Thursday, 26th April 2007

To: Mbeya

The first 18 km or so were much more downhill than up, so lots of fun riding. Started at an elevation of 5,000 feet in Tukuyu and dropped to 4,300 feet ... before seeing a sign that said "Alert! Road ascends for next 8 km!" I ascended for 1 or 2 km, and then the rain started. This time, I was not lucky enough to be near a town, but there was a house with a woodpile and a covering over the wood pile. Dashed in and sat on some wood! Only sat on that wood about 1 minute, however, before the owner of the house came out and invited me in. O.k.! This wood's not all that comfortable anyway (not that I was complaining). The people in the house were friendly and invited me into their living room. We talked a bit about the unemployment problem in Tanzania, but they didn't speak very good English, they spoke Swahili which I don't know, so conversation was limited.

When the rain stopped, I went back outside to continue my 8 km climb (or so I thought). I was doing some mental math and thinking that by the end of the 8 km, I'd probably be at the point where I would descend nicely all the rest of the way to Mbeya.

And then. Hahaha! Cruel joke alert! When we were coming the other way, don't I remember Jack telling us that we'd start off from Mbeya with a 25 km climb? O.k., so being the bright one that I am, I managed to put that in reverse and figure I'd end the day with a 25 km what? ... DESCENT! Well, the nice little 8 km climb turned into a 9 km climb and then a 10 km climb, and then eventually I stopped counting every km, but I did get very very tired. In fact, when I finally actually was towards the top, I came upon a group of women carrying wood on their heads and walking. I passed them. But at that point, I'd taken to stopping every 1/2 km to rest because I was very tired and it was steep and I was in granny geer and I was carrying a heavy load. So, every time I rested, they'd pass me. Then, I'd start up again and pass them. We started smiling at each other each time, but I was getting more and more tired and wondering "WHEN do I get to start my 25 km descent?" and smiling took energy.

Eventually, I passed another cyclist, who was walking his bike. But then, when I stopped to rest, he passed me again. He said, "Don't worry, you're almost there. Just 2 more turns." That gave me hope, but I still had to rest one more time before finishing those 2 turns.

I want to say, for the record, that the 25 km climb out of Mbeya that Jack had announced 1 month earlier in a rider meeting? It was 16 km, not 25. For those of you reading this, you may think, what difference does it make? 16, 25 - aren't they almost the same? NO, climbing another 9 km past the point where you thought you were going to start whooping and hollering - that is a cruel joke. I climbed to a total elevation of 7,500 feet before starting to descend. But then ... yeeeee haaaawwww! It was so much fun! Just cruised into Mbeya! By the time I got there, I wasn't even tired any more, just exhilerated!

Stayed at a place called the "Royal Zambezi", chosen because of its bar that includes 2 busy pool tables. Met George and his friend. George was staying at the same lodge, and I met him when I was checking in and asking the receptionist where the remote control for my t.v. was. Just as we were having this discussion about how I want my remote control, in walked George. He was nice, so we decided to go have dinner together down at the bar with the pool tables. Turned into a night of pool playing with George and others - fun. (Though I never did get my remote control.)



------------------- TODAY -------------- TOTAL
Cycled ------------ 71 km (44 mi) -------- 4,786 km (2,996 mi)
Lift ----------------- 0 -------------------- 2,660 km (1,768 mi)
Total -------------- 71 km (44 mi) -------- 7,446 km (4,764 mi)
In Saddle --------- 6 hours 18 min -------- 322 hours 14 min
Ascended --------- 3,006 feet ------------- 88,221 feet