Easter Day; 7000km milestone and just another century

A great day today. I was hoping for hot cross buns for breakfast, apparently we celebrated Easter a few days ago so there weren't any. I was satiated by my usual wheatabix and granola. I had a good night's sleep too; it didn't rain, and I very much enjoyed having my own space and being back in my tent again. :). Despite the lack of rain, a heavy dew meant the tent was wet nonetheless. This is no longer an issue, just pack the wet tent in a dry bag and deal with it in a few hours...and 170km down the road. There was no formal arrangement with regards to The Party Bus. Jenna left herself. I mentioned to Steph that I could do with a day cycling solo, just a bit of mental space after an intense day of being dependent on people. I was undecided though, and ended up leaving at the same time as Alistair. The majority of the staff were also riding today, which was cool. I entertained the idea of riding sweep, with Jordan, and mentioned this to Alistair, but didn't pursue it, and rolled out with him. Aedo and Ryan overtook us a few hundred meters onto the dirt road. Alistair disappeared off after them, I assumed he was in chase. Looked like I was riding solo, happy with that, a decision made for me. The dirt had dried out after the heavy rain of the other day, and made for a good start to the ride. after 5km of dirt we turned left and cruised along the busy road into Lusaka. It was quieter than when we had entered, presumably because it was 6am on Easter Sunday. I passed Jean and Frank. It was nice not to be in a train, and to be able to hold up and talk to people. Cycling in a group is good fun, and makes the time pass quickly, it also has benefits in terms of energy efficiency. I am sure I wouldn't have got so far if I hadn't had a group to cycle with. It is nice to enjoy the freedom of cycling alone sometimes too. At about 20km I caught up with Jenna and we ended up cycling together to lunch. It was a nice relaxed downhill ride. We stopped at a fuel station for a bathroom break. Overtook a few people. Got overtaken again. There was a swirling wind; from behind at times, but at others hindering progress and cutting across or from the front. Most people seemed to be taking it easy today. That is apart from Aedo, Ryan and Alistair. The road surface had deteriorated. Blessed with silky smooth roads when we initially arrived in Zambia, the tar was beginning to crumble, pothole, and was generally uneven. Here was little of interest on the road. We passed through a few small towns. The beginning of the towns are marked by speed bumps. Once again a series of narrow ridges which vibrate all the way through you and the bike, and are then repeated 10m down the road. The towns consist of a main street with many small corner shops (although not on corners), the ones today were all painted in colours and with slogans for a yogurt drink. The towns don't extend that far back from the roads. There are usually quite a few people milling around, and minibuses touting religious phrases on their rear windscreen/bumper pulling in and out. In the more rural areas we passed large bowls of fresh fruit and veg for sale. Tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, apples...these also feature at truck stops and big junctions. Often at the truck stops and junctions the woman with the food buckets will approach the buses and vehicles and sell at vehicle windows. It is amusing to watch them run to approaching minibuses, competeing with each other for business. This is nothing new I. Africa, we saw it in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Lunch was at 90km, at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill I stopped to watch a chameleon crossing the road! It was bright green, with a stilted gait. They walk almost robotically in that their movements are jerky. 

Their toes turnout, for grabbing branches. They have two or three on each foot pointing medially, and two or three laterally. T looked like it was difficult to balance. I was quite concerned when a lorry came, but the chameleon was lucky and was in the middle rather than under a wheel path. It did get buffeted around and roll along a bit with the air displacement by the truck. Chameleons change colour for camoflauge but actually more as a means of communication and thermoregulation. They have a lattice of guanine nano crystals under the pigmented layer of their skin. This layer reflects and refracts light, the space between the crystals dictating what wavelength of light is reflected, and therefore what colour the chameleon appears. They can change the spacing between the crystals by exciting them- this increases the distance and increases the wavelength of light reflected. So clever. Lunch was pretty busy. Alistair and Aedo were just leaving. Little was exchanged conversationally. David, Steph, Jenna and I set off together from lunch. It felt like 'the kids' were off for a bike ride, and reminded me of going out on my bike after school! The road deteriorated even more, and there was an intensity of heavy trucks kicking up dirt. The profile suggested serious climbing to camp, but this never materialised. We climbed up through open farmland and then along a ridge. David and I ended up cycling in tandem, and Jenna and Steph a little behind us. It was an enjoyable afternoon- relaxed, a good pace, blue sky and sun but not too hot. About 20km from camp we hit a small town, with a Shoprite. Surprisingly the supermarket was open at 1pm on Easter Sunday. The boys were in search of ice cream, but to no avail! I bought some mini chocolate eggs to share for Easter. A short push to camp and we were in by 2pm. 172km closer to Livingstone. We also went over the 7000km milestone today too! I was oddly looking forward to camp. Just on a Soccer field. I couldn't work out why, but I think t was simply because I felt so trapped at the Pioneer camp, that I was excited not to feel that way. Sun out and warm, everything laid out to dry. 

Bucket showers available, but no privacy! I washed in my 15kawacha bucket of murky water, with my trusty sponge, just behind a brick building which backed on to a corn field and had a main road 200m away. It was more refreshing that baby wipes, but not necessarily cleaner! The water salesman obviously decided I had had my turn because just as I was in a state of redress (luckily with towel around my waist) he appeared around the corner with a second bucket of water and Steph in tow! I pitched Catherine's tent for her so that it would dry before she came I . She often arrives at 4.30 or so on the longer days, which doesn't give much time to sort everything before it gets dark. Fajitas for tea and some interesting conversation about walnut and hazelnut growing which I didn't know much about! In fact, I didn't know anything about. Longest day of the tour so far tomorrow. Hopefully it is as relaxed and easy as today!