"Wow Man!!!!!"

"Wow Man!!!" that's south African for "cool". The safari was amazing!!! Way better than I was anticipating. Our game ranger Amy was great, we did 4 game drives in a open land rover, 4-5hrs duration, first at 6 am and then 4 pm. The reserve was called Amakhala, 15000 acres of awesome topography. We saw close up giraffe, lions, monkeys, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich, warthog, kudu, springbok...... The list goes on. The highlight was a mother cheetah and her 5 young feeding on a fresh impala kill, also the elephants moving through a dry river bed bottom to a different grazing area. One of the saddest things was the rhino poacher watch that was on high alert. We saw 3 female with young, the horn demands $100,000 US dollars per kg in China, so the poachers are very serious. They come in by helicopter at night with GPS coordinates , possibly by someone employed on the reserve. Our lodge was in the reserve so riding was not a option. A hungry cheetah will definitely ruin your training ride. This blog entry has nothing to do with racing but everything to do with the wonderful people and adventures I have had the pleasure of experiencing thanks to cycling. It has been very special to have been able to share this adventure with my wife Kim, daughter Lisa and mother and father in law, Marnie and Charlie. I will be back in the saddle tomorrow after a few days off. I'm getting super pumped about the upcoming race. "Wow man!!!". Later.... Don