Finished last

We are resting today in Marsabit, Kenya.  We had 7 consecutive days of riding, including 3 mando days.  We crossed from Ethiopia to Kenya during this stretch.  A rider said we climbed over 25000 meters in Ethiopia!  The landscape changed dramatically.  The hills of Ethiopia became the flat Kenyan lava rock desert.  The desert is flat, and you can see for miles and miles.  It's almost like mars.  Cantaloupe and watermelon sized lava rocks scattered all around.  The road was terrible - corrugation, deep sand, and rocks.  To ride on it was pure punishment.  The area was so remote, I saw only a couple tiny villages.

We will ride to Nairobi in 5 days.  During the next 5 days, we will cross the equator and see mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.  

Stage 35 - Arba Minch rest day was not restful at all.  The camp ground did not have running water.  After four days of cycling, we really needed a good rest.  The fresh juices and fish more than made up for the lack of amenities.  Apparently, the TDA riders disrupted the local economy.  We drank a lot of juices, by the second day, the whole town ran out of mango and avocado.  Only papayas were available.  For dinner, I went to a local fish cooperative restaurant.  We were the last customers that night.  The Nile Perch with injira was delicious. 

I encountered two incidences in Arba Minch where a good Samaritan helped us.  We took a mini bus from the town back to our camp site.  The ride should only be 3 bir per person, as we took the bus from our camp site to town.  For some reason, the cashier on the bus decided to charge us 50 bir per person.  I got into an argument with him and another person that spoke English on the bus.  They backed down and said it was a joke.  We all know if we had paid that price, then they would not have said anything.  Another passenger on the bus got off just when the argument started and whispered in my ear "do not pay more than three bir."  A similar situation happened at a Coke stop just before town.  Normally a Coke is 5 bir and a bottle of water is 10 bir.  The waiter wanted to charge 25 birs for both.  Two local patrons at the same place told me and the waiter that it should not be more than 15 birs.  I just handed over 15 birs  and told the waiter that if that's not enough then tell the police.   You have to be very smart during international travel.  Always ask the price and negotiate before buying anything.

The ride today was on mixed pavement and dirt.  The area we rode in was very remote. The dirt road was not took bad, as Paul W, the race leader, gave me some advice on how to handle the rough section.  We were into our ninth area with distinctive language - not dialect, but language.   Last few days, we crossed predominate Muslim, Pentecostal, and Coptic areas.  Ethiopia is a very diverse country.  Tonight we camped at a river bed, surrounded by mountains.   Tomorrow we head into the Rift Valley.

Stage 36 - This was a mando day, 95km on corrugated dirt road, with 60km of uphill climb.  It was tough!  At one point, I was going 3kmph (2mph).  The people were so friendly today.  No one threw rocks.  This area we went through was very remote.  I saw no more than 100 people today.  The locals all carry a spear.  They all wore very colorful dresses.  Actually some women were naked on the top, very much like what you might see in a National Geographic magazine. 

I rolled into our camp site around 3:30pm.  There was shower facilities!!!  This is the first time in 8 days that I took a shower!  Imagine the joy of taking a nice cold shower after a long ride in the dirt.  Actually my skin was covered in sun screen, bug repellent, dirt, and sweat.  I realized that I was not black after all that stuff washed off.  I also shaved my face today since January.  2 more days in Ethiopia and then the biggest challenge awaits for us in northern Kenya.

Stage 37 - We rolled out of the camp site on paved road today for 128km ride.  The landscape was very strange today.  In the early morning, we saw lush green mountains.  All of a sudden, it seemed trees had no leaves and grasses were brown.  It's still winter here, that could be the explanation.  Then the landscaped changed to more desert like, cactus trees were everywhere and the trees were green again.  The mountains seemed a little smaller.  With each mountain we passed, the road became more flat.  We hit some nasty head wind today. 

The people also looked a little different as well.  The girls all had their hair braided and wrapped around their head.  I even saw a boy had the top his head shaved in a circle, it's like a halo.  Again, we didn't see many people today.  The villages were very small, just a few huts bunched together.  We saw some huge ant hills.  Some of these ant hills were almost 3 meters tall.  In some stretches, there were as many ant hills as trees. 

Stage 38 - The last day in Ethiopia!  A lot of "you you you," "I love you," what's your name," and a rock, of course.  The hills also presented a challenge as well, but it should be behind us now.  We were in Ethiopia for almost a month.  Looking back, there are a lot of things that we'll all miss - kids, good juice, beer, food, etc.  We went through border control with ease.  Kenya drives on the left side.  Actually we'll be on the left side until Cape Town.  The Kenyan side of the Moyale was much more tamer than the Ethiopian side. One thing that struck me was that all the kids had school uniforms.  They all greeted us with "How are you?"  Once we arrived, a couple of us went to town.  I had my hair cut by a kid, for only 50 schillings (about 70 US cents).  He did a great job.  Horst and I went to the "Prison Canteen" and had a couple of beers.  We talked about life.  The tough part starts tomorrow.

Stage 39 - East African Highway is a rocky and corrugated road.  We left our camp early in the morning.  Our ride was jarring all day.  It suppose to be even worse tomorrow.  I had a thorn in the front tire early in the afternoon.  I managed to get back to camp and patched the tube there.  We arrived in a tiny village and made camp.  This area of Kenya is very remote and hot.  We reached over 100 today before noon.  We saw very few people.  Some people found a little shop with cool soft drinks.  I tried a Black Currant Fanta and a Ginger Beer (Ginger Ale).  Tomorrow will be a mando day, corrugation, sand, and rocky road will challenge us.

Stage 40 - This was a tough day.  It was hot.  I felt like I was on Mars.  I rolled into camp at 4:30 completely exhausted.

Stage 41 - It got tougher today.  Sharita warned us last night that today will be the toughest day on tour.  I rode for 12 hours, just barely made it to camp at 6:30, right before sunset.  This was about a 50 mile ride.  Typically back home, this distance took no more than 3 hours.  You can see how tough the condition was.  I was the last rider in.  As soon as I rolled into camp, Carrie ran up to me and gave me a big hug.  I walked into the canteen and all the riders gave me a thunderous applauds.   Today was hot, rocky, hilly, and strong head wind.  I made it into lunch with no problems.  Then shortly after lunch I had a puncture in the back tire.  After patching it, I rode it for a little more and it punctured again.  I checked the tire and it had a big gash on the sidewall.  All the rock and sand chewed up the tire.  I was in despair.  Miraculously, the lunch truck appeared.  I put my bike on the lunch truck and borrowed Martin's, our bike mechanic, bike.  I want to ride all the way to Cape Town and not ever ride the trucks.