As usual, plans have changed. - The ninth step ... Somewhere in South Africa - CycleBlaze

December 9, 2020

As usual, plans have changed.

Jakkalsdans to Loxton

After settling in at the guesthouse yesterday afternoon, a massive storm broke.  Lots of thunder and lightning and a good amount of rain.  Graham Koster was rushing to bale lucerne hay (aka alfalfa) before we left so I hope he got it done in time.  If we had decided to push on to Loxton we would almost certainly have been caught in the storm.

About to leave our rather grand accommodation. We were in no hurry to leave and took our time over a few cups of coffee/tea and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.
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The section of road to Loxton was no better than the last section yesterday afternoon and I was sure we would have overly tired and grumpy if we had tackled it then.  The rain has softened the corrugations a bit so for that we can be grateful.

The Afrikaans word is sinkplaat, alluding to a corrugated tin roof.
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Mike AylingSimilar description to the American "washboard"
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4 years ago
Jean-Marc StrydomTo Mike AylingHi Mike
The prospect of more washboard has had us avoiding the road from Loxton to Williston via Fraserburg and instead we have used the road via Carnarvon with is tarred.
Regards
Jean-Marc
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4 years ago

After a short climb up from Jakkalsdans we suddenly spied Loxton just a short distance away.   In retrospect, we could have easily made it but in the end we had a comfortable and relaxing rest last night, so no regrets.

Loxton in the distance. If only we knew how close it was.
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We arrived in Loxton soon after nine o'clock cycled slowly around to take things in.  There is a small camp ground but it was pretty exposed and we wanted to spend some time in comfort sorting out our route from here.  So we have booked into a small cottage on the edge of town.

The quaint church in the center of town.
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As suggested, plans have changed.

Our original idea was to head up to Upington for Christmas.  We had a booking at a nice looking place along the Gariep river but that booking could be cancelled with no penalties if we did so by today.  So we had a decision to make.

The one constraint we have is that we need to be back in Port Elizabeth by the beginning of February for my mother's eighty ninth birthday.  If we carried on up to Upington it would be unlikely that we would have enough time.

So we have decided to turn westwards and have changed our Upington booking to one in Clanwilliam in the Cedarberg mountains north of Cape Town.  Tomorrow we head north to Carnarvon north of Loxton before heading westwards.

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Today's ride: 12 km (7 miles)
Total: 571 km (355 miles)

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