From Cairo To Capetown

Namibia: "Nothing can prepare you for as many kilometers as we did"

Tired.......that about sums up the past 5 days of riding.  We all knew that this was going to be a rough week on the bike but over the past 5 days we covered 830km.  This included one day with 207. 

Surprisingly I felt pretty good, my rear was a bit tender as could be expected but the legs spun away as if they were fresh each day! 

We arrived in Windhoek, Namibia, after leaving Maun, Botwswana 5 days ago.  The flight over the Delta in Maun was amazing. We saw herds of 40-50 elephants, giraffes, zebras, impalas, along with the flood plains that make the area so unique.

Windhoek is a very modern city.  I know I've said this before but the progression of the cities as we go further south has been incredible. The mall here could be anywhere in Ontario, with stores such as Body Shop, and yes the much craved KFC. It has however also been bizarre being back into an area where luxuries are readily available. 

For the past three months I have pretty much only purchased food, now I am being overwhelmed with the availability of items.  The desire to shop is amazing, but on closer inspection I realize that they are all things which I have lived without and not really missed over this period.  Not to mention that they probably would not fit nicely in my red box, which is now packed perfectly!!

The transition back home will be a difficult one!
Tomorrow we leave for the final stretch of the tour.  We have 6 days on the bike, one day off the bike, then 6 more days to Cape Town. I will then be spending 3 days in Cape Town prior to flying home. 

I will try to update in 6 days time.  Also on a side note, once back and photos have been sorted through I am planning on doing a photo presentation.  I will update the blog with dates and locations.

Keep the rubber side down
2 weeks to go!

Josh

J.P.M

Botswana: "Nothing like being so close to such large and powerful animals knowing that your only escape was on the two wheels between my legs!"

We sadly departed Livingstone, Zambia, and crossed over into Botswana.  We immediatly encountered issues as Polish citizenss as of 3 weeks ago need a visa.  So our sole Pole rider had to take a 5 day break to head back to Lusaka, run around finding the right Visa then return.  It worked out fine in the end, and she is still with us! 

The ride to Maun where we are now was through the Chobe Park, which has an incredibly large population of elephants.  After the first day of seeing nothing, we finally saw two elephants at a small watering hole 20 meters from the road. 

I've been on a driving safari before in Tanzania, but there was nothing like being so close to such large and powerful animals knowing that your only escape was on the two wheels between my legs! 

We watched them for about 30 minutes before they tired of watching us and walked off into the woods. 

At the bush camp we were at that night there were elephant foot prints everywhere, and the going joke was to see who would have they're tent stomped on during the night.  I must say it is amazing how animal like humans can sound in the darkness of the night when you are certain your tent is about to be walked on! 

The rest of the ride into Maun was rather un-eventful. 

Botswana is incredibly flat, and the roads straight, especially in comparison to the mountains and hills we have encountered to arrive here. but the lack of hills certainly makes for some easier logging of miles.

This afternoon I am going for a flight over the Okavanga Delta, it's supposed to be a spectacular display of water displaced over a vast plain with wildlife throughout.  Should be a spectacular sight. 

Tomorrow morning we head for a 5 day ride to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. I will write again from there.

Keep the rubber side down

Josh   

J.P.M

Pictures tell the story

Editor's note:  Josh has done a great job sending updates despite difficulty getting Internet access along the way.   In Zambia, he was able to sign-on to a connection that allowed him to send his first photos of the journey.   

The Team:

On the road to Capetown  from Cairo:

Looking forward:

The view:

22 riding days to go: "30 hungry cyclists"

We arrived in Livingstone, Zambia, two days ago and have had an amazing time in Africa's adventure capital.  As in Addis Ababa, the five-star hotel here has a gorgeous breakfast spread which was attacked for two mornings by at times 30 HUNGRY cyclists.  It was quite a sight of mass consumption. 

Afterward I walked the hotel grounds where you can get remarkably close to wild zebras and within 20 metres of giraffes and impala's, not to mention baboons which were storming around everywhere.

A monkey swooped out of a tree and grabbed a womans chocolate covered waffle, and immediately started to inhale it.  I think he had seen how our group ate and replicated that.

Today I was in the sky in an ultralight circling above Victoria Falls.  It was a spectacular sight to see from the  air, it is impossible to describe just how big the falls are.

This time of year the water was very high which inhibited ground vewing as the mist is so thick, but from above it was still very clear.

To finish off a great day a group of us went for a bungee jump off the Victoria Falls gorge bridge.  It was my first time bungee jumping, and it was remarkeably peaceful. Once off the platform things are completely out of your control so you had might as well enjoy the ride! 

Tomorrow morning we are off for Botswana.  We are down to I believe 22 riding days until we roll into capetown.

