Day 4 - Nov 18

Well what a day, tough, tough day.  It ended up to be 93k day with over 2,000 meters of climb.  This day certainly stacks up with any of the Africa days in terms of hard, might even be tougher.  There were river crossings after river crossings.  Hills after hills after hills...  The roads were very loose gravel with a bed of mud and clay.  As you started up a hill the traction was very tough.  The loose rocks and mud would give way and the back wheel would just spin.  This would kill your momentum and make it oh so difficult to keep going and/or start once you have stopped. 

There were a half dozen spots where the hillsides had given way and mudslides partially covered the road.  In some spots cars could not get by but we cyclists could.  At one point a huge tree had toppled over due to the rain and completely covered the road.  A group of riders joined together and pulled a section of the tree off to the side.  It was just enough for us to get by.

After lunch the rains started and made an already difficult day into a hellish one.  The rains first started to turn the road into a creek then into a river of red clay mud.  The mud was streams washing down the hills and making traction very difficult.  That and you couldn't see the ruts and submerged boulders hidden along the way.  It made for an exciting discovery adventure.  And might I say a bit of a dangerous one as well.  At one point my front wheel slid in the slimy clay and sent me sideways into a hole with a submerged boulder.  This stopped the front wheel dead and sent me flying over the handlebars.  A bit of bumps, bruises and a large lump on my shin.  But the good news is no broken bones, just a flesh wound.  I believe I will be a bit sore tomorrow.

Even in spite of the toughness of the day, the scenery was astonishing.  The roads are taking us into the very back country and treating us to phenomenal views.

I ran into an American when I stopped for an ice cream in the town of Bijauga.  This is the town just before the 4k, 17% climb to our place for tonight.  He asked about how far I had ridden and where we were going.  When I filled him in on the ride and that we were ending in Belize, he said we were crazy!  I do believe he has a point... 

Tomorrow is supposed to be easier.  Let's hope!  

Here's some pictures of today:

The first river we crossed.

Along the lake with the volcano in the background.

The tree that fell and blocked the road.

A landslide that cut off the road.

Another river to cross...

It is so humid here that plants grow in the trees without dirt.

And in terms of humid, I had a Nunns tablet on the ledge last night and by morning it had started dissolving right there.