28th February 2011. 106kms Arba Minch to Dry Lake Campsite via Konso, Ethiopia.
Today was going to be paved roads and the start of gravel again. I had enough of the gravel in Sudan, but this is Africa so I need to just get on with the show.
Up nice and early and hit the road at 7am.The kids were now becoming a real menace, yelling and screaming in this homicidal tone was enough to crack anyone.I rode on with rolling hills to accompany me the majority of the way until we reached the lunch time stop at 60kms.An excellent meal and now the gravel was to commence.Fortunately the gravel lasted for 35kms then we had to climb the 8km up to the town of Konso, Ethiopia.The road was quite good and once again the scenery was spectacular and the top of the mountains down into the valleys is something I wish everyone could see in their lives.
We stopped in the town of Konso for a drink and then hit the gravel for the final 15kms into the dry lake bed campsite, It was so hot when we got into camp it was killing me when I had to change my clothes in the tent. It must have been over 50 degrees in that sweat box.We had nothing to do for the rest of the day other than to contemplate the mando day tomorrow.Tomorrow is going to be a real cracker of a day and it’s not going to be easy at all.We just sat in whatever shade we could find and waited till 6pm for dinner to be ready.As soon as dinner was ready I headed for the tent and crawled inside.Shit I was boiling in that thing.I had to do the naked thing again because I was sweating like a pig.I lay on my towel on the mattress and was in a lather of sweat for 1 hour.Eventually I fell to sleep and woke around 4.50am for what should be an exciting day.
On the issue of kids, one of the cyclists had a collision with a pedestrian and suffered damaged ribs, helmet, and bark off.Will be in the home of the OROMO people tomorrow and the following days as we make our way to the Kenyan border in 2 days time.
1st March 2011. 98km of gravel hell from Dry Lake Bed to the Town of Yabello Ethiopia. Mando
Today I was ready to hit the gravel for the Mando Day to the town of Yabello.The climbing is 1450 metres and this is on gravel road. The first part of the day I was not going to stop until I reached the lunch at 50kms. With plenty of water and food onboard I was off at 6.50am.This would never happen at home My mates are all too lazy to riding at that time of the day.That includes Josh and Ashley.
Up the first rise and I’m on my way.On gravel roads it’s really hard to ride with another cyclist so I just plodded along at my own pace.The road was so bad it was hurting my ass with all the bumping.The road was rutted, gravel, deep gravel, rocks, boulders, camels, baboons, dogs, goats, cows and throw in a couple of stick wielding teenage vigilantes and I was having a ball.Not to forget a full on headwind to contend with and I was getting extremely tired.I did see some incredible scenery right out of a national geographic documentary.
The villages out in this sparse land really goes to the heart of poverty.I did see some women picking up the seeds from a truck that had spilt small portions of its load over a long distance.As we climbed each enormous mountain we would fly down the other side through the corrugations, being bounced around from one side of the road to the other, hanging on for our life.It was pretty crazy how fast I flew down some of the mountains but to slow with the brakes was just a dangerous, I just let the old silver dart do its job and ride it out.
After lunch I stopped in this small village and took my eyes off the bike for a split second.This little thieving Ethiopian stole my bike computer.It’s no good to him without a bike.I offered 50Birr to get the thing back, but after ½ an hour I left in further disgust with the youth of Ethiopia.
I rode onto the refresh stop at 70ks and filled up the bottles took some food and off I went again.The story of the days goes to RAMBALA the Tamil tiger. Ram changed the tube yesterday because it had a slow leak. He couldn’t find the tire leaver so he thought he just lost it.Today after 75km,Rambala found his tire leaver. This was after his tyre went bang.As he took the tyre from the rim he realised he had left his tyre leaver inside the tyre the previous day.Now that’s hard to top, good on ya, Rambala.
The next part of the ride was more brutal corrugation and all uphill in some pretty intense heat. We kept climbing and climbing all afternoon.Because it was so hot and I was sweating so much my ass was so sore. I needed to spend a bit more time standing off the seat to relieve the pain.On some of the hills people had to walk that were so steep, I was too stubborn to walk and rode every hills even if it was a slow as a poke.
