Beautifull Scenery

We arrived back at camp from hotel at 5am. I found my back tyre flat, i fixed it and i was back on road by 6:30am. Today we hit the dirty for 8 days - 115km of off road riding to Weissenfels, a small lodge in a beautiful country. The scenery once again was spectacular all day as it has been throughout this tour.From the top of each hill yo could see winding orange dirty roads as far as the eyes can see. Rolling landscape with cattle carms, incredible mountains and the best sunrise in the world lighting up the Namibian plains. We had a great ride today with a strong tailwind to help us. I took some cool photos of a green countryside on a magical day in nambibia.

5 days and 825kms later, Windhoek, Namibia.



207kms and still standing at the Namibian Border.



A dead Cobra found on the side of the road.

The mighty Rambor Cycling Team

Rambor riding the peleton on the roads of Namibia.

The long straight roads of Namibia, from the back of the bunch.

My sponsor of the final leg into Cape town, South Africa.

25^{th April 2011. 9th Country on tour. ANZAC DAY. Kwaha Lodge Botswana to Eastern Lodge 1km into Namibia. Longest day of tour.} 207kms.
 

Today is the longest day of tour so it was up nice and early after a good nights’ sleep and shovel in as much food as possible for the long day ahead.

We hit the road around 6.40am with the usual group which grew as the morning went on. The road was relatively flat with probably only one noticeable hill. Even a small hill got me breathing heavy. I was still feeling the effects of the past 2 days. Actually we dropped a few from our bunch at this stage.

Within 2 hours of the ride the bluey grey clouds started to roll in and it was much later that we were inundated with the most horrendous rain storm I had seen in years. From being a slight tailwind just minutes before, now we were being pounded by the rain that was coming head on. Our speed had dropped from around 35kph to about 20kph. The rain and continued like this for the next 50kms.
I never thought for one moment before I started this trip that I would gain enough fitness and endurance to be doing the kms we are currently doing and then back it up again the next day.

The rains stops about 10kms out from lunch which gave us a slight reprieve but didn’t help us warm up at all. For those who didn’t bring their rain jackets they were freezing. To think just over a week ago we were sweating in Victoria Falls to now being freezing cold. Thankfully yours truly had his rain jacket and was not cold at all.

So with a nice lunch under my belt it was time again to knock over more of the 135kms remaining for the day. At the 110km mark we stopped at the Petrol Station for a couple of drinks and have a short break. The break didn’t turn out the way it was suppose to. After about 10minutes of sitting around drinking our coke and eating chocolates the clouds started to come in once again. We took a look outside and then it poured down again. I reckon it was now worse than the first storm.
Whilst sitting out the storm other drenched cyclists pulled in to get some shelter from the rain. As soon as the rain stopped we got back on the bikes and continued on. We did have the Botswanan highway patrol behind us for a while. At one stage there were cattle all over the road, so the police pulled over and started to throw rocks at the cow so presumably we would have a safe road to ride on. The officer struck one cow and you should have seen it move. That will teach it, walking on our roads.

The majority of the road since we left Kasane has been dead flat with trees either side of the road. No villages to be seen which is totally different to every other part of Africa we have travelled through. There’s no kids’ yelling out to us for money, only the odd person standing on the side of the road waving us along. The roads are in good condition and the traffic give us cyclists a lot of respect, which at times has not been the case.

I was getting tired once we hit the 180km mark but I knew I had to do my share of the work at the front of the bunch. I managed to do the turns but was very very tired. We rolled into the Botswanan/Nambian border crossing at 3pm. This was a easy process on both sides and soon we were entering our 9th country of the tour. Now how cool is that?
Our rest spot for the night is the Eastern Lodge about 1km from the border crossing. Luke and I once again took a small room because of the campsite was covered in mud, and as I type this story sitting in my little shoe box, it’s now raining. So for the investment of $18 AUS, that’s money well spent.

One of the riders was not allowed into the country because he didn’t have a visa. He’s currently camping on the Botswanan side and will speak to the manager tomorrow with the hope of getting into Namibia.
So day 3 of 5 is now completed. Tomorrow is 162kms, hopefully no rain.

Eastern Lodge Namibia to Rest stop. On the road to Windhoek. 162kms.
I had a good nights’ sleep thanks to sleeping in our little cubicle last night. Breakfast is now 5.15am because of the change in time zones. That means no matter how you look at it, I have to get my sorry ass out of bed by 4.30am, that’s madness.
So I woke up at 4.45am and was ready for breakfast when the cook called, ‘Breakfast ready’. I had the usual of porridge, sandwich and a cup of tea. I took 2 bananas to eat on the road. Luke was going for the win today, but with the horrendous head wind for the 70kms I did really well to stay within the bunch considering the work he did yesterday over the 207km ride. He actually congratulated me for doing turn for turn over the distance. We averaged 34.5kph for 207kms. Now who’s getting fit on the bike?

I headed with young Andrea and Patrick as I my legs were just too sore from the all the kms this section. Within 30mins we had a group of 10 riders and we were all pulling a 2km turn each at the front of the bunch. We couldn’t go much over 25kph because of the headwind.

We rolled into lunch at the 70km mark for a nice 30minute rest. I could see on the faces of all the riders that they were really tired today and not keen on busting their guts into the headwind. It was the first time that cyclists were not rushing to get back on their bikes after sitting down for 5 minutes.

After lunch it was a push to the town of Gobabis some 40kms away. We were told last night that at this town we would have access to ATMs and some great pastry shops. Well we weren’t disappointed. We rolled into town in a huge bunch and came across the bakehouse which already had about 20 riders inside. I went inside and ate 3 pastries and down 2 cans of coke. Now I know I shouldn’t be drinking so much rubbish but when you’re so tired you need the sugar to help you make it the final 50kms to camp.

I rode with Luke, Scott, Paul, and was shortly joined with Steven for the ride to the town of Witvlei. A very small town that doesn’t need any investigation. About 20kms outside of Gobabis the heavens opened up again. This time we were hit by a huge thunderstorm and fierce winds hitting up directly in the face. It was painful on the arms and especially on the lips. Once again this was so hard to ride through and I was amazed no one in the group requested to take a break and try and get out of the rain until it passed. No, these guys are pretty hard and I’m now a part of them.

We arrived in the rest camp around 2pm, set up Tent Hilton and did the usual stuff for the rest of the day. Soup, wash, dinner, update blog, send sms home to Graciella and Matt, and then go to bed aty 7am and ride another 160kms to Windhoek tomorrow.

I’ve ridden 4 long days which have been really hard at times, but tomorrow’s ride will give us 825kms of riding in 5 days. Now that’s one hell of week of work. So until tomorrow, I’ll see you all in Windhoek the capital of Namibia.

27th April 2011. Witvlei Windhoek the capital of Namibia. 160kms. The end of the Elephant Highway Section.



After going out for a pee at 3am, you wouldn’t believe it, I was awake for the rest of the morning. So I jump lay in Tent Hilton nice and warm on what was a very cold morning. I got on the bike at 6am with Luke and a couple of other guys and headed off into the wide blue yonder. Thank God the sky’s was beautiful and blue this morning and very little signs of thunderous storms.

