Ashleigh's Adventure In Africa: Greetings from Ethiopia

Hi Everyone,

Sitting in a tin walled room in Ethiopia after a very fast but short day of riding. We are having a "P" party tonight (everyone has to dress up like something starting with P) so we had only 60km to do, but the race was on for the limited hotel rooms in town. Took 2:15 to do the ride, long rolling hills through crazy villages where kids line the streets throwing rocks and screaming "you you you." I am tired, to say the least, but I managed to get a room (sweet success) whch I feel I really deserve.

The sad news is that I lost my EFI bid on day 6 of a very tough 6 day ride through Ethiopia. This place is mountainous, and sadly, it all fell apart for me at 70km of a 108km day. I'm so disappointed, but honestly I was in the red for a long time. I wanted to fight it out for another hour, but there isn't a lot of support here, so when the last bus passed me with nearly 40km to go, I felt I had no choice but to stop them. It was a tough call...but I'm trying not to regret it, especially since I just don't have the equipment (bike/tires) to manage the terrain.

Rough unpaved roads (big rocks with gravel and loose dirt packed around them) that punish you on the flats and were nearly impossible to handle on the downhill -- plus 2400 meters of climbing at times so steep not a single rider could stay on the bike -- worse that any hill in SF -- (unpaved of course) on 32 inch wheels without suspension. I'm telling you ... it could be done, but not by me. The few of us that are on road bikes really suffered and only 2 survived the whole way. Bummer. I still don't have full feeling in my hands (yes, I'm massaging them).

Then, we all got sick that night and spent the rest day puking. Delightful. But, we stayed together the next day (not today since Josh and I had to go ahead of the pack in the race for hotel rooms for our group) and things are starting to feel a bit better health wise today.

Ethiopia.. what can I say. It is shockingly beautiful here. We climb (forever) and at the top we're rewarded with views of African plains as far as the eye can see, huge buttes that pop out of lush fern filled forests -- really stunning. Temperatures have been -- are you ready? -- 110-120 degrees. H O T. The last few days have cooled off a bit (we're at 7000 ft I think) but the first 3 days after crossing the border were incredible.

But, Ethiopians, especially the children, are among the worst people on the planet. It sounds harsh and insensitive (because the poverty is horrendous -- and people are dying all over the place) but I detest them. Hoping to be proven wrong soon. They run next to you as you climb and steal your stuff. One of the guys had his camera stolen. Another had to deal with 4 teenagers with huge sticks grabbing him and trying to force him off the bike. Yikes.

We ride like we're in warfare. Yesterday our strategy was to keep in a tight group, then when we say kids ahead on the sides or in the street, two riders on the outside would speed up, right directly towards them screaming like rabid apes to distract them, and the rest of the group would pass. The worst is the kids that take sticks and try to throw them through your spokes. Clive has managed to fill his saddle bag side pockets with thorns so if a kid reaches in ... ouch.

I admit, we have decided that kareoke riding is the way to go, so whilst avoiding being stoned or robbed, we sing at the top of our lungs. Quite a scene, I'm sure and NO, they aren't stoning us because of our singing!

At coke stops, which we enjoy, huge masses of people line up and just watch us. The life of a celebrity sucks, I imagine. Last night in the cow field we camped in (literally), the whole town was circled around us watching us for hours. They just stare, ask for money, stare, ask for money....it's quite uncomfortable but it's like this the whole time we're in Ethiopia.

What else can I say? I'm still loving every minute of this ride. I'm definitely getting a mountain bike when I get back (word). I don't feel like I'm getting fitter but I'm sure I am. The altitude here is a bit of a problem for me, but I'm not too stressed about it. We do the Nile Gorge on Saturday. Supposed to be spectacular -- though very technical riding and rough roads. Hopefully I can handle it!

We are definitely not going through Kenya, which is a huge disappointment. Northern Kenya is some of the toughest riding so the tour director and the founder (who is here trying to figure out how to handle the kenya thing) are going on ahead tomorrow to scout out a new route -- with tough off-road riding (my nightmare on my bike). So, that's great for the off-roaders but I'm going to have to figure something out quick.

For the 2 weeks we're off, I'm thinking Uganda. We won't be able to see gorillas, but there's a beautiful lake and some hikes and stuff. 5 of us are pretty sure we're going in that direction, vs a more laid back Zanzibar vacation. Who knows.

Have not had any further incidents, especially with toilets. I did manage to have some illegal Sudanese moonshine with the Tony Soprano of Khartoum before we left Sudan. We were sitting in his falafel restaurant and lo and behold, he sat down, put a sprite on the table, poured another "sprite" under the table and there we were -- drinking guava based moonshine with the man. Really strong. Really fun.

And there you have it. I expect to be able to email again in a week or so, but never really know. It's a dial up country, yo! That means slow and slower. The TDA blog is updated quite a bit though so keep your eyes open.

Love to all.

Ash