April 28 - Day 110

Today was another off road day but surprise, surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon portion of the ride.   The afternoon section was on hard packed freshly graded gravel/dirt.  It was almost like pavement.  When we hit it, amazement filled my mind.  My legs could not believe it and asked to be released.  I granted their request and let them run.  And run they did.  I was hitting 45 kph on flat sections.  Can you believe that?  I know I couldn't.  It refreshed my joy of cycling and replaced the drudgery of the 10-12 kph that I had been slugging it out under.  What a great feeling.  

And there was one section where...

Yes!  You recognized it.  It was paved!!!  As we came into the little town of Helmeringhausen we were thoroughly bedazzled with the appearance of real asphalt pavement.  The only sad part was that the pavement ended at the town limit.  :(   But it was the first pavement we have seen in weeks!

The ride took us through areas that reminded me of the southwest US.  We rode along canyons and plateaus.  Here are some pictures of the views we saw today....

Very interesting that the one lone rock is balanced on top of the peak.

The heat of the day is making riding a chore in the afternoon.  We start out in the morning shivering in our light windbreakers but by 8:30 the temp has climbed to the point where we shed them.  Then by 11:00 we are sweating profusely and by 1:00 the sun has put us on high bake.  Kind of reminiscent of biking the desert in Sudan. 

April 27 - Day 109

Today was back on the bike after a rest day.  Have I said ...  I HATE OFF ROAD, yet?!  Although someone pointed out that it really isn't off road since they technically have scraped a section of the earth with a road grader then covered it with dirt and gravel and sand and rocks then called it drivable, or rideable.  But you can't fool me.  It is off road.  As one of the riders who is a mountain biker said today... "no self respecting mountain biker would ever ride on this crap and call it fun!"

But beside the corrugation and the deep sand/dirt there was some sights to see.  I saw a herd of about 50 Oryxs cross the road ahead of me.  I also saw Springboks, Ostrichs and Mountain Zebras.  Mountain Zebras, you ask?  What are Mountain Zebras?  They are of the Zebra family but have shadows of their black stripes that are on their coats. These shadows make the white area appear to be darker or tan.  Here is a picture of them:

The next question you probably had while reading this was....  what is an Oryx?  Here is an Oryx:

They are a very strange yet beautiful creature.  They are much larger than the gazelles and Impalas and have spiral horns.  They are very tasty.  I have had an Oryx steak as well as an Oryx burger.  I have also eaten Kudu, Springbok and Impala.  Oryx is the best of these.

Here is a picture of a birds nest:

It is of the Sociable Weaver.  They keep building on to the nest until it breaks the limb of the tree and then move on to another.  They are a small bird and about 40 of them inhabit a nest like this.

And lastly,  something that fits into the Really?  category.  We are riding through the Namib Desert and here is a road sign that I came across:

Really?!  You need to call out sand while people are using a road in the desert???

 

April 26 - Day 108

Did a trip to the Dunes of the Namib Desert. It was awe inspiring.  It looked like they could have filmed much of Lawrence of Arabia there.  We went and climbed the dune and watched the sunset.  Nothing in words could describe it.  (Yes, I know you are thinking ... he is out of words?!)   And no pictures could begin to capture it.  But here are some pictures that I took.

My footprints going up to the top of the dune.  ;)

Lastly, my sand angel that I made in the dune.  :)

April 25

Today was the Naked Mile Bike Ride.  :)

Rest assured that this person did not partake in what appeared to be a highly anticipated event.  My black Brooks saddle would have been a very hot thrown to have parked my royal arse on.  So in due deference to my highly prized Brooks saddle, I decided to forego the prestigious event.  That and there isn't enough money printed yet to get me to do something like that!

But there were some very enthusiastic participants.  A number of individuals rode the entire 83 kilometers in the altogether...  Yes, in their one and only permanent set of clothes that Mother Nature provided.  Some very gutsy people, some of which I do believe in light of Namibia's road beautification program should have put on more clothes instead of taking them off.

Well we are in winter here according to the locals.  You wake up and it is cold but by 9:30 it is hotter than hell.  Very hot to ride in.  And TDA is not doing a good job with SAG vehicles providing water.  Yesterday I did not see a single vehicle from mid morning through the end of the day.  I ran out of water and was cycling through the desert for 24k before a vehicle finally came with only 10k left.  I was starting to feel I was getting into trouble.  I couldn't even spit I was so dehydrated.  But there wasn't anything to do.  There was no where to go as it is a stark desert with no houses or inhabitants.

The scenery is beautiful though.  It has been changing from an arid landscape to a true desert.  We are skirting the Namib Deserts eastern side.  Tomorrow is a rest day and we will camp in Sesrium which is close to the Dunes.  They are supposed to be unbelievable.  We shall see.     :)

The arid landscape of scrub grass and brush.

The more rocky, sand and desert setting.

April 24

Last night we camped at Weisenfels farm.  I talked with the owner and he told me about the wildlife in the area.  They have springboks, kudu, oryx, leopards, cheetahs and zebras.  He has about 140 head of horses and some crops.  He talked about the zebras in a negative way.  He said the farmers and ranchers in the area look upon zebras as a nuisance animal.  He told me they knock down fences, eat crops and decimate the food stock for his horses.  But you need to get a permit to shoot a zebra and you can only take 10 a month.  There is a herd of over 600 on his property and growing.  That and he says zebra meat tastes bad. The locals eat it so he gives them away.  He also has a rogue leopard that is downing his stock.  Six kills so far this month.  He needs to get the neighbors dogs that are bred for tracking and treeing cats.  It was interesting hearing his take on the area.

