Left Dodoma in a somewhat fowl mood for silly reasons. Was peddling very slowly and decided I was going to peddle at that speed the whole day. But then Rachel caught up with me. The next thing you know, we were riding along, chatting, my fowl mood went away, and I even sped up (slightly). She is really, really cool, that Rachel is. Can lift a person's spirits.
After about 30 km, we came to a small town that I had already seen on my map the night before in Dodoma and had already planned to stop at. It cracked Rachel up that I was already planning my stops, the night before! So, anyway, we stopped in the town and Rachel 
found us a great place to get some milk tea. We sat down and were enjoying our power bars and milk tea when a man came by and showed Rachel that her tire was flat! Well, at least if you're going to have a flat, this isn't a bad place to have it. The man wanted to fix the flat for Rachel. I (being typical me) told Rachel she should go ahead and let him do it for a small fee. But she didn't want to do that. So, she started fixing her flat and a large crowd gathered around, to watch the mzungu (white person) fix her flat tire. It was funny, so I took out my camera to get a picture of the crowd watching Rachel fix her flat. But as soon as I got the camera out, they all stepped back! I guess they thought I only wanted a picture of Rachel! No! I wanted a picture of them, watching Rachel! So, by the time I managed to snap the picture, they were down to only 3 on-lookers.
found us a great place to get some milk tea. We sat down and were enjoying our power bars and milk tea when a man came by and showed Rachel that her tire was flat! Well, at least if you're going to have a flat, this isn't a bad place to have it. The man wanted to fix the flat for Rachel. I (being typical me) told Rachel she should go ahead and let him do it for a small fee. But she didn't want to do that. So, she started fixing her flat and a large crowd gathered around, to watch the mzungu (white person) fix her flat tire. It was funny, so I took out my camera to get a picture of the crowd watching Rachel fix her flat. But as soon as I got the camera out, they all stepped back! I guess they thought I only wanted a picture of Rachel! No! I wanted a picture of them, watching Rachel! So, by the time I managed to snap the picture, they were down to only 3 on-lookers.We then rode the rest of the way to lunch. I was hoping we were going to ride the whole day together, but when we got to lunch, duty called for her. She had to go back and look for Sarah, whom they thought was lost. (It turned out later that she wasn't lost - she was already in camp!)
So, I rode most of the rest of the way alone. The trio of Phil, Nels, and Wendy were riding behind me, as sweepers. After about 15 km, I came to a village and naturally pulled in for a coke and a break. This is funny. As usual, the children crowded around, to watch me drink. (How exciting!) So, they were watching me, ho dee ho. But after about 15 minutes, they all all-of-a-sudden jumped up and ran off! I thought, "Wow! Where are they running off too? Something more exciting than watching me drink a coke?!" But slowly they all came back and one of the adults told me that 3 of my friends had just ridden by. That was Phil, Nels, and Wendy!
About 15 km more, I caught up with the trio at another coke stop, and we rode the rest of the way to camp together.
--------------------- TODAY ----------------- TOTAL
Cycled -------------90 km (56 mi) --------- 3,641 km (2,285 mi)
Sagged ---------------- 0------------------------ 2,190 km (1,475 mi)
Total --------------- 90 km (56 mi) ---------- 5,831 km (3,760 mi)
In Saddle ---------- 5 hours 45 min --------- 229 hours 56 min
Ascended ---------- 800 feet ----------------- 53,895 feet
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