Sossusvlei

 We crossed over 10,000 kms as we left Windhoek.  Time really went by fast in the last few sections.  We are resting at Sossusvlei in the Namib desert.  The landscape was spectacular in the last few days.  We cycled through the highlands, down through the Spreetshoogte Pass to the Namib desert.   Namibia is very developed.  In certain sense, we've left the real Africa. 

Stage 81 - This is the first ride of the last section.  The rest day in Windhoek was very relaxing.  I stayed in downtown, instead of the camp outside of the city.  Windhoek is a well organized city, after all, Namibia was a Germany colony.  

The section riders from Australia, UK, US and Ireland came by the camp to say goodbye to everyone.  We headed out to town and on to the dirt road.  After the long days of Botswana, the mountains provided a welcome change in scenery.  We climbed most of the morning to over 2000 meters, then a few long descends and rolling hills in the afternoon.  The headwind we battled last few days became tailwind as we headed south.  Namibia is experiencing the most rainfall in 100+ years.  Everything is still green.  This time of the year here is equivalent to late November, early December in the northern hemisphere.  I had a flat tire just coming of lunch.  Hope the tire God is with me rest of the trip!

Stage 82 - What an epic ride today!  After a storm last night, the sandy road was really soft in the morning.  Lunch was scheduled at 75 kms.  However, we were surprised to see the lunch truck at 63 km mark.  The lunch truck got stuck in the mud and could not go further.  After lunch, the ride combined nearly all challenges from previous rides: mud, sand, water, corrugation, heat, climbing, steep descends and long dirt road.  Due to the heavy rains this year, the roads have not yet been graded.  So there were a lot of rough spots.  We pushed through mud pools and streams.  Bike through streams where water is knee deep was really fun.  Then we climbed the beautiful Spreetshoogte Pass.  It was one of the most spectacular lookout point ever.  The Namibian desert dunes are not too far away.  We then descended 500 meters over 4 kms.  At some points, it felt like a 90 degree angle straight down.  The ride after was on corrugated roads that reminded us of Sudan and Northern Kenya.

Once I arrived at the camp, there was a bakery that had the best apple pies.  It was incredibly delicious.  

Stage 83 - We had a 30km time trial today.  We had a huge storm last night.  As we left the camp, the sun peeked through the clouds and added a reddish color to the mountains in the horizon.  Expecting the road to the sandy and soft after the rain, I left early to warm up.  However, the dirt road was in perfect condition.  I arrived at the time trial 30 minutes before the scheduled star and had to re-warm up again during the first few minutes of the time trail.  I was able to finish the 30km in 1:09:17. 

Windy in Windhoek

The trip is winding down fast.  We will be in Cape Town in about two weeks.  We had five consecutive 100+ milers from Maun to Windhoek, including a 207km ride, strong head wind, rain, hail, and a long climb.

Stage 76 - Maun was a small tourist city in Botswana.  I took a flight over the Okavango delta, the largest in land delta, on the rest day.  The flight was the last one of the day, so we were lucky to see the sunset from the air. Today's ride was fast, assisted by a strong tailwind.  Most people made it to lunch (80kms) in under three hours.  The road continued to be long, flat and straight.

Stage 77 - This was a team trial day.  We formed the teams by country.  To represent America, Team Oil consisted of Scott, Kevin, Mike and I.  Scott is a strong racer, while Kevin and Mike are consistantly fast.  It's a 40km time trail.  We warmed up from 38kmph.  At the end we were pulling 50kmph on a flat with a slight incline road.   It was a total team effort, everyone took turns to pull.  We finished with 1 hour 1 minute, tied with Canadian Bacon (which consisted of both men and women's race leader).  The Dutch team, BeOne, won the trail with 57 minutes!

We saw an Ostritch laid an egg next to Steve's tent at the camp site.  How auspicious on Easter Sunday?  The egg was promptly transformed to an omelette.

