Tuesday, October 26. Day 88.

We said our goodbyes at the lovely Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch and made our way to our fina base camp; the Fire & Ice Hotel in Cape Town. We only have a few k’s left and the crew are supremely pumped.

Christi Wiehahn, legendary South African skateboarder and good mate of Puddy joined in on the road today skating the stretch with hi. Another friend of the crew, Tertius also joined in and skated the session with them. The bakkie Tertius was driving gave some problems along the road causing a bit of a halt. Puddy however kept on skating and the crew including the two new comers joined him a bit later again.

The session flew by really quickly and Puddy made good time on the road averaging at 28km/h. We have set up base camp in the mother city and wewill be skating the last stretches into her in the days to follow.

Monday. October 25. Day 87.

With a big uphill to facing us Puddy started the day skating up the Houwhoek Pass towards the St Lowry’s Pass. On the summit we had a quick team meeting and realised that from our vantage point we were able to view Table Mountain for the first time. This felt great and, especially Puddy felt proud that he had come this far.

We were warned that once on top of Houwhoek Pass Puddy would have to bomb the St Louries Pass. From what we gathered this was the zenith of downhills. After some discussion Puddy Padded up and took the Hill head on.

Gaining a lot of speed really fast Puddy mange toride it out most of the way. He foot braked on occasions but once he reached the bottom he said that he was pretty bummed that he didn’t suck it up, tucked in and went full speed. Safety first I suppose. Especially when we are critically close to the finish. A fatal possibly fatal thing happened however. One of his wheels overheated from the speed and duration of the speed that it melted and finally burst open almost causing a vicous bail. Pulling off from the road he quickly set up a new set only to have them do the same thing on another downhill we encountered further along the road.

After another change of wheels the skating continued to just past Gordonsbaai where Tertuis Vivier caught up with us to chat with Puddy.

Tonight will be our last evening in the Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch so a greatest of thanks you’s to the staff and all who looked after our every need. You guys have been spectacular.

We are so close to done that we can taste victory. But let’s not count the chickens before they hatch.

Tuesday. September 7. Day 39.

“If the weather holds up we are in for some good laughs and fun times”. So ended yesterday and started today – with some good laughs and good times.

Arose this morning, with some PeriPeri scrambled eggs for breakfast, and a sun shining like only the summer sun can. Cornell did some interviews for the diary cam and we headed out on the road.

We started skating 5k’s before Cradock upon which we painted Puddy green from head to toe, no it’s not a tribute to The Hulk but rather creating some awareness for another cause close to our hearts. The South African Green Skin Initiative exists to combat racism in our diverse country and advocates racial neutrality and tolerance. We are all green Skinned.

The skating went much better than yesterday. A light wind from the front, 42km/h top speed averaging 23km/h.

Passersby “skeefd” the “Incredible Puddy” as he rolled through town. Closing in on the edge of town, kids from the local neighborhoods started following us and cheering. Before long there were hordes of children screaming and running around the van in total awe of the great green skater.

Stopping we spent some time with the kids, telling them about our cause and the Green Skin initiative. We bought some big bags of chips (filled with smaller packets and handed them to the kids). It was amazing to see their faces light up and really shows one how little they have and how fortunate we are.

After the excitement we headed back to base camp where we relaxed for a bit and started preparing for tomorrow. A mile stone awaits us as we pass the 900km mark. Looking forward to that!

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...