Once again I was really tired but pushed on to do my turns all the way to the lunch stop at 80kms. We had a time of just over 3 hours for the morning but this was considering a slight headwind all morning and a constant rise in elevation.
With a nice lunch we were back on the bike with some of the racers, who had decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. We just rolled along up and down small rises enjoying an incredibly beautiful day. We did see some crazy baboons sitting on the fence about 20 metres away checking us out. They are one dangerous and ugly beast in this part of the world
When we reached the turn off to the Windhoek international airport a couple of cyclists pulled of to enjoy some nice coffee and cake in the restaurant, Luke, Jorge, Henry and myself decided to continue on for the final 50kms to complete the day.

From the turn off to the airport the rolling hills increased with intensity. I was seriously struggling on many of the climbs because of the pressure being applied at the front of the group by Jorge and Henry. I was dropped about 20kms from town, absolutely exhausted. This was the first time in many weeks where I had been dropped.

As I pushed on the boys had stopped at a coke stop about 5kms from where I had been dropped. I called in for a cold drink and a much needed rest. The countryside around the coke stop was scattered trees and a couple of nice homes.
We got back on the road and headed into town with more hills to climb. We stopped at the bike shop and checked out all the goodies. Just a pair of gloves cost $40 US and a pair of leg warmers cost $18 US.

We still had 10kms to go to end the day and also complete 825kms in 5days. The rest of the ride was more hills. It was on the last climb that I got dropped again. I probably could have buried myself to stay with Luke and Jorge but I have to remember my age and fatigue that I was suffering.

The rest stop is quite a flash establishment but about 5kms outside of the main city. Many of the cyclists are scattered around hotels in the city, some are staying in tents at the campsite of the rest stop, and others are in the chalets on the grounds. Luke, Rodney, Dr Gary, Andrea, Sam and myself are staying at the Proteas Hotel down town. The room is terrific and we just devoured a hamburger and chips thanks kindly to room service. When you do the work we have done this week I’m entitled to splash out and have a bit of luxury. We’re staying 2 nights which gives us a chance to recharge for the final leg to Cape town.

Tonight we’re just chilling out at the hotel, watching T.V. and then go to the restaurant for dinner. Hopefully watch a movie. I’ve been so tired the past 2 days, I don’t think I could have ridden another Km.

I need a restLast night we had to put up the tents because of the rest area we were camping. The place was pretty good, except for the snakes found in town and the fact that snakes were around the camp and we had to be told be careful. We basically camped so close to each other I could hear my neighbour breathing and farting.

Another hard day on the road

Today's ride was 162km and it was a headwind and it was in our face all day. Lots of cyclist are still tired from the previous days efforts with sore legs etc.It poured down with rain later on during the day and we all got drenched, so this did not help us at all. After riding a huge day of 207km yesterday i was very tired after riding 162km today and looked forward to getting into camp and just resting for the remainder of the afternoon. Tomorrow will be 160km. BRING IT ON.

Full update soon.

Longest day of tour : 207km's

Hi All

Here is the latest update.

Today was the longest day of the tour 207km which was expected to be a very challenging day for all riders, that it was. As you all are aware by now that getting up in the early hours of the morning is not a strong point of mine, i slowly dragged myself out of bed to prepare myself for the long 207km ride.We left Kwaha Lodge for the long ride to Namibia just shortly after breakfast.The road was flat and their was a slight tailwind for the first part of the day, until the rain and huge storms struck 2 hours into the ride which brought horrendous headwind to the riders for about 50km's. After battling the weather all day we made camp about 3pm, im glad as my legs have had enough for one day. I will enjoy resting up this afternoon.

With only 2.5 weeks until  Cairo to Capetown 2011 wraps up, i thought i would take you all on a trip down memory lane and revisit some of dads photo's over the last 4.5 months. Enjoy ! 

Namibia next stop.

23^rd April 2011.  Maun to Bush Camp. 160kms.

It’s back on the road again for the 820km stretch to Windhoek, Namibia in 5 days of cycling.

Today started with a nice breakfast at the restaurant in the Sedia Hotel Manu where we were staying during the rest day.

Our group got on the road at 7.15am with Tory, Scott, Luke, for the long day ahead.  We quickly got up to speed with Tory and I sitting on the front for the first 15kms at about 35-37kph.  My legs were still a little sore from all the riding but you just have to take it as it comes.

The road was dead flat with a couple of horses, cows, dogs and goats accompanying us along the way.  Both sides of the road consisted of Acacia trees and large forests that gave the elephants good protection and made it harder for us to see.  

We roared into the 82kms lunch stop in a time of 2hrs 20mins of riding.  After about a 5 minute break we were back on the bike and up to full speed for the short ride the petrol station which was our coke stop for the day.  This stop was at 105kms.  The day was just flying past today, assisted with a nice tailwind at times.  I still reckon that each time I hit the front the wind started to come from directly in front of me.  It was pretty hard at times holding the 37kph set by the bunch.

At the coke stop Luke was sick and chucked up.  He didn’t look his usual colour and nor was he riding at full strength.  It wasn’t until about 20kms to go that look and I decided we had had enough and just sat on the back for the final push to camp.  My legs are so sore in the hamstrings, and when I walk down the steps of the truck they really do hurt.

So we’re now in camp on the side of the road, chilling out and taking it easy.  We arrived in camp at 12 midday and will have a couple cups of soup with a cup of tea and relax to 5.30pm. Tomorrow I’ve been told is the team time trial race.  Nick the race director just told me that the teams must be organised by Nationality.  I was going to stack my team with Scott, Luke, Horst and Tory, but now I have to change plans.  That won’t be a problem.  I’m sure I can cheat somehow.

On the issue of lockers, I put my tent away wet 2 days ago that meant that everything below my tent is damp and needs to be dried out.  I now have my clothes hanging over trees whilst the sunning is shining bright.  I still having a great time and really enjoy all the riding.  You have to be prepared mentally and physically for this type of journey.  You don’t really get the chance to sit and speak with the locals everyday of the week, which is a shame, but my mindset for this whole holiday was to ride a bike from Cairo to Cape town and anything else done on the way was just a bonus.  

I’ve seen a lot of Africa over the years so this is a different holiday for me.  Putting the tent up or down in pouring rain is a complete pain in the ass, but sleeping in it on a beautiful African night is just heaven. Now time to lay in my tent and have a short nap.  So it’s goodbye from day 1 of 5 to Windhoek.

24^th April 2011. Bush camp to Ghanzi, Botswana. 140kms.

Team Time Trial 40kms.

Today is the day I get out my Rambor clothing (major sponsor) for my aussie team to wear.  Our team consists of 4.  Myself, Luke, Peter and Rodney.  All Australians. 

We rolled out of camp for a 20km warm up to where the time trial is to start.  We had to go through the police road block first and dip our shoes and bikes in the water to ensure we don’t spread any germs in the area.

We started off at a nice pace of around 30kph.  Luke and I could have gone a lot faster and so could Peter, but we had to make sure Rodney finished with us.  The time trial was 40kms and we covered the distance in about 1hr 15min.  I thought it was a great time considering the average age of the team was 56 years of age.  We never went into the race with grand visions of winning the race, it was all about wearing some really cool jerseys and having fun.