Stage 78 - Mando days are usually the toughest days.  This was extra tough - 207 kms (125 miles).  I think most people had never cycled that distance before.  This is the end of the raining season, but for some reason, rain still persists.  The morning started with heavy fog, then a thunderstom that produced hail.  It was not fun at all.  Then, a loud pop came from my rear wheel.  I checked the tire, it was still fully inflated.  I started to ride again and noticed a severe wobble on the rear wheel.  One of the spokes had snapped off.  I took off the broken spoke and carried on.  After lunch, another storm hit us with strong head wind.   Some people didn't want to leave lunch, so I decided to ride alone.  It was a tough grinding day.  Once I reached camp, the news came that Sarge, from Trinidad, could not get a Namibian visa at the border.  So he lost his EFI status.  Alice from Scotland also forgot to take a right turn today, so she went straight towards South Africa.  We finally found her later in the day.

Stage 79 - This turned out to be a very tough day.  I changed my tires last night to a bigger size for the up coming off road.  My plan is to ride these tires all the way to Cape Town.  The morning ride was a bit slow after the long day yesterday.  A very strong head wind was with us all day.  We also had a little climbing as well.  After a Coke stop, rain started to drop as I rode out of town.  Daniel and Mike turned back towards town.  I just kept on going.  The rain was very heavy with a very strong headwind as I climbed a hill.  Then, the rain stopped on the down hill and the wind became a tail wind.  The descend was very fast at 60 kmph.  All of sudden a strong gust of wind blew me almost to the next lane and hail pelted down.  The storm was so heavy, I couldn't see anything in front and golf ball sized hail came down hard.  I got off the bike and turned my back to the direction of the storm.  After a few minutes, the storm lightened up and I kept on.  It was so cold, the temperature dropped to 60 degrees from 80+ during the storm.  The sun finally came out!  It was a memorable ride.

Stage 80 - A lot of climbing and strong headwind to Windhoek.  It seems a lot of the capital cities in Africa are over a mile above sea level.  Windhoek is no exception, at 1700+ meters.  After arriving at the camp site, I promptly devoured a big T-bone and three beers.  We had some really fun sectional riders in the lase section and today was their last ride, to celebrate their achievement, a big group of us went to Joe's beer garden.  The zebra steak I ordered was excellent.  Others tried other game meats like Springbok, Kudu, etc.

Picture Update 15 - Botswana

A "moonbow" at Victoria Falls.

An elephant on the banks of Chobe River in Botswana.

• Hippos in the Chobe River.

A family of Elephants in Chobe National Park.

Moon over the Chobe River.

Sunset on the Chobe River.

Border crossing between Zambia and Botswana.  The island on the top right belongs to Namibia.  The waters on the left belongs to Zimbabwe.

More elephants than people.

Endless sunflower field.

Baobab tree - they are huge.

A rainbow on the roads of Botswana.

Elephant Highway

We are taking a rest day in Maun, Botswana.  The memory from Victoria Falls still lingers in my mind.  Victoria Falls was beautiful.  But, Victoria Falls at night with the full moon was out of this world.  Heather, Chris and I went to see "moonbow" or lunar rainbow on the last rest day.  It only happens when the spray is high and there is a full moon.  It was an unforgettable experience.  The full moon, the roaring of the falls, and a faint but highly colorful double rainbow created a surreal experience.

We crossed the Chobe River from Zambia to Botswana.  During the crossing, we actually were in four different countries: Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.  This might be the only place where four countires share a common border across a river.  It would have been much easier if they all got together and built a bridge.  But Mugabe of Zimbabwe wanted to charge a lot of money for the use of their land.  The ferry ride was rather funky, big trucks, cars, passengers and bikers all got on this platform ferry.

Botswana is flat.  The roads are straight and long, which means very long rides.  All of our rides here are over 100 miles.  I might have seen more elephants than people in the fisrt five days we are here.  The population of Botswana is only slightly over a million.  The country is very developed, all the western conveniences are available.

Marelie, Deon, Chris, Roger and I took a flight over the Okavango Delta, the world's largest in-land delta.  Unlike most rivers in the world that flows into the ocean, the Okavango River just disappears into the land, creating a massive inland delta and wetlands.  There were a lot of animals in the delta: elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, etc.

