Round and round we go

Stage 35
Day Total: 80.4km
Total Time: 4:07
Avg. Heart Rate: 126
Total Climbing: 191m

I awoke a bit apprehensive today. Seven consecutive days of riding ahead us, 5 of them off-road, 3 of them “mando” stages (the 12 most difficult stages of the tour), 2 of them over the infamous lava road of northern Kenya. The Tour rolls on and you either ride or you don’t and thus the decision is made. This week will be a lot of effort with even more heat, hence my anxiety.

Today’s stage was “mixed” with the majority of it being off-road. A group of 6 of us set out together and covered the 27km of pavement quite easily. The dirt section was fairly tame in the beginning, fairly flat and relatively smooth. A bathroom break was organized at the top of a small hill, but as seems to happen more frequently these days, one person chooses not to stop and the rest get nervous. For my part, I really needed to relieve myself and used the full stop to do so. This put me about 100 meters behind the group. I closed the gap at a leisurely pace, content to keep some distance behind them in an effort to better see the terrain and navigate a clean line.

The landscape was semi-arid with the occasional village breaking up the monotony of the scrub bush and thorn trees. Trucks and buses created dust storms that covered the road (and riders) and reduced visibility to nearly zero. Fortunately a stiff, quartering headwind developed that rapidly cleared the road.

A small, unexpected section of pavement brought us into the final 15km of the ride. As we crested a small climb, we turned back onto dirt for a long descent. UK Paul shot to the lead, with race leader Paul Wolfe close behind. I paused to unlock my suspension fork and then let the bike fly, overtaking Paul Wolfe and drawing near UK Paul. In a matter of minutes the two of us had built a reasonable gap of 200 meters. I yelled ahead to Paul to keep pushing and fortunately the road continued its downward path over uneven terrain. Paul’s mountain biking skills and my equipment advantage allowed us to continue to open the gap as the kilometers ticked away. A few goat crossings and short, steep ascents slowed us slightly but did little to stop us from increasing the lead.

In the end we barreled into camp right behind each other. In a gracious act of selflessness, Paul let me clock out first for the stage win (for the benefit of the charity). Hugs and high-fives ensued – it was not a huge margin of victory but symbolic in that we used skill and mechanical advantages to steal the victory.

Camp is in a very hot, dry riverbed. Not quite Sudan hot, but uncomfortably warm. There was work to do: clean the bike a bit, change tires to the 45c Marathon Plus, shuffle some gear. These would have to wait for the temperature to fall. We took shelter in the shadow of a small cliff, trying in vain to nap, failing miserably due to the outpouring of sweat and the persistent presence of the flies. Getting horizontal did help a bit to ease the hurt from the day’s effort but this was another example of how being in camp can be more difficult than being on the bike.

My father rode the morning section to lunch and rode the truck into camp. I am slightly concerned at this point as he admitted this afternoon that he doesn’t know if he can finish the tour. Riding the bike is difficult enough; the added work of making and breaking camp can make it even more so. I have talked to the tour staff and began socializing the idea of a short break from the tour with my father. He seems open to the idea so it should be a matter of coordinating the logistics.

More bad luck hit fellow rider Mike today. Multi-bike Mike whose bike was initially lost in transit to Cairo/found/shipped to Addis Ababa collided with a small child on the roadside today. He walked away, but seems to have damaged some ribs (I feel for him) and won’t be riding for the next few days. Get well soon Mike!