Preparing for the Freedom Challenge is far more than just getting on your bicycle and pedaling for hours on end. Lots of time is spend on reading and understanding the narratives which accompanied the maps as well as searching through Google Earth trying to locate certain towns in rural areas as well as the tiniest of track or trail.
So, when at last we received an email stating that the maps were up, we were relieved because the real training has started. In our household it happened more or less like this.
The maps, the maps! I want to see, no, let me see... let me see first. I want to see first...
And of course because Rodney was going to change my maps into an understandable language, decipher hieroglyphics so to speak, we all had to wait our turn. No matter how excited we were, we had to wait!
At last, we settled and calmly opened the files
Uhm....excuse me....I'm riding the Freedom Challenge, so may I now have a chance to see what's going on? Hello! ....Excuse me!....
What?..... What?..... What is she babbling on about? We are looking!
Oh Nooo.....Does she have to go there? ....Better just close my eyes and bury my face! Is she going to come back? Who will feed me?...
...there!...there! There it is! On Google Earth...I can see the track
Wow! How did you find it?
Mmm,....not difficult....I used my nose
Is that it? Have we got it all? ...Ok.... Click print
I'll take a nap in the meantime.....sigh...exhausting work
And so, at last all the maps are ready, printed and in my 2l ice cream containers, ready for Cape Town and then to be shipped to the different support stations.
Watch this space for the physical training part in preparation for the Freedom Challenge, Race across SA.
