The Blue Nile Gorge! What can I say about the Blue Nile Gorge... it is the Grand Canyon of Ethiopia. It is awesome in its grandeur and devastating in its climb. Yes, today was another climbing day. Today put every other day that we climbed to shame. This was the granddaddy of all climbs. It was an 1,830 meter climb over 20 kilometers. As one of the riders from Holland who has climbed many notoriously tough bike elevations said... this was either one or two of the toughest he has ever done. There was no rest. It was just a constant climb with not a single flat spot or downhill to recover in.
This has been three days of hell on the legs and there are two more before we reach Addis Ababa. And the two coming up also have over 1,100 meters of climb each.
A couple of things of note about the day... It was an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment to finish the Blue Nile Gorge. :)
Then next wild thing was... on the climb up out of the valley we saw many baboons along the way. It was pretty cool to see. There was a family that had come down from a bluff. Two baboons sat on an outcropping and groomed each other. Farther up the road a large male came out onto the road and found a sandwich in a plastic bag. He sat down on the road and proceeded to eat it. A bus came along and honked at him. He did not move, he looked up at the bus as if to say, can't you see I'm eating here? The bus went around him.
The only negative to the day was.... of course the kids. I got hit with 4 stones today. Not little pebble kind but big sharp edge ones. One of the ladies on the trip got hit by a large rock that left a huge bruise across her entire shoulder. And one other lady had some kids grab her arms and force her to stop.
A pair of baboons along the road grooming each other.
A bono on in a tree along the climb.
A baby baboon that wandered into camp.
I hope your legs hold up through all the climbing you have done and have to do.
ReplyDeleteThe baboons are add something to your day. At least their not throwing stones or hitting you with sticks. On the other hand, I have heard baboons can be pretty aggressive, so watch them as well.
Take care and keep the rubber down.
Ray Van Ostran
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteIt's sadly remarkable the consistency of the rock throwing reception at each of the villages you all are passing through' At least they are not laying a carpet of tacks. Someone did that on the 2013 Cycle NC ,probably inspired by the Tour De France vandal that same year. But you have to wonder..Has anyone told you why the kids are so hostile towards cyclists? Are you all just the only moving targets of opportunity they see or do they just harass any outsider? An account I read by a motorcyclist traveling through Ethiopia was not complimentary about the people. In your case-it's an area where the baboons are more civilized than the kids!
Hope you run into better receptions ahead. Great work on your journal--sort of a vicarious experience without the rocks!! Don't forget to jink and duck!!
Bob and Linda