Photograph: Looking for a lift to Addo for the weekend

The midday heat gave the message that it would be unwise to proceed.

In this part of the Eastern Cape shade is rare and the little patch I found on a wall surrounded by a flower bed of aloes, indicating the entrance to a brick factory, did not last long.

I hadn’t eaten since having a piece of toast with peanut butter back at the backpackers at daybreak. Pronutro mixed with water made for a hearty lunch.

My cycling helmet went off to the workers at the brick works who were within sight, working away while I felt unable to move another inch.

Eventually there was absolutely no shade, so I proceeded to a lone tree some way ahead. Though small it was obviously of great value to people on the road. A couple of stones at the base of the trunk were an indication that people sat under it while waiting for transport.

I spread myself out in the meagre shade, using my helmet as a pillow, when suddenly I heard the sound of someone nearby.

Three youths had rushed from the brickworks to the tree, armed with their weekly pay, hoping to catch some transport into the town of Addo for some fun.

They spoke to one another in a mixture of isiXhosa and Afrikaans and were very interested in the number of gears on my bike.

Upon hearing I was from Johannesburg one of them, who wore a pair of woman’s sunglasses to add to his “cool” look, said he had once been to Johannesburg with his trade union and at a meeting of the country’s biggest trade union movement, Cosatu, met President Jacob Zuma.

He also told me he had family in Motherwell who were busy with initiation ceremonies and that within a week they would all be over.

COMMENT: Have you ever waited a long time at roadside hoping for a lift?