Riding with these guys is what the tour is all about, and sharing experiences along the way.  I gave each of the guys a jersey and I’m sure they’ll keep wearing them on the way to Cape town.  We rolled into the lunch stop at 70km mark and just chilled out with all the cyclists talking times on who rode the fastest and of course who rode the slowest.  Luke did tell me when we got to camp we were the slowest, or more accurately, we camp dead last.  We might have come last but we made the biggest impression with the clothing.

The rest of the afternoon was a strong pace to the town of Ghanzi and to stop at SPAR for a nice cold drink and a muffin.  We arrived at the Kwaha Lodge to camp but decided to pick a room with Luke to relax better before the longest stage of the tour tomorrow, 207kms.  I haven’t ridden that far since I was about 25 years of age.

So enough for one day, it’s time to have an afternoon snooze, try and test out the lodge’s wifi, eat dinner, sleep and do it all again tomorrow.

Delta Flight

Hi All

Here is a recent update.

I have just come back from the okavango delta flight. What a amazing experience over the delta.1 hour of the most incredible landscape i have ever seen. We flew 500 metres above the ground scattered with elephhents, giraffes and hippos. The delta flat plains with rivers flowing in all directions was just amazing. Enjoyed the rest of the day in maun before commencing the hard ride to windhoek namibia. 800ks in 5 days. Still got 2700kms to go before the finish line. Thats got to hurt. Should be a walk in the park.

Photos

How cool a Chameleon we found on the road.

Elephants in the hundreds can be seen on these roads.

Afternoon boat ride on the Chobe River, Botswana.  How cool.

Luke and Rodney looking into the mighty Zambezi River from the Victoria Falls Bride.

This is the shirt I bought earlier on in the tour. 

Photo of the stage win into Livingstone, Victoria Falls.

That's me with the stage winners plate. Scott Left, Luke 2nd from Left and Horst on right.  These guys were the reason behind my victory.

Livingstone Zambia to Maun Botswana. 5 long days in the saddle.

17^th April 2011. Livingstone, Zambia to Kasane, Botswana. 85kms. 8^th Country.

After having 2 rest days in one of the most fabulous hotels on earth, swimming, eating, go to Victoria Falls, it’s time to get back on the bike and enter our 8^th country.

We have 12 new riders joining the trip for the next section; some will ride all the way to Cape town.  We got back to the camp around 5.30am, giving us plenty of get dressed and sort out all of gear for the next 5 days on the road.

We left camp at around 6.50am for the ride to lunch at the 60km mark.  The first part we rode back into Livingstone and turned left for the ride to Kasangula and the ferry crossing into Botswana.  I last crossed this border in 2008 with Graciella when we stayed at Elephant Valley Lodge.  Now that’s a place that should be on your bucket list.

We rolled along out of the city and headed west for the long trip ahead.  Over the next 5 days we will be heading for the town of Maun, Botswana.  Today is 85, followed by 160, 160, 182, and 135.  Firstly I have to get through today.  I rode with Luke and Peter and was joined by Heather.  We had a nice pace going, but I wasn’t in the mood to be pushing it hard after having 2 days off the bike and eating like a pig.

After riding about 20kms we noticed some riders stopped on the side of the road, sure enough, one huge bull elephant eating by the side of the road.  Now we all know about how dangerous these animals can be, but we did have a good gap between him and us.  We took some photos and pushed onto the lunch stop, as we knew we’d be wasting time at the border crossing.

With a nice lunch of toasted sandwiches it was back for the final ½ hour ride to the border cross of Kasangula.  Just like in 2008, there were at least 200 trucks waiting to get on the ferry to cross into Botswana.  The trucks could take a more timely entry into Botswana via the Victoria Falls bridge, but this would be supporting the corrupt regime of Robert Mugabe, so one truck driver told me today.  The border crossing was really smooth and within no time we were on the ferry crossing the Zambezi River for the last time in my life.  There will be no return to Africa this time.

After completing the formalities at the Botswanan side of the border we were ready to enter our 8^th country of the tour.  It’s just mind blowing to think that we have travelled through 7 countries and covered over 8500kms.  Now that’s impressive.

The camp site is called Thebe River Camp which is excellent and has a swimming pool and nice area to pitch Tent Hilton.  It’s slightly less comfortable than the Royal Livingstone my tent. Luke and I went into the small town of Kasane to get some money, but NO, it’s Sunday, banks are shut.  Oh well, have to try tomorrow to get some Pula, the local currency.  

In the afternoon about 60 cyclists went on the Chobe River Cruise to check out the wildlife.  The Chobe National Park and River system has the highest number of elephants anywhere in the world.  We got to see heaps of elephants, crocodiles, birds, monitor lizards, and hippos over the 3 hour trip. For $35US it was a great deal. We just cruised along all afternoon, watching as the elephants came down to the river to cool off from the hot afternoon sun.  The hippos were doing what they do best, laying in the water doing nothing.  The crocodiles were hanging near the shore waiting for some unexpected animal to pop its head into the water and have it taken off.

It was fabulous afternoon with a stunning sunset as we finished the cruise.  We got back to camp just before dinner.  At the rider meeting I was presented with my Stage Winners plate, which I’m so proud of, and will have some nice photos taken before we hit the road.

During the meeting we had 2 guest speakers, one from Elephants without borders and a gentleman who has lived and worked with elephants and lions for over 40 years in Botswana.  Basically they said there’s a heap of dangerous animals on the road to Maun, and be careful.  Now that’s a lot of help when you’re on a bike and I’m not carrying rocket propelled launcher to take the thing out if it decides to chase me.  No problem I picked a slow bunch to ride with tomorrow, so the slowest will be screwed, not me.

So it’s time to hit the sack and hopefully get a good night’s sleep in another beautiful African country.

18^th April 2011.  Thebe River Camp, Kasane, Botswana, to Bush Camp.  170kms.

Finally I had a real good night’s sleep.  I had a bit of work to do after dinner with typing up the blog and trying to rearrange my locker so all my crap would fit in.  Basically I brought far too much gear for this holiday.  A lot will be donated to charity when I get to Cape Town.  So today we were suppose to have a 160km ride but was extended to 170 which was more suitable for camping.

I rode with Peter again and met some other riders along throughout the day.  We just cruised along at a leisurely pace enjoying the scenery of a billion sun flower plants and corn plants as well.  During the first part of the morning we had to slow down as there was an enormous elephant crossing the rode up ahead.  This was too big to try and pass, so we waited for a while and left him be.   We continued on searching the forests for elephants all day, but this was the only one we seen.  We did get to see a spectacular Chameleon which Peter picked up and placed on my shoulder for the photo shoot.  I am so brave.  Peter let it crawl up over his helmet and all over him.  These little creatures can change colour so quickly it’s just amazing to see.

The dinner truck was at 75kms.  Like every other lunch stop the food is plenty and of high quality.  You will never go hungry on this tour.  Peter and I continued on, but still no elephants on the horizon.  Due to the stage being extended, the Boss organised for a refresh stop at 140kms.  This is what we really need, a chance to fill the bottles and get some more food for the final 30km push to camp. 

