Beyond the Bike
Beyond the Bike in Zimbabwe can be summed up with the following: desperation and hope, education, cricket, rocks, sand, gold mines, lions and rhinos. We only spent a week in Zim which is a great shame as it is such an interesting country but we had to keep moving to make Durban (and the test match for Stu!) for Christmas.
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…
650km Feb 3rd - 11th. Six months ago, I neither expected to be in South Sudan or indeed singing the French & Scottish rugby anthems to live accordion & bagpipes in the middle of the African bush. But it felt appropriate timing given that the 2012 six nations were kicking off on the same weekend that I headed North. Coincidentally, six different nationalities joined me & Thandie on the road to Juba…