''After an early but lovely 6am breakfast - including chicken curry for those that wanted it - Nathan led the warm up. He did a fantastic job getting us ready for the incredible downhill 20km.
On the way we stopped at a bridge to have a look at Alma’s Gap before Mike Gregorio and Nathan took off down the mountain like bats out of hell. I followed them purely for investigative purposes. Our daredevil Guy was missing from today's heroics but I'm reliably informed that he was using his great wealth of knowledge of the downhill to help other cyclists.
Once we got to the bottom we were deep into Frank Meere territory. He stopped to break out the old family cycling clogs and declared this The Netherlands of Sri Lanka. We carried on over 85km of undulating terrain in very hot and humid conditions, at least 40°C.
Hannah Jukes was an absolute trooper today, fighting off a bad tummy with the resolve of an SAS member; a holder of the prestigious Black Berry and possibly soon to top it with a yellow buff.
And we saw elephants! Wild elephants at the side of the road, a magical experience. We continued on our undulating journey with Frank waxing lyrical about Nederland, hydrated and energised at our regular 15km stops by our Sri Lankan support team and kept on track by our cycle guides.
We stopped for a delicious lunch at a typical Sri Lankan roadside bistro. The usual chicken curry staple was on offer with the usual accompaniments and some delicious fruit juice (there may have been beer!).
Then we were on the final run into the hotel, still in incredible heat. It was like cycling on the sun. We passed over a dam on the edge of a beautiful lake and finally arrived after 110km of hot, challenging terrain. We checked in as quick as we could, got cleaned up and headed off to the elephant sanctuary where we saw around 60 baby elephants.
All in all, an incredible day. Thanks to Colin and the local team for organising everything so well.''
Ian Galston - The Openwork Partnership
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