27/10/2026
Here be dragons, my friend.
So, you have entered The Munga.
Excellent decision.
Or, depending on what time of the night you are reading this, possibly the worst decision since you decided to become a vegetarian.
We are now roughly five weeks away from standing outside Windmill Casino in Bloemfontein, just before 12, under a sun that seems to have a personal issue with cyclists.
You will look around.
Then you will look at your bike.
And somewhere between those two things, the first proper thought will arrive:
What the hell have I done?
By now, your bicycle probably no longer resembles a bicycle. It looks more like you are leaving for a long weekend in Dullstroom.
Frame bag. Saddle bag. Top-tube bag. Bottles. Lights. Power banks. Spares. Food. Emergency kit. Another emergency kit for the emergency kit.
Basically everything except the fishing rod. Oh ya, bad news: somewhere between “niks-en-nerens” you will realise that you have forgotten something. “Lip-Ice, your favourite teddy bear or a fresh pair of socks”
Whilst working through your checklist in your mind, somebody casually reminds you that the finish line is roughly 1,148 kilometres away, on the other side of the Karoo and the Tankwa.
During what appears to be the strongest El Niño year since people started checking long-range forecasts.
Welcome to The Munga.
WRITTEN BY: Jaco Cromhout
READ MORE: https://themunga.com/here-be-dragons-my-friend/
