Today was hot, hot, hot. Officially it reached 42C but our cycling computer registered a high of 50 degrees C. Tough day for me. I was completely zapped of all energy at km one. Bit of a problem seeing that we had 144 km to go. By lunch my legs were killing me and were starting to cramp up. Not to worry, I did cross the finish line, I wasn’t about to throw in the towel that easily. Luckily I had Spiros with me the whole way, talking to me and trying to get my mind on other things. I think the problem came down to dehydration. I’m basically the type of gal that prefers her liquids in the form of quad shot espressos and diet coke (no..I’m not exaggerating for comedic effect). Drinking water is something I have to remind myself to do. So, I have been drinking liter after liter now, trying to replenish. Lesson learnt.
Having Spiros there to keep my mind off the pains in my arms and legs helped a lot. The cuties along the road helped too. There is just something so special about stopping to say hello to one kid, only to be surrounded minutes later by twenty kids, all lining up to say hello and shake your hand. This has happened so many times I’ve lost track, but it still takes me aback every time. It’s just so genuine. The really young ones are too funny because they get so excited. We cycled by a group of 4 today who just started to jump up and down like crazy and shriek at the top of the lungs. Of course, we HAD to stop. As soon as we did though, they completely froze, stopped screaming, stopped jumping…just stared at us with that “deer caught in head lamps” look. You could just tell they were thinking…”uh…what do we do now?” Within seconds, the smallest one screeched, ran back into the house and hid behind his mom’s skirt. 
I can’t help but wonder what they all are thinking looking at these crazy looking foreigners in spandex and helmets with nothing better to do then cycle through their village. We must look like freaks…well, fair enough.
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