Chitimbu Beach to Mzuzu. 136kms. Pouring rain and mountains.

Photo of the day.  2 beautiful boys from Tanzania.

This police officer was so keen to shake my hand I had to take his photo.  Or more importantly, MINE

This is the hotel Josh and I stayed at in 2004 on our cycle journey through Africa.

Peter and myself checking out how far we have to travel.  Next stop lilongwe.

today was a 135km ride from the campsite to the town of mzuzu, in the highlands of Malawi.  We're making our way to the town of Lilongwe where we'll have a 2 day rest.  the ride today was nothing less than spectacular.  With a magnificent 10km climb at the beginning of the day, the scenery down into the lake below was absolutely amazing.  At the top of the climb it started to rain cats and dogs and both peter and I got drenched to the bone.  We continued on with a nice tailwind to the lunch break at 70km.  After a nice lunch it was back on the bike to cover the remaining 70kms of rolling hills surrounded by small villages and beautiful landscape.  We arrived in Mzuzu at 2pm today and of course we got drenched again.  After a nice warm shower it was time to leave the campsite and head down town to the internet cafe.  In this part of the world it's a real pain in the ass to find the internet, but today i'm lucky.  so it's a short update today because we want to go to the coffee shop, drink coffee and eat fatning cakes, because we can.  so goodbye for now, and will keep you informed by matt as the days progress.

Tanzania to Malawi. The circus keeps rolling along. The 6th country.

28^th March 2011. Mbeya Tanzania to Rice Field Camp Malawi. 128kms

Today is the day we leave Tanzania and head towards our 6^th Country, Malawi.  A great decision was made by the Director to have breakfast at 6.30am.  Now how good is that?  I won’t have to get out of bed until 6am for a long time.

The Rift Valley Hotel where Luke and I were staying was pretty good and I did get to watch some TV and catch up on the madness which is occurring around the world.  Not that I give a hoot about it.  I have enough to worry about each day with riding the bike and making sure I keep healthy.

So it was breakfast at 6.30am, and around 7.15am we were on our bikes heading along the mad highway to the turn off which read Malawi 103kms.  It was this particular road that Josh and I took some 7 years ago as we made our way from Mbeya to Lilongwe in southern Malawi.  I remembered the crazy road and the turn off because as it wasn’t long before the 10km climb commenced and last time Josh took off up the hill leaving me behind.  

This time the mountain was taken much differently, as Rodney Hilton Sanders says, ‘gentle pressure relentlessly applied’.  I’m sure he’s talking about cycling. So off Peter and I went up the mountain at a nice pace, checking out the stunning valley floor and the township of Mbeya disappearing in the distance.  The mountains that surround Mbeya are breathtaking and today they were more spectacular with pockets of mist covering the valley.  It did bring back some good memories.

We rode up and down the hills all morning till we reached the lunch stop at 68km.  I was surprised we have covered the distance in such a short time.  The mountains still had a million banana trees covering them , together with corn and the occasional pineapple tree.  We were riding along a ridge all morning and we could see the stunning mountains on either side with the ladies sprinkled over the fields looking after the tea plantations that were now part of the landscape.

After lunch it was a short ride to the town of Tukuyu.  We went up one of the side streets to check out some of the shops and in particular the Landmark Hotel where we stayed last time.  It still looks the same although it’s now complete.  The streets haven’t changed at all but there appears to be another million kids calling out for money every step of the way.  We’ll have to get use the kids again because they will be out in force when they find out the circus is coming their way.

So after Tukuyu it was time to roar down the mountain ridge and head towards the Malawi border at the 110km mark for the day.  As soon as we turned up we were harassed by about 20 money exchanges wanting your Tanzanian shillings or offering to exchange US for the Malawi Kwacha.   The police turn a blind eye to this matter and I don’t care either as long as I get a good rate.

Once through the border it was onto the camp which was situated on an old rice field.  The countryside was still amazing and it’s so nice to be back to the place I love so much last time. 

With the children on both sides of the roads calling out to us for the 15km journey to camp it quickly hit home what we are going to cop over the next 10 days of riding through Malawi.

When we rode into camp it was just like Ethiopia with a hundred kids surrounding the campsite. Tonight we have 3 guards surrounding the camp making sure the kids don’t enter and knock off any gear.  Rodney and I went for an hour walk up the road and met a couple of locals and even got to nurse another baby.

So it’s my first day back in Malawi since 2004 and now I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep as I’m pretty tired from all the riding since leaving Arusha.  Tomorrow breakfast is at 5.30am because of the change of hours from Tanzania.  Shit that’s going to kill me.

29^th March 2011.  Rice Field BushCamp to Chitimbu Camp. 125kms.

Today the day we get to travel through the area we travelled some 7 years ago.  Firstly the storm that hit the camp last night was up there with the best.  The heavens opened up and belted the camp all night.  Because we had a change in time zones, our breakfast was set for 5.30am.  This means we have idiots who get out of bed at 4am and make so much noise it wakes everyone else up in the camp.  It’s actually a total lack of respect for others.  It should never take 1 & ½ hours to get ready for breakfast.

