Bedford

April 28, 2021

After a lovely rest in the care of Larry and Carol we headed off down to Bedford soon after eight thirty this morning. We were looking forward to a nice downhill run but it ended us almost eight hours to get there.

Although the difference between our highest and lowest points today was over one thousand and fifty meters and the cumulative descent was over one thousand six hundred meters (one mile) we still climbed well over seven hundred meters, most of which was on really rough gravel. The elevation chart hides all the effort because of the large height difference.

The Winterberg in the background. The first five kilometers from Ventnor was a stiff climb to our highest point of the day. It should have given us an inkling of what was to come.

Then is was up and down through countless valleys with the vegetation changing from grassland to thornveld.

The road between Tarkastad and Bedford is monitored by security cameras to help control stock theft.

The northern and southern entrances to the road are controlled by gates to further monitor vehicle movements.

Upon our arrival in Bedford we past by the backpackers, which was an option for our overnight stop, and headed straight for the very comfortable Duke of Bedford Hotel thus avoiding having to worry about cooking supper or making breakfast. The first of the winter's cold fronts is passsing through and tomorrow promises to be cold and wet so we are making the most of a comfortable night.

Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,977 km (1,228 miles)

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