Day 4: Recovery Day, Sani Top Distance 4.2 km (reconnaissance loop) Altitude 2,872 m to 2,894 m Location Masoba Soba Lodge, Sani Top area Purpose Rest, gear check, terrain assessment, power resupply Not a distance day. A thinking day. I took the bike out for a short reconnaissance ride. Just 4.2 kilometres, moving between 2,872 and 2,894 metres. On a screen the GPX track looks straightforward enough. Up here it is something else entirely. Rolling highland ridges stretch in every direction, with no clear road and no obvious line. I needed to see the terrain in front of me, not just the route on a device. I needed to understand what I was about to commit to. Power was becoming an issue. One of my three battery banks was already running low, and once you leave Sani Top there are no guarantees. I cycled back to the border police post and asked if I could charge it. They were happy to assist. I left my powerbank there for several hours to recharge. I tried to get a cold drink at Sani Mountain Lodge, which advertises itself as the highest pub in Africa at around 2,874 metres. No booking meant no entry. Not even for a Coke. It struck me as an odd approach in a place where most travellers arrive windswept and unannounced. I left, mildly irritated. A small local tavern nearby was more welcoming. Cold drink. Packet of chips. I sat and watched the room. A Basotho boy came in, maybe fifteen, wearing gumboots and a traditional blanket. He bought two loose cigarettes, emptied them out and rolled himself a spliff using the tobacco as mix. No drama. No self-consciousness. Just routine. Up here the land shapes people early, and you see it in small details like that. Back at camp I went through everything properly. Bolts tightened. Straps checked. Bags repacked. That was when I noticed the broken spoke. The rear wheel had developed a buckle. It was not catastrophic, but it was not trivial either. On rough, high-altitude tracks a compromised wheel shifts the margin for error. The forecast for the following day showed strong wind and sustained rain, possibly worse on the ridgelines. The valleys ahead were long and exposed. There were no quick exits. No easy bail-outs. No one coming through behind me. A buckled wheel. Incoming weather. Remote terrain. A dog depending on my judgement. It was supposed to be a rest day. It did not feel like one.