We did stop at this petrol station in the middle of nowhere for a coke.  We had about 10 cyclists laying on the concrete floor outside the shop just relaxing, and some snoozing.  There absolutely no reason to rush to the bush camp, because there’s nothing much to do in these camps.  Just a dust bowl.

The wind picked up later in the afternoon and this helped us to sit on around 32kph for the final hour of the ride.  We arrived in camp at 3pm, giving me plenty of time to put up Tent Hilton, do some typing, get some soup with my can of tuna, and do nothing more.

Dinner will be served around 5.30pm, followed by a nice cup of tea and then it’s off to bed for a 1q/2 hour read of my new book titled ’Pompei’ by Robert Harris.  By the time I’ve read for 30 minutes it should be 7pm, which means lights out and go to sleep.Now that might seem rather regimental but this is life on the tour.  You have set time to get up, a time to eat, a time you need to be on the bike.  You ride to lunch and eat.  You ride to camp, put up tent, rest, eat, go to bed.  It’s that simple everyday of the week.

I do like sleeping in my tent, and I certainly like riding the bike, but getting up early give me the shits.  So it’s goodnight from a dust bowl about 140kms north of Nata, Botswana. 

19^th April 2011.  Bush Camp to Nata Lodge, Botswana. 148kms.

The reason we didn’t stay at our designated bush camp is because the director saw a python in the camp and the owner also indicated some lion prints around the camp.  It was decided to move the camp a further 12kms down the road to somewhere safer.

Now for today.  Another good night sleep and up at 5.25am.  I think I actually sleep better in my tent instead of some posh hotel room.  We headed out with the rider around 6.40am for a long day on the ride.  The first part was nice and easy with turns taken at the front of the bunch by all riders.  The lunch truck was at 75kms so we had about 2 & ½ hours of riding before we eat again, after all we had only eaten some 2 & ½ hours ago and we would be hungry by then.

The road was full of potholes and pointing out them to the riders behind is really important.  The land is really flat with just a slight raise every now and then.  The fields are covered with a short grass that sways in the wind and nothing else.  There was a huge elephant pointed out by the Boss on the side of the road, and man it was enormous.  It stayed in the bushes eating away, so we were pretty safe.  So back on the road and time for more food.

Still the road was terrible and made riding so much more draining trying to get over so many bumps and holes to avoid.  As soon as we hit the new road our speed picked up from about 27kph to 35kph, it was like riding on air.  We just cranked it up a notch and were flying.  By this time we had about 20 riders in the peloton. We kept riding in the same fashion passing through land that had never seen trees or had a crop planted for years.  In the 148km ride we did pass one small settlement and nothing else.  We roared into the town of Nata and immediately headed for the ATM to drain it of its most valuable resource, MONEY.  I can never get enough of it.

Together with Luke, Horst, Steven and Mike we devoured a double chicken burger, washed down with a coke.  We just keep shoveling it in, day after day not worrying about putting on weight, ready to burn it all off again tomorrow.  Oh yeah tomorrow is 182kms.

So after getting a new sim card for Luke we were on our way for the final 10kms to the finish line and our home for the night, Nata Lodge.  If you get the chance check it out on the internet, it’s a beautiful place, and has a swimming pool and bar.

As soon as I had put up Tent Hilton it was time to hit the pool and relax for the rest of the afternoon.  It’s Christine Wolfe’s birthday today and she’s putting on drinks at the bar after dinner, I’m sure some the cyclists will look pretty shabby tomorrow morning. So what, that’s Africa.

Time for dinner and try and fix up my spares bag that broke off my bike.  That’s the second one I’ve broke on this holiday.  I’ve got to get going as they’re having a water bomb competition, and I’m in one of the teams.  So it’s good night again from Nata Lodge, Botswana.

20^th April 2011.  Nata Lodge, Nata Botswana to Bush Camp.  184kms.

Well what it a night.  To it mildly, I had the worst sleep this tour.  I got to sleep around 7.30pm and from there on the night went to shit.  I heard some rain around 3am so of course I had to get out in the pouring rain in my underpants and fix the tent, because I had left some flaps hanging loose to let some more air in.  And of course I let 52 litres of rain water run through my expensive tent.

So I ended up with a wet mattress, wet sleeping bag and damp clothes.  To make things worse, I broke the major tent pole that holds the whole tent together when I was putting my tent down at 5.30am in the pouring rain. Now this sucks big time.  The only thing I can do is just get on with the day and sort out the mess when I get to camp after riding 184kms.   No big deal.

Before we even left the camp Luke, Scott and Tory wanted to go to the Lodge restaurant for a nice coffee.  The restaurant didn’t open to 7am so we had to wait, while all the cyclists were riding up the road.  We eventually left the lodge at 7.30am, the same time the rain was starting to ease up.  It was a good thing we waited instead of heading off at 6.30am like the rest of them in pouring down rain.

We rode up to speed straight away and sat on around 35kph till we reach the Wimpy shop at Nata.  There were heaps of cyclists and heaps that were riding the truck today.  We sat around for a while and decided to just get into the long day and push on.

Our group was about 12 strong all morning to the lunch stop at 85kms.  It was really hard pulling turns at 32-35kph but the slight tailwind was helping immensely.  The landscape we were riding through consisted of flat plains with small grass either side of the roadway, and not a village to be seen.  We only saw about 2 people all day.  There was one stage when we passed some thick bushland that elephants were sighted but we didn’t see any today.  

We had a quick lunch and continued onto Planet Baobab resort at the 105km mark.  This was a pretty good resort with a nice bar, restaurant and swimming pool.  I think the boys only like the swimming pool because of the 3 very healthy ladies that were sun baking around the pool.  I wasn’t interested to go and have a look, I was too tired and I still had another 80kms to go.  We stayed at the lodge for another hour drinking coke, coffee and some had the biggest slice of chocolate I had seen for some time.  I’m on a diet for the next month and concentrating on not eating rubbish food anymore.

So it was back on the road again.  Still the beautiful swaying grass pushed over in the direction we were travelling and we just kept pushing on and on into the early hours of the afternoon.  It was so hard to sit on 35kph when it became my turn, but I had too, because sitting on is not an option.  

The roads were flat like the Nullarbor Plains of Australia and just as straight.  There were no hills to think of and just long, very long roads with grass and some small pans.  The only animals hanging around were donkeys. We arrived in camp at 3.10pm, and I was very tired.  Now the fun began.  Firstly I had to pull out my wet tent and roll out matt and try and dry the things.  I got Sam to help me fix the tent pole and this worked perfectly.  My tent went up without a problem and is still up.  My roll out mat is now dried and my damp sleeping bag is still damp.  

I managed to get everything dried out by dinner and get Tent Hilton into some sort of order.  I can’t wait to get home and throw all my gear around the place.  Just imagine my bedroom is about 5m X 4m.  My tent is about 2.5m X 1.5m, now that‘s a lot of space to spread out in.  And I’ve got some crap with me.

Dinner was like usual, fabulous, and I went back for seconds. I’m now full and finished my blog update.  I hope to sleep well as I’ve got 135kms to Maun and then a rest day.  I really need a rest.  So it’s good night once again from yet another bush camp on my way to Cape Town, South Africa.  Just bring it on.

21^st April 2011. Bush Camp to Maun, Botswana.  136kms.

