Masai Man and Dead Zebra

When Leah and I were out on the road one afternoon we spotted to see the sad sight of a dead zebra on the side of the road. It had apparently been hit by a car. How bizarre to see such a lovely animal dead because of a collison with a vehicle. On safari we noticed that the zebras mingled with ALL the animals and we referred to the zebras as "the friend to all". I love the photo of the Masai teenager looking away from the zebra.

Safari Animals

So many amazing animals and so little space on my blog. You will have to wait for the slide show when I get home. In the meantime here are some pictures of some of the wonderful animals I saw on my brilliant Tanzanian safari.

Safari Time Tanzania Style

teh


I have loads of photos I would like to post but so little time to do it and it is often a problem getting pics up from Tanzania. So I have picked a few pictures from my 3-day safari with Leah. It was lots of fun and it felt like I was on a holiday. Enjoy!

By the way - I know that the photo of Leah and I looks like we are on a honeymoon (why is she holding my waist like that! Ha!) but I can assure you we are NOT. Our respective partners can confirm that fact. We joked several times that the lovely lodges and safari would be great for a holiday with our partners - it was fun to do together but really it might have actually been better as a honeymoon!

Leah and Jenn in Tanzania

I had a great time with Leah - here are a few pics of us on the road and arriving at a bush camp - greeted by lovely Masai children.

Tanzanian Landscape

Tanzania is so beautiful. The landscape is stunning and the people are incredibly friendly. Here is what it looks like from the bike!

Leah and Jenn's Tanzanian Adventure

Hello from gorgeous Tanzania!

When I left off last my friend Leah had arrived in Nairobi, Kenya and we were about to begin the Masai Steppe section of the Tour d'Afrique. On the first morning we set out on pavement and Leah rode an impressive 70km to lunch - her longest ride ever. I left her at the lunch truck and she caught a ride to camp. It was a tough 157km that day and we all called it Tar Day because most riders hit a brutal patch of new tarred road and we all got covered with wet tar! It was a mess - people fell on the road, ruined cycling clothes and tarred the bikes. We spent most of that evening cleaning our bikes with gasoline. Not the best start to the section but that's the way it goes around here - you never know what's going to happen.

On day 2 of the section we were still on pavement and Leah managed another morning on the bike - 60km and I rode into Arusha, Tanzania on my own. Riding with Leah was such fun. It gave me the opportunity to slow down and really take in the countryside. I really enjoyed taking photos, telling stories with my old friend and having a laugh. I was thrilled to arrive in Arusha - our half way point on the Tour and three consecutive rest days. We stayed a nice camp site - with showers, food and a bar - the perfect way to kick off the rest days and to get ready for our Tanzanian safari.

I promise to do a photo blog next week when I have access again to the Internet - but right now I will just give you a quick description of our wonderful safari. Leah and I had planned in advance to do a safari and it was a brilliant time. We opted for the safari with accommodation (instead of camping - come on I camp everyday!) and it was clearly the right choice. The three day safari included three park drives, two nights accommodation at lovely and luxury lodges (wow the views!) with meals included. We were 6 people per truck and there only 12 of us on the trip - a nice break from the usual 60 in our TDA group. There was a nice mix of people on each truck and it was just nice to socialize off the bike and have something else to talk about other than bikes and rides.

The first park drive was at a nice park close to our lodge. Within minutes of entering the park we came across three elephants less than 10 meters from our truck. I won't lie to you - I cried when the baby elephant popped out of the trees....there is something so special seeing animals like elephants in their natural habitat. Everyone threatened to tell the group about my crying but I insisted that what happens on safari stays on safari! As most of you know though - I am a big softy and all things cute and small have the tendency to bring tears to my eyes. The elephants were just hanging out and eating by the side of the road/track - they are amazing animals and I knew right then that I was going to love the safari experience. That afternoon we saw giraffes, baboons, hippos, black-faced monkeys, zebras, warthogs and much more. The drive was long enough to see lots of animals but not too long (it is hot and tiring peering out the top of a truck). By 6pm we were on our way back to the lodge for a shower, a cocktail and dinner. It felt like a holiday to me - pure luxury and I loved it.

On day two of the safari we drove to our next lodge and then spent the afternoon in the Ngorongoro Crater - probably one of the most incredible places I have ever visited in my life. The crater is like a natural zoo - the animals somehow got in and can't get out (with the exception of the elephants and a few other animal species) so it is really like The Garden of Eden. We were visiting off season so there were only a few trucks in the crater and the sheer number of animals was staggering - I have never seen anything like it in my life. If you did a 360 turn in the truck you could see wildebeest, water buffalo, pink flamingos, zebras, elephants, hyenas, ostriches, gazelles, jackals- and the list goes on! It was so exciting to see the animals but seriously a drive in the crater alone would have almost been enough for me. After a three our drive around the crater we returned to our lodge and drank beer on the deck with a crater view - so great!

