Beyond the Bike
South Africa is a country of huge contrasts; the richest and the poorest living in very close proximity, terrible stories of violent crime yet very kind and generous people and we did not have any problems at all in the six weeks we were travelling through. Politcally and economically, comparisons are currently being made to Zimbabwe. We hope that it does not go the same way...
This stage was a bit of a mixture and rather exciting, involving cycling through remote North-Western Tanzania, a voyage on a 100 year old German warship and breaking out a new friend out of a Zambian prison...
After crossing into Tanzania we had several more tough days, even though the road was tarmac there were great swathes of sand, gravel and potholes and the hills continued. I was not happy. We had our first night seeking hospitality and camping in a homestead which was fun and we certainly amused the family when we put up our tent. The road then ‘officially’ turned to dirt and it started raining and as we were running out of time to get to Zambia we hopped on bus for a few hundred km. This was an interesting experience, we cannot quite believe that we, our panniers and our bikes all made it in one piece!
People keep asking me this and I really do not know how to answer. Those who have done similar things (Stuart, on his last trip, Tom, the Hungry Cyclist) say that you cannot really train for something like this - 'the training is done during the first couple of weeks'….this is a very nice idea and I do hope it is true! I am really hoping that the places we go and the people will meet will take my mind off my sore legs and bum!
Some people would go all out and be super bike fit - think of Mark Beaumont who recently cycled Cairo to Cape Town - over 10,000km - in less than 42 days. Luckily we are not trying to break any records! Then the other extreme is Anne Mustoe who, as a retired headmistress cycled around the world and wrote some brilliant books about her adventures. Stu and I are somewhere in-between these two, well, I am closer to Anne and Stu to Mark, but hopefully we will work things out, and maybe even write a Mustoeque book afterwards…
Can a wine-tasting tour of Burgundy count as a warm up ride Stuart?
Yes, apparently it can! So, we decided to spend two nights with Tom Kevill Davies aka The Hungry Cyclist at his new lodge near Beaune - www.thehungrycyclist.com This turned out to be a great idea for several reasons; Tom is really lovely, interesting and knows lots about the local area, wine, food, cycling etc. The lodge is a lovely old mill house (which sleeps 10), with beautiful gardens, a swimming pool, and gorgeous views across the vineyards in Auxey-Duresses. The food and wine are obviously amazing. Possibly more importantly for us it turned out that Tom cycled up the Mekong River a few years ago and so he was able to give us lots of advice. He even found his old map of Laos which he kindly gave us and a great contact (a Canadian restauranteur!) in Luang Prabang! His advice to get on a boat along the river in North Laos seems very sensible to me, especially when he told us how hilly and rough the roads are there. Stu has said I am in charge of the Asia section...
I had arrived in Lusaka without any stokers lined up to cycle into Malawi. 8 days & nearly 800kms later, another 6 people had helped me and Thandie get to the border and into the 'warm heart of Africa'. In particular Blackson Banda, the cook from Janna School in Ndola who would be hitching a lift back to his home village on the border, his first visit in 13 years. Given the recent death of his sister, it was an especially emotional return for him...
Blackson. 3000kms into the trip
Having not done any proper cycling for 3 weeks, it was always going to be a tough first couple of days back in the saddle, made worse by a constant headwind, serious hills & rising heat. The addition of some nasty horsflies & limited vehicle support probably made this the most physically challenging stage so far...