Roma to Ramabanta!
I am naming this stage THE Beast! Never in my five years of cycling have I climbed and descended such massive hills. Today was 83.4kms and 2250m of climbing. We had a short fast downhill and then began climbing, Lolita’s legs took a while to warm up so we kept a steady space and tag teamed with a couple of the other riders along the single tracks, through fields and then up on to a tar road climb. The gradient was okay but it felt never-ending! We made it to the top and got to the first water point, where we filled up and Lolita dug into the chocolate brownies. The water points have been fantastic; they offer apple crumbles, brownies, potatoes, bananas, jelly babies and all sorts of other delicious things.
Recharged and ready to go on, we got back onto the tar road for the first of two of the most spectacular descents I have ever experienced. Then came the biggest challenge of all; an impressively long gravel road climb that, I have to admit, finally got the better of me and I had to walk the last section. Lolita, another rider and a bunch of kids were waiting at the top and we had a quick photo shoot with them. All along the route the children have been such a charming experience. My favourite being the littlies of about 2 to 4 years old, they are so sweet you just want to take them all home with you. The next section was winding, flowing and there was some super technical single track. Up and down lovely valleys and fields and on we went eating up the miles as it got hotter and hotter. I was starting to tire but the guys we were riding with were good company and kept up the moral. At one stage we passed and arrow on a tap and I was convinced we’d already been past it once – I think the delirium was setting in. Soon we hit the last tar stretch, a little sting in the tail up a pass and then the cherry on top! The second of the most insane descents on the day! Nothing can describe how fantastic those descents were. You’ll have to come and ride them yourself!
It was another fantastic day of riding in a beautiful country and pushing ourselves past our limits.
What a wonderful feeling arriving back at the scenic Ramabanta Lodge knowing that we had conquered a beast of a day!
