Destination Lilongwe

19 – 27 March
Arusha to Mbeya
Saturday: To Maguga, 142km on paved road
Sunday: To Katesh 95km, beginning of dirt road
Monday - Friday: 121, 107, 114, 124, and 124 km dirt to Mangalosi
Saturday:  111km dirt to Mbeya from 1265 m to 2961m at the highest point to end at 2470m
Sunday: Rest day in Mbeya

This was definitely one of the hardest sections of the tour so far, but also my favourite one!  It started off really good with paved road, but where the Shwalbe Marathon PLUS MTB knobblies handle very well on the dirt and mud, they stuck to the tar – requiring more effort with every pedal.  I brought with me only this one pair of off-road 2.1 inch tyres. After the lava rock days in Northern Kenya most of the knobblies was cut off and the blue layer of puncture protection was showing. I continued cycling with this pair of tyres throughout this whole section without any problems. I did also put a layer of puncture protection in. (plastic liners)

On the second day we started with the dirt roads and also the rain started pouring down – heavily! This made the dirt road even more challenging, but at the same time it was loads of fun sliding around in the mud!  We completed the day all wet and dirty. The locals sheltering from the rains seemed very amused by us “mzungu’s”* racing by on our bikes and funny latex gear.

At camp the rain did not stay away and we all stood under the tarps of the trucks having dinner.  I learned a valuable lesson about the ground sail under my tent: It must be smaller than the tent; otherwise if it sticks out on the sides, the water will flow in between the sail and the tent and come into your tent from the bottom! This will cause you to lie in a puddle and your clothes and back to get very wet…

Every day we cycled in the most amazing sceneries – like the Africa of your dreams would look like! Dirt roads, luscious plant growth, friendly local people who work on their farm lands.  Apparently there are not a lot of these roads left in East Africa.  Unfortunately it seems like the Chinese are tarring every road…

The last day was very challenging over a big distance and climbing so much. I cycled until 17:40! Arriving in Mbeya, tired and finished, Alice luckily already organized a hotel room for us at the Livingstone Hotel.  The Doctor was not in.

28 March – 5 April
Malawi Gin – Mbeya to Lilongwe
Monday – 128km
Tuesday – 123km to Chitimba beach camp
Wednesday – rest day in Chitimba
Thursday – 135km to Mzuza
Friday – 125km to Luviri
Saturday – 109km to Kasungu
Sunday – 130km to Lilongwe
Monday and Tuesday – Rest days in Lilongwe

On Monday, Deon (my husband) joined me. He will be cycling from Lilongwe to Windhoek with me. Already he has cleaned my bike “properly” – as my efforts of yesterday did not make his standard… He also fitted my tyres the right way, as I did it with the arrows of the Shwalbe’s showing backwards. hehe Think we are going to have loads of fun!  I also made him shop for 2 hours.  After the 8 very tough days in Tanzania, the 2 riding days and then the rest day at the beach camp was very welcoming! This was a proper rest day – as we lay around all day on the coaches next to the beach with a perfect view over the Lake Malawi with Tanzania on the other side.  I did nothing but read my book, eat and nap.

The rest of the week was tough again for me with a lot of climbs! Saturday was a treat however, with more downs than ups… and I arrived in camp at 11:15 already. Along the road we met up with loads of interesting locals. From the children who beg for money, for “TWO PENS”, a playstation? Then there was Smart, yes that is his name, who explained to me and Beate what the white chip form stuff next to the road is, what we thought are cheese. It is actually cassava that they dry and then deep fry in oil and flour. Cassava is the root of a tree and it looks like a mix between a carrot and a sweet potato.  Also met Benjamin that cycles a “bicycle taxi”, like a lot of other locals.  He has a nice seat with a cushion on the back rack of his bicycle, even with handlebars at the back and place for the passenger’s feet. He asks 2500 Malawe Kwacha (about US$13) for a ride from the one town to the next that is almost 20km.

*what we are called in Swahili