I rolled into the town of Yabello around 1.30pm pretty satisfied with my effort on the gravel roads of southern Ethiopia. I met up with a couple of cyclists and enjoyed a nice coke before heading down the road to finish the ride at the Yabello Hotel.Luke had arrived before me and got a magic room which had 2 double beds, toilet and shower, and a flat screen television.
I went and had a nice burger and chips and another coke around 3pm because I was still hungry from burning all that energy today.We just hung around the hotel drinking and eating and waiting for our free dinner to be dished out.
Tonight is real good, we can go to the room to relax and not in my stinking smelly hot tent.Tomorrow is an easy 128kms with a 8km climb.Nearly in Kenya.Good night from Yabello, Ethiopia.
2nd March 2011. 128ks. Yabello Hotel to Bush camp outside of Mega Town.
After yesterdays hard day, and a great night in the Yabello Hotel, Yabello I was ready for a recovering ride of 128kms. I left for the ride with Peter Lamond, an Australian now living in South Africa.Peter’s very strong on the flats, but I can get him on the climbs.
The road was nice and basically downhill for the first 40kms, with the occasional rolling hill to spruce things up.The roadside was littered with those thorn trees and hundreds of Acacia trees in the distance.I know my mum and dad are keen on the birds and Peter is a wealth of information on describing the birds in this part of the world.So after receiving a good lesson on birds, I can tell you I saw blue ones, black ones, big ones and small ones.
We didn’t stop for a morning coffee as the town was just lucky enough to have humans in it, let alone a coffee machine. We did stop further down the road and got a cool photo standing in front of an old km sign which was on the old road of course and no longer used, as we now have a new road with new signs.
We continued on to lunch with a nice light tailwind and soon we were sitting down eating banana rolls, rolls with eggs, peanut butter, jam and mayonnaise.That’s a healthy lunch in my eyes.We had reached the lunch stop of 70kms at 10am.Back on the bike at 10.30, Peter would have gone earlier if I was prepared to move off my chair, NOT.
We continued on for 18kms and hit the 8km ascent which would take us to the highest point of the day.The climb wasn’t steep compared to yesterday but still was hard as my legs felt heavy from the beating I gave them yesterday on the corrugations.
I cruised along on top of the mountain and rolled down into a little town for a nice coke stop.Within 5 minutes other cyclists had joined us and the place was full to the brim.I think these shop owners must think its Christmas when the lycra clad cyclists come to town.
The last 25kms into camp was pretty hard. We rode into a strong headwind on really bumpy road and that’s not good for an ass (that’s not me) that’s already sore I just soldered on into the headwind with Peter pushing the pace like usual.I was glad to see the finish line and the trucks and tents in the distance. It’s back to Tent Hilton again, but I don’t mind as my little smelly home is not that bad after all.I have changed a little since I started this trip.You all know I hate getting out of bed early, so now I decided to joined those who get out of bed at 5.45am and get ready for the day.I don’t think I’ll ever get use to it, but I have to on this holiday.
Camping is in a nice area, not many kids surrounding us.Now it’s time for the rider meeting where we’ll be told of the issues that we may face as we leave Ethiopia and cross into Kenya tomorrow. Good night from about 85kms away from the Kenyan/Ethiopian border.
3rd March 2011, singing well camp to Moyale on the Ethiopian/Kenyan border. 85kms.
Today is the day we leave Ethiopia and enter Kenya.It’s been some 7 years since I’ve been to Kenya and that was with Josh when we did our amazing trip through Africa.The day was set down for 85kms of rolling hills in pleasant weather.The roads were pretty good all the way and traffic had almost gone compared to other towns in Ethiopia.
We only had to climb 850metres day and descend about 1200metres.The town of Moyale is a typical dusty town with plenty of little wooden shacks selling the same stuff. From biscuits, lollies, drinks, water, toilet paper, washing powder, you need it, they’ve got it, and so has the next shop and the next shop and the one after that.