Now on to today's ride.  Let me start off by saying...  I HATE RIDING OFF ROAD!

There I got that out of the way.  I think I did that yesterday as well.  :)  Today was not much better just longer.  Someone commented that the roads don't look so bad.  Well let me tell you...  riding these roads is like being strapped to a washing machine whose load is out of balance.  And those are the good sections.  The rougher section is more akin to riding a mechanical bull.  :(

When there is not deep corrugation there is sand and/or loose dirt.  It is usually 2-3 inches deep and either pulls your wheel one way or the other, or slows if not stops your bike.  You have to pay attention to the road and read the holes, the corrugation, the sand for depths or hidden rocks.  You can look around at the scenery only very infrequently.  Because if you look away for too long one of the hazards will have you down.  I have been more exhausted riding 77 miles on this stuff than when I rode 106 and 117 miles.  I can hardly close my hands and make a fist because of the weakness and pain from holding the handlebars through this stuff.

But now let me touch on some of the highlights of today:

We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn today!

We rode through some rough terrain and up through a pass.  Once over the top we were treated to the most amazing view I have ever seen...

The Namib Desert just laid out across the valley.  This picture doesn't even come close to what I saw.  It was a "Oh My God" moment!  I have never seen anything like it in my life.  As other riders came up over the pass they all said the same thing...  Oh my god!!!

It seemed to go on for a hundred miles.  It looked like you could film a movie that was set on another planet right there in the desert.  It looked so other worldly.

And lastly, here was the sunset over the mountains and the Namib Desert...

Lest I forget... tomorrow is the naked mile bike through the desert.  Yes, you read that right.

April 23

We spent the rest day in Windhoek.  It is a beautiful city.  Very modern and western in its appearance.  It was hard to imagine that we were still in Africa.  The city was so clean.  

Today's ride was a 71 mile one with 3,800 feet of climbing.  Let me start by saying ...  I HATE OFF ROAD!!!

Now that I got that out of the way...

It was a tough day.  The climbing, off road of course, was really tough!  I could eek out only 10-12 kph.  That is really slow.  The road was loose stone and dirt.  There were areas of sand that added an element of fun as well.  But the scenery was awesome.  You came over the mountains outside of Windhoek and a huge valley appeared.  It was rounded by mountains.  The landscape over the ride today changed.  At first there was a good deal of short trees and bushes.  As the day went on the vegetation thinned out.  It thinned out to the point of almost no vegetation.

These are the mountains that surround the valley.

This is the daunting part of the day.  The road just seemed to go on forever....

April 22

The off road starts tomorrow and we have a three day section of hellish conditions according to the TDA people. They were working on the SAG vehicles all day today.  They were repairing and welding bike racks on the roof of the vehicles because they said the section will bring even the best riders to tears.  The bike racks will be needed because of how many people in previous years gave up and took the SAG trucks.  :(

This is where we are as of today:

Wish me luck as we head out into the Namib Desert (I got the spelling right this time).  :)

Heck only 1,300 miles left to go!  And mostly off road, sand and if it rains mud...

Yay!!!

April 20

It is amazing how the landscape changes from country to country.  Botswana was very flat with some rolling hills.  The landscape was scrub bushes and rough trees and somewhat arid.  The beginning of Namibia was denser vegatation and much greener.  The topography showed a dramatic increase in hills and even mountains.  The riding in Botswana was boring at times because of how flat it was.  You would be riding along and see the road continue as far as you could see.  You would keep pedaling and the road still unfolded as far as you could see.  It felt like you weren't making any progress.  Another rider commented...  now I know what a gerbil feels like.  But Namibia's changes make the riding interesting again.  

We are in for another rest day and then we head out of Windhoek.  We will be riding through the Namib Dessert.  It is supposed to be uniquely beautiful.  

During the rest day we are to change our tires out for the widest, fattest tires our bikes will handle.  That is because from here on to just before Capetown we are going to be off road.  They say we will be riding through sand where at times there will appear to be no road.  Can't wait!  My favorite is off road!  

I know sarcasm doesn't come through in a blog so let me point out the previous comments were highly sarcastic....  :(

Botswana topography, landscape....

April 19

Today was the 129 mile day.  The day was a beautiful day.  It started out cold and I needed a jacket at the start of the ride.  After all it is fall down here.  Yes, I said fall.  All of you are now starting to shed the woes of winter and getting some warmer spring days.  But down here they are starting to think about winter.  The mornings do have that crisp fall feel.  It is like mid October in terms of their season.  Anyway... the day started to warm up as the sun accelerated its ascent into the sky.  The clouds of the prior nights thunderstorm were being dispatched and the promise of a picture perfect day was at hand.  And dare I say it... yes, there was even a hint of a tailwind.

But events that unfolded pre-empted a full day of riding.  The riders were stretched over many kilometers as people were pounding out the excessive miles.  A couple hours into my ride I heard a sound behind me that you don't want to hear.  I heard the sound of a crashing bicycle.  The person behind me had hit a pothole and went down.  I turned my bike around and went back.  The initial scene was not good as the person was lying on the road and not moving.  The riders knee was torn wide open from the pavement and there were bumps in the upper leg that should not be there.  Needless to say it was a tough situation.  I stopped another rider and sent them for the sweep rider.  We summoned the SAG truck as a trip to the hospital was a requirement.  I went along in the truck to assist.  We drove back to the nearest town to get medical attention but it was Sunday and everything was closed.  The remoteness of our situation became apparent.  The next closest town was the city of Windhoek.  We were in Botswana and Windhoek was in Namibia.  So we had to head towards another country and a 330 kilometer drive (over 200 miles).   A long ambulatory ride and a border crossing to get to medical attention.  Thank goodness the situation wasn't life threatening.  

