05.12.18 / 2nd day on site and 2 more nights

 If there are any young readers of this blog who are now wondering: Who the fu#* is Johnboy and Mary Anne?

Johnboy is not a Namibian pool boy and Mary Anne is also not a waitress in our hotel.

Both were important children in the TV series "Little House on the Prairie".

 Here in Namibia, however, there are more big farms than little farms, with a lot of "nothing".

 So how was today?  

After a good breakfast together, we greeted the bikers and guides who arrived today, who in turn built their bikes and then hit the road again.

 Once again, the sun was scorching as we set off with eight riders.

 Destination: Kupferberg Pass.

 Since Marco and I were in a good mood today, we decided to ride the entire first stage and added about 10-12 km after arriving at Kupferberg Pass. Additionally, we had optimized our bike set-up since yesterday, so the bumpy trails ran a bit smoother today.

At about 31 km and 35°, we reached the point where the first checkpoint will be on Friday.

After a short photo stop, we headed back to our crew and then down the Kupferberg pass again.

 During the descent, we passed a large group of baboons sitting by the roadside. Most of them just scratched their heads in surprise but weren't really bothered by us. Unfortunately, we didn't see any other animals today.

Result: Legs and set-up are good, but the dry heat is intense.

But with yesterday's and today's tour (together 100 km), we have acclimatized well without exhausting ourselves.

Back at the hotel, we quickly changed into different clothes and then the whole "combo" went to "Mannis Bike-Mekka". You won't believe it, but this bike shop is better equipped than most stores in Germany, and they seem to have some really good mechanics. Some riders picked up their pre-ordered jerseys, but we only bought a few bike socks in Namibia colors .

 Then there was a short meeting for the guides, and finally, we could enjoy a few rays of sunshine by the pool. What can I say, it's really nice now.

With a good dinner, this day is almost over.

Tomorrow is a pure relaxation day.

 Since there won't be much to report, I will share some information about the country Namibia and the upcoming race, the track, etc.

Before I say goodbye for today, I would like to briefly mention that we took some beautiful photos on the Kupferberg Pass in the pink Mario (Muschi) memorial shirt. He was very close to us.

If that's not a good omen for Friday.

... and Pigedi and Frederik went home with Marcus, Uli, Marco, and Georg.

Now who knows which children's movie that is? Answers are welcome in the comments.

See you tomorrow

Marcus