On the third day we went out on a morning trip to the Tarengeri National Park for a short drive and again we had great sightings - large groups of elephants with lots of babies, families of giraffes and we spotted to cheetahs relaxing under a tree. We were treated to a nice buffet lunch with gorgeous views - the perfect end to a brilliant three days.

When we returned to Arusha we were reminded that we are in Africa to ride bikes and we were briefed on the next seven days of riding - one day on pavement followed by six days of hard off road - rocks, gravel and sand! Leah realized quickly that her bike might not fair too well on the terrain and Ted, a full-time rider going off to climb Killi kindly offered her his super, tricked out mountain bike to ride (the crew at Duke's will know the bike - the pretty much built Ted's bike - Rohloff hub, Fox forks, Cane Creek suspension seat post and Schwalbe Big Apple tires). With a bike fit for Tanzanian roads - Leah was good to go. On the first day out after the safari Leah exceeded I think her own expectations and rode the whole day - 105km. It was paved road but still - I was impressed! We arrived at the Lakeview camp - lovely views and a makeshift hilltop bar. The next day we went off road and things got tougher. Leah rode 60km to lunch - the climbs were hard I have to admit. Leah will be the first to tell you - it was hard. Stay tuned - her adventures will be in the Saturday Travel Section of the Globe & Mail in the coming weeks (I will let you know when her story is due to run.

The next day Leah rode again to lunch and she is to be commended for her great morning effort. The descents were EPIC - steep and covered with large rocks and gravel. Again - my good friend impressed me with her confidence on the bike and determination to stay upright! I think the next day was Leah's first full day on the bike off road - 92km of rocks and sand. Everyone on the tour applauded her effort and made sure she knew that they thought she was doing really well. After that Leah took a break from the bike to get a behind-the-scenes look at the TDA and she did the shopping at the local markets in Dodoma with James, our resident chef. I don't think she minded having a day off the saddle.

In total Leah rode for at least part of 8 days in Kenya and Tanzania and I loved her company on the bike. It was such a pleasure to catch up with a friend from home, talk about our friends and introduce her to life on a bike in Africa. The group took to her immediately and many riders said that they wished that she was staying on a little or a lot longer. She of course charmed everyone and I am sure that the story will be a great read!

As for me - I spent longer on the bike that ever (due to the slower rides) and I left Leah with the lunch truck it was fun to think that she would be at the camp when I finished the afternoon section. I felt protective of her when she was on the bike for sure and I was happy to say in the end that she got through it without a single puncture or fall. Leah left yesterday and I miss her already. She is off now on a Kenyan beach holiday with her husband, Patrick - some real luxury after tenting it for the Masai Steppe section. By the way - I also found her a tent to use so that she didn't have to share with me - I know at the end of a long day on the bike she was happy to have her own tent to retire to each night.

Yesterday was our ride in to Iringa - the day started with a 20km time trial - a full 20km climb on rock road in the rain = mud and rock! It was so much fun! I just love riding in Africa - even off road. My Kona Jake took quite a beating but that bike is hanging in there and I wouldn't do it differently even if I could. I don't know how I placed in the time trial but it doesn't matter much because I wasn't racing the section and really - this section was all about having fun - race or no race.

So that leaves me here in Iringa, Tanzania on my rest day - getting ready to start the next section which takes us through Malawi. It is supposed to be incredibly beautiful and we are back on pavement which will make things a little faster. The other good news it that I haven't been sick for two whole weeks! I feel so much better and I think it shows - on the bike and around the camp.

I promise to post some safari pictures as soon as I can and some pics of Leah too.

I hope that this blog posting finds you all well and happy! It is all happiness here in Tanzania.

Jx

Wonderful Kenya

I can't say enough about Kenya - it really is wonderful. A German rider said that he loved Sudan because of the beautiful people and Ethiopia has the spectacular scenery and Kenya has BOTH!

Northern Kenya was, as previously posted, a challenge (I use the word "challenge" a lot). But after we got back on pavement and the sun came out - Kenya was pure cycling bliss. The rides have been such a pleasure - the landscape is lovely - lush and green and the people appear happy and I here "jambo" - hello - everywhere I go. Our camps have been at small hotels with patches of grass for our tents, showers and yes - beer (you can tell I love a cold beer - well most of you already know). We have had such a good time at our camps lately. And we crossed the Equator - that is pretty cool!

