Eric on his Bike

Section 8 Diamond  Coast   669 miles (1077 kms)

DATE	FROM-TO	MILES	KMS	Notes
30 APR	Windhoek- farm camp	90	145
1	Farm camp- unsure
2	Not sure- Sesriem
3	Rest day at Sossusvleii
4	Sesriem- Betta	137	220
5	Betta- Konkiep Lapa	153	246	Mando
6	Konkiep- Seeheim	124	200
7	Seeheim- Hobas	110	177
8	Hobas- Felix Unite	174	280	Mando
9	Rest day at felix Unite
10	Felix Unite- Springbok	84	135
11	Springbok- Garies	75	121
12	Garies- Vanrhympsdorp	50	80
13	Elands Bay- not sure
14	Not sure- Yzerfontaine
15 MAY	Yzerfontaine-Cape Town	56	90

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 29th  Rest day in Windhoek

When I got back from the mall, the sky was darkening. I got the tyres changed, ripping one inner tube in the process, and got the essentials like the chain complete. I almost forgot my laundry, but got it inside just as the first drops started falling, at 5.45.  Within a few minutes, we were back to the usual caper- thunder, lightning and very heavy rain.

But I am sat on my cot, a towel across my lap and I have a bag of bread, cheese, fruit, both dried and fresh, nuts and cake! So what do I care if it pours down outside!

April 30th. Off to Weissenfeld camp.

Eric Defour was in his tent right next to me. I heard him up in the night trying to divert the water getting in.

By morning, you would not have known it had rained. After packing up, I started to fold my tent up. A pole snapped. So did my patience; I got ready to throw it. Eric Defour persuaded me not to and I managed to fold it up into its bag.

 After breakfast, we had our rider meeting, when we were introduced to Henry Gold, the founder and owner of TDA. He will be accompanying us to Cape Town.

Then it was time to get going. I had my bike ready; I just felt the tyres out of habit; the front was flat. After changing it, I was the last to leave. Heading in the direction of Walvis Bay, the first 10 kms. were on tarmac, taking us up higher into the hills- or, rather, mountains, as we climbed from Windhoek at 1700m to a pass at over 2000. Baboons ignored my passing, perhaps mistaking me for a big snail.

The terrain surprised us. We had expected it to be flat. Furthermore, there was plenty of green still, as the rainy season is only just finishing. Another surprise was how hot it was.

The dirt track was generally good, but where there was loose sand and gravel, it brought back memories of darker days.

Our camp site really is in the middle of nowhere. The owners run a small stud farm and a guest house. The feeling of the place is of homeliness, self-sufficiency and not rushing. We are camped round the back.

Talk around the campsite now turns much more towards Cape Town, discussing our plans, and comparing our feelings. Have we, or our attitudes, changed; what will we do after this and so on.

I opened up my tent, and, even with the broken pole, it has taken its normal shape. It has just had a stiff test, as, once again, we have been hit by a thunderstorm and the rain was savage. With only two weeks to go, I know I can manage no matter what happens now.

Distance: 115 kms. Av.speed: 17.8 kph  Time cycling: 6hrs.30mins.

May 1st. To Solitaire.

Hail, headwinds, corrugation and wet sand, we have had it all today….but for me, this has been possibly the best day of the Tour so far. I feel more alive than I have done for months.

I was one of the first to leave this morning. The turbulent skies marauded above the desolate rolling bush. Our direction was heading for some mountains. They could have been covered with heather, in greens and purples, such was their beauty. The sky had every shade of blue, but over this mountain range, the dark clouds appeared contorted in anger, like a huge oyster shell. Further westwards, the light reminded me of paintings of the Ascension of Our Lord, an ephemeral light from the heavens down to earth. Lightning was flashing over the mountain, as if warning us to keep away. Well before we reached there, water was running down the track and ponding. The sand was mostly saturated, making it a little difficult to push through. But the setting was intriguing and bewitching.

 

By the time we reached this mountain, the storm had moved on. We weaved our way up through the range to where our lunch truck was waiting for us, at about 60 kms. Everyone was cold and a new storm was brewing. So how welcome was the sight of a hot drink, the first time on the Tour at lunch; the first time we have needed it!

