Cycling The Road Less Travelled

Since our 2 day rest in Khartoum, we have had the following cycling days:

• Day 1 -140km, headwinds and crosswinds, paved roads
• Day 2 - 140 km, headwinds and crosswinds, paved roads
• Day 3 - 130 km, headwinds and crosswinds, paved roads
• Day 4 - 150 km, some tailwinds, mostly crosswinds, paved roads,
• Day 5 – 100 km, 1180m elevation gain, gravel roads
• Day 6 – 108 km, 2500m elevation gain, gravel road except for the last 15 km

Good Lord, I think the TDA is trying to kill us.

Today was an epic ride. There was some truly breathtaking mountain scenery. There was also some truly breathtaking climbs too. Long stretches of 11% climbs on gravel road, just brutal. By the time we got to lunch at the 60km mark, I was exhausted, everyone was exhausted. You could see it on people’s faces. The mental challenge was just as hard, maybe even harder then the physical challenge. Feeling completely drained and knowing you still have 50 kms to go can be tough. In addition, we also experienced some of the things we were being warned about. While many of the children were very sweet and polite, a few were quite nasty. We all had more then a few rocks (not pebbles…rocks) thrown at us. Spiros got hit in the knee going downhill at 40km/hour. (Not too worry, he’s ok). Some would run up beside you and scream “You, you, you” and “Money, money, money…give me money”. One grabbed a hold of my handlebar to get me to stop. When we got to the hotel, we found out a few people had stuff swiped out of their saddlebags as they cycled up the hills. Due to the terrain, most of us were only going about 6-8km/hr, slow enough that the kids could run up behind you, open the zippers and grab whatever was loose. One rider was attacked by four teenage boys with sticks. One tried to pull off his camelback, while the other threatened to hit him with sticks. Thankfully, the rider managed to get away and is fine, a bit rattled, but ok.

I know the above sounds awful, but I don’t want to paint a bad image of Ethiopia. Most of the people have been very friendly and kind. I honestly think that most of the children were just really excited and wanted to grab our attention. Sometimes we would stop to talk, but due to the long mileage we couldn’t always, which I’m sure added to their frustration. With the obvious exception of the teenage boys, I don’t believe it was malicious.

We checked into the Goha hotel in Gondar. Our faces, legs and arms are caked in dirt, our clothes are beyond filthy and we are visibly thinner since Khartoum. Tomorrow is a rest day…we need one.