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Latest in Freedom Challenger Blogs

Atlas Mountain Race - Registration
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Mar 5, 2020 | 06:33 am
Registration for the race takes place at the Mogador Kasbah Hotel and Spa. That's 5km's from our accommodation. Practically speaking it would have been easier to have stayed at the Mogador but it was only identified as the race start venue after we had booked at Riad Bousskri. Roger tried changing it. He sent an email asking the Riad if they would waive the cancellation fee. Their response was immediate and emphatic—They deducted the full amount for our stay from his credit card. Later he got a message to the effect, "It's low season we need the money". As it turns[…]
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Atlas Mountain Race - Mystical Marrakech
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Mar 3, 2020 | 18:39 pm
Our Riad is exactly that—a townhouse with a central courtyard and a fountain. In pride of place in the centre of the courtyard is an orange tree laden with ripening oranges. Real ones not plastic —we check. Once through the front door the glumness of the area is instantly forgotten. The place inside is a comfortable haven. It is a scenario that will play out over and over during our trek across Morocco—the outside of buildings often appear neglected in contrast to the inside that is tidy and homely.Ghislain welcomes us and we have the first of many cups of[…]
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Atlas Mountain Race - Welcome to Marrakech
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Mar 1, 2020 | 17:41 pm
The wing dips as we make our final turn into Marrakech Ménara Airport in Morocco. I've got a window seat and all I can see is an endless expanse of desolate brown. As we descend I see occasional patches of green that look like orchards. Olive trees I guess. Then there're huge expanses of plastic clad structures which I assume are green houses surrounded by barren ground. The town of Marrakech looms. It's unspectacular. The brown tones of sprawl melt into the featureless landscape. It's flat, dry, brown and completely underwhelming. Is this mystical Marrakech I ask myself? From the air[…]
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The HeidelBay 545 - Part 5
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Feb 5, 2020 | 21:41 pm
It's 2am. We've eaten our toasted sandwiches and had coffee awful enough to ward off the most resilient of sleep monsters. The ride out of Vryheid is fast. Before long we are adjacent the rail line that runs from the coal fields in Ermelo to Richards Bay. The first train passes us. It's in a cutting below us and it's dark so we can't see it. I've no idea of how fast it's going or even in which direction. It seems this line is different from the one we followed to Volksrust. The coaches roll past smoothly and they go[…]
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The HeidelBay 545 - Part 4
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Feb 3, 2020 | 20:05 pm
The ride to Vryheid takes us away from the train track which has been our lodestar. We'll be riding district roads for this leg. We've done the first 60km's previously albeit in terrible conditions. Beyond that it's all new and we don't know what to expect. We make good progress out of Volksrust to Groenvlei and begin the climb up to the highest point of our route. A third of the way up we stop to eat the remains of the dinner we bought in Volksrust. Now that it's cooler we have regained the appetites that were MIA earlier. There's evidence[…]
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The HeidelBay 545 - Part 3
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Feb 1, 2020 | 06:18 am
With our bikes liberated of most of the mud we continue down the road. I'm aware of the grinding of brake rotors as we slosh through puddles. I'm not trying to avoid the puddles because they present an opportunity to wash yet more mud off my bike. The downside is that more mud and water are being thrown up by the back wheel. I can feel it running down my back into my chamois. If my back looks anything like Merak's and Carlo's then it's an almighty mess. They look like ninja turtles with little brown shells on their backs. As[…]
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The HeidelBay 545 - Part 2
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Jan 30, 2020 | 17:05 pm
Shortly after the start the GPS directs us onto the railway reserve road. The weather looks like it might get damp but we're hopeful it'll just be light rain. They've obviously had recent rain because it's muddy and large puddles abound. For the most part we are able to route around all but the largest of puddles. We get to the first of many railway bridges which the HeidelBay veterans refer to as the 5 Arches Bridge. Here we find Niven who has deployed his drone and is filming us as we cross the river below the bridge. I've only[…]
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The HeidelBay 545 - Part 1
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Jan 26, 2020 | 15:35 pm
The Wimpy Mega Cappuccino goes down a lot easier than the Streaky breakfast. The foods not bad but I'm struggling to get it down. We've been on the go for 28 hours and the combined effects of exhaustion, sleep deprivation and heat have suppressed my appetite. The ebb and flow of life play out on the streets of Ulundi. It's Saturday morning and the narrow pavement on the other side of the window is pulsing with life. We've only got 113km left to do of our 545km quest to ride non-stop from Heidelberg in Gauteng to Richards Bay in Kwazulu-Natal. The route[…]
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Munga 2019 Final Wrap - Gun Fights and Bar Brawls
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Jan 12, 2020 | 14:58 pm
As much as I think age is just a number the reality is that when you are standing neck deep in torn off calendar pages you are faced with the realisation that you can't ride away from that number.It goes without saying that a thirty something year old has a massive physical advantage over someone like myself who is almost sixty. Therein lies the beauty of ultra endurance cycling — it's not all about brawn. I like to think that as your body yields to the ageing process there is a inversely proportional increase in savviness.I appreciate that if you[…]
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Munga 2019 - Part 17 - Ceres to Doolhof
Adventures of an Ordinary Cyclist Jan 5, 2020 | 10:03 am
I arrive at the Ceres Race Village to a cheery welcome. While I'm filling in the register I'm asked what I would like to eat. I ask what's available. A list of options is run off."That sounds perfect," I reply."All of it?" "If that's okay?" "Sure thing." He hurries off to whip up an express custom breakfast. I think I just made his day.The next inquiry is about what I'd like to drink."Tea, coffee and Coke will be perfect, thanks." This time there's no query about my broad selection.By the time I've filled my bottles coffee and Coke are waiting[…]
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