Just a Bike Ride

Three long days have taken us from Malawi, 377km into the heart of Zambia. There hasn’t been much of note, and this may be a pretty boring entry. Essentially get up, have breakfast, bike ride, dinner, sleep in a tent, repeat. We have cycled over 170km each day, for the last two days, and 152km the border crossing day.

Monday - border crossing day

Hot cross buns for breakfast! Easter is approaching, I am going to miss out on Creme Eggs and Hot Cross Buns. I almost bought some at the supermarket in Liliongwe, but couldn't bring myself to buy 6. This was a nice surprise

There was a prevalence of poultry farms as we approached the border. We haven’t come across commercial, large scale, semi-westernised livestock farming through Africa yet. I think we passed 3 in 100km. I recognise the smell! Kids were on the way to school, we had left at about 6am, so we were passing smiling groups of children in their uniforms. The party bus has been more of a coach the last few days too, we have picked up Steph and Andy (Harriet’s partner, who is here until Victoria Falls). Both of them are very proficient riders, and fit. We pushed them hard, and they kept up. It’s a bit of a joke that they have been initiated into the Party Bus by cycling behind Alistair. Alistair has a pair of cycle shorts with a bare patch right where it shouldn’t be - when the sun shines from behind, the person behind him could see more than they should want to. He was sporting these shorts today. By the end of the day we had convinced him to retire them to the permanent bag.

David got another puncture just before the border. Another one. This is puncture number 4 or 5 for him. He is not a fan of any form of bike maintenance, in fact it has the propensity to put him in a very bad mood. He handled this one very well, they changed to tube and continued on.

Border crossing was smooth. We now cross the borders as individuals, rather than the whole group crossings we did into Sudan and Ethiopia. This makes the process alot more efficient. Check out of Malawi, check into Zambia. Entering Zambia, there was a woman sitting at a wooden desk, on the pavement, with an A4 exercise book which we had to fill in with the details of our Yellow Fever card. It is the first time we have had to show or give details of our Yellow Fever vaccination status.

AS soon as we crossed the border we hit tarmac as smooth as silk. We just floated over it. Alistair was in his element. Rolling hills, smooth tarmac, nice scenery. He led the way at over 30km/h for the last 22km. It felt it was made for cycling, and when we reached the town of Chipata it turned out it was! There was a cycle lane, and even a sign warning cars of Cyclists. The town we passed through had numerous supermarkets, including a Spar…and a Barclays bank. It was surreal.

Camp was 7km from the main road. By this point I was getting tired and grumpy. In typical TdA style, we were at the end of a dirt track. Camp is invariably at the end of a bad road, dirt road, or top of a hill. My grumpiness and anger was forgotten when we turned through the gate. It was a lovely camp. There was a covered bar with seats, a large picnic bench, seating area around a fire pit, no shortage of toilets and warm showers. We have been spoilt by nice campsites over the last week, and apparently the situation will continue as we move South. Although, having said that, we will be camping in a school playing field tomorrow - read as, no power, no sheltered seating, no showers, long drop toilet.

We pitched tents, had a stretch session and then got a lift into town for simcards. Data is available here throughout the country - unlike Tanzania, and Malawi. A simcard was 5 kawacha (50cents), and 5GB of data was 100 kawacha ($10 USD).

Highlights of the day; nice camp, no rain and a dry tent, Don have me a chocolate bar, and my bike was a pleasure to ride again (turns out Jordan didn’t do anything to fix it on the rest day, because there was no time…it was just my thorough cleaning that rectified the situation). David also said that my chain was so clean it was glinting in the sun.

Tuesday - marathon cycle day 1. 176km.

Slept with both doors of my fly open, no rain and no dampness to the groundsheet, and a good temperature. Just as we were about to leave, David noticed that his tyre was flat again. Ensure the anger. He told us to leave without him, Alistair and I didn’t think this was fair. The team rallied around. Alistair had the wheel and the tyre off, I had the pump, Jenna was looking for the hole in the tube in the water buckets, and Karen and Steph were checking the tyre. David was supervising. We didn’t find a hole in the tube, or anything in the tyre. It reminded me of the pit stop in Formula One on TV. I said this, and Andy reminded me that sometimes those cars pull out and the wheel falls off!