As riders began cycling away, the now dark skies chose to soak us again. We had some climbing to take us to the top of the pass. I cannot say just why, but I was loving it. Perhaps it was the sense of freedom the landscape gave me, the strength I felt, I don’t know. There was some hail both before and after the top of the pass, but once at the top, the view was breathtaking. The road before us dropped 500m. within 4 kms. into a wide valley, green, turning to yellow savannah further out. At the far side of this valley, I could see a line of white, with one solitary mountain completely white. I now believe this is due to the sand.

 

Halfway through the valley, five of us stopped at Gecko Lodge, a simple place, where it was pleasant to take tea and biscuits and gather strength for the final 30 kms.

Rising gently out of this valley, you could again see the white expanses with hills rising up from it; I was reminded of lumps of Christmas pudding set in white custard.

 

Our campsite is by the gas station, a place called Solitaire Lodge. The setting is reminiscent of Arizona, according to one of the Americans. There is a Wild West feel to it. But ther4e are simple rooms for those that want them, a bar, cold showers and toilets, but wait for it…. a BAKERY! We had been told that this bakery makes the best apple crumble in Africa. So before showering, bike washing or any other menial duty, most of us traipsed over to the bakery for crumble and coffee. We will all testify to it’s magnificence, and that of all the other pastries and muffins that were flying off the shelf as they came out of the oven. Not as many people went for seconds at dinner tonight!

 

Distance 122 kms. Av.speed.:17.7 kph  Time cycling:6 hrs.56 mins.

May 2nd. Solitaire to Sossusvlei Camp. (80 kms.)

The track from Solitaire continues, the width of a dual carriageway, towards Sossusvlei. The surface is mostly very good indeed. Another storm in the night had cleared to give a beautiful day and we all enjoyed good speeds. Many of us saw oryx, springbok and giraffe early on.

On a particularly fast stretch, where I was doing about 40 kph., I suddenly hit deep, loose sand. The bike took a wobble; I thought I had it under control., but then lost it again. As I came down, the handlebars smacked me in the ribs. This was the only real damage, but it hurt. I carried on slowly to the lunch truck at 50 kms. Bill, the surgeon, checked me over and said nothing was broken. I tried to ride after lunch, but it was too uncomfortable. For the last 25 kms., I rode in the truck.

The scenery continues to fascinate. The colours and contours of the hills and mountains are so varied; I cannot think of anywhere else I have seen it so. Approaching our campsite, the hill is actually red.

We are about 50 kms from Sossusvlei Dune, the largest in the world. It is said to be an astonishing sight. Some riders are taking a balloon ride over it on our rest day tomorrow, while others will go by road and, in some cases, walk to the top.

For myself, the ribcage is so sore tonight, despite taking a no. of painkillers, that I will stay around camp and read. I just hope Bill is right and that I will be able to ride again soon. There are five more days off-road, tough days, and I want to be able to do them.

It looks like, at best, there will be one more chance to use internet after here, before we reach Cape Town, and that will be in Springbok.  I want to thank you once again for all the wonderfully supportive comments. We have all had our ups and downs. Seeing your companions suffer is difficult in itself. Some riders have had to get up many times in the night with diarrhoea, night after night, others have been vomiting as they cycled. I remember Diane in Sudan, cycling behind her husband Jeff after a gruelling day; he was stooped over the handlebars, his head down, with only a km. to go.  She was shouting to him, “Jeff, don’t fall asleep. Keep going!” There was a coke stop with some shade, so they stopped and Jeff went straight to sleep for two hours .Franz was on his fourth course of antibiotics, in Tanzania I think it was. His cuts kept re-infecting, yet he had won every mando day till then. This day, he was feverish, his arm was swollen, but he raced. He won that day by two minutes, hoping to win every mando day of the Tour. But he lost his record on the next mando day when he went back to get help for Michael Prudden after his collision. I will always be grateful to Rick; when I was in a dazed stupor at the lunch stop in Dinder, he  quietly came over and whispered to me, “Don’t  kill yourself, Eric. There are too many people who love you”. Your comments have had the same effect, helping me through times that I admit have been very testing.

Some of the setbacks are humorous looking back, but were not so at the time. At one lunch break, I needed the toilet, and there were some buildings set back, including a toilet shed. Squatting over the hole, the flooring started crumbling where my feet were; only some quick manoeuvring saved me from going down. In a similar vein, I, like others, use a bottle in my tent at night to pee into. I lost my bottle the morning I overslept, but found another the next evening: I would suggest to anybody thinking of using this technique, to always check before using a bottle for the first time, that it is not cracked at the bottom!