I stopped with Rodney for a nice coffee and spend the rest of my Birr, as I would get nothing for it if I transfer it to Kenyan shilling.By the time we had spend all my money on a pair of Ethiopian socks, 2 new pieces of cloth which will be good for a tablecloth, we were on our way down to the Ethiopian immigration to try and get a stamp and head down the hill to the other side.
We arrived at 12.10pm and quickly got in line, we had 3 people in front of us. The guy sitting at the desk stood up and said he was going for lunch about 50minutes early than usual.So this Africa.We had to wait another 2 hours before this lazy bureaucracy driven Moran came back from his lunch.We all laid outside on the tile steps and fell to sleep. Eventually we had our exit stamp and rolled down the hill to the Kenyan side of the border line.
This was much easier, a simple 2 forms, $25US and we were on our way up the hill to the Kenyan Wildlife Service Camping Ground. By the time we got there, there were already tents everywhere. I found a nice piece of turf, set up tent and I was ready for another night at Tent Hilton.
Lindsay and I went for a walk up the town and got our Kenyan Sim card for 100 Shillings and 250 Shillings credit. Like I’ve said in previous entries the Telstra system is a disgrace in Africa and I don’t recommend any Australia travelling to this part of the world to use their incompetent system.Back to the camp, for a nice dinner and get ready to hit the sack for tomorrow we hit the lava rock roads of northern Kenya.
4th March 2011. 80ks. Moyale to Sololo District Camp.
I got up at 5.30am to get ready for my long hard ride ahead in the lava rocks of northern Kenya.The morning was nice and cool but we all knew that the day would end up hot enough to cook an egg off your fat ass. I don’t have a fat ass.The first part was out of the madness of another village town and race down the dirt hill into the valley below.The hill went down for about 10kms of rough sandy gravel rock road.It was far too dangerous to take the hill full steam because of all the hidden obstacles to get over.
I rode with Rodney to the 40km lunch and took the rest of the afternoon on my own.The early part of the day was just rutted and corrugated all the way.The sandy edges of the roads and the trucks bearing down on us from behind made us fearful of being run over.It was the case of getting out of the way because they couldn’t give a shit if you didn’t get out of their way, they would just run you down.
At one stage we got to see a camel train about 1km long with a thousand camels, plenty of goats and plenty of children looking after the herds. It’s obvious these kids won’t be going to school any day soon.
As soon as I hit the road after lunch I was on a mission, I couldn’t believe how good I felt. Although the weather was hot and dry and the roads were appalling, I just seemed to fly over all the corrugations and caught so many people.I even caught up to Luke and Peter.We rode the rest of the morning together and got into camp at 11.15am.
We did the 40kms over the worst roads possible in 1hr 45mins.Went straight across the road and had a couple bottles of coke in the cool room of the hotel, otherwise described as a shack with the words hotel painted on the outside wall just for a joke.
Back to camp city and put my home together again. For the rest of the afternoon it will be just lying around, reading a book on the fatherland, and having some dinner.Tomrrow is a mando day which is supposed to be one of the toughest days on the tour.So it’s going to be a big dinner, an early night in the tent and do it all again. Good night from Sololo, Northern Kenya.
5th March 2011. 85kms of Hell, Mando Day, Sololo Camp to Lava Rock Camp.
Today was slightly different to the rest, today breakfast was served at 6am. That meant I had to get up at 5.20am, pull the tent down and be ready to eat at 6am.This is not healthy for me at all. So on the road at 6.30am for a nice ride over the lava rock road of northern Kenya.This is the main road between Moyale and Marsabit.
During the morning ride it was impossible to get any speed up at all. As soon as you got some speed you would hit brutal corrugations, and once you finished with the corrugations you then had to face some deep sand.This was not fun at all, and extremely tiring. People were crashing all the time on the uneven surface and this was giving the medics a huge headache to manage throughout the day.At some stages I seriously could have walked faster than ride the bike.The rocks are so small in places your wheel sinks and then the front wheel goes all over the place and down you go in a screaming heap.