A couple of days ago I had my happiest day to date on tour. The riding was perfect. The temperature was a comfortable 18 degrees in the morning, warm sun and a beautiful 30 degrees in the afternoon with a slight breeze. There was more descents than climbs and my legs felt strong - for what felt like the first time since Khartoum, Sudan. I rode most of the day with the lovely German Ruben and Irish Paddy - two of my favourite boys. The ride was 104 km - just right!
We arrived at the camp down a 2km dirt road to a gorgeous riverside camp - lots of grass and shade. Some riders took are in a river rafting trip down the river but most of us sat on the grass and enjoyed a lazy afternoon. Dinner was a surprise BBQ - steak, mashed potatoes with bacon and veggies with a cheese sauce! Dinners like that are a treat. Steak - come on - loves it! Long gone are my vegetarian days.

The ride into Nairobi was a bit hairy. We rode 60km to lunch and then convoyed for 30km through chaotic markets and traffic. Then it was another 45km to the camp. The camp is owned by staff that work for the TDA and it has all the amenities - perfect for a rest day. After 2 months in everyone's letting loose a little - there was lots of drinking (and drinking games - I am still good at Quarters after 20 years!), laughing and late night antics which make for great morning after gossip.

My good friend Leah arrived this morning to join the tour for the Tanzania section which is really exciting. She looked a little dazed and confused when we pulled her bike out of the box but Rick jumped in and put on her bike rack and we got her bars and wheels back on so she's ready to roll. We purchased a few spare parts from a sectional rider because we had a couple of issues with her wheels but it all got sorted. I have traded a set of pedals for the lease of a tent so that Leah will have her own privacy and will have a place to go after a long day of riding. Initially we were going to share a tent but really when you can have your own space - why not!? The tour is stressful enough so it is nice to have your own place to go at night.

So Leah is off to a great start - she has met lots of people, had a few beers and will set off tomorrow for the first ride of this section, The Masai Steppe. We have two of riding and then we are off on a three day Safari in Tanzania! YAY! Three days off the bike and hopefully a chance to see more than just camels!

It is fun to have a friend to share this experience with - I will blog about our adventures in the coming days and will try to get more photos up.

Thanks again for checking in on Moderspinsta! I am half way through the tour and have covered over 5,000 km which is totally crazy and incredible. I am looking forward to the next two months. I have so much to look forward to at home but am certainly not wishing my time here away and am trying to enjoy everyday.

More to come!

Jx

More Kenyan Landscapes

Here are a few more shots of what I have seen (and/or rode on) in Northern Kenya. The shot of the white capped mountain is Mount Kenya - there was only a short time when the clouds cleared and the mountain was visible. I stopped on a descent and took a quick pic.

Enjoy. More from Modernspinsta soon!

Women on the Road in Northern Kenya

I came across these beautiful woman with two Australian riders. They asked some shillings to have their photo taken - the guys were happy to oblige. These women were playful and talkative (we couldn't really understand each other but it didn't matter). I don't stop and take many photos of the women (or men) on the road - I prefer to exchange verbal greetings as I ride by....I was glad to stop and get this shot for these three though. Beautiful.

I Can't Get Enough of Camels!

Even though I have been seeing camels since Egypt - I still can't get used to seeing them on the road, beside the road - everywhere. They are truly amazing creatures. A couple more shots - I can't resist.

Kenya Rocks!.....and Mud

Kenya does rock - indeed and there's lots of mud too! I don't think I expected it to rain so much in Kenya. We arrived after a very tough day of riding at our rest stop in a little town called Marsabit. We stayed at a Catholic campsite - set up for summer camps we guessed and it was pretty nice accommodation.....for hotel options in Marabit check out Gerald's descriptions on www.africanride.blogspot.com! I usually opt for my tent - at least I know what is or IS NOT crawling in my sleeping bag!

For those of us who opted for the camp there were showers and nice patches of grass for our tents. There were not many restaurant options in town (3km walk from the camp) so the nuns stepped and feed us three square a day and even fit it in morning and afternoon tea. They served up cakes after dinner too - we dubbed them Nun Cakes and ate loads.

On our riding day we woke up to rain. Rain + off road in Kenya = mud. And there was lots of it. I really enjoyed the muddy ride - it was hard work on a cyclocross bike but my Jake is a little monster and together we worked it out. We arrived at lunch to find one of the TDA trucks stuck in a hole - deep in water on a washed out road. When I rode passed the truck my bike dropped in too and I was thighs in muddy water. I loved the different riding conditions and the scenery changed too. The lava rock fields turned into lush green mountains and forest and within 75km we were back to bush and desert.....the landscape here is truly amazing.