May 3rd.  Sesriem
From 4.30 this morning, the first vehicles, carrying some of our riders, set off for the Dunes. The idea is to get there and climb to the top for sunrise.
We are just inside the gates of the Nature Reserve. Vehicles are lined up outside, waiting for the gates to open at sunrise.
There is a gas station, less than a kilometre from camp, that opens at 5.30. There are two computers that have seen heavy demand, so I have come down early so I can send this blog to Susan (ny webmaster) to post. The fresh footprints of springbok are clearly etched in the sand as I walk across. Jackals are a common sight here also, though mainly at night of course, canaries fly about camp. This might be desert, but the place is alive!

Best Wishes,

Eric

April 21st.

With such a big group, it is common not to find out about everything. I only found out today, that 2 days ago, Andra and Caroline were surrounded by wild dogs. These were not seen in Botswana much till recently. A car came through, splitting up the pack and enabling the girls to sprint away. In another incident, a group of the riders saw a group of baboons crossing the road ahead of them. The dominant male stopped, bared his teeth and let out a loud bellow. Rod, with his typical wit, shouted to it: “Take the women!”.

I felt much better today. The pre-lunch passed pleasantly, chatting to Jim. He is a lawyer from Portland, Ohio who loves his biking. For the second two-thirds of the day, I was grateful to Vic and Gerry for letting me draft behind them. Like most riders, we stopped at the Planet Baobab for a drink. This lodge, set 1.5 kms. from the road, is a comfortable spot to take coffee and chocolate cake – hard luck on those who arrived later to find none left!

I have enjoyed the ride today for the cycling, with a return of strength. Up till now, I have been wrong in thinking that tensions might appear in the last month. On the contrary, there is more open fun, teasing and good humour. Certainly, many will be looking forward to trips to the Okavango Delta on the rest day, the day after tomorrow. There is also a growing realisation that we are getting nearer to Cape Town. I cannot think of any rider who does not relish the thought. Long ago, we accepted that we were going to suffer, but a great weariness has set in. The long rides through unchanging scenery emphasises this. Yet we are cycling between the Okavango Delta ( to our north west) and the Makgadikgadi salt pans ( to our east) that are the biggest in the world.

Dist.: 187 kms. Av.speed: 30 kph Time cycling: 6 hrs. 14mins.

Going to Maun. April 22nd.

On these long, flat roads, riders are tending to group up again. Ten of us in two lines of five kept up a good steady pace, rotating at the front every 10 mins. As we passed Reiner, we all sang Happy Birthday to him- he is 69 today. This evening, he bought drinks for everyone. In the afternoon, I chose to go slower and use it as a recovery ride.

Dist.:139 kms Av.speed:30 kph Time cycling: 4hrs. 39 mins.

Rest day in Maun. April 23rd.

Torrential rain set in last night. I was glorying in the dryness of my tent. I stretched out my arms to the side in satisfaction and…what is that, it feels wet!? Right enough, water covered the floor, not from the rain, but from my camelback. The tube end had come off and the water drained out. Some, like myself, chose to do their laundry before breakfast. Others went into the hotel, in whose grounds we are camping, for a reasonably priced breakfast buffet. When I went in after finishing my washing, a large number of riders had been and gone, eating everything like locusts. The waitress indicated the various bowls to me: “We have eggs, bacon, beans, sausages…” “Hold on”, I said, “they are all empty!” “The chef is doing more”,she smiled. Behind the counter, a young man was bent over a frying-pan cooking two eggs. Africa does force patience on you.

Some riders have paid US$120 each to fly for an hour over the Delta. others $280, which includes a trip in a canoe into the Delta. With so much water about, the animals and birds are dispersed over a larger area and viewing may have been a little disappointing. Tomorrow we start the five days, covering 800 kms., that will take us into Windhoek. There is some slight excitement now, knowing we are getting closer. Dare we start dreaming yet? Certainly, everybody is trying hard to get some weight back on. The growing availability of fast food outlets on rest days helps. Milk shakes, full-fat milks and burgers are all in demand.

24th April. Last Bush Camp!

