Wednesday. October 20. Day 82.

Just as we were getting used to the idea that no major mishaps would present itself on the trip the weirdest thing happened. We started the day thanking the Swart family for their extreme hospitality and care during our two day stay on the lovely farm just outside Riviersonderend.

On the road Puddy encountered a ridiculously rough surface which comprised mostly of uphills. What a nightmare. Puddy managed to skitch behind (hold on to a passing vehicle) a truck for about 2 k’s which helped out a little bit. After 8 k’s of torment Puddy and the crew pulled off beneath some shady trees to take a water break. All of a sudden a tractor charged from behind at a violent speed, half on the road with the other half on the dirt.Human anticipated fatality and jumped in the van to get it out of the way. Luckily he did it because if he hadn't we would have no van at this moment. The tractor vroomed by as we watched in a disgusted awe. Why couldn't it just swerve onto the road? Why wasn't it driving in the road in the first place? It really wasn’t that busy. Sadly Puddy dropped his board in the commotion and the tractor crushed the back part of his board crippling the truck (thats the axis for the non skaters reading this blog). He has a spare so the tour is not over. In case you were wondering..

Max drove out to Caledon to manage accommodation. We are staying at the Caledon Casino Hotel and they have really gone out of their way to accommodate us. A retreat all of us deserve after spending 82 days on the road.

Distance skated 25 km

Top speed 40 km/h
Average speed 19 km/h

Tour distance 1754km

Tuesday. October 19. Day 81.

The road was anything but pleasing today. The surface was rougher than a sailors beard and the wind spewed from the front. Puddy got super frustrated almost quitting the attempt. Luckily the road smoothed out as we entered Riviersonderend.

We encountered to gentlemen from the area that stopped us to donate towards the cause. Thanks guys! Later on two other guys stopped us and said that they had read about us and were stoked that they actually got to meet us. They joined us for a group shot.

We went back to the farm and spent some time with the Swart family who treated us to a lovely lunch. I must say Mrs. Swart has treated us extremely well a BIG THANK YOU to her and the family. Definitely getting us back on that optimum nutritional level.

When sundown came Puddy felt the urge to go and get somemore km’s done. So off we went into the tranquil surroundings of the farmlands. The surface was a bit better but still extremely rough. The second session was a lot more fun for everyone as we amused ourselves with crackers and other random acts of ‘being in a good mood’. Tomorrow we head out to Caledon and we are getting closer day by day! Everyone is getting pretty excited.

Top speed: 31km/h

Average speed: 16km/h

Distance skated: 30 km

Total tour distance: 1729

Monday. October 18. Day 80.

A major thanks to the friendly folk from the Swellengrebel Hotel who provided us with accommodation.

We packed up and started the session from where we ended yesterday. The session proved to be quite difficult with some major uphills and a surface that was rougher than a prison rugby match.

A usual Max drove out to the next base camp to try and hook up some accommodation. It was a bit of a mission at first as the only lodging in Riviersonderend was fully booked. Luckily a friendly family from the distric took us in and gave us accommodation on their farm about 7k’s from town.

Due to the rancid conditions the skating went a bit slow with only 25km’s down and a top speed of 16km/h.

We are 10 days away from the deadline and the excitement has started to build up. We would like to urge all to make donations as time is running out to show your support.

Saturday 16 October. Day 78

Hooray for sunshine.

Today was the first day of complete sunshine in about a week so everyone was in good spirits. Headed out to the road around 11 am and pushed a total of 22km’s. Max joined Puddy on the road. Only for a short while though. Not falling victim to Puddy’s ‘encouragement’ Max quickly jumped ship back into the van as they approached a fast downhill. At the bottom it became evident that Max had the right idea. Puddy went on to reach a top speed of 58km/h. Not a speed a novice skater wants to challenge on a short board. However Max joined Puddy again later and skated with him all the way to the front door of the Hotel.

The session went by surprisingly fast as most of the way was riddled with smooth mellow downhill’s.

The evening was spent watching the rugby. The majority of the team are Bulls supporters with Cornell being the only Province man. An amusing evening and a great way to end a hard week.

We are closing in on our destination with only a 10 days left on the trip. The excitement is definitely starting to build up.

Wednesday. October 13. Day 75

Moving out this morning we were stumped by the slow moving traffic. We later learned that there had been an accident up ahead, jarring the traffic. When we finally made it past we could move on to our marker of yesterday.

The road was a bit rough at first but smoothed out later Puddy was also blessed was some super fun banks next to the road which kept him entertained and made for some sweet shots.

We went back to our base camp a friend of ours parents' The Du Preez came and said hello and to support the cause. They also brought us a pack of biltong as a present. After lunch Puddy felt amped to do another session. So off we went, lead by Puddy to skate an extra 17km leaving us with 1599 k’s done for the trip. The road on the second session was quite fun. There was an epic downhill on the last stretch which Puddy took head on and bombed it reaching a new top speed of 66km/h. " It was pretty scary stuff, especially on a short board, but super adrenaline pumping and I really liked it."

Tomorrow we break the 1600 km mark and move base camp to Swellendam.

Support the cause - buy a shirt!

ORDER YOUR LIMITED EDITION SKATE FOR CHANGE SHIRT AND SUPPORT THE CAUSE.

By ordering these on of a kind shirts not only would you be supporting the cause we are working towards but you get a one of a kind Quicksilver quality shirt to sport in the summer sun too.

Shirts are selling for R150 including postage.

All you have to do is send an e mail with your contact and postage details and size to human@skateforchange.co.za

Sunday. September 26. Day 58

Our last day in J Bay we spent resting and preparing for the road ahead of us. Hopefully it’ not like the one we encountered coming in. The wind has not died down yet either and we hope that it will die out before we get back on the road.

The weekend in Jeffery’s Bay was definitely a good one as we managed to gather some much needed support from holiday makers. Puddy also got some good skating done at the Quicksilver Bowl which he says is undeniably one of if not the best bowls in South Africa

We would like to remind you about our Skate For Change shirts produced by Quicksilver. We will have photos up shortly and you can order them from us by mailing us at human@skateforchange.co.za. After we have contacted you we will post it to you where ever you are. The great thing is that a percentage goes to our cause so not only do you receive a rad shirt but you also support as well.