Back on the road, leaving camp last, with Allain. We trekked up the dirt road, turned left at the end (Allain turned right, determined to go the wrong way) and we were on our way. Jenna the powerhouse pulled us along, I think she had got a bit impatient waiting - her and Alistair usually have to wait for David and I - as she set out at a fair pace. We settled into a rhythm, pulling 5km at the front each. There was very little talking. We all had a job to do, and were focussed on that….cycle 176km. The silky smooth tarmac has carried us for the last two and a half days. It is the longest and best stretch of tarmac that all of us have ever ridden on….340km of Great East Road, Zambia. Road cyclist heaven. I had been dreading these days I am not suited to flat roads/small rolling hills, and long rides. Mentally I find them boring, and I struggle to power in the same way the boys and Jenna can. I have been very pleasantly surprised by the last two days. Day 1 went well. The 5km shifts, and the group as a whole, made the time fly by.

The Zambian youth are even more enthusiastic than those in Malawi. ‘How are you?’ is the chant of the country. Literally chant. Groups of over 10 kids chanting ‘how are you’ repetitively, regardless of whether you answer or not. I would actually prefer if they just said ‘Hello’, it would be less tiring. I ponder if they just learn how are you, or if they learn hello. Atleast they aren’t asking for money, or trying to pull us off the bikes.

Leaving last meant that the bus picked people up as we went along. We had Tom and Jacqui with us for a stint too. I feel there is less arable farming, compared to Malawi, however the people sitting around me at the moment have just informed me that if I looked up and around, rather than at the wheel in front I would have seen Maize plants, potato plants, sunflowers. I have certainly seen the roadside stalls selling fruit and veg. We have also seen wooden frame with feather dusters hanging - for sale, and another wooden frame with bananas. Goats frequent the road, making downhill a more risky exercise than it would otherwise be. The donkeys of the north have been replaced by cart pulling oxen. Just before lunch there was a football pitch proving grazing for a herd of oxen.

The afternoon was meant to be easier than the morning. More downhill. Misleading. There was a net downhill, but it was an undulating downhill. Alistair was in his element, he pulled us along and was in racing mode for at least 15km… that is until his bottles fell out when going over the speed bumps and we relegated him to the back, and slowed our pace. We picked up the new sectional rider, Jean, for a short period too. She did the whole tour in 2016, but was sick for a few days on this section, so has returned to complete it.

When we reached camp - this time at a hotel. Another nice camp. Bathroom, warm water, clean, dry, bar available, places where we can charge electrical items. When we arrived David asked what the highlight of my day was, it was still feeling strong by 170km. I didn’t struggle in the way I anticipated, and we were in by 1.30. That’s about 6.5hours riding time.

An early night, with no rain :)

Wednesday - hump day/marathon cycle day 2. 172km.1400m of climbing.

Jenna and Steph wanted to cycle by themselves and listen to music today. Andy was riding with Harriet. David was with Jenna for a bit. Alistair and I pushed on for the morning. It was really enjoyable. We were probably cycling at about 28-30km/h. We made it into lunch (80km) after 2,5hours of riding. The riding was similar to yesterday, undulating, but with a cross wind. We even caught the steam train, and the boys followed them into lunch. I dropped back from them for the last 10km and aerie a few minutes after. Egg salad for lunch (second breakfast, at 8.45am), and 1.4 of a jar of nutella. After lunch we followed the Mozambique border. The temperature was rising, it got to 39oC at one point. It was actually cooler to be cycling, as there was a breeze. The afternoon was a struggle, there was still a significant amount of uphill and I was getting fatigued. We stopped for a coke stop at 109km. It was a little shack, no power, but a cool box with some warm cokes. He also had three bottles of alcohol on display - cream liqueur, banana vodka, pineapple spirit. The last 20km was a drag. Alistair and David stuck with me, again. There have been quite a few afternoons like this on the tour, where they put up with my speed and negativity as I fatigue.

Finally we crossed the bridge of a Zambezi subsidiary, turned left and did the final 3km to camp. The camp is beside the river, and on the other side of the river is Mozambique. Pretty exciting to see it across the river.

The hot showers here are warmed by three wood fired heaters. Mum- they are what Noel would love to install in his abode.

Lasagne for dinner.

There was rainfall just after I had washed my clothes…which means I will probably be wearing wet clothes tomorrow!