Down and Out

It's been a while since I've last posted something and due to some unfortunate down time it looks like I'll have time to catch up a bit.

So much has happened in the past couple of months I'm not really sure where to start, but I'll try to get the most important information in.

Cycling and fitness was going really well. I competed in both the Argus mountain bike challenge and the Argus cycle tour, with results that I'm really happy about. Despite taking straing on the road race, which is 109km long, and the first time I did such a long distance, I felt confident that I would be able to cycle that distance day in day out. I pushed myself quite hard and managed the distance in just under 4 hours. I think taking it slower, and allowing for ample rest periods during a daily ride I'll have no problem on the freedom trail.

Unfortunately it all went pear shaped on Tuesday leaving me with a sore throat after a chilly ride. I've developed a nasty cold / flu that I'm still struggling to get over. It didn't help that this week is my best friends wedding which meant I couldn't just hole up in bed getting better. There were bachelors partied and wedding rehearsals to attend. The timing of getting sick really sucked! I'm hoping by next week I'll be all better and able to get on with training. The next few weeks are crucial to get my fitness up to an acceptable level.

The bike has been pretty good, except the back wheel broke, or more specifically the flywheel. Unfortunately there is a problem getting parts at the moment and I'm still waiting to get the wheel back from the shop. They have been really good to me though and lent me one of their personal wheels. It get a little chaotic there but I must say I always get reallt great service!

I also got a GPS device - a Garmin Colorado 300. The device is really neat, and after pairing it with detailed maps of Southern Africa the possibilities are really exciting. The downer is there seems to be an issue around the power supply and the device sometime switches itself off, even though there is still charge on the batteries. As this stage it looks like I'm going to have to send the device back to Garmin for repairs. Its a pain because at best it's going to be sent to Europe, and I do not think it will be possible to get it repaired before I leave. I'm still figuring out what to do.

As for the trail - I have all the routes and trails, both in paper and electronic form. I also have kit lists which means an expensive shop is on the horizon. It's all coming together though and the departure date is scary soon!