29 August. Day 30. Exit Free State. Enter Eastern Cape.

Last night’s rugby match was a whopper...

We definitely had a good day today executed in good spirits. Spent half the day doing some long needed washing (by hand) and the other half putting k’s on the clock. James, Max, Puddy and Cornell devoted some time to “skogging” (mixture of jogging and skating) and getting Human a bit more comfortable with skateboarding. After a training session Human joined Puddy on the road for a first time long haul! Big ups to Human!!

We started skating 21km’s before Bethulie – in which Human accompanied Puddy in and did another few k’s at sunset across the bridge of the Oranje River (which was a sight to behold) leaving us with 29 km’s for the day. Average of 18km/h and a top speed of 42km/h.

Standing on the edge of such a magnificent piece of natural beauty (Oranje River) it was hard not to devour its splendour for a moment.

Had a some lunch and celebrated another border. We are now out of the Free State and officially in the Eastern Cape. Next town Venterstad!

P.E. here we come..

http://www.sosvillages.org.za/

http://skateforchange.co.za/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Skate-for-Change/124999770872772?ref=ts

27th of August. Day 28. On the road to Bethulie.

After a good nights rest we all woke early and gave the van and Tazz a proper spring clean. Unpacked and re packed the whole shebang so everything fits nice and tight again.

We drove back to our marker of yesterday ( 7km's before Smithfield) and started the day's skating at the top of a big downhill. Puddy even pulled on a biker jacket for extra safety. Racing down he reached one of the highest speeds on the trip; 57km/h.

The rest of the road was as smooth as can be until we started heading out of town.The surface past Smithfield on the R701 was so horrific that we dubbed it "the road to Mordor" dropping our average speed from 26km/h straight down to 12km/h.

We kitted the van and Tazz with some more safety signs to avoid a situation like yesterday. We rolled a total of 26k's for the day leaving us with 592k's on the clock to thus far. The surroundings are gradually growing more uneven.

A good indication that we are starting to leave the Free State - the only place where one encounters a major uphill believing that beyond the top the reward of a satisfying downhill awaits. Only to find dead flat.

A funny rumour reached us today via sms. It claimed that Puddy will skate a stretch without pants. It's the first time that we have heard of this and are unaware of how long it has been circulating.

"OH! the entertainment rumours can provide..."

Remember yesterday...Puddy against Woman And child Abuse! Complimented by the remnants Of the Free State supplemented by Buffalo Springfield

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday the 25th. Day 26.

The team is back on the road and everybody seems to be in good spirits. We reached our next stop and finally bid farewell to Bloem. Staying at the Sarie Marais Hotel in Reddersburg it was obvious that yesterday’s team meeting with Puddy had positive results, as the whole crew are pulling extra weight and putting in the extra effort. We are definitely a lot more focussed.

We reached our 500 km mark today and Puddy was feeling the spirit and skated in a pink tutu and girl’s Stix&Stones vest creating awareness for woman and child abuse. This stint created much amusement for passing motorists’ and had the crew in stitches.

Puddy once again pushed hard and completed a total of 28 km’s. He managed a 550m manual and we are starting to wonder if he is close to breaking to record for the longest wheelie.

The weather was fine and the sun was out with the wind pushing from behind. Puddy reached a top speed of 31km/h on a nice downhill with an average of 22km/h for the day.

Looking forward to the rest of the trip.