The people are also incredible. We passed the most beautiful people on the roads in this part of Northern Kenya - I have been told that they are not Masai but belong to another group. They wear the most decorative head pieces, bright colour necklaces and clothes. It felt surreal to see so many beautiful people just walking down the road - really I knew I was somewhere far, far from home on these days of riding.

I rode the truck on the rainiest day to day in Kenya - not because I was afraid of getting wet - I was wet anyway but because I was sick.....again. So much for things being different here. Different bug maybe, different water source - or simply the same bug rearing its ugly head again - who knows!?! It is hard to ride the truck (that is my third sick day) but unlike other riders I do not ride when I am sick. That is a personal choice but the right one for me, I think.

I am feeling better now which is good and have had two good days of riding. The last couple of days have been a luxury - 85km yesterday and 71km today. That means early into camp - time to sort through laundry, have a shower (if available) and drink a beer (if available) and for the last two days we have camped at hotels with basic facilities, including showers and really cold beer which makes very tired riders very happy. Today was the 71km climb and it was a treat! We climbed for the first 30km towards Mt. Kenya and descended for the rest of the ride. Because the day was so short - in terms of the ride - I hit the lunch stop at 10:15am and found they were making french toast -it was more like a brunch stop! French toast - WOW! The littlest things can make you so happy on this trip. With only 30km to ride after lunch I arrived at camp at 11:30am and that is almost like having a rest day! The camp was at another hotel with green patches of grass for the tents, a restaurant and hot showers. We are being spoiled!

We are heading to Nairobi due to arrive on Friday. So that means about 105km tomorrow (only 600 metres of climbing and 1900 meters of descending -YAY!) and probably the same on Friday.

More from Nairobi and probably a few photos shortly.

Leah arrives in Nairobi to participate in the Tanzania section of the TDA ride - it is going to be fun to share this adventure with a friend!

Jx

Kenyan Lava Rock Camps

Here are some shots of the TDA camps. At the camp on Day 2 loads of kids came by check us out! They giggled lots and loved having their photos taken. Here a few girls sat down with Sharita and Janet - TDA staff and helped prepare the next day's lunch.

More from Kenya in the coming days!

Welcome to Kenya!

As we approached the border of Kenya the landscape started to change - the mountains disappeared and the sand turned red. Once we hit Northern Kenya the roads were no longer paved and the fields of lava rock were everywhere. It feels safe to ride alone here - one truck passes every hour or so. For the most part it is just you, your bike and some camels. Beautiful!

Northern Kenya = Lots of Lava Rock!

We arrived in Kenya 4 days ago and I am delighted to be here! I don't know why but I got it in my head that once I crossed the border from Ethiopia to Kenya I would no longer be sick.....so far so good! We have had 3 days of riding and it has been great - and HARD. I guess I should just stop saying that the riding is hard and just let you all assume that it is true all of the time!

We are riding off road here and the roads are long, corrugated, and covered with huge chucks of lava rock. Day 1 wasn't too bad and I found myself alone on the quiet road and happy. On the road I came across camel herders with their lovely camels. I love camels! And a huge family of baboons. Babies and adults. It was brilliant to see them in the wild although I didn't get too close because the big ones can be dangerous. Last year riders spotted giraffes in that area - I wasn't that lucky. Still lovely landscape and friendly people.

All of these Northern Kenya rides are around 80-90km long - tough but manageable distances. Day 2 the last 25km was treacherous lava rock mania and I rode the afternoon with Dave, the lovely NYC bike courier. I caught up with him after a UN vehicle ran him off the road! Really! Sometimes having a riding companion is a bonus on the really crap roads - you can laugh at each other and time passes more quickly. Day 3 was a Mando day - that means mandatory for the racers. Mando days can not be used as a grace day (you have three opportunities to drop your worst times on the tour). Mando days are always hard and yesterday was no exception. I rode the whole day alone and just plugged away at it - one long km at a time. 85km took me over 8 hours. Lava rock, gravel, sand and hills. At home I am always looking for new rides on mapmyride.com - this Tour is a like a mapmyride dream - everyday is a new adventure and you never know what to expect. Sometimes at home I think I don't feel like doing the same ride I did last weekend - but here that is never the case - everyday is different and every ride is a new adventure. Only 31 of 61 riders finished the day. I was pleased to be in the group that rode it to the end.

