Freedom Challenge - Hadley

Just got off the phone with Jill. They had a few pretty good days, mostly through game reserves with some pretty cool views. After Jill had turned her ankle somewhat badly when a concrete step broke off at a lunch stop(!), it seems that they are doing physically better with both Jill's ankle and Liehann's shin improving (presumably due to more riding). They've also put in a few shorter days, mostly because the sections they are at right now don't really lend themselves to navigating at night. They pulled ahead of Steve and Di a few days back, though they anticipate they might catch back up, which would provide some good company anyways.
Lots of the past trail has been through game reserves and farms, with many10ft fences to climb. Jill is reporting improved upper body strength after some harrowing days. On the other hand, she said the terrain now really feels like "Africa" and doesn't resemble anything she knows from over here, with sightings of Giraffes, Wildebeest, Kudu. The weather has gotten significantly warmer, with daytime temps in the "hot" territory by now. So far they were extremely lucky with the weather having had no rain whatsoever (which is great because Jill was able to use her good non-waterproof camera to take pictures!).
Navigation continues to be the major challenge. Between ensuring being on the right path and some very rough rocky trails (Jill even got a saddle sore, which she was fortunately able to treat) they average only about 5.5-6mph. Looking at the satellite views though it seems better roads are coming up (along with longer distances between checkpoints).
They took a very short day today, as the coming section has a very difficult to navigate river gorge at the end, with the trail meandering for ~2 miles along a river (which might have some Alligators in it!) in jungle terrain - the race director advised against attempting it at night.
Other than that they are in great spirits.
Liehann's girlfriend Trang should by now be in South Africa herself (along with a friend). Liehann feels a bit pressed to make up the lost day, though we'll see if this is possible. I will keep checking the route via satellite view to see if night navigation is possible (it's amazing how much detail you get). The absolute limit for them is 25 days, because that's when they fly back!

Tiny Freedom Challenge Update

Jill did not have cell reception for most of the day, so all I got were two satellite messages. The were able to put in a double day as planned, though they were still struggling with navigation (I could see they got lost early in the day, costing them 20-30 minutes). The race plan calls for another double day tomorrow. The course seems to be mostly on well defined dirt roads and even a fair amount of pavement, with only one cross-country looking section, and one section with lots of forest/farm dirt roads intersecting. Other than that the elevation profile looks promising for some good mileage.

Here are the messages (hearty smileys removed:):

Hi love. Mildly sprained ankle when step broke at lunch stop. Other than that day was good. Liehanns shins bad.

and, after I asked more about the anke:

Sore hiking and a little wobbly but not too bad. Beautiful long climb today . Nav still main source of stress. 

And that's all I know. But they were back on the road a bit after 6am, indicating plans for another ambitious day!

Freedom Challenge - Slaapkranz to Elandsberg

Things have been moving along reasonably well for Jill and Liehann for the past three days. Communication was pretty spotty, so another short update. 

Jill seems to have a lot of fun despite challenging conditions with headwinds, temperatures of 14F, long days, and dead arms. The group has picked up another racer, so they are five cyclists now. 

Liehann seems a little more unlucky. Not only were they unable to get a replacement fork, but he has shin splints from walking, some knee pains, can't open his hand for some odd reason (which doesn't seem to concern him) and, to top it off, a failing rear brake. I think he should pick up some sport where he can't break stuff, like bridge maybe? Those cards are awfully sharp though ...

The original plan was to double up on the next two checkpoints which aren't too far apart and seem to be easy enough to navigate. So far they're moving very well.

For reference, some messages Jill posted:

-10C this morning . Arms are dead. Wish i weight trained

Gorgeous sunrise. Making arraingements for liehanns broken fork. Long day ahead

Portage killed the arms. Hoping they come back. afternoon pedal through high desert was lovely. Shift from native villages to farm country

Yesterday 137Km. Two portages. Harsh headwind. Fun 15Km on sandstone rollers. Still worried about dead arms.

Rugged descent from stormberg mountains into karoo desert. Icy headwind and stunning winter light. Tricky night nav has left me mentally drained

And some exchanges I had with Liehann:

Rear brake is soft

Need to pump it before it engages

Will ship bleed kit somewhere

Left leg shin splint and knee tweek

Otherwise good

Jill seems perfect :-)

Liehann

 • 

Tue, 3:28 AM

So much tougher

Liehann

 • 

Tue, 3:32 AM

Oh man! Be careful. Check that the caliper isnt leaking!!!

Tue, 8:36 AM

Whats the latest bike drama?