It took 8 hours from accident to treatment at a hospital.  The the end of the tale was...  the knee sustained lacerations down to the muscle and all the X-rays showed no broken bones.  But no more riding for several weeks.  All in all a good outcome for what in all first appearances was a serious injury.

It made for a very long day, one that I don't want to repeat.

The leaves on the trees are turning colors down here.

Big BIG Milestone Alert

This is a double Milestone Alert:

First, crossing off another country.  Leaving Botswana and entering Namibia!  Only one more country after this one!

Second, but the really BIG ONE is ...  Crossed the 6,000 mike mark!!!  That is the equivalent of riding from San Diego across the country to St. Augustine FL then turning around and riding back to San Diego.  So it is like I rode across the US twice on this trip.  And I'm not done yet.  I am still not done yet!  Plenty of biking still to go.....

For my C2C friends it will be like I am now riding to Texas and stopping short of the boot fence!

April 19

I will start this one out with more of a story of last night.  It was quite a night.  Mother Nature put on a very impressive show.  We are on the most northern part of the Kalahari.  We saw signs of flooding as we were riding yesterday.  The campsite we are at is partially flooded.  But Mother Nature was not quite finished.  As we were setting up camp you could here distant rumbling of thunder.  It sounded very far off.  But she worked faster than we thought.  Less than an hour passed and the skies erupted.  The skies turned black and were accented by brilliant flashes of lightening and then the booming of thunder.  You could count between the the lightening and the thunder.  1-2-3-4-5 Boom!  Each time shorter and shorter until,  BRIGHT LIGHTENING and BOOM!  It was on top of us with the lightening almost in camp.  Then the storm would pass.  There would be an eary period of calm and silence and then she would send in another and then another.  It was very impressive how she presented her shows.  That lasted several hours well into dark.

Then shortly after dark we had a bit of a wildlife show or should I say heard it.  Couldn't quite tell what it was but it started as one animal.  You could hear a loan cry which first sounded like someone calling for help then more like a donkey braying.  Within a few minutes it was joined by another.  Then another minute and another voice and another and another.  Pretty so I it sounded like we were surrounded.  Several of the howls seemed particularly close to camp.  It was as if a pack of jackals or wild dogs was checking out this strange entourage that had invaded its territory.  It was a bit unnerving yet neat to hear wildlife truly in the wild.

Then about three thirty this morning I was awoken by another sound in the night.  At first it was one loud ROAR, then another and another and another.  Each one was a bit more subdued than the last til it sounded more like heavy breathing.  Yes, it was a lion!  This one was not close like the one of last week.  He or she was a distance off.  A short time later I could hear it again but only this time it was answered by another.  It seemed as if there were several voices answering the initial call.  I believe I was hearing a pride of lions calling out to each other.  Possibly coordinating their nocturnal adventure or commenting on the quality of the meal they had already subdued.  This went on for about an hour with minutes of silence broken by their call.  Again it was a reminder that I am not camping in a backyard but in the wilds of Africa!  :)

The rooster is crowing now, which means the start of a new day.  I'm not sure if I were him with the wild dogs and jackals and lions about that I would be giving my position away so readily.  Oh well time to get up and start riding 129 miles.  :)

More later....  :)

April 18

A bit of a tough day cycling.  Started out with a mild headwind that strengthened and eventually came at us as a strong cross wind.  Then just before lunch, low and behold it turned and gave us a strong tailwind.  Yes, I said it....  a tailwind!  What a difference a simple tailwind makes.  Instead of fighting for every inch you feel like you are flying.  It is amazing. I certainly hope it will do a repeat tomorrow.  

What made today tough was my cadre of hitchhikers that I am carrying with me.  I wouldn't mind so much if they were doing their part.  You know, adding energy to the pedaling or aiding in keeping the focus on the task at hand.  But no, they are constantly draining the energy or trying to distract by adding an issue or two to the normal food processing system the body has going.  But that is ok because I served them eviction notices in the form of a mixture of anti biotics.  They are on notice to cease and desist their activities and to vacate.  Hopefully soon in both cases.

You know people pay good money to engage in the latest weight loss programs.  I think I have stumbled across something here.  I believe I have the next best fad of a weight loss program.  I can call it the African Weight Loss System.  First, you need to infect yourself with a prolific parasite that disrupts your digestive system.  Then you need to eat very little for six days because your system does strange things with food both to eject it outright or process it into total liquid elimination.  And lastly, you need to ride for hundreds of miles in the African heat.  You too can attain your desired weight loss goals simply and quickly.       What do you think?  Do you think it would catch on???  Yeah, you are right.  The people back in America are not ready for it.  :(

Well tomorrow is the big day.  Tomorrow is the 129 mile day.  It is 129 miles with a mere 1,500 feet of climbing.  Boy am I praying for no headwind!  I am not even praying for a tail wind.  Just please no headwind!  Pretty please....

