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.