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Home » Countries » Namibia » Day 109: Don’t be shy to ask for help
NamibiaOne lesson a day

Day 109: Don’t be shy to ask for help

May 1, 2017 4 Comments 2643 Views

Today would be a difficult day, Tallis had warned us—lots of sand and corrugation.

Lots of sand and corrugation making for a difficult ride

At least the road turned out to be wide enough to choose a path of least pain—deep sand and gravel versus pronounced corrugation. Since I’d gotten the hang of cycling through sand without falling, my choice was clear. However, the resistance of the heavy sand slowed us down significantly—to an average speed of less than 15km!

Endless roads through the Namibian desert

Four hours into my ride, by the time I’d usually have started the second half of my riding day, I was still more than 20km away from the lunch truck.

My rear tire had been giving me problems. Just a slow puncture, I had hoped, and indeed it had kept up fine throughout the prior three cycling days. When I spotted the dinner truck on the side of the road, helping Julian with his bike, I used the opportunity to pump up my tire again.

I also used the opportunity to refill my water bottles. Usually, I would barely finish my first bottle by the time I get to lunch. Today, I was already half way through my second one. It had gotten hot—already more than 30° C—and I was perspiring profusely.

I kept cycling, the lunch truck passed me, I gave them my thumbs up. Few kilometers later, my tire was flat again. OK, I better got that fixed properly.

Other riders caught up with me as I started my repairs. “All good”, I encouraged them to keep cycling. I could do this.

Tire repair on a hot and difficult day through the middle of nowhere in the Namibian desert

New tube in place, I started to pump. 100, I counted, but the tire was still flat. I started to feel stressed and lose my patience. I still had a long way to cycle and couldn’t afford to waste time if I wanted to reach camp before sunset.

Nelson came along. “Are you OK?”

“You don’t have a pump by any chance?”

He did, and within few pumps I could feel the difference. He also helped me put the tire back into place. That made things a lot easier.

“What’s that?” I removed a small stone that had gotten stuck between my wheel and tire. Next time I looked at my bike, my rear tire was flat again. Devastating news! So far, I had never been able to find the hole without a water bucket. There wasn’t any water anywhere. Initially, I didn’t want to accept the reality that this meant my brand-new tube had a hole. But Nelson’s calm brought me back to reality. I better didn’t waste more time and got to work, starting the process all over again.

Luckily, the hole was so big that I could spot it easily. It must have been caused by the little stone. By that time, more riders had come past. Anmei also stopped. “No need to wait”, I tried not to be a burden.

“But I’d like to take a break”, Anmei protested. We were all exhausted from this mornings’ ride.

When all looked like I was going to be fine, the others moved on. Nelson kindly swapped his pump with me, so I could finish my repairs, or in case I’d run into troubles again. If he’d have a puncture, he could make do with my small mini-pump on his thinner tires.

Nelson lending me his pump

Luckily, my newly repaired tube would hold up and get me into camp, but it gave me a lot of peace of mind to carry Nelson’s pump just in case.

It’s almost 4:30 p.m. by the time I reach camp, more than 10 hours after leaving in the morning. This has been my longest riding day yet!

I barely manage to put up my tent and have a shower in time for riders’ meeting. Before dinner, that always starts right after the riders’ meeting, I quickly run back to wash my cycling clothes. To make matters worse, I’m on dish duty tonight, and I still need to repair my spare tube, in case I run into issues again.

By the time I’ve completed all my chores, I can’t wait to lie down and close my eyes. I’m exhausted!

Stage 76: Sesriem – Betta (Namibia), 137km

Road & traffic condition:

Very difficult—lots of loose sand and gravel, as well as corrugation. It was a bit better after lunch, but still quite bad almost all day long.

Lots of gravel making for a difficult ride
Weather:

Sunny and hot all day long. Liz’ bike computer showed up to 39° C.

Typical Namibian farm in the middle of nowhere
Culinary highlights:

Spaghetti bolognese with salad, followed by tinned fruit salad with custard for dessert.

Lunch (left to right: Cath, Peter, Julian—behind tire, Natalie)
Group highlights:

One of our most difficult riding days on the entire tour. 16 people ended up getting on the truck!

Those who cycled were rewarded with some game viewings while riding through the NamibRand Nature Reserve. Not me—I was too busy watching the road to make sure I wouldn’t fall!

Cycling through the NamibRand Nature Reserve
No fences in the NamibRand Nature Reserve
Beware of zebra crossings in the NamibRand Nature Reserve
Personal highlights:

Making it through the day before sunset, and without falling.

Previous Article Day 108: Rest day in the Namib desert
Next Article Day 110: Better safe than sorry

Related Posts

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    May 13, 2017
  • Day 120: Don’t drink and ride

    May 12, 2017
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4 Comments

  1. Kim Reply
    May 4, 2017 at 6:25 am

    Oh man…. how are everyone’s spirits? Thinking of you. Ouch what a day! How’s the bum 😉!?

    • Alex Reply
      May 6, 2017 at 7:02 am

      Spirits are high, bums are sore 😉 Only 7 more days, hard to believe . . . Almost had tears in my eyes yesterday when for the first time there was a “South Africa” street sign!

  2. Martyn Wells Reply
    May 4, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    Hi Alex, I am really enjoying your blog and seeing how you get on with each day’s road and camp site. Everything is very familiar, and each stage comes back vividly to mind as you describe it, from my Nairobi to Cape Town ride in 2014.

    We were the 1st to ride a new route in South Africa which, if the weather is not too cold, has some of the best rides of the trip for you to look forward to. But as you are finding Namibia is pretty amazing as well.

    Martyn TdA 2014

    • Alex Reply
      May 6, 2017 at 7:01 am

      Hi Martyn, great to hear from you and that you enjoy the blog. I’ve just seen the climbing chart for South Africa. The scenery and views better be worth the 2km ascents 🙂 Greetings from the Orange River, Alex

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