Wish me luck!  Oh, and I hope the eviction process has been concluded too.  It is hard enough riding 129 miles without having thousands of freeloading hitchhikers in your belly....  Right?!

 

 

April 17

Well, it appears I was correct and incorrect about my situation.  I said that I caught a bug and was sick.  I was correct in that I did catch a bug but incorrect in that I am not sick.  I am inhabited!  Kind of like Alien!!!  I have a foreign body or more appropriately, thousands of them.  I have picked up the parasite giardia.  A nasty little bug that is wreaking havoc on my digestive system. It is one of the ancillary benefits of traveling through Africa.  Yay!

I have started on the kick it in the #** treatment route that poses its own set of fun side effects.  Better those than an extended period of parasite induced gastrointestinal hell.  So wish me luck as I cycle through this baby.   :)

My new little friend.  :( 

April 16 - Rest Day

I do believe that I am on the mend.  :)

I ate for the first time in 48 hours and it is staying within!  Yay!  

It is a rest day in Maune Botswana.  I thought I would catch up by posting a couple of photos that I liked and you will find interesting.  Well hopefully you will...

Here are some good ones:

Bugs of Africa come in extra large size.

Speaking of bugs...  here is the bug eliminator.  The female spider is the big one.  If you look at the top of the picture you can see the male.  The female was about the size of the beetle in the previous picture.  Scary, huh?!

So many choices, oh what to wear today???    

This is of the monkeys in Victoria Falls.

And lastly, but I think the best....

It is so hard to get those back molars. 

This is of a monkey who got into a tent and ate the tooth paste of a rider and obviously made off with his toothbrush.

Priceless!

I hope you are all having a good day.  I am having a good day for the first time in a couple of days.  Nothing worse than being sick in a tent and no bathroom facilities around.  

But I believe it is over so life is good...  :)

April 15

Still down with some sort of African bug. 

No wait a minute...  it's April 15th!  Tax day always makes me nauseous.  That's it, my body knew it was tax day and it made me sick.   

Mystery solved!

April 14

Today was to be the 116 mile day.  But it was not to be for me. :(   I have come down with some type of bug.  It hit me hard last night and has taken me out.  I'm hoping it was just something I ate.  Here I have been thinking that I have been lucky as it has been some time since I was sick.  Some others have been sick four and five times.  One guy has been sick almost this entire trip.  Several others have come down with malaria.  But they were not taking malaria prevention measures.....

Oh well, time will tell.  

April 13

Let me start out with a bit of excitement from last night.  We camped in a bush camp which means in the middle of nowhere in a place that is open enough for about 40 tents.  It was an area that was heavily traveled by elephants.  There were elephant tracks everywhere.  As well as elephant droppings to boot.  Had to watch where you put up the tent and walked after dark.  Speaking of after dark....   a bit before 8 pm when everyone was preparing to get in the tent and bed down for the night, there was a sound that brought everyone to attention.  It was pitch dark and you could not see a thing.  But you certainly could hear this sound!  There was a roar of a lion!  And it was close.  You could not see off into the darkness but the sound brought the hairs on your neck to a complete standup.  The tour staff quickly grabbed there powerful lights and shined them into the darkness.  One of the riders said he saw the glimmer of eyes when they were scanning the darkness.  There was a rider who set up her tent far from the others and was close to the area where the sounds came from.  She stepped out of her tent to see what the noise was.  The tour people yelled at her to get back in the tent!  They then drove the land cruiser over to the area with the headlights shining into the woods.  They packed her tent up and moved her in with the others.  We heard the lion roaring many more times but it seemed to be moving off.  It certainly brought to mind that we were not in a protected preserve or zoo or anything.  We were camping in their domain and they were out nocturnally hunting.  The one tour guide said that it was actually three seperate lions calling to each other.  Wow, quite a bit of excitement. 

Additionally, I heard hyenas calling to each other and walking through camp last night as well.

Today's ride was a bit tough.  The road was pretty much Texas chip seal quality with constant bumps and rolling resistance.  That and a stiff headwind coming at us from about ten o'clock.  It made for rough pedaling.  That was pretty much what it was like yesterday as well.

Tomorrow is the 116 mile day.  I hope the conditions improve or it will be a killer!

This is the size of one of the elephants foot prints.

Here is one of the foot prints that the elephants foot sank deep in the soft dirt.  I put my water bottle down in it to give some perspective.

This is a big bull elephant that crossed the road about 500 meters ahead of my bike.  It was amazing to see him just roaming free and crossing the road at whim.

April 12

We camped in Kesane Botswana on the Chobe River last night.  Our camp was less than 50 meters from the rivers edge. Last night you could hear a group of warthogs working their way through camp.  They were rooting their way and sounded like a huge group of them.  Then this morning we could hear a couple of hippos making their grunting call down at the river.  Pretty cool having wildlife so close.

Yesterday evening I rode up to town and saw a family of warthogs just strutting their way down the Main Street.  Our guide says the people of Botswana hold wildlife in high regard.  They give them a wide berth and do not bother them whenever they encounter them.  That is much different than Zambia.  We saw very little wildlife there.  Our helicopter pilot shed some light on that.  He said that 90% of the wildlife had been hunted out by tribes and safaris and poachers as well.  He said the only wildlife left in Zambia was on preserves.  In Botswana it is supposed to be everywhere.  

For instance here are some of the road signs along the road we traveled in Botswana today:

You wouldn't see those on a road in the US or anywhere else that I have biked!

Here is a little Michael humor...

