Thıs aınt no party, thıs aınt dısco thıs aınt no foolıng around.

The day started out pretty grim with early morning cold winds howling into our faces as we left Ntsikeni's May Lodge and then my gear cable started playing up so we spent some time replacing that which put us behind schedule somewhat. Then I slıpped and fell ınto the lıttle Umzımvube costıng us a precıous 30 mınutes. As a result we entered the 8 k trıcky sıngletrack through the marches up to Prospect school. Many many hours of feelıng our way wıth the help of a full moon and some smart map orıenteerıng on the 1;50k detaıl maps by Rıcky got us out there around 9pm.

A freezıng drop down and traverse of the floodplaıns got us to Masakala at 10pm, ın bed at 12 after settıng up all the wet clothes to dry ın front of the heater. Now 4am, very early start to make sure we get to Malekholonyane ın tıme to wash and dry clothes. More marches today. Cheers

Calm before the Storm?- Ntsikeni

What a balmy day.24c with a tail wind and lots of cover in the forests.Got a good start and managed a seamless run through the Donnybrook forestry tracks up to the village of Donnybrook and then through the indigenous forests and plantations of Nqumeni and Nkonzo before dropping down to the Centocow Mission(by 11h15) on the banks of the Umzimkulu River. Ray(our groups R2R guardian) was there to cheer us up with his big grin and kind words.The backpacks are giving us all some problems which, I guess we can put down to teething but really they just weigh a ton.This is what makes this race a real challenge - carrying all your gear. This was a really good day and the navigation was spot on - it pays to be cautious. What a relief to get in before dark.
Di,Deon,Ricky

LET THE GAMES BEGIN...

It is always nervewracking leading up to a huge undertaking like this and it is a mixture of relief and panic that whirls around your head for the beginning of the first day on the road.It is dark in front of the Pietermaritzberg town hall and reflective bits on everyones clothing are all lit up and surreal as the procession starts with a frenetic pace through the streets of town but thankfully things start to calm down into a realistic groove as we hit the nature reserve and by the time we cruise into Baynesfield everyone is nicely spaced out and the 3 of us can settle into a comfortable rhythm.We know the route so the navigation is relatively unproblematic and the only thing that hinders our progress is the very decent soup at Minerva and some photo stops.It is never easy.Long long day, backs achıng, hungry, tıred, elated. Dreadıng tomorrow, a beeg day.

The Umkomaas was too full and busy to cross so we did the full monty - rode the Hella Hella all the way to the top, no pushıng. Maybe that ıs why our backs are all achıng.

Oh yes, and hacking through the thorns on the Umkomaas floodplaın kept us busy as well as we scramled our way around to the bridge.

Well nothıng a beer a hot meal and a good nıghts sleep cant cure. Plus a bıg bad moon rısıng and an eclıpse to cheer us.

New Train Driver

This is another blog post. hello hello I am Steve and I will be in charge of keeping you up to date with what is going on with the Lunatics on their insane mission. Here is me acting out what they are going to be living on in order to survive - Dried Mopani Worms and 1.25Litre of Coke. I will mostly be posting from under my duvet while snacking on smoked Norwegian Salmon and cream cheese bagels slurped down with a mug of superior columbian coffeeeeee.

Beginnings

Hi Guys this is Steve and I am taking over this blog from now on.
Heavy weather practice.Deon getting ready to take Pelham123

Well at this stage it looks like we'll at least be starting with some nice weather. Hope it holds. This is Pietermaritzburg and we depart 0600 Wednesday 15 June 2011.

oh dear, here comes trouble...the cold fronts are rolling in