Wed, 12:58 PM

Nothing for now. :-)

Will get bleed kit in two days. Ride fork to cape Town

Hard work on the hands

Have some numbness in left hand. Oh well

Liehann

 • 

Wed, 8:53 PM

Freedom Challenge - Days 5-7

Just a quick recap as I was out at Bryce:

Day 5 of the FC would bring Jill, Liehann and her fellow travellers Steve and Di to Vuvu. Due to a cross-country section, they pushed the pace hard to avoid having to attempt night navigation. They managed that goal, though Jill was pushed to her limits and bonked towards the end. I'm amazed that Liehann is able to ride this with his busted fork. They call his bike the "rigid lowrider". I presume it's at least aerodynamic!
On Day 6 the group went to Rhodes, where Liehann's replacement shock was waiting. The section turned out to be very technical and challenging, with a very steep off-trail pass crossing. Jill texted that they encountered 50-60mph winds, and she was unable to pick up both wheels of her bike without it being picked up by the wind! As if that wasn't enough, it turned out that we had actually not ordered the correct fork! The specs we had found mentioned a tapered steerer, but his bike ended up with a straight one. Liehann seemed unfazed by the mishap though and is trying to arrange for the correct fork to be sent to a later checkpoint. I actually managed to call Jill just as I was on the last 10 miles of the Bryce 100 (a race which we ran last year together, I missed her a lot). We both had a solid adventure that day!
Day 7 brought them to Slaapkranz.  She was in a great mood as they had a day of perfect navigation, beautiful sandstone canyons and mountains and generally a good day of riding.  Gone were the creeping doubts about the route after the hard and arduous days.  She did report brisk temperatures of just 21F in the morning, but they both seem well equipped for that. They are already back on the bike now, on the way to Kranskop.

Freedom Challenge, Day 4

Short day. Spent more time bumbling around and looking at maps than riding bikes. Frustrated but what a beautiful spot to stop.

Trang here, blogging for Beat since he's gone off for the weekend to run the Bryce 100. I spoke to Liehann this morning shortly after they finished day 4. While it was a short day, it was probably not as short as they would have hoped. Liehann and Jill are now riding with Di and Steve, who have done Freedom Challenge twice before and also started on this year's race on the same day as Jill and Liehann. (We ought to give them a team name.) All of the other folks who started with them but who were only going to Rhodes are now long gone - those riders seemed pretty familiar with the route and also didn't sleep much.

There's been a lot of walking in the past two days and that's taking a physical toll on Liehann and the others, but Jill is a machine and still going strong. I think Jill's running fitness is a distinct advantage in this case. Navigation continues to be a challenge, as the cue sheet sometimes contradicts the map and cattle trails are hard to spot when you're as little as 10ft away from them. In light of the navigation challenges and the added difficulties of navigating at night, J/L are giving second thoughts to their race plan and may not double up on as many days as originally planned. But, the riding should get easier after they get past Rhodes, so they'll play it by ear.

Liehann continues to have a plethora of gear issues out there. The recent casualties being a winter sock that was melted when it was being dried too close to the fire. It was his warmest pair, so he's a little bummed, but will hopefully manage with the other 3 pairs he has left. He's also blown out one of his bike light chargers. Fortunately he had two, so for now he can still charge his lights - he just has to do it one at a time. This may pose a problem if they have to ride longer nights, but for now it's ok.

Tomorrow should be a tough day - distance-wise it's not so bad, but navigation will be tough and it'll be more climby than today. J/L are trying to pack it in early tonight to catch up on some sleep.

Freedom Challenge, Day 3

Day 3 took Jill and Liehann from Ntsikeni to Masakala, through a nature preserve via lengthy stretches of off-trail cross-country bike-hiking. They had a rough start (Liehann got very brief cell reception and confirmed some specs for his shock (which is now leaking oil, but is still rideable) with me, and added

F*d morning. Tough nav
Slow!!!!

Throughout the day they seemed to move somewhat slowly, and partially off the path, as it turns out they indeed missed some jeep roads and hiked in parallel cross-country. But they made it in the dark. Jill reported seeing wildebeest and antelopes and having to track around another gorge. They had to race the daylight to get at least off the cross-country section. Weather seems good, though cold, with mornings below freezing. Jill is also enjoying the atmosphere of the checkpoints, farmer's houses and village community centers - it actually sounds a bit like the Iditarod!

Tomorrow should be a short day, only 60km. While it would be tempting to skip a checkpoint, the section right before the following checkpoint involves some more very tricky navigation, and in the darkness it would be very difficult. So far though they still move according to the original race plan.

Freedom Challenge, Day 2

"Tough nav day. Stumble through morning. Beats device awesome through forest road maze. Brilliant sunset moon. Big gate climb"

"Nav still tough and some hard terrain but beautiful"  

"This is not easy but i love it."

No cell reception at today's overnight stop, so only a little information is available via our sat texting messenger. Looking at the maze of trails/forest roads early on I worried about their navigation, but everything seemed to go ok, including crossing one of the infamous high (as in higher than a person) fences. Trang and I anxiously watched them stop at a house after 3 hours - maybe they got a brunch offered, we won't know until later. Turns out watching such an event is more exhausting than riding it!
After some technical issues with my little turn-reminder device (it occasionally gets into a funky state) it seems to have been quite useful and worked well today.

Unfortunately Liehann's shock isn't doing great apparently, as Trang, Liehann's dad and I scrambled this morning to get specifications for a replacement shock for Liehann's bike, after Liehann asked his Dad to look into that. It looks like that will be possible as we had the relevant specs, and a Freedom Challenge organizer will be driving down and deliver the shock in Rhodes if I'm not mistaken, which is still quite far away.