So I decided to get out of bed around 5am and was packed up and ready to eat at 5.30am.  The rain had stopped at 5am so that was a real bonus not pack up my drenched tent in pouring down rain.  We hit the road at 6.20am and immediately set upon by about 2 million litres of rain drops.  It was bucketing down on the group and making cycling a pain in the ass.  When you sit so close to the guy and front they shoot heaps of water directly into your face.  

The first stop of the day was the 30km mark at the town of Karonga.  We stopped at the People’s choice supermarket to stock up on food for our rest day and then took a journey back in time past the Malawi Prison and down to the lake to check out the Club Marina Guesthouse where I last stayed.  The only thing that has changed is that they’ve added a water treatment plant directly in front of the lodge destroying their view of the lake.

I went to the bank to get some cash and also the phone company to try and get a Malawi sim card.  I think it’s the best way to go when travelling in Africa by buying the local sim card. 

The next section was 40kms to lunch.  We first stopped at Ngara Resort and took a trip down the dirt path to see if this place had changed. A couple of the straw huts had been replaced by cement buildings but the restaurant and bar was exactly the same as how Josh and I left it in 2004.  I did find out that Richard the owner was no longer a member of the Malawian Government and was doing some work in Botswana.

After a nice cold coke at Ngara Resort it was another 5kms to lunch.  I was pretty tired today and although the pace was crazy for the first 70kms I was really looking forward to making it to the chitimbu campsite and enjoy the rest day tomorrow.

On our ride after lunch we stopped at a local house to see how the Kasavo plant was made into a food product.  Like usual there was the drunk in the village and some really nice ladies giving us a demonstration from pulling the plant out of the ground to soaking the Kasavo, grinding the plant and drying it out.  They use the Kasavo as a filler with their food.  We had a small piece and was absolutely tasteless.

The final 30kms to the finish was pretty hard into the headwind and over a couple of rolling hills, surrounded by villages and their rice fields.  We arrived at camp at 2pm and was so glad to finish the 2 days of cycling. 

The rest of the day and tomorrow will be sitting down at the beach doing nothing other than reading and recharging my batteries.  At least we have a spectacular view to relax with. I was told the internet access at the campsite is as useless as men’s tits again. We hit the road to Mzuzu after the rest day.  The first part of the day will be a 10km climb up into the highlands of northern Malawi.  Bring on the hills.

8 days on the road to Mbeya Western Tanzania. Mud, sand, rocks, rain, we had it all.

 If you ever wanted to know what's it's like to ride 8 days, 900kms and not have shower, well I hope you like my story of the last 8 days.

19^th March 2011. Arusha to Magugu Bush Camp. 145kms.

After enjoying some time off the bike it was time to commence the next leg of the journey south to Cape Town.  A lot of the cyclists had come back from their safaris last night with some amazing stories of seeing so many creatures.  Lions, elephants, giraffes, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater had it all.  Now it was time to do some serious cyclng.

The started off well except it was all uphill to the 75km lunch stop.  The scenery was again spectacular with fields that spread out for miles, with beautiful green fields, full of corn and maize.  The children were out in force calling out to us, and they are so friendly. 

This part of the journey takes the cyclists to a totally different part of Africa.  We are going off road for 700kms after today.  After lunch we rolled on with a nice tailwind passing a couple of villages and stopping for the occasional drink.  At the last stop of the day, one of the guys allowed one of the locals to ride his bike.  This guy was amazed when he got off the bike, the only thing was he didn’t know how to apply the brakes.  The rest of the trip was on nice smooth pavement all the way to the 145km finish line.  You always know when you’ve reached the finish, one, the finish flag, and two, the amount of locals standing around outside the rope surrounding the trucks.

I put up Tent Hilton again and cleaned myself down.  I went over to the shops across the road and had a nice drink with Andrea and Rodney.  Later on we went for a walk of the markets and found a bike shop which had everything for the local rider but not for the quality of our bikes. 

The next shop we ventured into was a clothing shop which had some nice pieces of cloth.  After some intense bargaining I bought a double piece which can be cut down to make 2 tablecloths when I get home.  The lady started at 10,000 Tanzanian shillings but after some heated bargaining I got it down to 7000.  Bargain.

Back to the circus ground and changed the tires for the bad road which starts tomorrow.  We’ve told the road is all clay and if it rains it will be hell.  So I’ve put on my biggest tires and hopefully they give me good traction in the mud and rain.

An early night tonight because tomorrow could be really hard.

20^th March 2011. Magugu Bush Camp via Babati to Summit Hotel, Katesh.  95kms

The first part of the road was on pavement.  The dirt is to start at the 23km mark.  Sure as can be, we hit the dirt just as it started to rain, no pour down.  The road kept going up and up for the next 20kms.  We had to pick our line with great care, as the road was becoming muddy and we were sliding everywhere.  It was so difficult to ride in a straight line, up the hills.  People were falling off going up and going down the hills.   It was a hard push going up the 20km mountain and it took about 2 hours to climb.

