Freedom Challenge - Hadley to Willowmore

As explained by a commenter on the previous blog post, the section from Hadley to Cambria, while short, is one of the hardest and most rewarding of the race. Jill and Liehann only got to Cambria late in the day. The section was even more difficult to navigate than anticipated as there was flooding that had moved trees and debris across the trail which was at times impossible to find. They got very lucky as a faster racer caught up with them and guided them through the section. He deliberately stuck with them as he apparently had, in a previous year, left someone behind who ended up spending the night in this section, about which he had felt quite bad.
Steve and Di, the couple with which Jill and Liehann rode for quite a while earlier, also caught up with them.
The way from Cambria to Willowmore was on good roads with very clear navigation which, despite being a long day with over 100 miles, according to Jill felt "easy". The views must have been spectacular as we got this message:

Baviaanskloof one of the most beautiful places i have ridden a bike.

 They got to Willowmore a bit late, but have another long day tomorrow ahead. Steve and Di stopped at the checkpoint before Willowmore for the night (or at least that was their plan).

Otherwise everything is working well, and there seem to be no issues, physical or mechanical.

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!