked
withtroubledyouthinCapeTown.IwasheartenedasIspokewiththemfortheysupported
my notion that the success of the new South Africa really lay in the open-mindedness of
the younger generation.
The next morning I sat with Danie and his wife for breakfast. They gave me a
packed lunch for the road which I placed in my front panniers and thanked them for their
kindness. After a hug and a good-bye, I rejoined the highway. The road took me west
of Mossel Bay and then turned inland where I had to say au revoir to the ocean for a
short while. The headwind was relentless the whole day. I spent most of the morning on
the granny gear which made it difficult to maintain any rhythm. The open terrain didn't
help either for I had nothing to shelter me from the elements. The gusts of wind made the
journey to reach Albertinia feel like an eternity. I managed another 37 kilometres in this
battle,ofwhichthelast15kilometresincludedhillsforgoodmeasure.Ifinallyarrivedinto
Riversdale by 6:00 p.m. and was totally and utterly drained.