This morning I was in line for breakfast getting my daily portion of grool.  Today they had a nice surprise.  They had some raisin buns instead of the normal bread.  Well the lady behind me in line said...  Nice buns!  So I turned around and said... Thank you, I didn't think you had noticed.  At that point the cook behind the table cracked up but the lady stood there just looking at me.  I don't think she got it at first but even when she did she did not appreciate the humor.  Oh well, there I go making more friends...  :)

The ride today was a 106 mile adventure.  The morning part of the ride was straight forward with virtually no wind and some rolling hills.  There are supposed to be wildlife roaming throughout the area (as you can see by the signs).  At one point a semi truck driver pulled up to the SAG vehicle and told him there was a lion about a kilometer or two down the road in the tall grass.  Now I know what you are thinking...  this is a joke right?!  NO, we are in a total wildlife area.  The tour people said we might be cycling right by a pride of lions and would never see them in the tall grass.  So here was a confirmed sighting.  What to do is the question...  a line from a Dirty Harry movie came to mind.  Do you feel lucky today???  Lucky I felt, so off I pedaled.  I pedaled at a good clip with a bit of reserve.  I was ready to go engage an adrenalin infused massive acceleration at any movement in the grass.  That and I put on a grimacing, angry face to strike fear in the heart of any errant lion who would decide to put me on the menu for lunch.  Alas, no lion showed his or her or their face.  So I did not get to try out my massive acceleration trick.  :(   

We were traveling down what is known as Elephant Hiway.  I saw two large bull elephants in two seperate sightings.  They looked at me when I stopped and flaired their ears wide.  That is their sign of being preturbed and getting ready to do something about it.  I took the warning and pedaled on.

A great day all in all.

April 11

Today we were back on the bikes...

The place we stayed at was a bit over run by monkeys.  They had discovered that some of the riders had some food and cookies in their tents.  If the tent was open the monkeys got in and took everything that was not nailed down.  One monkey took a riders red jersey and ran up a tree.  The monkey somehow got the jersey on and was jumping from tree to tree.  Another monkey got a riders tooth paste and tooth brush.  He took them up a tree and was actually brushing his teeth with the tooth brush.  :)  I don't know how he knew the motion but he brushed his teeth just like a dentist had told him.  Another rider had set up his tents rain fly like a sun shade by stringing it from the trees.  The monkeys were using it as a trampoline by jumping down from the trees onto it.  They were playing and having a great time.  But they were creating havoc in the camp.

I mention this because my morning started out a bit rocky or should I say shitty.  I got my bike ready to roll and then went to breakfast.  When I returned I noticed a peculiar odor.  I looked at the bike and on the handlebar, brake levers and helmet was something that wasn't there when I left it.  A monkey had taken a crap on my bike and in my helmet!  It was god aweful!  I had to scrub and scrub to get the smell out.  So, I can truly say that I had a shitty day.  :(

But anyway back to the biking...  We rode only 81 kilometers today.  It seemed so easy and short.  We crossed over the border from Zambia to Botswana.  We were done riding by noon.  It seemed soooo easy.  Yet when you think of it, that is 50 miles.  That isn't short or easy.  It is a good distance.  But in comparison to the rest of the week, I guess it is.  The next riding days are ...  106 miles, 90 miles, 116 miles and 87 miles!  That is an average of 99.75 miles per day.  Can't wait...  :(

The monkey friends in camp.

A monkey family eating the Mueslicks that had fallen to the ground after they took a full bag from a tent.

April 10

Day 3 of rest days...

Today had a tough time measuring up to the first two rest days but it gave it it's best shot.

Today I went on a micro light flight over Victoria Falls.  It was amazing.  The falls are wide and have carved out a canyon that feeds into one outlet/gorge for all the water.  It is much different than Niagra Falls.  Niagra has a wide cut that flows from it.  Victoria Falls is very unique in that way.  You can see the water mist rising from the falls for over 20 miles away.  The flight took us directly over the falls at a low altitude.  We made several passes and got to see a fantastic phenomenon.  On the cross trip to the falls the suns angle and the mist created a constant rainbow that expanded and contracted as the canyon of the falls did. It was beautiful.

Also, the pilot let me fly the micro light on the way back.  That was so cooool!  I flew it up the Zambezi River and over a set of hippos in the river and an elephant on the island.  Then I got to line it up for landing...

It was a fantastic thrill!

Well tomorrow it's back on the bike!  These past three rest days have been perfect.  They really seemed like a vacation.  I did a cruise, a white water rafting trip, a helicopter ride down the gorge, a bungi jump off the Victoria Falls bridge and a micro light flight over the Falls.  It couldn't get any better!  :))

The mist from the falls as seen from far off.

Another awesome sunset over the Zambezi.

Milestone Alert

I put another country in my rear view mirror!  Well actually two since I went into Zimbabwe on my rest day.

I am now out of Zambia (and Zimbabwe) and now in Botswana!

I know what you're thinking...  is he still in Africa?!  Yes, I am for at least the next 30 days.  Three months down and one left.

Michael

April 9

Day two of rest days....

Day one was awesome so the question was....  could day two even come close? The answer...  YES!

