22-27 February Addis Ababa to Aber Minch
It is 23:00 and everyone in the camp is already asleep. I just backed up all my photos from this section and as I look through them again I feel a bit sad looking at the children. They look so poor and so dirty.
These four days had its ups and downs, with the children and the hills. Cycling on my own through a town, I was hit by five stones at once. The one even hit my brake rotor so hard that it was bent and I had to replace It. Luckily I did bring a spare rotor for the back.
Then at the one Coke stop my iPod was taken from the table in front of me. After I asked around and the young waiter denied taking it, I asked the owner to please phone the police. The waiter took the owner around the shop and he returned with the iPod, so he must have not liked my choice in music.
In Aber Minch we stayed at a hotel for our off day. We camped in the front of the hotel on the grass. The hotel had the best view ever over the lake, but no water and no electricity. I took a shower under a hose pipe in the open with my shorts and sports bra on. After a few days of cycling and no washing, it felt great! That water was soon finished too and we had to scoop water from a tank.
28 February Start of MELTDOWN MADNESS SECTION
Today I could only cycle to lunch at 62km, because of an upset stomach again. During the afternoon I started vomiting also etc.. To be so sick in the bush in your tent is really not nice and I felt very sorry for myself. Never in my life was I so thirsty, but every time after I drank water – it had to come out via projectile vomiting. Then diarrhea and so it continued. The advice from the medics on tour is to wait at least 2 to 3 days before taking the antibiotics, but I am just so soft… so I started my second dose of antibiotics (Cifran).
After almost 2 months on tour it seems so normal to talk about bowl movements as it is to talk about the weather. It is the main topic over various dinner meals. I will need some adjustment back in the normal society.
1 March
Today I was in the truck. The cycle was very tough and some people finished after 17:00. It was also gravel and a lot of climbing. We are in a little town and staying at the Yebello Motel, an oasis in the middle of nowhere. For only $17 I am sharing a room with warm water and electricity! The perfect place to recover. I slept most of the afternoon.
2 March 126km
The locals from this region are the Oroma folks and are much friendlier than the Ethiopians we have thus far experienced. We only had an 857 m ascend to do and enjoyed the ride.
Our camp tonight is called the “singing bush camp” as it is near the singing wells. Just before dinner Sam, Kristian and I decided to go and have a look at this singing wells that sound like whales. We found the well, but heard no sound coming from it.. We then made sounds into it and Kristian even climbed down in it to see what is going on down there. Luckily Elvis showed up and explained that the name originated from the women who sing while collecting water from the well. ughh not the well itself.
3 March 83 km to Moyale – Border to Kenya
Today was the last cycling day in Ethiopia and I was really looking forward to enter Kenya.
4 March 79 km
Today was a “warm up” on not to bad dirt roads. I really enjoyed it and had a great day. After lunch the road was a bit corrugated so I got off and cycled next to the road on the camel path. What an adventure it was! Real mountain biking over heaps, dodging thorn trees, I felt like I was in an action movie!
5 March 84 km
A very rough morning of corrugation, loose rocks, corrugation, lave rock, loose rocks…
I decided to try out the camel path again adjacent to the bad main road. At some point the road split and I took the nice path to the right, because it also had two bicycle tracks on. Then after about 5km on a single track path, thinking I have made the best discovery yet! No corrugation and maybe a shortcut? I had a great time between the trees on the track. I cycled past a group of ladies leading a whole group of camels in single file. They were very amused by my cycle outfit and felt my helmet while I tried to explain what it is for. Then I met up with three local Kenyan men… eating PVM energy bars. With their Swahili they tried to explain that two of my kind was also on this track and it is not the road to Nairobi – I have to turn around. Eight kilometres later I was back on track. Claire was riding the sweep for the morning and was very surprised when I caught up with her, as she is supposed to be behind the last rider.
6 March 87 km to Marsabit
I thought that the two cycling days in Sudan on the badly corrugated dirt was the worst ever. But in Kenya – lava rock, loose stones and a strong head wind was added!!
