Sessriem to Felix Unite on the Namibia - South Africa border

Sessriem to Felix Unite on the Namibia - South Africa border – 700 kms with legs of 139, 153, 126, 108 and 174 kms.

Waiting to greet me in Felix Unite were ME, Bev and Jim. It was so good to see them. They had travelled up from Cape Town to greet the Tour. They will travel into Namibia for a few days and then join us as we reach Cape Town, where the Mayor and City Council will greet us before having a ceremonial dinner.
This was another memorable leg. Namibia’s scenery is stunning – it’s a ‘must return to’ kind of a place.
Bev will be relieved to know that the gravel roads became more manageable the further south we rode!
The first two days were very sandy with lots of climbing. The third day, the 126er, saw me riding quite well. Greeted by Cat at the lunch stop and with still 54 kms to go to camp, she announced, “Come on Bill. Let’s go out there and kick some ass. Draft closely behind me. We’ll do the 54 kms in under two hours.”
With 20 kms to go, Erin and Ruben passed us.
“Let’s tail them” said Cat.
We all rode as a peloton into camp. Cat kicked ass, and I just followed. I know the meaning of that phrase now! We made it in 1 hour and 59 minutes!
If you had told me a month ago that I would complete a 126 km ride along with multi-marathoner Cat and with 7 continent marathoner Erin, I’d have thought you daft. But on this day, I rode into camp with these guys.
“Hey Bill” asked Peter, “are you taking steroids?”
The last two days to the border I rode with Annalise and Dan.
It’s hard to believe that Jess Lianne and I joined this Tour one month ago, and we only have 6 riding days left to Cape Town.
I have come to know the riders quite well now. It’s been a most interesting exercise in group dynamics.
Sixty plus racers/riders in addition to 12 support staff left Cairo January 16. By the time we joined the group, they had worked out their interactions and their sub-groups. I had anticipated that it would be hard to break in, joining them late as we did in Malawi. I should not have been concerned. First, Jessica and Lianne, the integrators and connectors that they are, made immediate contact with everyone.
The incident with the lip injury occurred on our second day, and that further welded us into the group.
The names and bios of the riders, the racers and the staff are available on www.tourdafrique.com. Many write informative and interesting blogs.

I’m the oldest rider at 71. Rainer, a retired German engineer is a year younger than me. He walks with a limp, his left leg withered bespeaking a past encounter with poliomyelitis, but once he gets on his bike, he is awesome.
Rainer and I are more than twice the average age of the other riders, three under 20.
There are groups aligned by language, by racing versus riding and by age. Despite these categories, it is remarkable how well they all mix together. Two features distinguish the group; athleticism and achievement.
Each rider brings something unique and special to the group. I made a point of spending time with each of them and in doing so, I became inspired.

Steve is the youngest rider at 18, a recent graduate from Michael House School in Natal, enrolling in the Stellenbosch University soon. Michael, the young man with the earlier lip injury is 19, is enrolled in Medical School in the UK for September.
I’ve been adopted by a loose knit group, with ad hoc and self appointed leaders, Annalise, Cat, Wayne and Patrick. I don’t want to overdo the superlatives, but this gang is fabulous and fantastic!
Annalise is an investment banker from Sydney. I would guess her age to be that of Rebeccah. She is intelligent, creative and thoughtful – just like Rebeccah!
I’ve told you about Cat before – a corporate and litigation lawyer from New York. She too is remarkable. Among other things, she has worked for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia.
I’ve particularly enjoyed getting to know Wayne and Patrick, Aussies, travel industry expert and paramedic respectively. Patrick is half way through his Master’s degree in International Development.
Frequent members in our group are Sam, an undergraduate from Stanford, Diane and Jeff from Aspen, owners of Colorado Audio – Visual, Adam, an American, Michael the soon to be Medical Student and Caroline, a police officer from Peel Ontario. Diane, at 60, is the oldest woman rider.
I’ve also made good friendships with Mark from Cape Town, an Industrial Psychologist, David from Toronto, a retail consultant, Peter from Johannesburg, a construction industry type and founder of the Pizer Cancer Foundation, Carolyn, the South African nurse and Michelle, the nurse fro Kamloops, Paddy from Ireland, an accountant who wants to do an MBA at Harvard. Everyone loves ‘Hardy on Tour’, from southern Germany. Marcel, possibly the best rider, from Holland is always a delight to speak with. Paul, an agronomist from the University of Minnesota, fractured his arm a year ago and had to leave. He returned this year to complete the Tour. He sends a daily message via satellite phone to his students back home describing agricultural and other points of interest. He interviewed me one day, discussing our work in Western Zambia and the status of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Dana is a wonderful young woman, an expert on low income housing having spent considerable time in New Orleans following the Katrina disaster. Eric the retired farmer from Lancashire, now living in retirement in eastern Spain writes a good blog and is lots of fun. Jim, the lawyer from Portland Oregon always cheered me along the way. Gerard and Sunil maintained the best blogs. Gisi from Germany was the fastest woman racer, almost beating Stuart from Australia as the fastest man. I also enjoyed Simon and Nicky from Johannesburg. "Hellooooooo Nickyyyyyyy." I particularly enjoyed Erin, on her way to Stanford to do an MBA, and Ruben, a German living in Zurich, a particularly bright young man - a corporate and financial advisor.
Henry, the owner of Tour d’Afrique has traveled with us since Windhoek and Brian from the TDA head office in Toronto traveled with us from Lilongwe to Victoria Falls, adding valuable perspectives and insights.

It’s amazing how many riders are raising money for some reason or another.
Anka rides for www.mozambikes.org, Paddy for ‘Self Help Africa’, Tony for education on Ethiopia, Dana for melanoma, Peter for Cancer, Wayne and Patrick for prostate cancer. Erin is the co-founder of ‘In the Running’ www.intherunning.org
an organization that connects endurance pursuits with global grassroots fundraising. Jos rides for the reduction of child abuse in South Africa, Michelle and Andre against child disappearance during the World Cup. Eric supports orphanages in South Africa. Gerard and Dan promote the distribution of bikes throughout Africa, as does the Tour d’Afrique Foundation. Tim supports a solar electric light fund. Rick supports Livestrong – and the list goes on………

And hey – I’m riding for better health in Zambia – www.okazhi.org