Day 2: Balfour to Kroonstad (225km) I guess this blog should start on November 17, but the night before I left played a massive role in what lay ahead of this mammoth challenge! When I set my tent up I realised that one of my tent poles had snaped during the day due to the tightness of the bungee cords holding it to my back rack. This meant that half of my body would be touching the tent if I didn’t make a plan. I propped my panniers on top of each other and shoved them to the far end of the tent where my feet go. It seemed to work well but I questioned whether I had compromised its ability to withstand wind and rain as it wasn’t as rigid. I was asleep by 9:30 and was ready for a good 3 and a half hour sleep before I had to wake up, pack up and hit the road. At 10:30 I was woken by a massive thunder shower that hammered down on my tent. I was frantic, I had a deep fear in my belly knowing in a couple of hours I had to be up and ready to get on the bike. “Theres no ways I can do 225kms in the rain,” I thought to myself! I tried to get back to sleep after rushing out of my tent to grab all my other belongings that were dying outside. By 11:30 I was still rolling around, my mind racing. At 1am I didn’t need the alarm to wake me as I was already awake. I woke the camera crew and then got to make coffee and have a quick bite to eat. I packed up my tent in some heavy rain again and promised myself that I would give it my all but stop if I couldn’t go on. I doubted I was going to make the day! The first couple of hours were smooth and fast and I reached Villiers by sun rise. I stopped at a petrol station and packed out some food to chomp on still feeling good. From years gone by I knew the next stretch was a steady climb and I would need to be on top form. I cut into the hours and I reached Frankfort at 7am. From Frankfort I still had 150kms to go and I was feeling exhausted. This would require a superhuman effort. I ate some noodles and fruit and biltong and again hit the road without much rest! I was surprised that the road had improved from the last year but after about 20km I came to a long section of road works which required about 3 hours of my time trying to navigate the holes and washouts of a terrible dirt road, it cost my average speed and I doubted whether I would reach Kroonstad. I had been on the bike for a long time when I reached Heilbron. I was terribly dehydrated and in need of shade. The furious headwind I had been battling all day had made me think it was cooler than it actual was. This was a mistake and I was paying for it. Dehydrated, sun burnt and sleep deprived I battled the bike out of town towards Edenville. By now I was absolutely buggered and it was only the thought of the negative people in my life that pushed me on. They always told me what I cant do, what couldn’t be done and quite frankly it brought me to tears of absolute anger and determination as I squeezed my handle bars. I shouted out loud many times searching for something deep within myself to keep going. I prayed to a mighty God who had always been there for me, I examined every good memory and lesson I had learnt and I even played some motivational music. One thought kept returning, “can you carry on, never give up and never stop pushing even when you aren’t going anywhere?” Its so easy not to stop when you can see results, but what about when you cant? I was going painfully slow and it seemed I was going nowhere! I promised that quitting would never be an option, regardless of how I was doing at that stage! The last 30 kilometres into Kroonstad were terrible. I had to shake my head to keep myself awake and was occasionally throwing up in my mouth. I knew that I couldn’t loose any fluids and although its disgusting I forced it all back down when it showed signs of coming up. I kept drinking and pushing the legs over taking breaks on accession to re fuel. At 7pm I arrived in Kroonstad! I was shattered but also re energized with the thought of knowing what I had just completed! We made our way to the guesthouse where the crew would stay and I would camp out in the garden. We enjoyed a great meal together and then retired for the night, shattered! Thanks to everyone who sent motivational messages and kept us in prayers! I feed off every word from you guys! Every single one of you means something to me, thank you, please keep it coming. How many surgeries can we still raise? Lets challenge people! Massive thanks to my crew who kept motivating me throughout the day, you guys have been amazing and done a great job. And last but not least thank you to my amazing Girlfriend Paige Cook for inspiring me so much. Keegz Kunjani
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 05:44:46 +0000
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