In the morning about 20 cyclists decided to rather get on the truck than have another tough day on these roads, but I decided to try it and see how it goes. It was a very tough morning and after lunch I did about 16km in 2 hours! When the lunch truck caught up with me, I decided I had enough and the thought of a cold beer waiting at camp was just too alluring.
 |
| Unarmed children |
It is 23:00 and everyone in the camp is already asleep. I just backed up all my photos from this section and as I look through them again I feel a bit sad looking at the children. They look so poor and so dirty.
These four days had its ups and downs, with the children and the hills. Cycling on my own through a town, I was hit by five stones at once. The one even hit my brake rotor so hard that it was bent and I had to replace It. Luckily I did bring a spare rotor for the back.
Then at the one Coke stop my iPod was taken from the table in front of me. After I asked around and the young waiter denied taking it, I asked the owner to please phone the police. The waiter took the owner around the shop and he returned with the iPod, so he must have not liked my choice in music.
 |
| Bob enjoying the view from our campsite |
28 February Start of MELTDOWN MADNESS SECTION
Today I could only cycle to lunch at 62km, because of an upset stomach again. During the afternoon I started vomiting also etc.. To be so sick in the bush in your tent is really not nice and I felt very sorry for myself. Never in my life was I so thirsty, but every time after I drank water – it had to come out via projectile vomiting. Then diarrhea and so it continued. The advice from the medics on tour is to wait at least 2 to 3 days before taking the antibiotics, but I am just so soft… so I started my second dose of antibiotics (Cifran).
After almost 2 months on tour it seems so normal to talk about bowl movements as it is to talk about the weather. It is the main topic over various dinner meals. I will need some adjustment back in the normal society.
1 March
Today I was in the truck. The cycle was very tough and some people finished after 17:00. It was also gravel and a lot of climbing. We are in a little town and staying at the Yebello Motel, an oasis in the middle of nowhere. For only $17 I am sharing a room with warm water and electricity! The perfect place to recover. I slept most of the afternoon.
 |
| Kristian and Elvis going down the "singing well" |
The locals from this region are the Oroma folks and are much friendlier than the Ethiopians we have thus far experienced. We only had an 857 m ascend to do and enjoyed the ride.
Our camp tonight is called the “singing bush camp” as it is near the singing wells. Just before dinner Sam, Kristian and I decided to go and have a look at this singing wells that sound like whales. We found the well, but heard no sound coming from it.. We then made sounds into it and Kristian even climbed down in it to see what is going on down there. Luckily Elvis showed up and explained that the name originated from the women who sing while collecting water from the well. ughh not the well itself.
3 March 83 km to Moyale – Border to Kenya
Today was the last cycling day in Ethiopia and I was really looking forward to enter Kenya.
4 March 79 km
Today was a “warm up” on not to bad dirt roads. I really enjoyed it and had a great day. After lunch the road was a bit corrugated so I got off and cycled next to the road on the camel path. What an adventure it was! Real mountain biking over heaps, dodging thorn trees, I felt like I was in an action movie!
5 March 84 km
A very rough morning of corrugation, loose rocks, corrugation, lave rock, loose rocks…
I decided to try out the camel path again adjacent to the bad main road. At some point the road split and I took the nice path to the right, because it also had two bicycle tracks on. Then after about 5km on a single track path, thinking I have made the best discovery yet! No corrugation and maybe a shortcut? I had a great time between the trees on the track. I cycled past a group of ladies leading a whole group of camels in single file. They were very amused by my cycle outfit and felt my helmet while I tried to explain what it is for. Then I met up with three local Kenyan men… eating PVM energy bars. With their Swahili they tried to explain that two of my kind was also on this track and it is not the road to Nairobi – I have to turn around. Eight kilometres later I was back on track. Claire was riding the sweep for the morning and was very surprised when I caught up with her, as she is supposed to be behind the last rider.
 |
| Sarge waving good buy to Ethiopia - on the road just before the border to Kenya |
6 March 87 km to Marsabit
I thought that the two cycling days in Sudan on the badly corrugated dirt was the worst ever. But in Kenya – lava rock, loose stones and a strong head wind was added!!
In the morning about 20 cyclists decided to rather get on the truck than have another tough day on these roads, but I decided to try it and see how it goes. It was a very tough morning and after lunch I did about 16km in 2 hours! When the lunch truck caught up with me, I decided I had enough and the thought of a cold beer waiting at camp was just too alluring.
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