By the time we reached the lunch truck the 2 large trucks were still behind us.  We sat around for ½ an hour eating chicken, lettuce, tomato sandwiches and trying to stay out of the rain.  The water was now streaming down the hills and the mud was everywhere.  I don’t think there was a part of my body that wasn’t covered in mud.

I rode with Peter Lamond again today and he was just as dirty as myself.  The scenery again was even more spectacular than yesterday.  The villages at the top of these mountains were so beautiful set against a backdrop of blue and grey clouds, green fields, and of course the rain pouring down.

For the next 3 hours we just went up and down hills in rain, mud and sludge. We did stop for the afternoon tea.  We stopped at this one place for milk tea and a donut.  It’s amazing how nice a little tea and donut can be when you’re drenched to the skin.  Like usual we had a heap of people around us, but none were offensive like some have been in the past.

Back on the bike in the pouring rain, picking our line, splashing mud everywhere until we reached the finish line and the sign, ‘Summit Hotel’.  We rode up this hill and found the hotel and that no rooms were available.

I just put up my tent, had a nice shower and kept warm.  There were still a heap of cyclists out on the road yet to come in.  At around 5pm the rest of cyclists came in, all drenched and dirty, some came in on the truck to finish their day.

I think dinner will be late due to the time everyone arrived in camp.  To finish the day I should highlight that we are travelling through a new section for tour d Afrique, over the mountains from Arusha to Mbeya.  This is real Africa at its best.  Small villages, beautiful people, and plenty of green fields to follow us on our way.

Tomorrow is a 125km day of the same stuff.

21^st March 2011. 125kms. Summit Hotel, Katesh, to Puma Camp via Singida.

The rain stopped at around 9pm last night but the noise continued on for much longer with the music from the hotel.  My cycle gear was saturated and there was little hope it would dry overnight.  I still hung the gear out just in case the sun decided to come out at around 2am and do a job on my gear.  NOT.

Sometimes you have to keep your mouth shut on this trip.  Example, when you hear some dickhead arguing at 4am, well that wakes me, and it really shows a lack of respect for those cyclists who want to sleep in to a more suitable hour.  On this point we have a cyclist who I don’t know at this stage who has his/her alarm go off at 4.30am.  Now that says a lot about an individual who needs 1&1/2 hours to get ready for a 6am breakfast. There’s also John the French guy who packs his tent at 5am.  I wonder whether they know or need assistance in the art of getting ready in 30minutes.  Perhaps I should volunteer my expertise in how easy it is to get dressed, pack your tent away and be ready at 6am for the breakfast call.

So I finally got on the bike at 6.50am with Peter again.  I really enjoy riding with Peter because we are of similar ability. Back to the mud roads which had slightly dried out overnight.  Still there was heaps of water and slush everywhere to try and get through.  Some of the puddles you could have drowned in.  The roads in some places were just a downright bog.  Our bikes were caked in mud on every piece of gear.  The bike was starting to miss gears, jumping from one gear to the other.  It was a real pain in the ass when trying to get traction in the mud and then the gear would slip.

We were joined by Luke later in the morning and I rode with him till the lunch break and Peter rode with Liam.  In some sections we would ride on the new smooth sandy road waiting to be tarred, to the side of the road which was slippery and wet.  It was just impossible to pick the best route to take.  We switched all morning until we came across some new tarred road. The trucks still had to use the side road as the new road was completed, but the cyclists could get away with it.

On our way to lunch we came across Kristian who was taking some photos of some Masai women.  I joined in and took some amazing photos.  Kristian gave one of them a choc bar, and she had no idea how to unwrap it or eat it.  We pushed onto lunch reaching the 72km mark at 11am.  It took us over 4hours to complete the 72km stretch.  I was hungry and hanging out for a heap of food.

Back on the bikes again after a 15min break and we were cruising along on the smooth road for the rest of the day.  We stopped and took some amazing photos of the valley below, of houses, of kids, and anything that caught our eye.

We rolled into the town of Singida and stopped for a nice milk coffee and a donut.  This is something I really enjoy each day, a chance to sit down and relax as the days riding was about 20kms from finishing.  No sooner had we devoured our food it was time to stop again to have our bikes washed to try and remove the 20kgs of mud caked on every component of my bike.  They did a great job and with a little bargaining, because in this part of the world you bargain for everything, and got myself and Luke’s bike washed for 3000 Tanzanian shillings.  Now that’s a bargain.

It was time to push onto camp as the clouds were now closing in and we were desperate to get to camp, put up our tents and try and dry out all our wet stuff from yesterday.  The rain decided to hold off and now I have dirty clothes to wear tomorrow, but at least there dry.

