Hi everyone,

It has been four days since I left Hazyview. I road for the next three days, then decided that I needed a day of rest because I could feel that I wasn't completely rested when I woke up. I was having thoughts that this trip was so hard that perhaps I did not want to continue through the whole year.

I completed the day's ride from Hazyview to Barberton. It was 109.7 kms. I was on the bicycle for about 10-11 hrs with 2 long stops included.

It was a day with lots climbing and some descents. I rode with Alice, a retired teacher who last worked in Saudi Arabia. Just before our trip began Jan 1st, 2000, she moved to Port Angeles, Washington. We rode together after speaking with Beth DeRoy, who again cautioned us to ride with someone.

Alice has usually ridden alone because she wants the freedom to stop to take pictures during the day and it has been difficult to do that when she was riding with bikers who were intent on getting to the day's end camp.

We rode well together because Alice let me set the pace. I asked her later if she could have ridden faster if she had not ridden with me. She said she could but not by much.

We got in camp around 6pm. It would be dark in 30-60 minutes. Dinner was already being served at a hotel 1.2 kms away from camp. Alice and I decided to quickly put up our tents because the weather was threatening to rain.

We left for dinner without first taking a shower which is what I prefer to do. We didn't want to be left with little or no food. I ended up waiting in line while more food was made because they had, in fact, run out of food. I was not a happy camper because I was tired, very hungry, and still dirty from riding.

The good thing about having to eat late was that I was able to hear the Mayor of Barbeton welcome us to his town and encourage us to come back again. His secretary stood up next to tell us a little of the history of Barberton, which originally was a gold mining town.

It was also the town in which a little dog was made famous when he became the main character in a book named, Jock of the Bush.

The next day, Feb 22nd, we were scheduled to ride into Swaziland. It is a little landlocked kingdom surrounded by South Africa. You can drive through it in three hours. But we took 2 days.

The ride was described as one of the most challenging days we would have in South Africa. We had alot of climing to do at the beginning and end of the day.

I was so tired from the day before that I only rode for 27kms (going up hill mostly), before I asked for a sag ride to checkpoint.

I got to checkpoint around 11:30. I knew I had at least 60 kms more to the border, and then another 30 kms to camp. One rider at checkpoint decided to ask the owner of the gas station/minimart if they knew of any one with a truck who would be willing to transport some riders and their bikes to the border.

The owner brought his small pickup that could hold ten people in the back and a small enclosed hauling truck that would hold our bicycles.

I had silently asked in my head for help in getting a sag to camp because I knew the distance was too much for me. And by the end of the day I had only ridden the first 27km.

After the border, there were two riders who wanted to get a ride to camp. I joined them along with another rider in a truck where we paid for the ride.

From, Ms. McLane