The roads are good, they are flat and there is hardly any traffic. Everyone seems revived by the rest day and ready to give it some wellie. My bugs have gone and I feel in good shape. At the lunch stop, an English lad on an overladen bike pops in. He started cycling from UK last October, down to Gibraltar. He SWAM across to Africa, then cycled down the west coast, on his way to S. Africa to watch the World Cup and do an ultra triathlon. As Stuart, our current race leader, said: “That kinda puts us in our place, don’t it?”

All along the highway, bullocks graze on the long grass. They look so healthy and well-fed.

For over a week, I have slept very badly due to the disintegration of my thermorest mattress. It transpires that Jim has a “cot” (like a camp bed) that he does not use. He has offered it to me. So today, the ride done, I had cleaned myself, allowed the tent to put itself up (!) and put the cot together, a few minutes work. As I crawled onto the cot, a storm was breaking. I lay there, more comfortable than I have been for a long while, and just listened to Nature’s bad temper. All I lacked was my slippers and a packet of licorice allsorts.

The Decathlon.

Dave Arman and Sunil have devised a competition for teams of three to test their relative speeds over 10 days, with various “challenges”. This afternoon, the first event was held. One of each team had to dig a hole big enough for a washing-basin. This was conducted in the pouring rain and created some hilarity. Gabrielle, our Italian rider, supervised our dinner tonight; he made a mushroom risotto with lamb sausages.

Distance: 160 kms Av. speed: 30.8 kph Time cycling: % hrs. 8 mins.

25th April

Although the rain stopped while we had dinner last night, it came back with a vengeance at 8pm and continued till early morning. Some riders had been up, building moats around the tents; Simon had given up and got in the truck. Simon is one of the stronger riders. He is of British stock but lives in Johannesburg. He has not felt well for a long time, going back to when he received various spider bites one night in his tent, around his feet and ankles. The bites caused inflammation, pain and became very infected, despite treatment. He has not felt like riding, but he is in the race and also wants to maintain his EFI status. I saw his bites yesterday; he said they were much better, but the centres of the bites were still yellow with pus, about the size of marbles.

The sky was heavily clouded over this morning, creating a cold-feeling day, and continued so for the rest of the day. I prefer this to the sun for long rides, but it has come as a surprise. We are skirting the edge of the Kalahari Desert and were more concerned about high day-time temperatures.

The second event of the decathlon was an obstacle course, some on bike, some on foot and, funniest of all, pushing a single bicycle wheel along. After the boring ride, this was a wonderful antidote, competitive but great fun. Tomorrow we have the prospect of more of the same, but longer- in fact tomorrow we cover more kilometres than on any single day in the Tour. But I don’t think anybody is fazed by that; it is just another couple of hours more than yesterday.

Distance 143 kms Av.speed: 28 kph Time cycling: 5 hrs 4 mins..

April 26 To Namibia

I awoke at 5.45, 45 mins. late. Breakfast has started. A heavy storm during the night had turned to just rain. As quickly as ever I could, I stuffed everything in my holdall, dismantled my cot, and threw them outside, to take the tent down. Loading my bike bag for the day, I could not put my hands on my passport, which we would need to cross the border. I emptied my bag three times in the rain, each time more desperate, thinking i might have to cycle without breakfast. I found it and dashed to put my bags in my locker in the dinner truck and my tent in a cubby hole in the lunch truck. I got my breakfast.

It was still only half-light as we were setting off. I teamed up with Peter and David, keeping up a good pace to the lunch stop. It was a joy to see the signs for Namibia and South Africa. Lunch was at 80 kms. It looked like it might clear up, but in fact storms stayed around. There were cloudbursts. Near the border post, some got caught in a bad downpour that included hail. Passing through customs quite easily, a few hundred metres saw us to our campsite. The grass is saturated in most parts, whilst the paths are mud and water. I found a relatively dry spot. No sooner was I in the tent than the heavens opened again. Our clothes are generally wet or damp and beginning to smell. There is nothing we can do about it. But on the plus side, our dinner tonight was a big barbecue steak with pasta and pumpkin, together with some very tasty herb-filled, garlic bread!  There is also a store at the entrance to the camp. Viv and Gerry had bought a good bottle of wine which they shared with me. I had forgotten how good it can be. After dinner, I went along and bought chocolates, licorice and jelly tots. So, as I write this, with the thunder rolling and the rain hammering down, I am having a great nosh by myself. There is plenty to celebrate tonight: our longest distance, done; only one more capital city before Cape Town; only one more border post; only two nights before we have a great send-off for Viv and Gerry at Joe’s Steakhouse in Windhoek….and the jelly tots are really good!