I forgot to mention that when I was changing gears today I hit a bump and my gear lever fell to pieces on the road.  I didn’t worry as I bought a new set with me.  So after a  built Tent Hilton again it was time to see the mechanic to put my new set of levers on the bike.  All done now and that should make me a lot faster.

Time for dinner have a read and fall asleep for a good night.  Not sure on how far tomorrow, and really it doesn’t matter because it has to be done.  Today I had a fantastic day of riding in an amazing part of Tanzania.

22^nd March 2011. Puma Camp to Game Post  no.1 Manyoni district. Tanzania. 107kms

Firstly before I get into the days riding perhaps I should describe the rain last night during dinner.  It pissed down as aussies say. From 6pm to 5.20am it poured down and you wouldn’t believe it, my tent was perfectly dry.  Some people got drenched.  Life sucks sometimes.

I packed up tent Hilton again and got ready for the day ahead.  The first 60kms was beautiful paved road, probably 6 months old.  I was going to start with Peter but somehow when he was checking in, he took off leaving me and Luke stranded.  We waited for about 10 minutes and worked out he must have left already thinking we were already up the road.  Luke and I took off and worked really hard to catch Peter and Hendry.  We actually got on our bikes at 7.10am.  We reached the lunch stop of 60kms at 9.10am.  Not bad on the silver bullet.

It was from the 60km mark to the 107km we had to ride on dirt, mud, sandy roads.  No more tar until we reach Mbeya some 485kms away.  Now this is going to be tough on the old legs.  After lunch I left Luke and decided to ride the rest of the day with Peter Lamond.  It was just magic the scenery, the greenery, the beautiful people every km of the way.  We stopped after lunch for the mandatory coke stop and had a super milk tea and some biscuits.  Like usual it doesn’t take long before another 15 cyclists have arrived and we’re now taking over the small grocery store, eating them out of house and home.

Time to get back on the bike and finish the day nice and early.  We pressed on at a good pace arriving in camp at 12.10pm.  We had completed 107kms for the day and felt pretty good. Still no sighting of animals at this stage.

The rest of the afternoon was just hanging around the campsite and chatting with the cyclists as they arrived in camp.  I went to tent Hilton to read the rest of my book called ‘disgrace’.  It’s written by a South African guy and it’s a fabulous book.  I should finish reading it by tonight. 

I might be struggling to finish the book as I fell asleep for the first time in the afternoon, I was so tired.  Something both Josh and I could do when we rode through Africa is smell the rain coming.  Seriously, you can smell it.

The rains were coming and by 3pm the heavens opened up and the rain was now belting down.  I headed for tent Hilton, picked up the book again and stayed dry.

Rider meeting was called around 5.50pm for the briefing on what was going to happen tomorrow.  The coke stops, the terrain, the possibility of animals on the way, when to turn and where camp will be at the end of the day.

Tonight for dinner we had a terrific meal of steak which tasted superb with vegies and desert because Bob Tindle was 66 yesterday.  As soon as dinner was over it was back to the book and finish it.  I finally read the last page at 8.30pm with my eyes hanging out of my head.

We have a longer day tomorrow so hopefully I get a good nights sleep. 

PS: the book was terrific.

23^rd March 2011. Game Post 1 to Game Post 2.  117kms The road to Mbeya.

Today is day 5 of the 8 day stretch and I’m not sure whether I’m getting more fatigued or just tired due to lack of sleep. I did get about 9 hours sleep, so I should feel better than I do.

So at 7am it was on the bike with Peter Lamond and hit the dirt road once again for another amazing journey through the dirt roads on our way to Mbeya.  Just to ride out in the wilderness is what this ride is all about.  We just keep turning those pedals along dirt, mud, sand, deep sand, deep mud and spectacular scenery to help us along the way.

For the first 30kms we just cruised along at a leisurely pace because it’s my goal and certainly Peter’s to get to Mbeya with riding each day and not getting on the truck.  We stopped at this lovely little shop which was a small room not big enough to put a bed in.  This lady was rolling chapattis and cooking them in front of us.  She had a huge line up of starving cyclists waiting to be served, Peter and I decided to eat one of the donut breads and a cup of milk tea/chai.  I’ve said it so many times in my life, but I do love sitting in small villages and just being watched by them and me watching and talking to the locals.  We have not had one bad incident with the locals since we left Arusha along the dirt road to Mbeya.  They are so friendly.

Each day as we cycle along the dirt road the children and parents are out on the sides of the roads welcoming us to their small village.  They never ask for anything in return. 

We continued onto lunch and arrived at the 60km mark at 10.10am. By 10.30am Peter and I were back on the road for the final 57kms.  The road in parts was so hard to ride through.  With really deep sand that threw your bike in all directions, to mud that sprayed everywhere on the bike an on myself, it was getting very tiring by the end of the day.

We stopped again in the afternoon to buy some water and some biscuits.  The stop happened to be about 3kms away from the end of the day Game Post No.2.  We just rolled down the hill into camp at 2pm.

