All warmed up and ready to go

Albert and John reached Centocow before midday. At this stage they were behind schedule already and planning to ride 'till after dark. They managed to get the last call through late in the afternoon, but will not have cellphone reception for a while.

Their spirits are high today. Seems like the first tough day helped to fire up the endurance athlete in each of them. Albert, training only in the flat Free State, seem to battle with some of the hills. "My maat, jy moet sien hoe groot hierdie bulte is!"

Tomorrow's route is another 100 or so kilometers, but only 1800m climb. This makes it a relatively 'easy' day compared to the previous two.