Round and round we go

Stage: 59
Day Total: 135.4km
Total Time: 6:06
Avg. Speed: 22.2km/h
Avg. Heart Rate: 120bpm
Total Climbing: 1692m

Song of the Day: Built to Spill – In Your Mind

For reasons unknown I am quite tired today. The morning featured a very nice climb of 10km featuring sections with a stabbing eight percent grade. My intent was to ride comfortably up this hill, but once I had ridden away from Liam and Bastiaan I decided to “give it stick” (an Aussie saying) and chase down Dennis. I caught him 7km into the climb and after we summited together it was time to stop and enjoy the views. The long descent brought us to the floor of the valley where the road snaked parallel to the river. And then it rained. And rained some more. And just a little bit more. Just before lunch it ended and after a couple of delicious sandwiches I was back on the road on my own. I rode the afternoon alone, trying to come to terms with my shiny new, non-competitive identity. Perhaps it was the relatively featureless ride that left me feeling apathetic and uncertain or maybe it is cumulative fatigue.

Today’s camp in the city of Mzuzu presented unexpected opportunities for cultural enrichment. Arriving relatively early into camp we set off into town in search of food and locally famous Mzuzu coffee. Luke and I found sustenance, and the coffee too. Unfortunately for UK Paul, his illness has continued to plague him and at the recommendations of the medical staff he spent the afternoon at the local clinic undergoing a battery of tests for malaria, cholera, and typhoid. Upon returning to camp he told me he now knew the cause of his illness: malaria. He and two others actually have it. The upside is that it is treatable and there is a known source of his degraded performance. For the moment, he and one of the other malarials will continue to ride, much easier than normal, in an effort to preserve their EFI status.