We had a fantastic day and took plenty of stops and met heaps of the locals.  This is what cycling through Africa should be like, not racing through without taking a photo and hoping to relive the memory in 30 years time.

Again it’s put up that smelly tent, get some soup, wait for the heavens to open up, eat some dinner, get my clothes ready for tomorrow, listen to the rider briefing, go to bed, do some reading and go to sleep by 8pm. 

Now that’s living, NO, that’s what happens when you decide to ride a bicycle from Cairo to
Cape town.  3 more days to go before the rest day.  Can’t wait.

24^th March 2011. Game Post No.2 to bush camp. 128kms.

Today Luke is going to ride with me and Peter.  Like usual we’re usually the last to leave camp at 7am.  I set a rule with Peter, ‘I’m not leaving before 7’.  I can’t see the reason why I need to get to camp and wait around for 4 hours to have dinner. 

So off we go out of camp setting a good pace.  I felt pretty good today considering I didn’t have a great sleep last night.  Peter and I did some good work and Luke is just a powerhouse.  He rides with us when he feels like going slow for the day.

The road was hard gravel for the first 60km to lunch mixed with sandy spots that took you by surprise when you’re hurtling down the mountain to the valley below.  I’ve certainly got fasting following the wheel in front of me down the mountains.  You just to have faith in the guy in front of you and hope he doesn’t ride you into a ditch, because if he does, you’re in deep trouble.

The sides of the road were covered with trees on either side and it was real difficult to see any animals if there were any.  At one stage a huge baboon crossed in front of us, not a care in the world about the stupid cyclists that had invaded his land.

We dropped Peter about 5 kms out from lunch and just pushed it along to see how we were feeling.  I’m sure I’m getting stronger each day. We arrived at lunch at 9.30am.  Hung around eating our avocado and egg sandwiches and headed off to the next coke stop at 87kms.  We once again get stuck into it along the beautiful green tree lined gravel road.  The road was an orangey reddish colour and as you rounded each corner or crested a hill and looked down the road it was just fabulous each time to see a beautiful picture before us.

Luke left us after the coke stop because he wanted to get to camp and also was kind enough to keep us company for the first 87kms of the day.  Peter and I just rolled along until the sky’s decided to open up on us just at the most inappropriate time.  It was where the workers were patching the gravel road with sand and clay.  Well, riding at 3-4kph, through mud and soft sand, spinning wheels and sliding all over the road was just horrendous.  We busted our gut to keep the bike going forward and also trying to keep the bike upright. 

Just before the mud section about 3kms out from the coke stop we came across this huge tree that had just fallen onto the road.  The tree was about 1metre in diameter and there was no way the lunch truck was going to get to camp tonight unless it has a chain saw in it.

After the mud/sandy section the road wasn’t too bad for the rest of the day.  I arrived to camp on my own at 1.30pm.  It was a beautiful sunny ride today and one that will be remembered with the top 5 rides of the tour.

Once we got tent Hilton erected we went for a walk across the road to a couple of small shacks in the village where we’re staying.  Peter and I went and spoke with some of the local ladies and I got a chance to nurse the baby.  She is so beautiful.  I hope the photos do justice to the family.  We continued on our merry walk of the village and met up with some of the cyclists who found this young man who was cooking chips.  I ordered 2 plates and some coke and we sat down and had a nice afternoon snack before our 6pm dinner call.

It was just magic sitting down with these ladies and having a good laugh with them.  Of the 3 ladies. 1 had 7 children, that’s the one who owns the baby I was nursing, the other had 4, and the young one who was making the clothes, well she had 2.

It was time to go back to the tent and type out the day’s blog.  I felt good today and tomorrow is another long day.  Hopefully the roads tomorrow are as good as the ones today, minus the muddy/sandy section that cracked many people.

Well it good night from yet another bush camp about 230kms away from Mbeya, Tanzania.       

25^th March 2011. Bush Camp to school ground camp yard, Mangalosi. 125km

Today was supposed to be a nice leisurely ride because tomorrow is the hardest day of the 8 for this section.

So it was off again at 7am with Peter for a ride through the forests of western Tanzania, along beautiful dirt roads surrounded by trees as far as the eyes can see.  The roads changed in the morning to sand, mud, and nice compact gravel.  At times we could get some good speed and on others it was basically a crawl.

After the morning coffee stop which consisted of milk tea and chapattis, it was back on the bike for the remaining 20kms to the lunch break.  Although we weren’t travelling that fast my legs were getting tired after the long week we have just encountered.

Again it appeared that we were doing more climbing than going down.  Every time we went down a nice hill, we were met with another longer climb at the bottom.  By the time we arrived at the 62km lunch stop, we were both glad to sit down and have a rest.  I think I starting to sound like an old man at 50.

Well it was time to go again and head for the finish line at 125kms in this small town about 115kms away from Mbeya, the town of our next rest day.