We may remember Botswana more for it’s storm than anything else. But I have been most surprised by how few people we have seen. Hardly any villages are apparent either. There has just been hundreds of miles of flat bushland. As a result, you do not look for anything. So most of us missed seeing the herd of wildebeest quite near the road today.

Dist.:209 kms. Av. speed: 27.5 kph Time cycling: 7 hrs. 40 mins.

April 27

First day in Namibia. The rain had stopped, leaving us to pick our way through the quagmire to get our breakfast. The sky looked heavy. The endless bush ahead of us was shrouded in mist, apart from the south-eastern edge of the sky which was trimmed with rose-pink edging. All morning, the sun tried to suck out the mist, sometimes piercing it but no more. The result was a stalemate; no sun, no mist, just heavy cloud. There was no sign of anybody or any habitation until we passed through the very pleasant town of Gobobis, the meat capital of Namibia, at about 120 kms. From here, it became apparent that we had left the storms behind and the sky started clearing. With so much wet clothing to dry and air, it was worth the effort to push a little harder into the headwind and get to camp as early as possible. Camp was supposed to be at Ziegy’s camp-site, but it has closed down, so we are in the bush again.

Decathlon: another two rounds took place before dinner. One, timing how long it takes for the contestant to finish a PVM bar. Simple, even stupid, you might say, but surprisingly good fun. Dinner tonight was really good: pork chop, potatoes and beans, with pitta bread and dips. Bill, to celebrate his 71st birthday, bought in enough beer for everybody. To top all that, Viv and Gerry had made the most delicious dessert: a chocolate, biscuit and ginger pudding, topped with caramelised oranges. It was my turn to help with the dishes tonight, but who cares after such a meal. Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day. The first 20 kms. will be a team trial race. We are split into groups of six, at random. The third person in each group will be timed, the fastest winning. In our group we have three very fast riders: Franz, Andrew (a sectional rider) and Eric Defour. Our plan is start off as six, but very quickly those three will be pulling away, as they are capable of maintaining 40 plus over that distance. The three of us left will work together, just in case there is a mechanical failure amongst our leaders. After that we continue into Windhoek.

dist.:164 kms. Av.speed: 24 kph Time cycling:6 hrs. 50 mins.

April 28th. To Windhoek.

At 6am., we left every 2 mins. in groups of six. We had decided to let our best three go ahead and we, Lynn, Rick and I, would work together as a second group. There was a light headwind and a slight rise to the road, so times were not super-fast. Our first three went off like rockets, and did the 20 kms. in 35 mins. We passed other riders but we came in 8 mins. after our first three. It was great fun, more so as a couple of groups stayed together, riding as a six. Lani, not the fastest, despite having proven great endurance, was kept in her group and, literally, pushed to the front as they headed to the finishing line.( I have just this minute been told that we won the time trial!)

Today was not a race day, so racers mixed with non-racers. Unfortunately, there were strong 45 degree headwinds that made this one tough day. As in Botswana, a 25m. width either side of the straight road is kept mostly free of scrub, leaving the grass to grow tall. The golden colour made me imagine I was cycling through an endless, East Anglian cornfield. Unlike Botswana, small hills popped up in the distance like pimples .

The approach to Windhoek took us parallel with a small mountain range, brown to almost mauve, and eventually, after hill upon hill, gave us a great descent. Somewhere on that descent I lost my cycling computer. It had broken in Sudan, but I have managed to hold it together with duck tape till now. Just as we entered the city, there was a good bike shop, where many riders were calling in to get problems solved. (American) Dan, for instance, has had nearly 20 spokes break. Chris, the mechanic, rebuilt the wheel, but they kept breaking. (Someone voted him “the riders’ spokesperson”! ) He has been wobbling along like a duck. Anyway, I got a new computer put on within minutes.

Windhoek is very pleasant, we feel. It is a chilled-out place, with plenty of greenery amongst the well-spaced houses. But by the time we arrived and got set up and washed, there was no time for a nap. Almost all of us joined Viv and Gerry at the zany restaurant, Joe’s Steakhouse. With game meat on the menu, many of us were trying gazelle, oryx, zebra or kudu for the first time. Like many others, I had not the energy to finish my meal and was asleep in bed by 9.

April 29th.