Keep the rubber side down

Josh   

J.P.M

Zambia: "people lose their tempers more often and frustrations are on the rise"

After what has been one of... actually the hardest stint on a bike in my life... we arrived for a rest day in Lusaka, Zambia. During the five riding days to get here from Lilongwe we covered in excess of 700 km, including one day that was 195 km.  This would have normally been alright, but with the rolling mountains, and high temperatures it was very difficult. We were up very early on the final riding day in order to arrive before the searing afternoon heat and to get a bit more time off.

The attitudes among the riders has slowly been changing.  It is really interesting to watch as people lose their tempers more often and frustrations are on the rise.

Small miniscule issues such as distances not being exact have become major problems for some in the group,  as well as the difficulty of the days.

Meanwhile the tour is advertised as the world's longest and toughest bike race!  It is amusing that some people expected it to be easy and have everything perfect. 

This is Africa, we are supposed to be here for an adventure not a walk in the park!

Tomorrow morning we head out for 3 long days until our next destination, and a major destination for myself, Victoria Falls.  We will be spending two full days there to view the falls, go white water rafting in the Zambezi River, and just generally lounging  around.   

After that we will be into the final month of this trip.  A countdown which I have been trying to avoid, but it is now inevitably closing in.  But for now I will continue to enjoy all of the sights, sounds, tastes, and effects which Africa instills in most, if not all.

Keep the rubber side down,
Next update from the Falls!

Josh

J.P.M

Malawi: few ammenities and no luxuries, but it was an amazing rest day

Iringa-Llilongwe Malawi

This past week we passed our halfway mark in distance, and I made it the entire way! Then, the day after our halfway point I had a migraine at night, rode the next day, was sick again that night, and decided to listen to my body and take a day off the bike.  While I will no longer have ridden the entire way, I am very confident that it was the right decision for me at the time. 

I've still been infection free so I am thankful for that.  We crossed into Malawi and spent a rest day at Chitimba beach. It was a remote little beach resort, with very few ammenities and no luxuries, but it was an amazing rest day. 

We've had near constant rain for the past 2 weeks so it was nice to not worry about packing up a wet tent, but instead putting it off for another day. 

The riding in Malawi has been gorgeous but difficult with a daily headwind, and some rather large hills.  Tomorrow we head straight west into Zambia, and we're all crossing our fingers that the winds will be at our backs.

With less then a month and a half to go this trip has been an incredible experience, which most of us would love to continue on with.  However reality must start again soon, I'm just hoping that the snow is gone by the time I return home! 

I will try to update again from Zambia!!!!

Keep the rubber side down

Josh

J.P.M

Tanzania: "With the humidity, heat, and run down bodies infections are running wild. "

It has been a tough week of riding.  Once we started riding in Tanzania we did not stop for 7 days straight. 

It has been the longest continuous stretch of riding the whole tour.  On normal roads this would have been alright but the Tanzanian roads which we were on were far from tarmac!  But it made the trip much more adventurous as well as adding some excitement.   

We're currently in Iringa, a small town with a laid-back atmosphere.  Being Easter not too much is open so it's an excellent time for a quick blog update.   

There's been a recent increase in infections  amongst the riders.  It seems with the humidity, heat, and run down bodies infections are running wild.  People with minor insect bites which have been scratched are needing antibiotics in order to stop infections.

It's startling how susceptible we are to these ailments when so far out of our normal element.   

Tomorrow we head out again for 4 days riding to Malawi, and a few birthdays approaching, in the group there is one on March 29 and 30, mine on March 31, and another on April 2. Should make for a few interesting days!!

Keep the rubber side down,

Josh

J.P.M

Ethiopia-Uganda-Kenya-Tanzania......in 14 days

Well it has been an eventful couple weeks away from the regular tour format.  Since the turmoil in Kenya, we were all set loose on Africa for a 2 week holiday from the holiday instead of riding through Kenya. Myself and 4 others set off to explore Uganda.  While most people will visit Uganda to see the gorillas we set out with no plans and no real direction, only knowing that we had to be back in Tanzania for the 16th ready to ride again.

Without going into great details we had a busy yet very enjoyable time in Uganda.  it is a very developed country with far more infrastructure then we have seen thus far in Africa.  Upon arriving in Kampala we set out for Jinja, the source of the Nile river, and some world class river rafting.  We emerged from rafting with a few scrapes, a few bruises, once really nice cut, but all in good spirits. 

From there we headed west to the town of Fort Portal, which is a base for hiking into the Rwenzori mountains.  While not a very exciting town it is spectacularly placed in the midst of lush green mountains.  We did a day hike to a local hot spring which was hot beyond anything I had ever sat in before.  I have a photo of myself taken shortly after getting out of the hot water with a very distinct red line indicating exactly where the water was. I felt like a lobster!  It was nothing a quick dip in the frigid river could not solve.