Last night I had a good night’s sleep and woke at 5.40am.  Now that doesn’t leave much time to get dressed, pack up Tent Hilton and put all the gear in my locker.  I managed to do everything and eat and be on my bike by 6.40am.

As soon as I put the power down I knew my legs were in trouble.  My legs were so sore and tired I knew that today was going to be a long day in the saddle.  To make things worse we had a head wind to content with.  Yeh, I know I’m a whinger, but I’m really tired. We rolled along around 32kph for the first 2 & ½ hours to the lunch break.  My legs were getting better as the day went on, but I could tell that some of the cyclists were struggling after the big kms this week.

The road was nice smooth pavement with very little traffic.  The only animals we saw were donkeys, goats, and a couple of horses.  Some of the other cyclists did get see some elephants later in the day.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and were back on the bike for the remaining 65kms to finish the day at the Sedia Riverside Hotel Maun.  

As we approached the outskirts of town Luke took off at the rate of knots trying to get to the hotel before the group arrived so we could get a room instead of staying in my damp tent for the next 2 nights.  It was a mad rush for the final 5kms and I was just about done when we pulled into the hotel grounds.  Luke and I did get a really nice room at $135per night.  I don’t really care about the expenses at this stage of the tour, because I’m sick and tired of sleeping in my tent.  I still have about 3 weeks of tenting and that I can manage.

I booked a flight over the Okavango delta for 4pm tomorrow with Luke, Scott Demoss and his father and Mr Rodney Hilton Sanders.  I’ve done a lot of reading about the delta over the years but now that I’ve got a chance to check it out, I can’t pass up on the opportunity.   A 1 hour flight costs $110 per person.

So tonight will be a drinking session for some of the young cyclists enjoying their birthdays, while I’ll be taking it easy and trying to recover from the tiredness I feel after the last 5 days of cycling.

And the most important thing about tomorrow is it’s our rest day.  Those means sleep in, and not even look at a tent.  Will update again tomorrow after the flight.

Botswanna

Hi all here is a update from my dad.

Just arrived in Botswanna. The past 2 days we have rode 257km to the border crossing. Yesterday we had to relocate camp due to 2 lions in area.Today we rode 148kms with very flat roads with hardly any hills to climb. Now in Namibia and its great seeing the spectacular scenery,huge sunflower and corn crops that go for miles.Getting out of bed early (which im not a fan of ) has been well worth it when i get to meet lots of  wonderful people and see so many different parts of Africa. Full update to be posted in Maun in 2 days. Tomorrow is 182km with a tailwind.

Major sponsor: Cottonwood Lodge, Snowy Cycling happy with win. A day resting at Victoria Falls.

The best accommodation in the Snowy Mountains of Australia.

Today I've been doing very little other than sitting around the pool and relaxing. Yesterday I was till tired from the ride, but managed to go down to the falls to check out one of the 7 wonders of the world.  We got drenched with the spray and the roar of the water pouring down into the river floor was just mind blowing.

We then headed off to the bungy jump platform on the Victoria Falls Bridge.  Now this place brings back good memories, because this was the bridge Josh jumped off in 2003 when we did the cycling trip.  I just stood their and watched the young ones take the leap into the abyss, it's sheer stupidity if you ask me.  No way would I ever jump off that bridge for a million dollars.

Earlier today we went up to the town of Livingstone and checked out the Dr Livingstone Musuem and of course went for the mandatory haircut to get rid of the excess grey stuff.  Tomorrow we start our ride to Botswana which we should enter around 9am.  I'm not sure of the distances we have to cover for the next 5 days to Maun, but as long as the weather is good, we should have a blast.

Rodney and I standing too close to the edge of Victoria Falls.



This is pool at the Royal Livingstone.  Absolutely brilliant.



These Zebras roam around the grounds of the Royal Livingstone.



This is my type of Doctor.  Sign spotted by Lindsay.

 The updates will be done by Matt over the next couple of days, and I'll file a comprehensive update in 5 days time.  So good health to everyone back home, and I look forward in particular to kicking Josh and Ashley's arse upon my return.  I'm going to cause you pain boys.

Too close to the edge.

Lusaka to Livingstone and the mighty Victoria Falls.

This was the schedule for the last 3 days of riding.

Lusaka to Oasis camping ground.  158kms. HAPPY 23^RD BIRTHDAY MATTHEW.

We all know I love my bed and sleeping is one of my favourite pass times.  Last night was not a good sleep.  I was still awake at 11.30pm and Luke had set his alarm for 5am, which does not give you a lot of time to sleep when you have to ride 158kms.

With breakfast devoured and the silver bullet all ready for another long day on the African roads it was time to clock in and hit the tarmac.  We commenced at 6.10am and rode down the Great East Road to the centre of town and Cairo Road.  We rode straight through the centre of town at an hour that was pretty safe with traffic.  There were still hundreds of people getting on and off minivans and heading to work and these vans would turn and stop straight in front of us.  They didn’t give a damn about the cyclists.  There were lots of pot holes for the first part of the morning and plenty of trucks and buses as we got further away from the madness of Lusaka for the last time in my life.

Once again I rode with Luke and Peter, joined by Jorg, Carie and Kendra and some other guys.  We rode at a good pace looking out into the fields of corn, wheat, sugar cane.  We had 850metres of climbing today so later in the day we should get some good views of the valleys behind us. 

There were plenty of towns along the way but they were getting smaller and smaller.  The amount of kids calling out for money was decreasing and the small villages with 1 or 2 huts were no longer to be seen.  It seemed that the small villages were to the east of Lusaka the way we came over the mountains, but the area we’re riding in now appeared to be more prosperous due to the huge amount of agriculture and light industry.  Even the small villages we passed had sought of modern homes.

Our first stop today was at the Kafue River Bridge, I was told to stop taking photos of the bridge by the military but allowed to take photos of the river.  Jorg had worked in this area dealing with water resource management, river flows and stuff too difficult for me to understand.  I’m told there’s an abundant supply of tiger fish in the river.  They’re the ones with the huge teeth and fight like a crazy woman.

After the photos and pee stop it was back on the bike for the ride to lunch at the 80km mark for the day.  We had to climb a 3km climb before lunch and by the time we got to the summit there was only Luke, Carie and myself remaining in the group.  The rest were all scattered over the mountain.  I was so glad to have a rest now.  I was tired when I started today and I’m still tired at lunch. 

The summit is quite famous in this part of Africa and the plague we found just down the road from the lunch truck stated;

The Munalli Pass, just outside the town of Kafue and the Kafue River, tradition states that it was from the summit where Peter and Luke stand that the famous Dr David Livingstone obtained his first view of the Kafue River on the 14^th December 1855.  He crossed these hills during his great Trans African journey from Angola to Mozambique.  The pass is named after Dr Livingstone, Munalli, meaning the red one.

This is pretty interesting because in 2003 Josh and I stood at his statue at Victoria Falls and later on went to a place in Tanzania called Kigoma to see some more Dr Livingstone history.  It was in this town on the shores of Lake Tanganyika that Stanley and met Livingstone and uttered those famous words.

‘Hello David where the F… have you been, I’ve been looking all over this place for you’

History states that he actually said, ‘Dr Livingstone I presume’.  Not sure on the correct version.