Today, apart from washing and changing our tyres back to “fatties”, we are in the mall, eating, having a haircut, stocking up on goodies and hitting the internet. Tomorrow, we hit the dirt again. We have been promised more loose sand and rough corrugation, stuff of nightmares that I had thought was behind us, expecting just hard, packed dirt. There is still some hard riding ahead. But as Jason said this morning, we have proved to ourselves that we can survive any of the days, so we have nothing to fear.

Best wishes,

Eric

April 18th  Botswana

Seventy kms. of flat cycling brought us to the border. A good quarter of a mile of lorries were parked patiently to cross the river on the ferry. Uniquely in the world, four countries meet at a point in the river here; this is the River Chombe which becomes the Zambesi a few kms. downstream.  Three of the countries want to build a bridge here. Who do you think is the fourth, who will not agree? Mugabe.

We are straight in and out of the passport office and onto the ferry. The long ramps of the flat-bottomed ferry reach on to the muddy bank. We carry our bikes across it, flit through immigration, the foot-and-mouth dip and then 10 kms. to camp.

This relatively short ride enables us to book on a River Cruise up the Chombe river. Half of all of us riders took this chance to sail along the edge of the most wildlife-abundant Nature Reserve in the country. Groups of hippopotami ignored us as we came close. Fish eagles watched quietly from high branches. Giant monitor lizards went in search of birds’ eggs. Elephants trundled about the rising riverbank, their calves keeping close. They must have already known well before us…someone spotted a lioness quietly sat near the river. She suddenly was off, chasing a warthog!  After her abortive attempt, she came back to the water’s edge and stared at us. We probably did not set her saliva running, skinny wretches us all!

April 19th.

Dawn was still breaking as we left , the sight and strong smell of fresh elephant dung abundantly clear

I knew very soon that I had a urine infection. It was a very uncomfortable experience riding the 80 kms. to lunch. Although TDA staff are thin on the ground – James, the cook, has gone for a few days’ break, while Gert, who usually makes lunch, stayed behind in Livingstone, having contracted malaria – we were treated to hamburgers. Paul, the Tour Leader, was being helped by young Steve.

Early in the Tour, Steve realised his money needed supplementing. He has made a lot of riders very happy by offering to do their dish duties for $5 a time. He has washed bikes for £10 a time. But more importantly, he has generally helped out around camp in many ways. He found the cycling too boring, and has taken to hitchhiking most days, enjoying meeting whoever comes along.

After passing through thick bush, open bush and then, like an infringement of the natural order, immense flat fields of sorghum, soya beans and sunflowers, we came to a service station at 106 kms., the first sign of life all day. Paul put my bike on the roof of the 4×4, I sank in the seat and we quickly made it to camp.

A test confirmed the infection, and Caroline started me on a course of antibiotics. Since the dehydration, my tummy/bowels have been troublesome, so probably the antibiotics will sort that out as well.

I could eat little for dinner and retreated back to my tent. During the night, the pleasant sound of rain was no impediment to sleep.

April 20th  Straight road to Safari Camp.

I sensibly followed Caroline’s advice and got in the truck. I do admit to feeling guilty about doing so.

The riders cycled through the rain till lunch, but made good time overall. Arriving at the campsite, we were told that this place had burnt down last year and has been rebuilt. As the lorry came to a standstill and we opened the doors to get out, we were immediately engaged by mosquitoes. We dived for our repellent.

Regardless of this pest, the facilities at the campsite are so good. Toilets and showers have become more frequent and in better condition as we have travelled south. These are the best yet. The bar and pool area is quite splendid; the chalets, at US$100, are absolutely wonderful, according to riders who have chosen to stay in them.

What is wrong with a good TENT?

This tent that I bought from the Dutch sectional rider, has saved me over an hour a day. I take it out of its sleeve and it just pops up. To take it down, I merely squash it together, do a couple of manipulations (of the tent) and pop it back. The TDA staff have kindly given me a spot to keep it, and life is suddenly much easier!

What about the BIKE?

I put a new chain on a few days ago. This is my third and final chain. The mechanics changed a gear cable a few weeks ago and a brake cable needs changing now. The only other problem I have had so far is with the derailleur; I cannot get top gear. It seems that it has been damaged beyond the ability of the mechanic to repair it. Overall, the bike is doing well. I am the weakest link up to now!

Best wishes

Eric