Just another few weeks

This photo was taken, while I cycled, with my new Olympus Stylus Tough-8010. The camera is 10m waterproof and 2m shockproof, which makes it the perfect little camera to take on an epic bicycle tour.

13 Dec 2010
I take this back now - the camera is already broken. It has not even been used under water or dropped!

After my "incident", I was trapped in the Village, until my riding partner returned from SA.

The incident:

Expat Cyclist harassed by youth

On the morning of 2 September, a South African lady in her late 20's was attacked by Ghanain youths. As she came up the road that leads to the township, Tutuka, 3 children jumped in her way to stop her. There were one teenage girl and two young boys. They grapped her bicycle's handlebar, which caused her to loose balance and stop. They demanded money, which she did not have. The boys then tried to take her camelbak and open the saddlebag to get money, all while the teenage girl held on to the handlebars.

"I had to kick and hit the children to get away and almost fell as the girl kept grapping my bike's handlebars. I sped away, while the little boy was throwing me with stones. I phoned the local security, which came to my rescue and to talk to the children, but they had run away."

The lady was not injured, but a bit rattled. This was not the first incident of expats getting harassed for money in the district. They are encouraged to not cycle alone.

END

On the Friday night we presented an Auction of lovely paintings like these, in aid of a local hospital. We managed to raise more than 15,000 US$ for the cause and had a very nice time doing it in our "tropical formal attire". The paintings were done by a former resident of the Village and donated to the hospital.

Back to cycling
Last night I had my first nightmare about the tour.. Me starting, with only my bicycle and the clothes on my back, nothing else. Forgot to take money, spares, clothes.. Just the knowledge of how to cover my poop. (this was the last information package we received from the TOUR - in detail, how to handle our human waste for 4 months, as we are doing it in mother nature)

Furthermore I am following my "advanced 12 week Heart Rate cycle program" tamely.

Now there are about 17 weeks left ..