It started with a helicopter ride.  One of the riders knew the owner of a tour company.  He got us in as fill to do flights over the falls and the gorge for free.  I got a flight over the gorge.  And was it thrilling!!!!  The pilot took us across the terrain after take off at about 100 feet above the trees at light speed.  Then he announced we were approaching the gorge.  No sooner did he state it that he pushed the stick forward and we dove down the wall of the gorge.  I felt like I was in an elevator that the cable broke and we were in free fall.  Wow!  He then leveled off at less than 50 feet above the water.  We flew through the gorge slightly above the water and banking at the turns in the river.  It was like something out of a movie, but I was in it.  I was sitting in the copilot a seat and was in smile mode from ear to ear.  Then he started climbing out of the gorge at tree level.  My seat had glass all around even under my feet. We were so close to the trees that I lifted my feet in order to get over the trees.  Awesome, fantastic, phenomenal.

And as if that wasn't enough to make a good day...  I followed that with a bungi jump off the Victoria Falls bridge.  Yes, I bungi jumped off the second highest one in the world.  I won the bungi jump in a raffle the evening before.  There were several from our group that did it.  One of the guys legs were shaking so hard as he stepped out into the platform you could actually hear his knees knock.  Another looked like he was going to throw up or pass out.  I followed these.  I kept thinking I was going to be scared s#*^less but I wasn't.  It was no where near as scary as I thought it was going to be.  I reached the edge of the platform and they counted to five. I leaped up and out and flew.  It was exhilarating.  My leap carried my feet way out and going faster than my head.  I kept swimming with my arms to get back under control.  Once you reach the end of the rope, you spring back up.  I took that flow all the way to the top and sat up.  That gave me the leverage at the peak of the rebounce to then throw my body from a sit-up position to fully straight again.  This accelerated my fall back down at a faster speed...  really cool.  I did it a couple of times until they yelled at me to stay straight as they wanted to get me back in.  Oh well, always getting in trouble.  :)

But what a thrill day!!!  Hard to put all of it in perspective or words.  All I can say is WOW!!!

My helicopter ride.  Thrills galore!

This is the bridge I did the bungi leap off of....  Look out below!  :)

April 8

Rest days....

Well maybe not as restful as they should have been but greatly enjoyable.  I started the rest days with a sunset cruise on the upper Zambezi River just above Victoria Falls.  It was so different than the constant biking and camp meals.  It actually felt like I was on vacation!  It felt so good.  The sunset was amazing, the cruise relaxing.  Couldn't have been a better start to the three rest days.

Next came a white water rafting trip on the lower Zambezi River just below the falls.  A number of us went on the trip.  The day was overcast which added a bit of atmosphere to the trip.  It rained during a good part of the trip but that didn't matter as we were already soaked by the rapids.  We had to climbed down from the top of the gorge to the bottom where the river was.  The climb down was challenging to say the least.  I do not believe the "ladder system" that they used would have passed any safety guidelines of any sort that is known in the free world.  Where the terrain was too steep for a trail (which was most of the climb down) they had erected a ladder (word used very loosely) that was made of small tree trunks and branches nailed together.  As you stepped on the branches they would bend and creak.  Several broke away and added another level of extreme danger to what already was a OSHA nightmare.  If one of the people in the group that was traversing the trail began to fall, it would have been like dominos.  Once we got down we floated or should I say shot the rapids.  There were 15 sets of rapids names from widow maker, washing machine to the terminator.  They ranked from class 3 to several class 5 rapids.  It was fantastic!!!

The walls of water that we would hit that was created by the rapids defied description.  We hit one class 5 rapid and I do mean hit!  I was in front and when the boat went down into the trough, all I could see coming at me was a wall of water.  It hit me and knocked me back.  I took out the guy behind me and remember looking up at my feet.  Yes, I looked up at my feet which were at full extension above my head.  The next thing that occurred to me was that I was under water.  With that thought in mind I quickly came to the conclusion that I was no longer in the boat.  I came to the surface in the middle of a raging rapid.  Waves of water kept washing over me as I gasped for air.  I finally remembered ... Relax and aim your feet down river.  That worked like a charm.  The most humorous thing was the lady who was left in the boat.  Of the six people in the boat only two remained after that rapid.  She looked around and said... Where did everybody go?!

It really was an amazing trip.  They say that this section of the Zambezi River is in the Top 5 Whitewater Rapids in the world.  I can see why!!!

The sunset over the Zambezi!

April 7

Today was a tough day to get back on the bike.  The legs were hurting and the mind certainly wasn't ready.  You really do need a day off after putting in 117 miles and hills with a headwind.  But today was a kinder day.  The first part was flat to slightly declining.  There was also a bit of a tailwind.  That made the morning go by in a fast fashion.  The afternoon was a bit different in that the slight tailwind turned on us and became a headwind.  The headwind increased as we went through the afternoon.  But we stayed dry!  The clouds were threatening but it never materialized.  That was a blessing.  

It was a hard push to get into Livingstone.  The drivers of the cars and trucks got ever more belligerent towards us cyclists as we got closer to town.  They feel we should not be on the road with them.  The locals of course just get off the road when they see a vehicle coming.  I got another flat as we came into Victoria Falls.  It was a slow leak.  I kept stopping and pumping it up since I only had a couple of kilometers left.  Finally I just walked the last K as I didn't want to change the tire.  I think I have gotten all the miles I'm going to get out of these Gatorskin tires.  I guess over 4,000 miles isn't bad.  :(

Once we got into Victoria Falls everything seemed to get more relaxed.  Three days off is going to be great.