For the next 60kms the roads didn’t change, with absolutely spectacular long dirt roads with trees giving us plenty of shade from the midday sun.  At times it was getting really hot.

I should mention that early on in the ride today we came across a bus that was bogged on the side of the road.  We took some photos of the cyclists making their way pass the bus in the mud slipping and sliding all the way.  One of the locals asked for money because we were taking photos, but Peter told them exactly what he thought about the whole idea.  Needless to say it costs nothing to take photos of our own cyclists.  We stayed on to see whether our trucks could pass the bus.  Yes, with expert driving we will have access to our tents and clothing tonight.

We arrived at camp at 2.30pm feeling rather tired.  Made a call to Graciella and Matt as they hadn’t heard from me in over 3 days because there’s no reception in this part of Africa.  I reassured everyone that I was still above ground and that we had 7 weeks left of riding before we reach Cape Town.

Peter and I got our tents up and went for a walk up to the centre of town.  I couldn’t help myself and purchased another nice piece of cloth and some water for tonight.  I have to get all my gear dried from yesterdays rain and also my clean gear for tomorrow.  When you read the term ‘Mando’, that means Mandatory day for the racers.  Well I’m going to get out nice and early tomorrow and go as hard as I can.  I’m not going to overdo it, but I want to get into town nice and early so I can make sure I get a room at the hotel with Luke.

Well its now 5.20pm in Tanzania and the kids are crowded around our campsite on their playground.  We have to pay close attention to all our gear, because if you give them a chance they will knock your gear off faster than you can imagine.

So until tomorrow evening, looking forward to finishing in the top ten tomorrow.

26^th March 2011. Mangalosi to Mbeya.  Over the 2961 metre Mbeya Range. 112kms, Mando Day. 

typing out the daily blog, in some remote village in Tanzania.

Viv and Peter Lamond of South Africa.  Two excellent riding companions.

These are the types of roads we've had to ride on for the past 900kms

Luke standing at the top of the mountain yesterday.  That has to be up there with the hardest climbs of my life

A bus bogged doesn't stop us in the mud.  We were covered in it by the end of the day.

I wonder if I'd be allowed to take this gorgeous baby home with me.

5^th Place.

Well what a day, woke up at 5.15am for the huge Mando Day which involved the massive climb of 2961 metre climb of the Mbeya Range.  I wanted to have a good ride today so I left at 6.40am with Peter Lamond. I’d told Peter during the week that I planned to give the day a real go.  I dropped Peter on the first hill out of town and kept going.

The road kept going up and up all day to the lunch stop at 56kms.  I was first to the lunch stop and was closely followed by Jorg and one of the Tanzanian mountain bike riders.  I quickly filled up my bottles and took some PVM health bars and some bananas and we were off up the highest trunk road in all of Tanzania.

I started the climb in 3^rd place and kept climbing this amazing mountain to the 97km mark.  To say I was smashed, shattered, stuffed, would be an understatement.  I kept my rhythm together for all of the climb.  As I climbed the mountain the view looking down into the valley and behind me checking out the country I had just climbed over was just breathtaking.  Who would ever thought I could ride 8 days, over 900kms and finish the section with a Mando Day, one of the hardest stages on tour and come 5^th.

I had a great day and was more than elated to ride into the hotel carpark in 5^th place.  The ride down the mountain into the township of Mbeya was just a nightmare.  The gravel, large rocks embedded into the road which could bump you off at any time and put you either in hospital or on a plane back home to Australia was pretty scary. I think I shook every bone in my body to the max down that mountain into town.  I’m quite amazed the bike has held up to the bashing I’ve given it these last 8 days.

Luke and I have taken up residence in the Rift Valley Hotel just down the road from where the cyclists are staying at the Mbeya Hotel.  We went up into town for some food, and I don’t really recognise much of the place from 7 years ago when Josh and stayed in the place.  I will check out the Mbeya Peak Hotel where we actually stayed when we did the trip in 2004. 

Tonight we’re going back into town to have some dinner and then back to the Mbeya Hotel  because there’s a function for the Egyptian guys that are leaving the tour and also Bastion’s partner will be heading back to Europe tomorrow morning.

My legs are stuffed and I’m exhausted.  I should sleep like a bear tonight and won’t have to put up with a smelly tent or zippers being opened and shut during the night because 1 or 80 cyclists need to go to the toilet.

Tomorrow it’s a rest day after 900kms of riding in sand, mud, rain, wind, gravel, deep sand & gravel, rocks, boulders, big boulders, ruts, corrugations, slipping and sliding all the way to our rest day, and without a shower.  Yep, that’s living. 

Update

19th March

145km today. The first 75km was up hill to the lunch stop.Poured down raining all morning.Unfortunately their was no animals to see today.Now Drying everything and hopefully there is no rain tomorrow. Legs are very tired.

