Mark Basel is a man in a hurry. He seems to have fired his afterburners and after overnighting in Rondavel, he's sped past the comforts of Prince Albert and is making his way into Die Hel. No mention of Prince Albert is complete without a nod the the late Johann Rissik who was the Kommandant of the Dikwiel Kommando, the unofficial headman of the town and the bringer of succour (coffee and rusks) to riders in the dark and cold before they could even see the lights of the town.

So many riders have dropped out of this year’s RASA, most of them men. As a consequence I have decided to use this report to focus on the women who entered and started 2022 RASA (9 entrants). Perhaps some background to start. Some statistics (no surprise for those who know me): • Of the 441 blankets that have been earned prior to this event, 38 have been earned by women (9%) • Of the 298 unique blanket wearers, 29 are women (10%). This means that there are 29 women who have c

By: Leon Erasmus Mel Gibson played the role of William Wallace in the historical flick Brave Heart. One of the most remembered scenes is when he, with his last breath, utters the war cry ” FREEDOM!!!” Most that know me or read any of my satires about the Freedom Challenge will know I don’t like the name Race Across South Africa. Purely because once you embark on this life changing journey you realise true Freedom is not a race, it is a journey. We get stripped to bare emotion

The Race 2 Rhodes is now done and dusted. Nigel and Beth finished this afternoon…well done guys. With the last RASA rider filtering through Vuvu we’ll see the supports stations in the Sisonke and Maluti sections closing down till the October Summer RASA. Well done everyone. Without your support RASA wouldn’t happen. Many of you are aware there are two new support stations on the R2R section. Two Springs and The Rhodes Hotel. They have by all accounts been outstanding. This wo

Daily report by Leon Erasmus ( 24 June) Whenever anyone embarks on a challenging journey, we plan every detail and every turn. But like any endeavour, we soon find out that no matter how well we planned, things do not necessarily work out like we planned. So let us work in reverse, almost like Brokeback Mountain… In physical last place (yet most probably temporarily), we have Gavin Horton “Coach". He has made new friends on the route. A dog named "nothing" kept him warm on a

It was John Barrow’s birthday yesterday. He was holed up last night with his riding buddies (Mike Potgieter, Mike Patchitt and Paul Arnott) at Chesneywold, one of many support stations that were sheltering battered riders. The heavens have opened again after two days of respite from the previous deluge. The dirt roads are a mess and rider progress has been very slow on the Eastern Cape side of Lehana. The support stations from Rhodes to Romansfontein. Let us mention them all,

Being a self-diagnosed Freedom Challenge junky, I wait for this time of the year like a 5 year old for Santa Claus. Can’t remember if I was ever disappointed at what “Kersvader” left for me. But boy oh boy, did this year’s RASA not disappoint. If this was a Series on WHO it would have scored very high on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s been non-stop thrilling action. With the long awaited start of the Racing Batch, the final series of The 2022 Winter RASA has started. We had 9 batches

The last batch of RASA riders leave Pietermaritzburg at 6am tomorrow. The “Dot Watchers” (DW’s) be watching the “Racing Batch” intently. There is a fascination with their seemingly “superhuman” abilities that enthrals. Could one of their “sneaks” be incorporated in a future race of ours? Also, we’re all fallible, and could they suffer similar fates as the trail blazers ahead of them on the trail? The “Dot Watchers” Whatsapp groups have been exceptionally busy in the last few

In the early hours of this morning I woke to the sound of rain. Given that my cottage here in Rhodes has a zinc roof there was no doubt about it. It is late morning now and the sun has come out but it doesn’t take much for the roads in this area to turn to quagmire. 12 cyclists from the first two batches set off for Chesneywold/Slaapkrantz at various times (ranging from 4am to 8.30am) this morning and very quickly there were reports of polisiehond modder (police dog mud). Ver

To lean on a baseball term - the RASA 2022 bases are loaded! As I write the the ant trail of Freedom riders stretches from the Umko valley to Rhodes. This stretch will get ever longer as there are still 4 days to go before the last riders hit the trail. By the time the final batch get underway on the morning of the 22nd the ant trail will be something in the order of 800km long. That’s 12km per rider assuming we have no drop outs. Actually it’ll be more as 12 riders have Rhod

It’s Saturday 18 June, early morning, and the 2022 Race Across South Africa is well underway. Six batches are already on the route. Before we know it the entire field will have started, the last batch setting off on Wednesday next week. The Buffalo Herders have so far been kept busy. This is a good thing because it is very cold and even Buffalo Herders must keep moving to avoid hypothermia. The first days of RASA always throw a few curve balls that cause batches still to star

June in Johannesberg, when the green of summer gives way to the dull brown of winter. Fields of maize once bold stand withered, heads bowed awaiting the harvester. The smoke of veld fires stretches across the horizon. The slow death of summer felt in the chill that rises each time the sun retreats from sight. Electric blankets, underfloor heating, log fires and warm jackets keep the freeze at bay. A few hundred kilometres away in a part of the country that offers no less res