So this morning we left Gordons Bay along the coastal route to Hermanus where we saw many whales in the bay. The route was between the mountains and the ocean, just breath taking views which included seeing 6 whales in Hermanus where we stopped for lunch.

The afternoon took us through rolling hills, vineyards and we saw blue cranes and baboon warning signs. The American were impressed with the vastness of the beautiful landscapes and the ever changing blue skies. “Hard but Rewarding day” – Bob Murray “I am speechless nice to be back” – Dylan Thomas “Back up is a bit!” – Wayne Thomas “Easy as imagined “ – Ewie Rust “Comfort on support car is excellent, will hit the road tomorrow” – Uwe Bentlage “An astonishing ride, challenging and astounding beautiful” – Joanne Arnold

Day 2: Struisbaai to Barrydale – 70 Miles

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That set the tone for the day: “ Don’t get caught up in the rat race and make time to smell the roses” – what an amazing day we had. We set off from Struisbaai on a very flat route to Bredasdorp for about 30km, but the wind was already blowing strong. Uwe saying at one point “Can someone just switch the wind off”.

We pushed on after a pit stop at the bike shop to sort out a few gears and chains. We were hoping they could sort out the sore legs as well .That would have been more than welcome, but after a few bananas, jelly babies and cokes we were back on the road to Swellendam. The rolling hills just kept coming at us, and we thought where there is an up there must be a down, but not these hills were endless and they kept tolling.

At this point the wind was so strong that even Bruce got blown sideways (even though Peter promised tailwinds all day). We thought he was “riding like the wind”. However, Bruce’s lycra shorts for the day with a large zero symbol on the back called for a few interesting comments today like ‘Perhaps there’s no light at the end of the tunnel” . Meanwhile, Wouter entertained a few of the group in the E2E bus with running commentary

Craig and David went ahead to prepare a delicious, and very ambitious picnic lunch along the road where we all witnessed “Flying lettuce’. They served sardines that were so spicy that Chris was overheard saying, ’The only thing that was hot today was the sardines!’

After lunch we were transported to the turn off for Barrydale as you are not allowed to cycle on national roads. A 34km route would lead us through Tradouws Pass (352m summit) with a 11% climb along the most beautiful waterfalls, the sound of fast running water and just the breathtaking views of the surrounding was enough to keep us going. We were all ‘greeted’ by baboons along the route.

We appreciated Peter’s commandeering of the ‘train’ today helping organize us to ride together as a team helping one another through the difficult parts of the ride. We were rewarded with tremendous downhill rides on the back side of the pass on our way to Barrydale.In Barrydale many enjoyed soothing massages, seeing Wouter in a fetching pink towel and a tremendous dinner together.

Day 3: Barrydale to Mosselbay – “Ronnies Sex Shop” on Route 62

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After a whole new experience for Joanne of pumping up wheels with Ewies coaching we set off for Route 62 with a steady climb to warm up those sore legs. As we reached the top of the hill we saw the most beautiful view overlooking Barrydale, a small village nestled within three mountains. Therefore our hotel password was “Drie Berge”. The Afrikaans word for three mountains.

Route 62 took us past the world famous Ronnie’s Sex shop, a perfectly harmless pub and tourist attraction. We found Craig’s business card on the wall and we think that he needs some explaining to do ,with all the women’s lingerie hanging from the rafters of the bar; Is Craig hiding something from the group? However, the only evidence of sex was the word printed on the sign. We come to find out that the shop was named Ronnie’s Shop, a sleepy little store until Ronnie’s friends decided to play a joke by adding the word SEX. Suddenly business improved.

Today was a day of team work as our trains, or groups of riders worked smoothly together to help log our miles. Dylan exhibited great maturity and leadership in his teamwork. A role model for all of us.

The Karoo reminded our American friends about the Arizona area, with dry scrubby semi desert landscape. Undulating hills and a relatively easy but serpentine Garcia Pass faced the riders today as we headed toward Mossell Bay. After lunch we saw ostriches, flying blue cranes (the South African national bird) Bontebok (a local antelope). The vegetation and rugged landscape among mountains, rivers and blue sky was just beautiful.

Coming down the pass the wind was so strong it almost blew us off our bikes, but Dylan had a specific technique to conquer the wind, with the fastest rider reaching 46 miles per hour. A beautiful descent brought us into Riversdale where we transferred by car to Mosselbay.

Day 4: Mosselbay to Uniondale – Beautiful scenery and a scorching day – 160km, including “David’s little detour”.