20th March

95km in mud and it poured down again today.The villages that i am travelling through are just simply amazing with great views of this beautifull part of the country.Im soaked to the bone.Time for a hot shower and get some clean clothes on.Tent has stayed dry over the wet days.Feel great

21st March

125km, no rain today.Water on the roads and mud everywhere.My bike is a disgrace. Met some masai women and took some photo's.rode on mud,tar,gravel and sandy road today.My gear levers broke but i have spare. All good.

22nd March

108km today. 1st 60km to lunch nice roads.rode good time 2 lunch then dirt and mud for the rest of the day.I arrived camp at 12:15pm and it poured for the rest of the afternoon/night. Both the tent and i stayed dry. Feeling good.Going to have some soup now.

Dad will be posting a full update when he has access

Cheers
Matt

Special people.

Walking the ruins in Idfu with good friend Andrea.

My computer guru, Rambala@tamil tiger.

There's a prize if you can guess who owns this ass.

A picture paints a thousand words.,

Riding out of Gondar, Ethiopia.  Some of the kids came to say goodbye.

My 96yr old grandmother.  You've made the big time now Doris.

One of my proud sponsors.  Thank you Peter.

One special young lady from the school we helped with clothing and books

These special people are from eXsight Tandems.  This is what my journey is all about.

I thought I'd add some photos of special people. My rest days in Arusha are nearly over, and soon it will be time to hit the road again.  Unfortunately it's now raining and that's not good news considering the next 800km is on dirt roads.

this will not happen at home.

16th March 2011. Rest Day Arusha, Karama Lodge and Spa.

Where it all began on the 15th January.

The usual scene each afternoon after a long day in the saddle.  Tent Hilton.

Valley of the kings was amazing.

Riding the sandy Nubian Desert, Sudan

Some really nice kids in Egypt.

The lodge is so nice to relax in.  I had a nice breakfast at an hour that I can only describe as sensible, 8am.

It was so nice to sleep in, and not be woken by zippers of tents and people farting at 5 in the morning.  After breakfast I took a trip down into Arusha and had a look around.  I did remember some of the streets and certainly the clock tower in the centre of town sticks out.  

We found a nice coffee and cake shop and relaxed out of the way of the hordes of people wanting us to buy a trip to the crater or another African T-shirt to add to my other 352 shirts. 

We had a go on the net and spoke to Matt and Graciella back home, it appears the house is still standing and my dogs still alive. 

We got a lift back to the Masai camp where the other cyclists who decided not to stay in a hotel or go on a safari were staying.  It was like a morgue, nothing much happening at all.  I can tell you there’s no way I’m going to stay in my smelly tent for 3 days (the half way point of the tour) when I can sit around a pool and sleep in a monstrous bed.

Back up the hill to the lodge for an afternoon of hanging around the pool and reading my book called ‘Fatherland’.  It’s an amazing book you should read sometime. The meals at the lodge are fantastic and the service is great. I thought I would add some photos taken over the past 2 months that I thought would interest you.  I have another 2 rest days of sitting around recovering before the long push south.

I'm having coffee delivered to my shack tomorrow morning to have on the balcony.  Can't do that in Tent Hilton.

The road to Tanzania. Full update..

14^TH March 2011. 160kms. Nairobi to Tanzanian border. Namango

After having a fantastic pizza and then going over to the cafe for a huge cappuccino and a slab of black forest cake, it was time to go back to the camp and back my locker again.  I have so much shit that I haven’t used on this holiday, you’d think I’d know better after so much traveling in the past.  Obviously I haven’t learnt a thing.

It also poured down last night and the tent stood up to the storm. Because we had a long day on the bike, breakfast was served at 6am.  That meant I had to drag my ass out of the tent at 5.30am.  I know I said I’m getting use to 5.45am, but 5.30am, that’s stupid for a old man from the land down under.

Peter Lamond and I headed out at 7am for the 20km ride from the campsite in Karen to the outskirts of Nairobi.  Basically the traffic was mad and on many occasions we had to get off the road in fear of being run over by the many trucks and buses that were taking this route.  We rode through a couple of interesting towns which I really love doing, with all the donkey carts, kids going to school and calling out to us, not throwing rocks at us like the Ethiopian kids did on a daily basis, and turned off to hit the back roads for the nest 30kms to meet up with the main highway that leads to Namango the border crossing into Tanzania.

The back road was light on traffic and light on road repairs.  This was another one of those roads littered with potholes so big you could lose yourself in.  We pedalled along at a good pace through some beautiful countryside with some of the most green landscape and amazing Acacia trees all the way to the lunch stop at 72kms.

The lunch today was excellent, turkey meat, with cheese, tomato, bread slices, bananas and some power drinks.  After 2 huge sandwiches Peter, Rodney and myself were back on the bike for the final 80kms.  The road was really nice fast pavement all the way to the end of the day.  With rolling hills, Rodney eventfully fell off the pace and had to ride the final 30kms on his own.  It’s really difficult to ride the pace of some because when hills are involved, some people are not as fast as others, and you can’t wait when you have 160kms to do in the day.

