After a surprisingly good night of sleep (we weren't visited by lions or elephants or even giant spiders in the night) we woke with the sun and started breaking down camp. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, more oranges, and coffee, we set about preparing to get on the road. The bikes needed nothing – even the tire pressure has been holding. We enjoyed the most powerful shower this side of a firehose before suiting up and jumping on the bikes. I hit my starter button and the crank didn't even spin a half a revolution before coming to an abrupt stop. Since we had a similar incident with Re's bike in NC, I had an idea what the issue was. I tried to give the kick starter a quick jab, and it wouldn't move. While I popped the spark plug access panel off and removed the plug wire, Re retrieved the factory “toolkit” from under the side cover. I pulled the spark plug, kicked the bike over, cleared the fuel from the cylinder, popped the plug back in, and buttoned everything back up while Re stowed the toolkit. The entire procedure took less than 5 minutes, and my bike fired right up.



We pulled out of the campground and went back toward the N7 with my bike showing no ill effects of my little hydraulicing problem. Note to self: install petcocks sometime. The ride up the N7 was relatively boring, just a long straight highway and a headwind to boot. We've been off the bikes too long and need to get back into riding shape, as both of our butts were barking by late afternoon.



We did however, see some animals along the way: ostriches, weaver birds, and our favorite was the pygmy giant land tortoise (at least that's what I told Re it was. I don't think she believed me.). This little guy was cruising across the highway, and I have a soft spot for things that are even slower than us, so we banged a u-turn and went back to rescue him. Apparently African tortoises are just like their American cousins, as this one peed all over Re's glove while she held him.



The day's ride was warm, but that changed in mid-afternoon when we crested one hill and it got just plain hot. The landscape suddenly changed from orchards to rocky, dry desert. The heat made the ride seem even longer and our butts even sorer, and we decided to stop riding early today. Our original goal was Springbok, but Kamieskroon was 50 miles sooner. Upon exiting the highway we spied the Kamieskroon Hotel, which the guidebook said had camping as well. Since we were the only campers there, we made our choice of the sites and set up camp. We needed fuel and food (and ) so we rode into town in search of sustenance. Unfortunately, everything was closed, which seemed odd for a Saturday at 5:30pm. The only store with food that was open was adjacent to the gas station, and Re made the best of the limited selection and we headed back to camp, where she fixed a sort-of corned beef hash with sweet potatoes, crisps, and more oranges from Citrusdal. The sun sets early here, it's dark by around 7pm. We did enjoy the early sunset tonight since the sky was completely clear and there is no light pollution in Kamieskroon. We pulled out the binoculars, laid on the patio on our backs, and looked at more stars than we've ever seen anywhere in North America.

221 miles in about 8 hours. Once we got my bike running, they ran fine.