So lunch was over and it was back on the bike for the ride to the Oasis Camp.  The road was rolling hills, majority long flat fast roads and some short sharp pinches that were brutal when Scott and Luke decided to put the hammer down and put me into some trouble.  I never did get dropped but I was suffering.

The fields were now covered in sugar cane for as far as the eye could see.  The beautiful flat green land that went all the way into the horizon.  On the other side of the road were acres and acres of corn.  I can’t see how people could go hungry in this part of the world.

We rolled into a small town about 30kms from the campsite for a nice cold coke and more importantly a rest.  We went down to shoprite to see if we could buy some gear to help us dress us for the challenge tonight.  Once again we have to dress up before dinner and parade in front of the other cyclists.  It’s a competition and we all know how much I love to win, and cheating is OK.

We got what we needed and hit the road again with a strong tailwind pushing us all the way to the finish line at 12.50pm.  Now that’s not bad riding today.

As soon as I got off the bike I gave Matt hew a call and wished him a very happy birthday.  Matthew turned 23 today.  I have a couple of birthdays I have to celebrate when I get home.

The rest of the day is taking it easy for the long 182km ride tomorrow.  We have to get dressed before dinner and then go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.  I will need to be fresh when the circus hits the road for another exciting day on the road in Africa

13^th April 2011. Oasis Camp to Ruza Chalet. 182kms.

Today was a sleep in as we now get breakfast at 6am.  To have breakfast earlier would mean that some mad cyclists would be on the road in the dark if you gave them a chance, and without lights.

I was suppose to ride with Luke, Scott and Peter but by the time I got back from going to the toilet they had gone and I only caught up to Peter after about 30 minutes of riding.  For the rest of the morning we had to make sure we ate and drank plenty because 182kms is one hell of a day on the bike.  It’s the longest ride I think I’ve ever had since I was a very young boy.

The scenery was similar to yesterday so I won’t bore you with the details other than to say, a long day passing through small towns not villages, some with good shopping facilities and some we could stop at for a coke when we got tired. 

Our small group got bigger as the day went on, with Carie, old Kim and Martin joining for the ride to lunch at the 75km mark.  Although we had 870metres of climbing today, the road was beautifully paved with rolling hills, not steep ones. 

From 6.40am to lunch at 10.20am, we had one stop at this motel where we had a nice cup of tea at a table, now that’s a change for Africa.  We rolled into lunch for a huge meal of sandwiches, fruit, and drinks to make sure we could get through the remaining 107kms.

We still had the same group for the rest of the day and just enjoyed a nice leisurely ride over nice hills with some small villages in the distance, the Livingstone to Lusaka railway line following us all the way to the end of the day.  We did stop at the 140km mark at the town of Choma.  Like usual we found a ‘SPAR’ food store and bought water, pepsi, chocolate chip muffin and a tub of ice cream.  Now that mightn’t seem a big deal, but when you don’t have access to these treats very often, you must take advantage when the time comes.  I do.

I arrived at the camp at 3.20pm.  After a quick bucket shower, it’s time to do the blog update, send Matthew an sms, eat dinner in ½ an hour, and go to bed about 1hr after that.  Then I’ll get up at 5.15am tomorrow, eat breakfast at 6am, on the bike around 6.40am, ride 152kms, get to Victoria Falls, get my shit out of my locker, lock up my bike at the campsite and then make my way to the Royal Livingstone where Mr Rodney Hilton Sander and I will be sunning our fat asses around the pool.  You should check out this place and see where the rich and famous stay, it’s a palace.  So that’s enough for today, Tomorrow is the mighty Zambezi River and the town of Livingstone.  Until then, goodbye Australia.

Another competition which we love to take part in.  What a strange bunch of men??

14^th April 2011.  Victory. Final stage of section into Livingstone, Victoria Falls. 151kms.

As the heading states, I got my victory in the Tour D Afrique bike race on the final day of the section Lilongwe, Malawi to Livingstone, Zambia.  This section is proudly sponsored by Cottonwood Lodge, Snowy Cycling, located in the Snowy Mountain region of Australia.

After riding 158kms and 182 yesterday, I was concerned whether or not I had chosen the best day to try and crack a victory in this year’s Tour D Afrique.  It was only going to work if the serious racers decided to have an easy day.  I was aware that the section was going to be won by Paul Wolfe so he had no real reason to thrash out the day.  I took a punt and discussed with Luke, Scott and Horst to give me a hand out on the road.

The first part of the day was 75kms to lunch.  The race bunch rolled along at 35-45kms over the many gentle rolling slopes.  I kept doing turns because if I sat on from the start no one would have been happy if I sat on and then tried to win.

About 10kms before the lunch stop Luke came up to me and suggested we should ride straight through lunch without stopping, and catch the other racers by surprise.  Well this caught me totally off guard and I was seriously concerned that after 2 huge days, I wasn’t sure I had enough food and water on me to make the next 80kms to the finish line.  Well no glory can be obtained without a risk.  This was a calculated risk.  I had raced so much over my life I well aware about going hunger flat. 

When Paul Wolfe and all the racers pulled into the lunch stop the 4 of us put our heads down and powered on.  We didn’t look back for over 60kms, and kept going as hard as we could.  I didn’t hit the front at all, but this was already discussed between us prior to the race.  I sat on Scott’s wheel and never moved myself from that position. Remember I’m on a shit heap mountain bike with fat tyres, although my position on the bike is exactly the same as my race bike. 

Scott, Luke and Horst did all the work and just gave everything to help me win the stage.  With about 10kms to go we got caught by Paul and the rest of the racers.  They came bye at around 60kph.  We thought they would never have tried to chase us down but they had other ideas.  We chased as hard as we could by the amazing work of 3 guys.  They got me back onto the bunch.

Paul said if you want this win you’ll have to work for it. So Luke got on the front and did some big turns into the main street of Livingstone with people and cars everywhere. I knew the area well as I had been here plenty of times before, but never racing through the place.

As we turned into the street that leads to the finish line, I was helped by Anthony and then I hit the front. I powered on through the pothole road around the corner is to the dirt section and never looked back.  I hit the finish line FIRST.  I buzzed on with my timer and the rest is history.

It’s been a long time since I pushed myself so hard over the past 3 days and was surprised I could go all the way today.  I would like to give a huge thanks to Luke, my terrific mate from Australia, Scott and Horst.  I would not have achieved this win without their help. 

After showering at the Zambezi Waterfront, packing my bags, doing some washing, getting some food into me, I waited for Rodney Hilton Sanders to come in.  Rodney had booked a room for the next 3 nights at the Royal Livingstone right on the Zambezi River and a stone throw from the mighty Victoria Falls.

We arrived at this amazing place and just sat in our room and recovered from a very tiring day at the office.  You should have a look at the place on the internet, it’s truly spectacular.  For the rest of the afternoon is to take some photos around the place, eat more food and get to bed early.  So I achieved what I set out to do before I left home and that was to win a stage in the longest bike race in the world. 



Mum, Dad and the children out for a nice ride in the beautiful country of Zambia.



This is the view from the balcony of the Royal Livingstone Hotel at Sunset, and the mighty Zambezi River..