My good mate Luke rode an exceptional race and won the day, with a powerful performance over some of the toughest roads in the world.I left Rodney early in the day and just rode by myself.Riding by me is not a problem because you can always see people ahead and it also gives you a chance to do some dreaming. It’s an amazing place this part of the world,with its lava rocks on both sides of the road heading into the abyss. You truly cannot see how far the rocks go in either direction.The villages were spreading out, but we when came across some small huts the children would always come out and say hello to us, and not throw stones.
So after lunch I just pushed on and reached camp at 1pm.I should say that the camp was in a lava rock area, so pitching my tent meant I had do some gardening first by removing all the rocks, levelling the ground and building my home. We were surrounded by cattle, donkeys and camels all night.On this road they have these large open trucks where the people sit in the back and also over the driver’s cabin.These trucks roar along the roads without any concern for the bad roads or for the people in the back. If one of these trucks went over there would be at least 50 people killed.And they dont stop for anything.
Once in camp and having built my new home, it was time for some soup, followed by a couple of cups of tea and just watch all the other cyclists drag their sorry asses into camp.Some of them looked shattered by the time they came in, but I’m sure they’ll manage to get the strength to do it all again tomorrow.
The wind picked up really strong later in the afternoon and saturated the whole tent with dust. Everything I now own is filthy with dust. I hope tonight I catch up with the sleep I lost last night due to the heat of the evening and sweating all night.
6th March 2011. 86kms another Mando Day. Hell in the lava fields.
To go straight into today could best be described as ‘turning up the volume’. A mando day is a day that the racers must race, short for mandatory. I hit the road with Luke at 6.30am just as the sun was starting to rise. Every sunrise is so spectacular in this part of Africa and once you’re on the bike there’s no turning back, it’s just magic.
This day is described as the hardest stage on tour.86kms of lava rock roads, dodging them, hitting them, riding over them, and if you really want to try and crack a cyclist throw in some sand, headwind, sloping tracks, hills and you should have the time of your life
.
There’s no other way to describe the day other than to say, it’s the hardest and most difficult off road riding I’ve ever done in my life. My hands were going numb at stages because of the intense grip on the handlebars making sure the wheel pointed the way I wanted it to go. It was so tough trying to avoid all the rocks, hour after hour.
In the morning the lunch truck found it so difficult to manage the road we overtook it. That means the truck was going slower than 10kph in this rough terrain. There was all the usual holes, wash out roads, ruts that would cause damage to the underneath of any vehicle if not taken slowly.
We stopped for some photos and a drink at the 38km mark for about minutes and then continued on to the 41km mark for lunch. It took about 3 & ½ hours to do the 40kms.We could see at lunch that many people were still a long way behind and would be struggling to make it to camp before the cut off time, that’s when the sun sets. All riders must be off the road once the sun sets for safety.
The road was starting to go up and up and the rocks were coming more difficult to navigate.Due to gravel and rocks, I fell twice and Luke fell twice also.Just a bit of bark off here and there, nothing major to worry about, after all we’re Australians and we’re built for this kind of punishment.
On to the refresh stop at the 67km to fill the bottles and the camel pack.I’m so happy I decided to bring a camel pack for the trip, you really do need one on days like this.Without water on these roads in this heat and headwind you would crack big time.
Luke left me at the refresh stop and rode on into Marsabit on his own. I was getting pretty tired after 7days of riding and I was not going to push myself over the edge this close to town.As soon as we left the refresh stop the road continued up this huge mountain which was full of rocks and sand, so picking your path was so important to keep up some speed and not to fall over again.
The view from the top looking down into the valley was amazing.To one side we had an old crater and on the other an extinct volcano. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I rolled into Marsabit at around 2.50pm and headed for the Diocese Mission of Marsabit where we are staying on our rest day.I was given a warm welcome by the cyclists who had already arrived at camp which is really nice after turning your body inside out to complete the day.
I have just ridden 7 days straight in some of the hardest terrain on earth and survived.I’m actually amazed how my body has withstood the punishment I’ve given it lately.The place we’re staying at is run by a group of nuns. Luke and I went down to town with one of them in the jeep to buy some food for tonight.The nuns are cooking tea for the cyclists. They even sell beer for the thirsty cyclists.Time to put the ipod on and get some sleep, I’m exhausted.
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