This coming week will be tough, all 100 miles rides, including a 125 miler.

Stage 70 - We started a new section called the Elephant Highway.  What an appropriate way to start the day by seeing an elephant on the highway!  It was a young male elephant by the side of the road.  I think it got aggitated as we rode by.  In fact I heard some people got off their bike to take pictures and the elephant charged them.

After arriving at the camp, most of us took a Chobe river cruise to see wildlife.  There were so many elephants, kudus, impalas, and crocdiles.  We even saw a croc eat a bird out of the water.

Stage 71 - As we left the camp, I saw a buffaloe running along the banks of the Chobe river.  The sky was painted red as the sun was just about to break the horizon.  This was scheduled to be a long day at 159kms.  It got even longer when our support team told us there were lion tracks and vipers at that camp.  Botswana is long and flat.  We past huge farms of sorgham and sun flowers.  The sun flower fields were endless with millions and millions of sun flowers facing the sun.

Stage 72 - We had a little thunder storm the night before, but everything dried up in the morning.  The ride to Nata was long and straight.  There were almost no people along the road.  A few folks saw elephants on the road, but I was not lucky enough to see them.  There were a lot of wild rosemary bushes along the road.  The fragrant smell from rosemary tingled the senses.

Stage 73 - The Nata lodge we stayed in was beautiful.  It was Christine's birthday as well.  So we had a bit of fun.  Paul and Christine had a part at the bar and picked up the tab for drinks and deserts.  We had a great time.  Needless to say, some people rode the truck today.

182kms ride started with a heavy rain storm in the morning.  The rain stayed with us for the first 50kms.  I rode with Paul and Adam for a while.  They were "cruising" at 40kph.  I tagged along with Horst rest of the morning, still going at 35kph.  After lunch, we had a Coke stop at a Shell gas station.  I had some local food and a cold beer.  As I was cycling along in the afternoon, I spotted a huge elephant about 200 meters in the bush.  I stopped and saw three more elephants near by.  They are really magnificent.

Stage 74 - Another long day going into our rest day.  I stayed with Tori, the womens race leader, and Kevin. We rotated and pulled each other for over 100kms.  A fun rest day is waiting for all of us!!!

Picture Update 14 - Mosi Oa Tunya

Mosi Oa Tunya, the smoke that thunders, is the local name for Victoria Falls.  It's one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  We arrived in Livingston, Zambia on April 14th.  On the ride into town, the spray from Vic Falls could be seen from miles away.  When I entered Zambia, I paid for a double entry visa, with the intention to go to Zimbabwe for a day.  Christina already booked a room in Zimbabwe and I just decided to go together to spend a night in Zimbabwe. How cool is that?

As we crossed the bridge between Zimbabwe and Zambia, I saw a 360 degree double rainbow that went all the way around the bridge.  It was truly spectacular.  Zimbabwe was much less touristy and much poorer than the Zambia side.  The Kingdom Hotel that we stayed at was five stars by western standards - swimming pool, a full buffet, and air conditioned rooms.  Although the falls are few miles away, the thundering sound of the falls could be heard very clearly. There was also a Casino on the property.  The hotel was may be 25% full, with a Japanese tour group and few other tourists. Just beside our hotel is Africa's oldest hotel, the Victoria Falls Hotel.  The rooms are $500 per night there.  It's a very beautiful property.  You can see the bridge from the hotel lawn.  There is also a flag pole in the center of the viewing terrace, the base shows arrows pointing to Cairo and Cape Town.

The following day, Pierre, Christina and I went to the Victoria Falls National Park to see the falls from the Zimbabwe side.  It's the spraying season at the falls.  That means, with the peak of the rain season right now, all that water bouncing up almost covers the falls.  To stand next to the falls and see water rushing downing the cliffs is a amazing experience.  After crossing back to Zambia.  A few of us also took a helicopter ride to see the falls from the air.  It was even more spectacular to see the Zambezi River, the falls and the gorges.