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After the pizza stop, Dylan and Matthias were chased by dogs and they literally out cycled them, thank God they did. The afternoon’s ride also included Bob’s therapeutic rest lying alongside the road resting his back.

Beautiful landscaped greeted us as were heading towards Uniondale with more undulating hills and views of the R62 , a road that lead to nowhere, well that’s how it felt. The moon in the sky before us pulled us towards the next darn hill.

More antelope along the road i.e. Reebok and Springbok and a “gallop of ostriches” ran alongside us at about 17 miles an hour. Beautiful guest house where we staying tonight, joined by Philip Reneurt, his sister Suzy and Tony from the Sabrina love Foundation, who will join us on the ride together.

Not last, but Dylan, Uwe and Wouter need a mention as they all achieved personal bests today as this is what this ride is all about “Challenging yourself”. Wouter was determined to hang in there behind a local who had no water and just kept going.

Ewie’s comment for the day: Besides the fact that he was abused by a Canadian and a “Soutie”, he realised you cannot do this on your own!

Day 5: Uniondale to Calitzdorp – Ostrich countryside - 104 Miles

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This morning we left Scheltenheim Guesthouse, sad to leave as it was a really nice place, use to be an old boarding school. The morning group Warm up was described as Chinese Torture by some. It was Craig’s day to cycle with us and always nice to have him in the group as he is like a “walking/cycling Wikipedia” on the fauna and flora of South Africa, pointing out the “red bishops” as we left town.

We left Uniondale with a traditional hill climb, travelled in a westerly direction with a strong south westerly wind and Wouter and Riette were cruising at top speed behind Suzy’s car, sometimes you just need to be clever and need a little help to keep up with the core team. We headed towards De Rust where we stopped for lunch after about 76km.Along the way Chris tried to convince Joanne that the thorn bush was actually a Banana Tree, as the team had decorated it with all their banana peels after a snack break.

After lunch Suzy decided to join the team on her mountain bike. Uwe commenting that he will not forget the mountain bike with the pink trimmings. Again the locals cheered us out of town, running alongside us, obviously watched the Tour de France on telly.

Phillip’s longest ride ever, an amazing achievement. “Hard work into the wind, but spectacular.” Dylan also did another 104 miles today, riding into Calitzdorp with Peter Campbell, hand in hand, another very special moment that makes our group so unique.

Unfortunately this was the last evening for Matthias, “The German Hammer”. He gave a very nice speech and shared his highlights of the last 5 days. I am sure Matthias was well indoctrinated into the group, with lots of stories about his “roomies” , Ewie and Chris and this unique group of people.

Day 6: Calitzdorp to Montagu – “It’s not about the mileage, but the beautiful surroundings, just soaking up the views” 115 Miles – Average Speed 14.4 MPH

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Suzy and Tony waved us goodbye as we were leaving town. We started climbing the Huisrivier pass reaching a summit of 662m . Crossing a mountain gives you a real sense of achievement ... “ looking at the ups and downs of our lives”, but eventually getting through it, however tuff!

It was Chris an Ewie’s last ride; they were with us until Ladismith. Chris gave Dylan a lecture on his “butt maintenance”, from 30 minutes on the right cheek, then 30 minutes on the left check, wittling it down to 15 seconds on each cheek until lunch time, he has got it down to a fine art. We are all sad to see them go.

Riette stopped to take a picture of the view and the next minute a massive baboon came charging across the road. “I never got on my bike so quickly”. Dylan said he was glad he wasn’t cycling with Uwe pass the baboon as he was carrying 4 bananas in his back pocket.

Today, Phillip was much more comfy in his Sappi shorts and Wouter enjoined his new seat. Dylan was saying he hates coming over a hill and seeing the next five hills. Riette said she was hungry, Wayne, said it was because you were burning so many calories, Wouter said you might be pregnant because of all the “ovulating hills”.

Everyone arrived safely in Montagu in time for another lovely evening and a welcome dip in the pool. A surprise waited for Wayne as old friends waited to join him for dinner at the Mimosa Lodge.

Day 7: Montague to Ceres - cycling through the Koo Valley – 94 miles

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In the distance snow could be seen on the mountains with spectacular colourful spring flowers along the road. This ride is so different from the previous two rides, with a the road surface being very rough and all the mountain passes making this definitely the toughest of the three rides. Again windy conditions and scorching temperatures of up to 39 degrees/ about 102.2 Farenheit made it a challenging ride.