After Fort Portal we headed back to Kampala to see the equator marker, then hopped on a boat to the Ssese Islands. 

The islands are a series of about 80 islands in the middle of Lake Victoria. The setting was gorgeous, with blue water, white sand beaches, and of course a few hills thrown in to keep us from getting lazy. 

We spent several days walking the island and one day where we rented motorcycles to explore the island further.  This day included a trip into a local organic pineapple plantation.  The fruit was so juicy and sweet that the 4 of us ate 4 whole pineapples, and took 2 back to the hostel for later.  They certainly did not last too long! 

After the islands we headed back to Kampala for the final bus leg of the journey.  We left kampala at 3 p.m. drove all through the night to arrive in Nairobi Kenya at 6 a.m., we caught the first bus out of the city to Arusha Tanzania, where we arrived at about 1 in the afternoon......yesterday. 

We were sitting on one bus or the other for a bit over 20 hours.  It certainly gave us more stories then we ever would have had if we had flown.

Now I sit in an air conditioned internet cafe in Arusha Tanzania.  We have one more day off, then on Sunday morning we saddle up and hit the road! It is exciting to think about getting on the bike again after so much time off.  Hopefully it will renew spirits and bring out the smiles!

Keep the rubber side down

Josh
J.P.M

Ethiopia: "The mountains are spectacular"

Well another section of the tour has now drawn to a close.  We are in the border town of Moyale, between Ethiopia and Kenya.  The Ethiopian section has been a very eventful one.  Lots of riders being hit by stones, one rider running into a child then fearing for her life as the locals got angry, and lots of heat! However despite these negative points, Ethiopia is a gorgeous country.  

The mountains are spectacular, the roads empty and for the most part smooth.  It will be fun to start a new section of the tour in two weeks, however, Ethiopia will be oddly missed by all. 

Some have asked about how the daily routine of the tour works, and it is pretty simple to explain.  I wake up at about 6:15 to whatever music our truck drivers decide to play, I slowly get out of my sleeping bag, and get dressed for the day of riding.  I then take down my tent and re-pack my red box, this is the box which I like out of for 6 days at a time.  It holds all my clothes, tent, sleeping gear, extra parts, drugs, toiletries, so fourth and so on. I then eat a breakfast of normally porridge and a sandwich, and prepare to head out. 

On the road I am normally with about 6 others, we roll along, stop when we want.  Usually we will stop along route for a coke or other drink, before arriving at lunch.  After lunch we finish the ride at whichever camp we are at.  Once in camp I change, set up tent, and prepare for dinner!  We have a brief summary of the following day then it's bon-appetite!

After dinner I will normally sit around chatting with fellow riders, and then head to bead.........at about 7:30.  Yup so that's a brief summary of a daily camp routine.  Rise, eat, ride, eat, ride, eat, sleep! It's a rough life we're living. 

In two days we will be back in Addis for a day.  I will then be heading to Uganda for two weeks, before returning back to Arusha Tanzania in order to begin riding again.

Keep the rubber side down

Josh

Crossing Sudan: riders succumb to the heat

I must appologize for such a delay since my last update.  We have been riding lots and internet has been dreadfully slow or non existent. 

Since crossing into Sudan we have suffered through some pretty rough times. The roads were corrugated, sandy, rocky, and often simply not there!  Many tears were shed among the riders as they succumbed to the heat and rigours of riding through the Sudanese dessert. 

The people of Sudan were phenomenal, often inviting us in for tea of coffee simply to chat about our impressions of their country. Along the roads, we would pass by camel trains on way to market, as well as the carcasses of the camels which did not quite make it. 

The highest temperature which we recorded along the road was 46 degrees, I would often drink in excess of my 8 liters of water.

The only reprieve we had along the roads were the rare but much sought after Coke stops, where cold cokes would be pulled from a freezer.  Never has a cold beverage brought so much joy to so many. 

Once through with Sudan we crossed into Ethiopia where we are now.  Currently in a small city called Bahir Dar.  The ethiopian highlands have been phenomenal.  We were treated to spectacular views on mountain tops.  Which of course had been well earned by 15 km climbs.  And the only thing better than the mountain top views were the 75 km/h downhills. 

With the trouble going on in Kenya we are flying over and re-grouping mid March in Tanzania.  Currently I am planning on touring a bit through Uganda. We shall see what materializes.  For the next 5 days we are venturing towards the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. 

There, we will have two days off before the final push to the border town of Moyale.  We will then board a bus, go back to Addis, and fly our own way for two weeks.

I will try to update again from Addis.
Keep the rubber side down

Josh

J.P.M