Table Making

Yesterday we had a small dinner with a few friends. Which brought up the frequent problem of not having enough furniture. We decided to make a makeshift table for the evening to eat of. The idea was to go very simple - take a plank, stick a few bricks under it and wallah - a table. So we went down to the hardware store to get a piece of wood. While we were down there the plan gradually changed from the original simple idea of stacking a piece of wood onto bricks to building a sturdy, although simple, coffee table.



We picked up a piece of pine, got the hardware store to cut support planks and legs into the right sizes and a few accessories. The most notable of which was a cordless drill. A must have for the project.

The project turned out quite well. It was my first solo DIY effort so a few mistakes were made and some lessons were learned, but all in all the end result is very pleasing.

The design was simple - the table top, four support beams running in a rectangle 5cm in from the edge of the table and the legs nestled in the corners of the support beam. I glued the support beams and added L-brackets. I then glued in the legs, also using L-brackets to secure them to the table top, and half-threaded screws to secure them against the support beams.

I under-estimated the number of screws required, and one of the half threaded screws broke halfway in. Also some of the pilot holes I drilled didn't line up correctly after gluing. Next time I won't drill all the pilot holes first.

That said, the end result is a sturdy table that did not fall apart the first time it was turned over.



Here are a few shots taken during and after the construction of the table.

New Cellphone!

The man is still going strong, except for some dodgy knee thing that flared up yesterday. Hoping its much better today and not giving him any trouble. We spoke last night quickly. He has a new phone now but the place he stayed at last night and possibly tonight too, has no electricity. The phone has not been fully charged yet. Here is his new number: 0729480303 His phone is not on often because he is trying to save the battery until it can be charged. I'm sure some inspirational messages would do him the world of good! Maybe just add your name as he probably won't have anyone's numbers with him :-)

Blue Monday

From what I can gather today was a tough ride, as there were a few falls. During which Liehann lost his phone. There will be a search for it tomorrow. It seems he might have lost it on the last fall when it was already dark. Of course doing this trip without a cellphone is not an option. Dave Wannilove (probably got that way wrong, the organiser of the Ft) has been very helpful and has been tracking Liehann, he noticed he did about 20 km extra today (he might have gone of track a bit...) Dave is sending a guide through to Liehann tomorrow so that he won't cycle alone without communication. Lieb and Dave are working on a new phone for him.
Slight panic when I didn't get my evening check-in sms. Reception limited where he is tonight. Did have a short conversation on a borrowed phone with him and he seems to be ok.
I'm hoping my nerves will survive a month of this :-)

Tracking Liehann's Progress

Liehann is carrying a "SportsTrack" GPS device which allows us to track his progress online. Viewing his progress and current location can be done as follows:

• Visit http://www.sportstrack.net/gps2/login.aspx.
• You will be prompted for a login and password. Enter "freedom" for the login and "challenge" for the password and press enter.
  
• This will take you through to the SportsTrack console where you should be able to see Liehann's current location displayed on the map.

The "Review Journey" link at the top right of the map allows for the day by day progress to be viewed. Google Earth KML files can also be downloaded which allow for the trail to be explored in Google Earth.

Day 1, as seen in Google Earth.

Day 1

After being very nervous about the flight with the bike, and packing everything turned out fine. The goodbyes were emotional. I only picked up the tracking unit late in Maritzburg and decided cycling to Minerva was a bad idea as it would get dark soon so my aunt and uncle drove me there. It is beautiful here.

On top of a mountain with quite lush vegetation.

So tomorrow is the first day on the trail. Two big climbs, but only 50km. Feel free to sms any time. It feels quite lonely here by myself.

Test

Test

My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready To Go...

Last night before leaving for Pietermaritzburg. It all "came together" today. Maps got done last night and with Carise's help we got all the advance packages sent out. After work went through to the folks in Somerset West. Did a final pack and managed to squeeze everything into the backpack. It's a tight fit! The pack weighs 10kgs. It's heavy but seems to be about right given comments on the FT forum. There are a few items which still need to be sorted out. A compass, which just seemed to fall of the radar (har har), and chain lube which I forgot at my flat after looking right at it thinking what else have I forgotten? Hopefully I'll be able to acquire these items in Pietermaritzburg. They are both quite important.

It's very exciting. I really can't believe that it's actually going to happen!