I tramp a perpetual journey - Walt Whitman

10 March 2019, Clanwilliam to Lemoenkloof Farm, 56,3km
Lemoenkloof Farm R400

An elderly woman with a bale of hay in the back of her bakkie, drove out of a farm gate to the right of me, crossed the road in front of me, and stopped to open a farm gate on my side of the road. It was only then I noticed a hee-haw of donkeys gathered about a feeding trough, clearly awaiting her. I was curious about their purpose, cuteness only being unlikely, so stopped to ask. The donkeys have two jobs: they eat away the grass between the rooibos tea plants so that rainwater feeds the tea bushes not the grass. And they wander with the sheep, keeping dogs at bay. So clever! The woman was of the opinion we should not simply be cycling through Africa, but should be spreading the word of God in the process. [Our Lemoenkloof host later told us they had given a donkey to a farmer friend to tend the sheep; the donkey had killed three of the sheep!]
Seven hours today door to door. It was hilly out there, with a couple of long climbs late in the distance, one of which we had to walk from the new bridge over the Oliphants River. An odd mismatch between one’s physical and emotional responses to inclines and declines: on the ups one feels down; on the downs, up. In truth, the many climbs managed today did not leave me feeling despondent - we are definitely getting stronger.
Our Clanwilliam hosts, Wena and Willie Botha, were a pleasure to get to know. Willie, a self-employed maintenance man, helped Charl reattach his bike stand and cut both stands down to match our wheel size. And Wena, whose heart bleeds for the unemployed, runs life and practical skills training courses in her garage for Work 4 A Living. They got up early this morning to say goodbye at 06:30, offering a prayer for our safety and happiness. We are not religious people, but accepted their prayer in the spirit in which it was meant.
We arose to an overcast day, which brought rain and rainbows and blessed coolness in a month in which we had dreaded summer heat. Our host here tells us it is too wet to harvest the rooibos, but that they expect the heat to be back by Wednesday.
Soon after getting onto the N7 this morning, we lost the wonderful wide shoulder we had been gifted with since we first started riding it some days ago - careless, I know. The road still sports a shoulder, but now a narrow one, making for a considerably less carefree ride. On a wide shoulder, you have enough wiggle room to take your eye off the road and look about you; and if you ride the outer edge, a goodly buffer space between you and the trucks riding the lane. On a narrow shoulder, in this case about the width of a bike laden with panniers, you need to focus more on the road and less on the scenery; and truck-buffeting is too close for comfort. A good driver will be aware that his truck creates a wind-sucking danger to a cyclist, and will overtake you in the way he would another vehicle; a less prescient driver thinks provided you hold your line, he can pass right beside you with as little impact as he has on a telephone pole.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…