All good things must come to an end, and Day 4 of TOUR DE TULI was infused with that bitter-sweet enjoyment of a Sunday evening joy ride, knowing that just another school day will stare you in the face come morning. As usual, the final stretch saw riders put the hammer down as they headed home to the finish line in Mapungubwe National Park, in Limpopo Province, RSA.
Most of the border crossings went pretty well during the ride, with especially the Bostswana authorities deserving kudos for always being incredibly friendly and organised. The same cannot be said for the Zim officials, although they did have smiles on their faces most of the time. Superb single-track sections – mostly along elephant and game footpaths – and another sandy bike push across the Limpopo got us onto SA soil.
A nasty combo of concrete and gravel climbing past Crook’s Corner banged me past some ellies feeding by the side of the road, but it all happened so quickly that I did not even register on their pachyderm radar. Crossing the finish line was happy face / sad face all at the same time, but the prospect of one of those legendary TdT parties kept the riders decidedly up-beat.
Five days of riding, shooting and editing (with an average of 4hrs sleep per night) finally came to climax, and I can say without a doubt that TUR DE TULI is a mountain biking experience I will remember for life. Thank you, CHILDREN IN THE WILDERNESS – I truly hope that we have all in some small way contributed to helping this amazing charity reach more of their admirable goals.
Click here to view the pics