Today can only be described as a day of ups and downs - both literally and mentally. After such a tough day yesterday it required a big effort to get back on a bike, with another 100km day looming.
All started nicely with a police escort out of town. Bit of climbing but after that mostly downhill. We're getting better at this cycling business with the first 40kms knocked off in no time. Last 25kms before lunch was tough though. Lovely scenery cycling through tea plantations, but as you may have seen on tea bag boxes where there is tea there are hills. Heat was the hardest thing. We are now down to an altitude of about 1700m from 2500m and it's getting hotter, was about 30 degrees which is not a good temperature to ride uphill in.
Lunch stop was by a tiny rural school. I don't think they'd seen many British cyclists in a while. It's an unusual experience to eat your lunch with an audience of about 30 school children watching - was another reminder of the poverty here. School was a mud hut with a corrugated iron roof. Children went crazy for our empty water bottles as they can sell them on. Toby has bought an English to Swahili phrase book and keeps on trying it out on the locals. Yesterday he deliberately said I am a donkey. What he meant was I am a donkey as I'm cycling slowly, which is far from true as he's always finishing stages in the middle of the group. Not sure whether the children understood what he was saying but they gave him an odd look. Didn't stop Toby trying to talk to locals again today but still not with much success.
After lunch a mere 35km to go. Won't describe it for you but after 8 hours in the saddle yesterday and 6h 47mins today, not that we were counting, things are starting to hurt that really shouldn't be hurting. Marieke will know what I mean from the Microsoft Challenge when I say you start discussing things with your fellow cyclists you wouldn't normally!
First 20km of the afternoon were great. Completely offroad through one of the only pieces of indigenous rain forest left in east Africa. All the bouncing around was not what aching bodies needed but more than made up for by the incredible forest. Monkeys and hornbill birds and toucans everywhere.
Last 15km were where you discover your personal pain threshold, which for all three of us isn't that high. Terrible dirt road with holes and corrugation marks everywhere. It was the equivalent of being put in a hot and dusty washing machine on high spin cycle. We all made it in various states of disrepair. Now after a shower and a bit of a rest feels like another great challenge completed but not fun at the time. None of us may ever be the same again.
Tomorrow is the last cycling day. Seems a real shame. Not looking forward to getting back in the saddle but will be a great sense of achievement but also disappointment when we get to the finish at Lake Victoria. Tomorrow evening there is a big reception for us when we meet some more people from local schools who have received computers. Friday is an 8 hour drive back to Nairobi. Really does make you realise just how far you've cycled.
The group has been excellent and it's encouraging to see such nice people do work in IT and associated industries.
We're off to rest some aching limbs and will blog again tomorrow if Kenyan communications continues to hold up.
Robin, Dave and Toby.
I guess you have all discovered where your perineum (otherwise known as the biffin ridge according to Rogers Profanosaurus - a much better name)is by now. I guess you also know we have been sold again in your absence so its farewell VNU farewell 3i and hello Incisive.
From what I remember of Swahili you just stick an "i" on the end of the English word, and if that doesn't work you just try English. Keep it up!
John
Posted by: John Leonard | Thursday, 08 February 2007 at 12:47 PM