With 3 days of riding, all the cyclists are looking forward to Victoria Falls.  That's Luke and myself taking a photo break.

The baboons are running wild at the Royal Livingstone. 

Market life in the city of Lusaka, Zambia.

Update

Hi All,

Just recieved a update from dad.

I had a terrible sleep last night, i only got about 5 hours of sleep and today we 158km's with 900 metres of climbing.This will hurt.I rode in a big group today untill the hills.Good Tailwind all day.Scott & Luke really pushed the pace & I just hung on the back.Lunch & coke stops were needed today to recover. I will be riding 182km tomorrow.

If you think your week at work has been hard, check out 5 days of playing in the mountains of Zambia.

This is the shirt I bought just after crossing the Luanga River. 

Now that's a hard week at the office.

A typical village on the road to Lusaka.

At the front of the Lilongwe Golf club, Malawi.  NO golf, but who cares.

Dust at the Jehovah's school.

Alot of the shops have religious advertising over the doorway.  I thought this was one of the best.

The long road to Lusaka, Zambia.  Good pavement and little traffic.

6^th April 2011. Lilongwe Malawi to Chipata, Zambia. 155kms.

Today we had to get up at 4.45am to get ready for our 5am lift back to the campsite to meet up with all the cyclists and more importantly, breakfast at 5.30am.The early morning are seriously cracking me.

So off we went at 6.15am for the long ride ahead. The road was gently sloping down for the majority of the morning. Nice paved roads, with the usual dogs, one got run over straight in front of us, donkeys, cars, trucks and not one bus. Beautiful green hills and some nice small villages. The lunch stop was at 72kms which we reached by 9am. Too early to eat food but we had to try as we still had over 80kms to go.

We pressed on going through towns with people welcoming us along the way. The first thing we noticed was the excitement of the children to see us silly cyclists on their roads and the adults also saying hello. We still have to contend with the kids asking for money along the way, and I think this will continue well into Zambia.

After lunch we formed a group of 6 riders, of course Peter Lamond was riding with me, followed by Andrea, Dr Gary, Eric the Viking and Mr Rodney Hilton Sanders. We rode at a nice pace to the small town of Mchinji where we got the chance to spend the remaining Malawian Kwacha. So at the supermarket I bought biscuits, chocolate, toothpaste and more biscuits. I always buy the essentials on tour.

The border was a further 10kms on, so after stuffing our face with yogurt and coke, and spending money it was off to the Zambian Border. Country No.7

The border crossing was perhaps one of the simplest crossings so far of the tour. I was shown to the black market money exchanges and ended up with 470,000 kwacha for my $100US. The bank was paying 4500kwacha to the US dollar.

The road from the border changed immediately from a smooth paved road to a harsh stone surface. It was a rather bumpy 30kms to the campsite. But before we reached the campsite we stopped at the last town to check out the SPAR supermarket.

We had stopped at the right time as no sooner had we pulled in and got the security officer to guard our bikes, the skies opened up into a torrential downpour. We sat inside in the café and had a nice cappuccino and chocolate coated donut. It was sensational. We met the owner of the SPAR and his wife, they also own, Mama Rula campsite where we’re staying tonight.

Every time you enter a new country there are a couple of things you have to do, exchange money and get a new sim card. We got the sim card and a top up so easy, the young girl in the MTN phone shop set up my phone and I was on my way to the campsite. We arrived at 2pm after riding 155kms, crossing the border, and stopping for an hour for coffee and cake. Now that’s a good day. The campsite is really nice with plenty of grass and a swimming pool. I’m not too keen to swim in pools as the chlorine plays havoc with my sinuses. It’s now time to rest and eat and get ready for the longest day on tour so far, a 177km ride tomorrow. Should be a blast. We’ll also be in the bush for the next 4 days until we reach Lusaka the capital, so phone coverage will be limited.

Now we’re in our 7^th county, Zambia. Still a long way to go, but enjoying every minute. Goodnight from my first night in Zambia, Africa, 2011.

7^th April 2011. Mama Rula’s campsite, Chipata to Bush Camp. 177kms.

The rain came down big time during dinner last night and once again many tents got some water in them. I got a little bit of water in mine, but nothing that would interfere with my sleep. Actually a hurricane wouldn’t stop me from sleeping, especially after riding 155kms yesterday.

I got up around 4.30am because of the zippers being opened and shut, people farting, burping, belching and sneezing. I dragged my ass out of the tent around 5am in pitch darkness and slowly in my methodical way pulled down tent Hilton to be packed away nice and damp for another day in the locker.

Today a couple of riders joined Peter and me as we set off around 6.15am for the long ride ahead. The roads were surrounded by thousands of kids either side of the road for many kms until we got away from the town of Chipata. The kids are just like the others from Malawi and Ethiopia calling out for money, pens, and get this, ‘what is my name’, I replied ‘I haven’t got a clue mate’, and continue on. We caught up with other cyclists along the road and many joined in to the lunch stop at 82kms. I felt pretty good all money but I paid particular attention to my eating and drinking to make sure I was good for later on in the day. We arrived at the lunch stop at 9.30am.

The countryside is spectacular with rolling green hills, small thatched house villages, some with green grass an some with straw on their roofs. Still poverty is a big issue out in this part of Zambia. Many of the men just hang around the villages and don’t appear to be doing much at all. It’s the women in many of the cases carrying the goods to market.

Today there were thousands of school kids wearing uniforms calling out to us, which is a big surprise as many of the kids we’ve seen before wear rags and nothing on their feet. After a 30min break for lunch we were back on the road and more nice rolling hills and a favourable tail wind to help us along the way.

The peloton was now 8 strong and this gave me a chance to get off the front of the bunch. To many of my useless cycling bodies back home, I do hit the front of the bunch now and then. The next stop was at 120kms for a coke which is getting pretty hard to drink now after having so many over the past 3 months. Yeh, in 3 days it will be 3 months since I left home.

After the coke stop it was a further 40kms to camp. We continued on doing turns at the front of the peloton until the last hill where I did apply some pressure and gapped the guys in my group. I wanted to see how strong I was after riding 175kms. I rolled down the hill to the finish flag and buzzed out for what was a terrific day. We arrived at a nice camp with bar and green grass at 1.30pm. Now that’s a good day, 177kms and off the bike at 1.30pm.

The rest of the day is dry out some clothes, and the damp tent, eat plenty, continue reading, ‘marching with the devil’ by Australian David Mason. A good book. I will get a early night as I still have 3 big days to the next rest day.

Over and out.

8^th April 2011. Private Camping ground to bush camp. 145kms.

After 177kms yesterday I didn’t know what to expect when I jumped on the bike. I thought this was going to hurt big time today. First thing was to put that pain in the ass tent away, eat a heap of food and go and do some fertilisation work in the fields before jumping on the bikes.

I rode off with Dr Gary and Andrea. After about 10kms the racers came by so I jumped out of my group and sat on the riders for about 7kms when the hills were taking too much out of me. It’s so hard to ride with guys and racing bikes and thin tyres when I ride a heavy hunk of crap. I pushed on after being dropped and caught a couple of riders who I passed and was caught by Kim and we rode together to the lunch stop at 75km. We got to the lunch stop at around 8.45am, we started at 6.10am.

