Rhino Run 2022 – bikepacking in South Africa and Namibia

Here he was at last. The day we started the Rhino Run. I had big goals for this race. I had waited so long, so much time had gone into viewing parts of the route and preparing. Rarely have I been so proud of a bike setup. My Cervelo ZHT-5 with Ortlieb bags was as clean as I could imagine. Unusually… read more

After about 4 hours of sleep I pulled myself together to tackle the Rooiberg Pass. This was the second spot in the race where I was very happy with my mountain bike after yesterday's Montagu Pass. Coarse boulders, a few sandy spots and a steep, long climb gave us a little taste of the rough nature of… read more

To my surprise, Sofiane was still asleep when my alarm clock rang after about 4 hours. I quietly packed my things and left the guesthouse. It was surprisingly cool and light rain fell on me. Not exactly what you need for motivation at 4 in the morning. Anyway, soon it will be much too hot again, I thought… read more

Very unusual, but after about 6 hours of sleep my alarm clock rang, I packed my things and left our very luxurious quarters in the middle of nowhere at about 4 a.m. shortly before Sofiane. There was a very long climb on "Tar" ahead. It was never too steep and pleasantly fast. In the distance I could… read more

I woke up at 3 a.m. To my surprise, Sofiane was nowhere to be seen, but his things were still there. Strange. It later turned out that he had escaped from small caterpillars that plagued his bed and slept in another building. So I set off all alone in complete darkness. Less than a kilometer after the… read more

I had hardly slept. The shivering from the unexpected cold must have taken a lot of strength because I felt very slow and powerless. I crammed more and more candy bars into myself, hoping I would "wake up" and finally leave this endless stretch of nothingness behind me. I often cursed myself: "Why did… read more

It was already light when I woke up, but I needed sleep. I didn't want to experience another low like the night before. I packed my things and quickly set off. Unfortunately I could not find any breakfast before the border. But I found a gas station that should be right after the border. Then chaos at… read more

Very early, between 2 and 3 a.m., Sofiane and I left our "luxurious" quarters. A coffee trip was not imminent. A long climb, more deceptively called a false flat, took us from Rosh Pinah to Aus. 160 kilometers with absolutely nothing in between. And that uphill, but on asphalt. Sofiane's taillight was… read more

I woke up around 6am in the lobby of Kronenhof Lodge. In front of me was a gentleman in a ranger's uniform. He grinned all over his face. I've never seen anyone so happy to find two smelly bikepackers on their lobby couch. "So you did it! When did you arrive? Shall we put you in a real bed first? You… read more

1.5 hours turned into a little over 2 hours. The sand next to the road was too pleasant and soft. It was already getting dark when I stowed my bivouac sack back in my saddlebag. Another perfect sunrise. Orange, warm and with a vast desert landscape with rocky mountains. A little tired, but in good spirits… read more

Basically, I spent the night on the toilet. I really have no idea what exactly was "upsetting" my body, but my only remedy was medication for the diarrhea as well as the pain. And I've seldom been happier to have dragged it around with me for 2,500 kilometers. I couldn't sleep consistently and also had… read more