We didn’t stop for any coke stops or coffee as we needed to get into camp, pitch the tent and dry out some of our stuff that happened to get wet from the downpour last night.  Today was a terrific day, and I’m looking forward to leaving Kenya and entering another country on this amazing journey through Africa.

To my family, 60 more cycling days to go before Cape Town.  To my sponsors;

SOTO GROUP.

RAMBOR

SPEARMANS CYCLES

COTTONWOOD LODGE

And all the people that have donated to eXsight Tandems and attended my fundraising night, I am eternally indebted to you for kind support.  

PS:  I think I’ll be going to see David of Spearman’s Cycles when I get back to get a new bike.

Please support the companies of the Illawarra that support this cause. 

Tanzania here I come.

15^th March 2011. Namango to Arusha Tanzania.  118kms.

The circus moves onto another country.  Number 5 is now upon us, Tanzania.  With the ungodly breakfast time of 6am I’m awake, packed up Tent Hilton and waiting to devour bread, honey and peanut butter, washed down with a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea.  I’m ready for a fantastic ride.

The border crossing is 3km away from camp so a lot of cyclists took off early to try and beat the rush of the other 80 cyclists and staff to follow.  I didn’t give a shit, I’d crossed this border with Josh in 2004 and I knew that it would be a wait.

The first part of the day was on gravel until the border.  Like usual there were money changes trying to give you the bargain of the century with the rate in one hand while they were ready to shaft you with the other.  I left it for the money exchange booth at the border.  I don’t know who’s the bigger thief the official or the unofficial exchanges. We waited a while for the passports to be handed back and then we were on our way.  By the time I’d changed my money and made a quick call to Matthew back home I was on my way and at the end of the peloton.  I was dead last leaving Kenya.  At least I knew no one was going to overtake me today.

So it was time to power on and catch up with some of my mates who were a long way ahead of me.  I caught up with Peter Lamond and his wife Viv (lovely lady) and rode with them for about ½ an hour.  I can tell you, Viv is one fast rider.  Very impressed, she can even kick Peter’s ass without a problem.

The landscape was so spectacular and I know I often say this even though I’ve seen it all before.  To ride with acacia trees, small villages, and beautiful young children waving with the most gorgeous smiles, green fields, men and women wearing their traditional Masai clothing, I was in heaven today.

I arrived at the 70km lunch stop at 10.30am, so that wasn’t too bad doing the 70kms in 2 & ½ hours on the steel monster.  Took some great photos of mountains with me in them of course at the lunch stop before heading off for the final push to Arusha.

The first part was uphill for 10kms then the rest was easy to the hustle & bustle of a city I know rather well.  As I was heading down one hill I did something really stupid, I drafted a small jeep to get some good speed.  As he moved over to the centre of the road, I thought he was moving for some rocks, so I immediately slowed as best as I could.  There can be nothing scarier than seeing a dead dog appear from out the middle of the back of the jeep as it goes over the dog.  I had very little time to miss the dog, so I had to jump the front wheel over the dog and the bag wheel just crashed into it.  I thought I was going down like a bag of shit.  I kept the bike up and ended up with a buckle in my new rear wheel.  The buckle isn’t that bad considering how fast I was travelling when I hit the dog.

So, did I learn a lesson, NO WAY, I need to know how to jump my bike and I’d have no problem.  

Reminder: Must see Luke Dale for handling skills when I get home.

Still roaring downhill I hit the gravel section for the final 10km s into town.  The traffic was again mad as hell and many times you just have to watch the cars in front rather than the ones coming from behind.  I rolled into camp after completing the 118kms at 1pm.  Had a quick shower and put up the tent for Peter and Viv, got my gear together and headed off to the Karama lodge and spa in Arusha.  Check it out on the net, lovely place to relax and do nothing other than recuperate after thrashing my body over 5,500kms in 2 months.  

I didn't get a chance last week to post.  First stood under this sign in 1994.

getting ready to leave Nairobi and head to the Tanzanian border, with a fantastic guy called Peter Lamond.

 

Ready to enter my 5th country and over 5500kms

Lunch stop amongst some spectacular scenery. Tanzania

My room at Karama lodge & Spa Arusha Tanzania.  Absolutely beautiful.

The lodge is fantastic and I’m staying here with some really nice people from the tour.  When we got to the lodge we immediately went to the restaurant and ate ourselves silly.  They must be amazed at the huge appetite us cyclists have.  I have a huge bed, balcony, no TV, just the perfect place to chill. 

It’s so nice to get to Arusha to have 3 days off the bike.  Many cyclists are going on camping tours to the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park for 2 and 3 days.  As I’ve done the tours before I didn’t want to do it again.  Tomorrow I’m going to go down town do some shopping, buy a sim card, maybe the net, and have coffee and cake.  So until tomorrow, I’m sleeping in, that means no Rodney waking me up at 5.20am, thank God.