With a nice lunch we headed off again with Scott De Moss with us now. He’s one hell of a strong rider. Big guy with enormous power. This section of the tour is really nice, the road is surrounded by tall grass and trees on either side of the road. With fast hot mix tar surface and mostly downhill, we were hitting 80kph as we roared down the hills around bend after bend hugging the sides of the roads with those spectacular long grasses jutting out onto the roadway. It was so nice the riding.

After an hour of riding after lunch the humidity and heat was going through the roof. The temperature was 90%, and I’m sure the humidity would have been just as high. Each time you slowed down to climb the next hill, another litre of sweat was lost to Africa.

Still the kids were calling out to us for money and asking ‘how are you’. The kids are so nice and warm in this part of the world and it’s a pleasure to ride through their part of Africa. We stopped for a coke at the 120km mark and I was glad to take the break. My legs were hurting early on in the day and that pain continued well into the afternoon. I don’t know whether I’m soft or just getting too old to be riding a bike through Africa.

So off we go again to finish another long day on the bike. The rest of the trip was even faster winding downhill to the 546 altitude mark. We climbed over 1km today which is becoming normal these days. So with the nice smooth road taking us to the campsite it was so nice to get in at 11.30am for the 145kms.

Another good thing about getting into camp so early is you get a better chance of finding a nice place to pitch your tent. So I found the best place to pitch tent Hilton and I was so happy. The school ground where we’re camping is a 2 building complex with 7 classes, 3 teachers and 300 children. The school has a hand pump for the water supply. We were told we could go and fill up our bottles and have a wash. When I got to the pump this young boy allowed me to lay on the ground and he kept pushing the pump with water pouring all over me. I had my cycling clothing on at the time so I got to kill 2 birds with one stone as they say.

The weather down at this lower altitude was oppressive to say the least. I went for a walk up the road and met up with a couple of cyclists at the local coke stop, stayed a short time and made the walk back to the campsite. The rest of the afternoon is taking it easy, do some reading, have dinner, and get ready for the tough MANDO stage tomorrow. 148kms, hills and more hills. Bring it on.

9^th April 2011. School Ground Camp to Jehovah church ground. Mando Day. 150kms.

After a hard day yesterday and a terrible night’s sleep sweating my guts out in Tent Hilton I was dead tired when I woke up at 4.30am. Yeh, this is madness, I should never be out of bed or even contemplating such a stupid act of getting out of bed at 4.30am. This will not happen at home, after all I’m the king of my castle.

Whilst eating my breakfast I was in one of those moods when you just sit there gazing into space and not really keen on getting up to do anything. I ate heaps for breakfast but was still half asleep when I hit the road at 6.10am for the Mando Day which involves 1850metres of climbing.

The first couple of kms was brutal on the legs, I was doing it real tough just sitting with Peter on the flats. I didn’t have any trouble on the hills as I’ve got better as the trip has gone on at climbing mountains. No choice really on that one.

My legs felt like house bricks for the first 80kms to lunch and every mountain we had to climb was sheer agony. We crossed the large river at the 27km mark and took some photos of the bridge which we were not supposed too, then the climb commenced. We just kept going up and up into the mountain until we came to this small village which had some good things on offer. I got to buy my Santa shirt for $1.20 and Luke and Kevin got 2 really cool shorts as well. After some food and looking around the village it was time to press on to the 80km mark for lunch. By the time we had reached lunch we had climbed 1300metres.

The lunch stop couldn’t come quick enough today. I was doing it so tough today and dragging my ass up every mountain was not a pretty sight. My legs weren’t getting worse as the day went on they were actually getting better.

What I did stand out on today’s ride was the small huts that littered the landscape. We would find 2 small thatched cane huts that looked like the rain would poor straight through them and children coming out of them. We got to meet one boy who had one arm to Malaria now that does affect me when I see that. These kids are so beautiful and friendly and we just ride past at the rate of knots never to come back again. I would like to spend more time in villages but the circus most roll on to another town and another part of Africa.

The final leg into the Jehovah camp was 70kms up rolling hills. We had to climb 2 hills about 5kms long, but it wasn’t that bad because of the temperature and a slight tailwind to push us up the mountain. There were some great descends along the way today, but no enough to take the pain away from my legs and my ass which was hurting a bit from spending so much time in the saddle over the past 4 days. Over the past 4 days we’ve ridden. 155, 177, 145, 150kms.

We didn’t stop at all this afternoon, we had plenty of water and food to keep us going for the final 70kms. With the rolling hills not as brutal and favourable temperature and winds, we rolled into camp at 2.30pm. As soon as I got to camp I had a quick shower under one of those hand pumps that get the water out of the ground, pitched the tent and put some clean clothes on. I really need to get a good night’s sleep tonight as I might be riding with the racers tomorrow. Not sure how my legs will feel in the morning.

I did do something very important at 4pm, I sent Graciella a Happy 50^th birthday message. I will call tomorrow when we get to Lusaka. Looking forward to the 104km ride into the capital and more importantly a rest day to follow.

10th April 2011. Jehovah's camping ground to Lusaka the capital of Zambia. 105kms.

Today I got up nice and early to beat the racers out of camp and get some warm up miles in my legs. If I felt like yesterday it was useless to try and stay with them for any length of time.

I left camp at 6.10am with Peter Lamond and by 6.50am the racers were biting at my wheel. I managed to stay with the racers over many rolling hills until about the 40km mark where I got dropped on a hill. My shitty mountain bike just doesn't have the gears to keep up with these blokes. I rode to the lunch stop on my own going as hard as I could. I knew Luke and some of the other racers were still behind so I was hoping to get a quick snack from the lunch truck at the 50km mark and then continue on.

When I got to the lunch stop Jorg and Horst were ready to leave and no sooner had I filled up one bottle Luke and Tory were passing the lunch truck not bothering to stop at all. I knew this was not a good thing. I got some PVM health bars, quickly joined Horst and Jorg and chased down Luke and Tory. I should say that I sat on the whole time.

By the time we caught up my legs were burning. It's not often I get to climb hills on a mountain bike at 35kpm sitting on the seat. I'm getting so much stronger as the tour goes on, but I'm being methodical in my riding ensuring I don't tip over the edge and crash and burn.

The group ride at 45kpm for the next 1 & ½ hours over rolling hills with a slight tailwind. As we approached the outskirts of Lusaka a place Graciella had been in 2008 and Josh and I had been in 2003 I was so glad to see the finish flag.

I was so happy to finish with the strong riders and I was well and truly stuffed, shagged, shattered, you name it, I was it.

Luke and I got a room at the hotel the cyclists are staying, quickly had a shower and got one of the local buses into the arcades shopping centre to eat and eat and eat some more.  Later on we're going to the pictures with some cyclists and then we'll eat again.

Now perhaps the most important achievement today was not my racing but my wife turning 50. Happy birthday Graciella, I hope you had a fantastic day. To those who think I should've been at home to celebrate this huge goal in life, the decision for me to take on this journey was made by Graciella. She said, 'Go and enjoy yourself while your fit and healthy enough to do it'.

I'll wish Matthew a happy birthday in 2 days time. 

My thoughts go out to Julie and her family for the sad loss of a beautiful mother.