April 6

Last night was an experience.  Mother Nature's errant son, the Rainy Season, put on one helluva a show again.  I was lying in my tent while the wind was whirling, rain deluge afalling, and thunder and lightening erupting.  I kept thinking ... what in the hell am I doing out here in the middle of nowhere with just a thin piece of nylon material seperating me from potential annihilation!  

It rained so much and so hard that the water had nowhere to go.  So the morning ride today started out in a thick blanket of fog.  Although I don't think it was fog.  I think the ground was saying...  I don't have any place to put this water so I'm giving it back to the sky.  Hence it really wasn't fog, it was simply the clouds forming on the ground.  :)

Today's ride was 117 miles with 860 meters of climb.  That set my personal record as the longest ride.  That record will only stand until next week when we will be doing a 129 mile ride in Botswana.   Ooooh boy can't wait for that!  

The ride wasn't too bad, just long.  I had my now almost daily flat at about 10 miles.  I broke out my last new inner tube and changed the flat and remounted the tire.  Then I discovered that the new Kenda brand tube had a hole in it.  (that is the second one for that brand).  So I has to change the tire again.  Gotta love fixing a flat twice!!!  :(

Once the flat was fixed off I went on the rest of the day.  At about mile 80 I looked and got excited that I only had 36 or so miles left.  Then I started to put that in perspective.  36 miles is a good long ride for me normally, let alone the 80 I already put in.  So I began to think about how far it was left to go.  A bit farther after that the skies opened up and let us have it.  A soaking we will go, a soaking we will go...  

It is becoming a common place occurrence.  :(

Then at 100 miles I thought... only 17 left to go!  But the legs were spent, the mind was bent and the energy had come and went.  So with all this noise level going on in my head it was time for the cyclists saying...  Shut Up and Keep Pedaling.

I do believe I have used that quite a bit on this trip.  As a matter of fact, as the mileage increases so does the need for the saying.  I think there is an exponentially incremental component to the calculation.  This is an example of the weakness of the spirit that needs to be overcome by the mind.  So right now I should shut up and keep pedaling.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day.  And it is a shorter one.  It is only 94 miles long.  Thank goodness for a short day!  

April 5

Today was a 98 mile day.  My friend the rainy season kept threatening all day but did not follow through.  I was quite pleased about that.  :)

Although I am not sure he had anything left in him after last night.  A thunderstorm blew through last night that knocked the power out for the area where we were staying.  I had taken a room for the rest day but the poor people who were in tents got creamed.  The rain came down in buckets and created little rivers where you would never think there could be ones.  A couple of them got flooded.  The power for the hotel was out and they had emergency lights only.  The problem was that I had ordered dinner.  With no power no cooking!  So instead of a steak, I got a bologna sandwich.  Pretty disappointing and disgusting.

So back to my day...   It was a long ride of rolling hills that just kept coming.  The scenery was good but nothing new compared to other days.  Sounds like I am getting jaded about great views.  :)  

The roads seemed to deteriorate as the day went on.  They were so bad in the afternoon that I had to stop for a bit because my hands and wrists and shoulders ached from the vibration of potholes and missing pavement.  

There were a couple of interesting unique things I came across today:

Of all the wildlife I thought I would see in Africa, I never thought I would see wild turkeys.  These guys were crossing the road as I came flying down the hill.  They were strutting around on the road and gobbling up a storm.

Look closely at the tree.  See something unusual?  It is the rare African Rock Tree...                   just kidding. :)

There is a huge boulder sitting in the crux of the tree.  How could it have gotten there?  Did the tree grow around it and lift it up into the air?  Did someone place it there? (No signs of tampering as such). Did the high winds of a storm blow it up into the tree? (Yea, right!).  

Well I have no explanation or reason that a boulder of that size and weight could be in a tree like that.  Strange....

Tomorrow we ride for 117 miles!   My bum can't wait.   

April 3

We have reached Lusaka, Zambia.  It is the capital city.  Tomorrow is the rest day and a well needed one.  The good news is it did not rain!!!  Maybe my new friend the rainy season has given up on me.  I can only hope.  

This 5 day stretch was very tough.  I think I have said that about all the ones as of late.  But each one has been a step above the other.  :)

An update on our rider who got thrown in the clink.  He was charged with a criminal offense, something along the lines of defaming the president of Malawi.  He spent 4 nights in a Malawi jail.  He has been released but not rejoined the tour as yet.  No word on what happened with the charges other than he is out.  He had to engage a local attorney and I suspect this was a very expensive little adventure.

On to the topic of medical...  It is a tough thing when you get a cut or scrape here. They heal slowly and typically go the route of infection.  You need to put anti bacterial stuff on anything and everything.  One of the riders got a mysterious bite.  He doesn't know what but it has turned nasty.  He has been on anti biotics both oral and injections for 5 weeks now.  They are daily draining the fluids from the wound.  There is a doctor who is a rider and he feels there is something that is in the wound that they cannot get to.  Waiting to get to a hospital where it can be handled properly.  

And talk about tough...  the one rider who fell back in Egypt and had to have a hip replacement is back.  He has a new hip and is riding again.  Not sure I would be doing that.  

And lastly, but most grossly...  one rider said she kept feeling an itching in her ear.  So the medic irrigated her ear canal and guess what?!  You won't believe this.  A small beetle crawled out as it didn't want to drown.  How gross ... a beetle had crawled into her ear.  Who knows when.

That is just the worst.....

Here is where I am now.  We are heading west across the continent.

