Bulla One and the Baviaans

If you thought that we were impressive, just read the story or the ride about Bulla One. Christo almost had to ride with the Bulla Team and he would have but fate had it otherwise. Finally , finally on number 99 we found Christo a partner, Dennis Finch. We didn't know he was a pro, but we clearly understood when he unpacked his bag on Race Day. The best quality of cycling jerseys, tops, leg warmers, bootees, caps, gloves, you name it, he had them all plus an array of other drool over goodies. But what a nice down to earth guy. We were all glad that Christo found a great partner.

After sorting out Christo's light with a better fitting so it won't topple him and the bike over, they were also ready to go.

As we checked in at the different checkpoints, we received the latest reports from Maggie and Elzet of their fast progress. "They are 35min ahead of you"."They are 1hour and 25min ahead of you". We didn't ask again, they were clearly in a different league.

On top of the beast of a mountain they put their lights on, Dennis in front, but Christo always reassuring his teammate: " Dennis I'm here."

Their support Juliana and Marina had to follow a different route and only saw them at Komdomo for the first time, that's after about 170km. Marina always wanted to be a sports photographer and really took the opportunity to show her style. With reel after reel of film falling into the developing basket, they waited with abated breath at the end for the two heroes to come in. And so we are waiting to see the photos she took. They came in at a mere 13hours and 39min. If it wasn't for the buck that jumped in front of Christo's bike and unfortunately got killed in the process, they could have shaved more minutes off their time. The story of the buck is true. A Duiker was run over by a bike. We saw the evidence of buck hair still stuck on the bike.

So they went to bed and didn't wait for us to finally arrive. But the next morning Christo's face said it all; What an experience!

Till next year then, when we will hopefully see you there!