Secunda To Parys

224km...

Parys (pronounced 'pa-race') is a town situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the Free State province of South Africa. Population - 43,791.

The name of the town is the Afrikaans translation of Paris. The name was given by a German surveyor who had participated in the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and the location next to the Vaal reminded him of Paris on the River Seine.

Parys is in the 5km buffer zone of the Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site.

Springbok great Frik du Preez, named South Africa's rugby player of the 20th century, was educated at Parys High School, although he was born in Rustenburg. Former NFL (American football) placekicker Gary Anderson was born in Parys, although raised in Durban.

This short trip to Parys and back is only 448km, but it is purely to test all the equipment before our long ride around South Africa. On our previous long trip around South Africa, we had too many small things that were in our way so this run will test and see if our streamlining of our gear will work.

Well I can happily report that everything works great. There are still a few things we forgot like toothbrushes and the camera charger, but other than that we are set to take on the long road.

But let me tell you more about our ride to Parys and back. We got on our bikes Saturday morning around 8.30a.m. The weather was great with no wind to speak of. The road just flew past and we arrived in Nigel to fill up and have breakfast. From Nigel we went to Sasolburg, my home town, and I must admit it is sad to see your home town going down. Well I think when you are small you just see the things differently, compared to seeing them as an adult. Anyway we drove through town and visited my old schools. I must say my primary school still looked great. It's as if nothing has changed - the grass is short and the building and fences are well maintained. Well done to the new headmaster for keeping it like that. I will for sure phone them when the schools reopen and congratulate them.

From there we filled the bikes and headed to Parys. The roads up to now were great with no potholes and from Sasolburg to Parys the roads are even better. It was smooth and great to go faster. We arrived at our bed 'n breakfast which by the way was great and we'll be sure to stay there again. For details go to the map on the left.

Let me first give thanks to the guys on www.bikeinjoutaal.co.za for recommending the eating places (you know who you are). All three were great and we'll for sure go there again.

First was 'FEAST' for a lunch snack but unfortunately the food is so LEKKER you can't just have a snack; get yourself a full meal from the start. Second was 'Dinner by O's' and you can order the steak there - it melts in your mouth.
Third was 'Plum Tree' where the breakfast is like your great-grandma made it. You get krimmel pap and eggs. What a treat - LEKKER!

So we ate a lot and enjoyed the town. The ride back was fast and we only stopped at Meyerton for petrol and then continued till we got home.

It was a great ride and one we'll be doing again. We took note of a few things that we should keep in mind for our long trip.

See Ya On The Wire...