We have three riding days until we get to Victoria Falls.  Then we have 3 days off.  I can't believe it 3 days!  The legs certainly need it.

BIG Milestone Alert!

Today we reached the 5,000 mile mark.  We have traveled by bicycle down Africa for 5,000 miles.  

For my friends who I did the Coast to Coast trip with:  that would be like going from San Diego to St. Augustine, FL then turning around and riding back to Arizona.  Phew, that is a lot of pedaling.

Heck, only another 2,000+ miles to go!

April 1

TDA Century, the Sequel!

Today was another century ride (100 miles).  Most people train for months for a century ride and then take a rest for days even weeks after.  Noooo, not us!  We celebrate riding a century by getting up the next day and doing it again.  Yes, we did Century II, The Sequel!  And like many sequels, it sucked.    

And the one thing about a TDA (Tour d'Afrique) Century, it must have the Epic feel to it.  So instead of just riding 100 miles we must add the extra layers of challenge to it.  You know, the little extras that would make a grown man cry.  That is the way it qualifies as a TDA Century ride.  

Today's ride was 107 miles (notice the extra 7 miles over and above 100) and with 1,600 meters of climbing!  That is roughly 1 mile up of elevation climb, 5,280 feet!  Add into that a good percentage of no road/mud road riding (20% of the day).  Add into that a down pour of epic proportion and poof you have a TDA Century.

That was the day I had.  Another long tough day of cycling.  We have ridden over 313 miles in three days.  We have climbed over 2,950 meters of climbing in three days.  And add in two flats for the day bringing my total of 4 flats in 3 days. With rain in each of the past three days.  Wow, that is a lot of stuff in three days.  It does make you want to cry....

Tried to out run the rain...  I lost the race. :(   In Africa you can learn to swim while you bike ride.  How convenient!

March 31

Today was a big day.  It was scheduled to be a 110 mile day but turned out to be 112!  But who quibbles over a couple of miles here are there?!   In addition to the extreme distance there was over 1,500 meters of climbing for the day.  Now that is a BIG day.

It was to be a good ride on pavement all the way until the last 20 kilometers.  But after about 5K the road disappeared.  The Zambian equivalent of a highway department tore up the old road and hadn't yet decided where to put the new one.  The "road" that we biked was gravel, sand and red clay mud.  There were deep pools of water thanks to my new friend, the rainy season.  As we rode I was slipping all over the place. The red clay mud made it seem like I was  biking on an ice skating rink.  Slip sliding away so to speak...  After about 10 miles the road reappeared, yay!  But to our dismay Zambian road relocation began again about 15 miles down the road.  To add to the enjoyment I had my second flat in as many days.  The only tubes I had were the punctured ones from the day before.  So ahunting I went to find the little holes and repair them.  That took some time as they were only small pin prick types.  But I digressed...  back to the road portion of the story,  the torn up portion of the road lasted another 10+ miles.  Who tears up 10 miles of road without some viable option???  Oh well, it just added an element of excitement to a Century plus ride.  

My new friend the rainy season made another reappearance in the afternoon.  He did not act up as bad as the day before but soaking none the less.  It does have its advantages though...  you don't have to worry about how much water you carry. There is certainly an abundance of liquid.  All you have to do is lean your head back and open your mouth.  You will get as much as you want.  Maybe too much!  One word of caution:  do not attempt to breath in while doing the above exercise as drowning will result.  :)

I rode from 6:30 in the morning until about 3:30.  With the distance to travel, hills to climb, flat to fix, road conditions and rain; I did not see much scenery as I had my head down and pedaling.  I had to tell my legs quite often, shut up and keep pedaling.  :(

When the rain comes, it really comes.  You feel like one of those NFL coaches that gets the Gatorade cooler poured over your head.  The only thing is it just keeps coming down.

March 30

Today was a day for introductions...

Michael McCabe I would like to introduce you to the rainy season; Rainy Season I would like to introduce you to Michael McCabe.  I think the two of you are going to be good friends....   NOT!

Now that the introductions are complete, let me tell you about my new riding partner.  If you want to get the idea of what it was like riding today picture this...

imagine taking a shower full blast with the hot water only slightly turned on, then add a garden hose turned on full blast pouring down on your head and then add a fire hose full blast from the hydrant hitting you full on from the side and then just for good measure have someone pour a five gallon bucket of water over your head.  Then you can have a slight insight into when the skies open up in the rainy season.  It was startling how much water came down and how fast.

I rode through the storm and was soaked to the bone.  You get so wet that it really doesn't matter any more.  And it just keeps on coming down... in buckets!  

I kept riding through the rain as there was little alternative.  The creeks and roadside ditches filled and spilled onto the road.  I traversed streams across the road a couple of inches deep.  But when I came to a part in the road where a river had formed over the road that was a bit short of knee deep I had to stop.  The better sense in me (I know what you are thinking, yes I do have better sense at times) took hold and kept me from trying to cross the water.  The water was rushing over the road with white water rapids speed.  I just stood there in the pouring rain weighing my alternatives.  Cars were driving through with the water up along the doors.  Then a taxi van pulled up and asked me to jump in.  I could not get in with the bike but I did step up onto the running board, hooked my one arm inside for leverage and grabbed my bike with the other.  With my bike in the air we drove through the river where I was deposited safely on the other side.  Then off I continued on my 95 mile trek.  :)

Thank goodness for the goodness of the taxi driver!

Here is the approaching wall of rain.  You could see it coming and feel the wind picking up.  :(