Neither had we, but that is what has stood out for me on this adventure so far; going to places you would not normally and having the chance to meet amazing people you would never have given yourself the opportunity to. We rode from Loxton to stay with Wilma at her guest house “Victoria Wes Guesthouse”. Hers is the building that is blue and white, where all the others are green and white (this is how we were told to find her). It was the promise of a swimming pool there that had me riding the last 20 km into Victoria Wes like I was on a time trial bike. It was one of my best and most refreshing swims in memory. It is also one of the most memorable Guest Houses I have ever stayed in. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world you HAVE to stay there and let Wilma entertain you and let her place envelop you in comfort and character – a true Karoo gem!
Check out the details of the ride to Victoria Wes below (shhhhhh – did you know that you can push play and watch the ride like you were there with us?? You can even control the cyclist and check out the speeds for different parts of the ride).
Oh oh, also…the Physiology Lab have supplied me with a heart rate monitor for the One Gear Challenge. With the V02 Max test results from earlier this year they have determined my optimal heart rate riding zones that I need to remain in during each stage to allow for optimal recovery. In a single day event, recovery is not key and you can push your heart rate into the higher zones in order to do a quicker time but having to ride on consecutive days it is vital for us to recover well. I was advised to spend as much time as possible in Zone 2 but as you can see I let the flat roads and possibility of maintaining an average speed of 23km/h get the best of me on this ride and I spent most the ride in Zone 3! Sometimes the boy in me takes over – Sorry guys! Guess I will feel that in the morning!
Stage 7 Heart Rate Results
The long flat roads of which I spoke:
Long and flat (yes I am talking about the road)