Along the way an ostrich family was spotted and those of us witnessed a very rare moment, A swimming ostrich. With all the recent rain, the Karoo is just beautiful. We also spotted two elephants, more springboks and blesbok and two big brown snakes, one probably a Cobra. Oh and a big dog again chasing the team. An interesting “Sausage tree” was spotted as well.

After 152km the team was lead by Bruce and Joanne entering Apple Country, and was soon joined by the rest of the team.

One rider confessed tonight that this is a personal challenge for everyone and everyday you face challenges such as “Do I get on my bike now or later, do I ride the whole day or not, do I admit my butt is sore or not... but this rider admitted while still healthy and able to do this it is nothing compared to the people who suffer from GIST or any other cancer and we should all remember the pain they had to face or face on a daily basis and we all know someone who has had or has cancer and we are so blessed to share this experience with a group of healthy people.”

Day 8: Ceres to Piketberg – leaving the vineyards for the wheat fields - 93.40 Miles

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We set off from Ceres this morning to first cross Mitchells Pass, just a short climb and when the “low gear” sign was spotted for the trucks we knew a long descent was coming up. No sooner were we on the open road to Breerivier, to face some more severe windy conditions. Cycling through Bainskloof was just spectacular and brought back some memories for some of us who grew up in Cape Town and Pete showing his group the exact rock he used to jump off into the river as a kid. After an easy climb we reached the summit at 520m, to stop for a quick coffee. The owner had a lovely dog that Uwe just wanted to take with.

Then one of the most descents with views across the vineyards and Wellington faced us. The team enjoyed the fast ride down the pass and was rewarded with a picnic in Coronation Park. The picnic was enjoined by all and Joanne felt rewarded by feeding a man in the Park who was very grateful for our left overs.

After lunch we headed out to Piketberg, but after a while it became too dangerous with force 4 winds and trucks passing us at dangerously high speeds.

Bruce was doing 60km/hr on the flats with winds of between 40-50km and gusts up to 60km/hr.

The evening brought worry to our American friends whose families were faced by the stormy conditions and hurricane.

Day 9: Piketberg to Malmesbury – cycling through the wheat fields down to the coast – 62.50

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We set off from Piketberg on our way to Veldrif and then stopped for lunch at Partnernoster. By this time the wind was blowing a gale. The locals tried to sell lobster and mussels to us. One lady who owned a little cafe on the beach made us some chips and offered to wash our dishes too. We loved the sign on her till “Betaal later se gat!” She lost her father to cancer too and wished all the best with our riders.

Good news was also received from a friend who works for Old Mutual, the company Peter used to work for in Cape Town. The London Global Old Mutual team, based in London, had £2012 to donate to charities. They chose GIST and Pancreatic cancer UK, we were delighted with their donation and support.

Again the wind was so strong this afternoon, we had to be transported with the van to Malmesbury, not that we complained. Arriving at our guest house some of the riders decided to go out again. The rest of us took it easy, relaxed as we had an extra hour to spare before dinner.

Bruce committed to enter a race with some of the local boys on their BMX bikes - down the hill and back up. They were so impressed with the American from New York and his flashy bike, that they thought they stood no chance. But to Bruce’s surprise the local boy won. A great ending to the day!

Day 10: Malmesbury to Simonstown – Mission accomplished! - 93 Miles

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The first stretch of the ride was an easy ride as there was very little wind from Malmesbury to Greenpoint, so we pushed on to make time as we knew the wind would be howling on the other side. After lunch we cycled along the beachfront, passing Sea Point, Clifton, Camps Bay and pushing onto Hout Bay, before starting Chapmans Peak. By this time the wind was very strong. We all made it safely over the spectacular mountain and then had to hang onto our bikes to make our way to Simonstow. Overhearing Bruce saying; “That has been one crazy ride!!” The South Africans were probably thinking who are these mad people cycling in gale force winds.

The team re-grouped at the railway station and all cycled into to the end point where family were waiting for us to finish the ride.

This has been the toughest and most challenging of the three Peter Thomas Memorial Rides so far. It has stretched the riders physically, mentally and emotionally. Each person comes for a different reason on this trip, but the camaraderie and banter amongst the group is certainly a unique experience for many. You do have to ask yourself the question why some come back to do this gruelling ride every three years.

We can see our starting point – Gordon's Bay – across the bay and realise that we have ridden a thousand miles to cover a distance of 50 – Crazy Stuff !!!