Long Tom Pass

The "start" of the climb. To reach here we'd already done 55km, most of them uphill


"Long Tom" Cannon, a Boer gun used against the British. We thought we'd arrived, but were still far from the summit! Good place to fill water bottles though

After many tortuous switchbacks and some steep climbs the road opened out onto a mountain-top plateau.. We'd finally arrived. Note Carlos holding on to the sign so as not to collapse!

..and me leaning on the pole so I don't fall flat on my face!

Cycling in Africa can be a bit of hit and miss. As in you almost get hit, or just miss getting hit by a passing truck or car. Or hooted at for no reason. However, even so, there are some fantastic roads to cycle on, and many of them conveniently located close to Maputo, Mozambique, where I live.

On the 10th of November 2011, Carlos Sales and I set about taming one of South Africa's highest roads, the Long Tom Pass. This road connects Sabie with Lydenburg, and before the existance of the N4 highway, was possibly one of the main roads to reach the rich goldfields of Pilgrim's Rest. The aptly named "Lowveld" region is peppered with mountains and mountainpasses, though none as high or as long as Long Tom Pass. However, it didn't quite start out like that.. Our expedition was supposed to be a gentle ride from Nelspruit to Maputo, 209km away, on a generally downward slope from 650m down to sea level. However we decided, almost last minute, that this rather long but boring straight road would not do, and so turned our attention to Long Tom. Then, as if we weren't already looking for trouble, we decided to attempt our ascent not, like any normal soul would, from either Lydenburg or Sabie, the two towns on either end of the road, but from the rather further placed town of Nelspruit.

Our climb would start from 650m on sea level and finish at 2150m. In between lots of rolling terrain and some demoralising switchbacks, a fantastic day for driving, but not for cycling with temperatures in the high 30's (celsius..). To call it a tough climb is not to understand the point. It wasn't tough. It was impossible. It was unrellenting. It was wondrously beautiful, but at the same time as dangerous as a sharp knife. The steep ascents would have to be decended carefully, the chasms below separated by a thin steel barrier.. It was two cyclists against the elements (heat), against a mountain, against what is humanly possible. After 150km though we'd tamed the beast, had a new appreciation for Long Tom, and made it back safe and sound. Our bodies were sore and tested, but we still managed a wry grin. Because of course we're not satisfied.. We've done it once, we'll have to do it again!