Fatbiking Insanity!

Yesterday evening was an adventure

Yup... I rode down that

            I’ve done a lot of crazy things in my life. Skydiving, bungee jumping, cliff diving, swimming with sharks… and that’s just to name a few. So, when I say that the one adventure that has scared me most in my life was fatbiking on the sand dunes of De Kelders in South Africa, I’m sure they’ll look at me like I’m crazy. But after yesterday evening, I honestly think that might be true.

            Yesterday was actually a very chill day up until about five o’clock, when we went fatbiking. It was another no sea day due to the strong swells, so we got to sleep in and relax for a good portion of the day. As usual, I went out early in the afternoon with a trash bag and did a beach clean. It’s become part of my routine to do one pretty much every day. I always tell myself to go out for at least an hour, and I almost always end up losing track of time and staying out for two hours or more. I always find stuff along the beach, and it’s nice to think that I’m helping the area, but I think that I’m also helping myself by going out to do beach cleans. Thankfully I’m not the kind of person that gets lonely easily- most people might not assume it about me, but I really like spending time alone. My beach clean time in the afternoon is that perfect time for me, when I can enjoy the fresh air, the sea, and the sun (yes- I always wear sunblock when I go out), and also just get lost in thought.

            After coming home from that, I cleaned up a bit (my hands are usually filthy after digging around in the kelp to get out a piece of trash), and headed up to the other vol house, where I heard we’d all be picked up for the fatbiking. A little before five, Dave, the manager of the fatbike tour company, picked up me, Mayke, and Mike, and we headed over to De Kelders. It was a very windy evening, but Dave said that the wind would be at our back during the biking, so it wouldn’t be bad. I’d heard from Tom that it wasn’t as scary as it looked- some of the dunes looked quite steep from the pictures, but he said once you went on them it really wasn’t very hard. Dave confirmed that, and I tried to just trust them and go for it. We got to the area where the trail started, and before I knew it I was on the bike and headed down the trail to the dunes. Fatbiking is almost exactly like regular bicycling- the only difference is the tires of a fatbike are bigger. No motor or anything- all the work is being done by your legs. Honestly, just getting to the dunes was the most difficult part- the trail leading up to them was the only place where I fell off the bike. Once we got onto the sand it was much easier. At first, I didn’t really feel nervous or scared at all. The riding on the sand was easy, there was a beautiful view of the setting sun, and the wind at our backs made it ever easier (though it was also kicking up the sand everywhere). Then we got to the edge of the first big dune, and it got scarier.

            I guess I just didn’t really expect the dunes to be as steep as they were. They were certainly nothing like the dunes I was used to seeing along the Texas coast! There were times when I honestly felt like I was about to ride the bike off the edge of a cliff- you just got to the edge and it dropped out right in front of you! Dave went first down the steep ones and yelled up to us, insisting that it was really easy once you actually started riding down. I learned that he was right about that, but damn, it took quite a leap of faith to start riding down that first dune! The combination of using the hand brakes and leaning back on the bike made going down the slopes quite easy- getting started was the scariest part. There were several really steep dunes that we rode off of on the trip, and they all really took my breath away. But, with a level of guts I didn’t know I had, I pedaled off the steep edge of those dunes, and basically just freely rode all the way down.

            By the end of the ride, when we got picked up at the end of the trail, I was shaking either from the adrenaline or the exhaustion. It was not an easy ride all the way through (especially pedaling up the dunes before enjoying the ride down), and my legs felt like jelly by the end of it. I certainly don’t regret one moment of it, and I’m really glad that I did it. Will I do it again… not on this trip for sure!

            By the time I got back home it was dark, and Tom was out having another braai with some friends in the backyard. I dropped by to say hi and tell them about the crazy adventure I’d had. Then I immediately jumped in a much-needed shower- I think I’m still pulling sand out of my ears. I have slightly less skin on my legs than I did before my fatbiking adventure, but I definitely got a great night’s sleep last night.

            There was a trip out this morning, but it wasn’t until later than usual. The swells were still pretty big first thing, but it calmed down a bit later, so launch was at eleven. At 9:30, I was in the garage with Dax, Tom, and Jerome, ready to pack up the boat. I heard that there was only one spot for a volunteer, so I let Dax take it, agreeing that he’d sit out another time there wasn’t enough spots. After everything was packed up (which only took about half an hour), I went back home to eat a quick breakfast, then went out for yet another beach clean.

            When the boat came back in from the trip, I went and met them at the garage to help wash the wetsuits. Dax told me he’d heard that there will be three trips tomorrow, so we both decided to get a head start on setup by going ahead and packing up the clean wetsuits, so we could just load them onto the boat tomorrow morning. I don’t know yet about space on tomorrow’s trips, but since there will be three, and Mayke went to Cape Town today and won’t be back until Wednesday, I’m sure I’ll go out on the boat tomorrow at least once, probably more. We actually got a new vol today, and they put her in my house. She’s from Florida- I told her that, in the total of about seven weeks that I’ve volunteered with WSP (four in 2015, three so far this time), this is the first time there has been another American volunteer. I’ve always been the only one, up until today. We spent part of the afternoon going grocery shopping in town, and Dax said that there’s some leftover meat from this weekend, so this evening we’re having yet another braai- not that I’m complaining! We’re going to do it early, since tomorrow should be a very busy day. Dax and Tom are already out in the backyard getting started. Guess that’s all the news for now! This post’s food for thought is a quote that I thought of yesterday evening as I was trying to make myself ride down the first really steep dune: “Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.”- John Wayne