To end the evening, I went to the Royal Livingston Hotel to have a drink and watched sun set.  The hotel is on the Zambezi River and about 200 meters away from the falls.

360 degree rainbow from the bridge.  You can see the shadow of the bridge in the water.

The spray from Victoria Falls.

The gorges after the falls.

Devil's Cataract, the westernmost cataract of Victoria Falls

Main falls as seen from the Zimbabwe side.

This is the spray from the falls from the Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls National Park.

Victoria Falls viewed from air.

Zambezi River and Victoria Falls.  The bridge that links Cairo and Cape Town.

Sunset on the Zambezi River.

Dusk on the Zambezi from the Royal Livingston Hotel.

Munali's Pass.

Zambia.

Zambezi river.  Victoria Falls is where the plume of water is.

Crossing from Zambia to Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls National Park on the Zimbabwe side.

Victoria Falls Hotel, the oldest hotel in Africa.

Cairo 5165 miles, Cape Town 1647 miles.  Taken at the Victoria Falls Hotel.

The spraying from the falls.  You can see the water on the edge.

Zimbabwe.

The Zambezi Zone

Lusaka is perhaps the smallest capital city I've visited.  It's no bigger than any medium sized city in the US.  A few of us took a truck to visit Zambikes, a charity/bike builder based in Zambia.  A couple of American kids started the organization and hired local workers to build bikes.  They make specialized bikes for Africa, including ambulances (yes, a bike ambulance!) and carts.  Zambikes also builds bamboo bikes.  We toured the factory and saw the entire frame building process.  I bought a bamboo frame!

On the way to Zambikes, I saw the funniest building name in history - Get Rich or Die Trying Complex.  We'v seen many funny building signs, like Try Again Plaza.

Stage 68 - After a solid rest day with a lot of protein loading, I felt great for the 158km ride.  I had 3 t-bone steaks, a full chicken, at least 10 milk shakes, and a lot of other junk food during the break.  I might have beaten Michael Phelps on the 10,000 calorie diet.  The ride was simply spectacular today.  It was a dry and cool day, with very low humidity.  After all, it's fall here. The morning ride had some good climbs, but the afternoon ride was very flat.  Rodney and I stopped at a grocery store and loaded up on yougarts and Cokes.  Zambia is fairly westernized.  It's interesting to see the contrast between Malawi and Zambia.  All the western conveniences are available here.

Stage 69 - Last night's sky was spectacular, again.  The Milky Way galaxy streaked acrossed the sky.  I wish I could photograph it.  Parts of the galaxy looked like clouds in the sky.  Venus, the brightest star in the sky, came out in the early morning.

This was a long ride, 182kms!  I've done two centuries prior to this trip.  This was the longest ever, with more climbs than descends.  I started the morning by myself, but quickly the racers caught up.  I stayed with them for 10+ kms, then dropped.  After lunch, I went a bit faster.  There was a little town about 40km before camp.  Some of us stopped there to get a second lunch.  I felt great after the break and was flying for the rest of the ride.

Stage 70 - Today was long ride into Livingston, 150+kms.  Terry from Australia went for a stage win today.   He is raising money for his charity, a stage win will generate for donations.  I rode with the main peloton group most of the morning and decided to break away about 10kms from lunch.  I sprinted out in front and pedled hard to lunch.  Lunch was a treat - water melons and french toast.  The ride into Livingston was beautiful.  Miles away from the city, you could see a huge plumme of cloud arising from the ground - Victoria Falls is within sight.  Terry won the stage with the race leader hot on his heel.

Picture Update 13 - Zambia

Kim and I getting our hair cut in Lilongwe.

Not McDonalds!

Luke, Heather, and Peter looking sharp on the green in Lilongwe.

Sunset in Zambia.

A typical village in Zambia.

Sunrise in Zambia.

A field of sun flowers.

Luangwa River.

Check out the wheel on this cart.  It's like the Flintstones!

Early morning in Zambia.