The rest day is in a town called Marsabit and we are camping at the local Catholic camp outside of the town. And it is raining again. There's not much around here but the men at this camp located some beer for us and the nuns cooked us dinner. Not much to complain about - except that with all the rain I haven't been able to do laundry for two weeks - yikes! I hope it clears up this afternoon.

We are 6 days from Nairobi and I am looking forward to having Leah join the tour!

I will try posting some photos of Kenya now too!

Jx

Taking Breaks Along the Road in Ethiopia

Some days I just power through the rides - I get to the lunch truck for a quick break and then keep on riding to camp. Other days I stop along the way at a local cafe or on the roadside. Taking breaks is a good idea!

Ethiopian Men and Women

I loved some of the colours the women wore in Ethiopia. Also pictured here - men hanging out in one of the towns.

Ethiopian Villages

The last five days in Ethiopia were amazing. It rained which made everything seem a little quieter. Climbing in the rain was nice change from the heat.

Sudan and Ethiopian Update

Greetings and thanks for checking back in on Modernspinsta! It was a tough few weeks in Ethiopia with respect to emails and blogging. And a special thanks to Jen, the ghost blogger for helping me out with the photo update! I hope to post more photos shortly.

I am in Kenya now - sitting in my tent and it is pouring rain - we have been getting quite a bit of rain lately. Before talking about Kenya though I would like to recap what happened at the end of Sudan and in Ethiopia. My last real blog was in Khartoum, Sudan and that feels like a lifetime ago. I am sorry that I have not been able to keep up with the daily updates including number of kms on the bike etc....it just became impossible.

When the tour left Khartoum we had 7 days of riding which was our longest stretch without a rest day. I was sick after Khartoum which made the two 160km back to back days tough. The Dinder National Park experience (which many of you have read about on the TDA blog) made for the toughest riding to date. We were all looking forward to riding terrain never tested by the Tour before but as soon as we hit Dinder we knew it wasn't going to be fun! The day before Dinder was mostly off road in remote Sudan and despite the hard riding I did love travelling through the tiny villages. I think I mentioned it in a photo caption - remote Sudan feels like the place where time stood still. Homes are made of grass and mud and people live the simplest of lives. It was really amazing to see and it put my whole life in perspective! The Dinder Experience or Experiment took us to the national park which hasn't been open for years so the "road"is not a road at all and the distance decided by the TDA staff was just too ambitious. I lost my EFI status (Every Fabulous Inch or replace Fabulous with the other F word) that day and I have to say I wasn't sad to see it go. There is a lot of pressure among the riders to ride every kilometre no matter what - illness, injury, crap terrain and that day there was what has been called an "EFI massacre". Over two thirds of the riders ended up on trucks and even the best riders didn't make it to camp until almost dark. In Dinder I had to ask myself the 4 important questions I ask myself each day - 1) Am I having fun? 2) Am I loving the cycling? 3) Do I feel safe? 4) Can I make it to camp before dark? On that day there was a resounding NO to every question and I pulled myself off the road and found a police truck to climb into. That is the only time I have had 4 NOs to those questions - in fact I usually can say YES to all those questions but not on the Dinder day. TDA apologized for what was a disastrous day and they will certainly reconsider the route for next year - live and learn. Dinder was the end of Sudan for us and despite the tough days of riding I still look back on Sudan and think how much I loved that country - what a treat to be able to visit it by bike!

When we crossed the border into Ethiopia the sense that "this place is going to be very different than Sudan" was immediate. There were hills instead of desert and those hills turned into mountains. And there were LOTS of people. There are apparently over 81 million people in Ethiopia - yeah that's a lot of people! The Tour spends 3 weeks in Ethiopia - that is the longest time spent in any one country and it is probably the most challenging country to ride. The hill climbs were super tough (but I loved them!) and there were people everywhere which meant you are never alone. In Ethiopia there's no such thing as a quiet ride. We are not quite sure how it ever got started by there were two things that were said to us all day, everyday - "YOU, YOU, YOU" and "Where are you go?". Those are the two things that we heard from morning to night. May I never hear those phrases again - seriously!

The Ethiopian people were curious and most were friendly but some were not. I think I can safely say that ALL riders experienced some kind problem on the road - personally I had rocks hurled at me at high speeds, I was spit on, I was yelled at and I was grabbed on my bike. Other riders were hit with sticks and kicked. My friend Rick had to have stitches in his arm after one of many rock incidences. I don't want to make out that all Ethiopians hurled abuse and rocks at us because they did not but those that did certainly left a bad impression and upset many riders. At the end of the day I just tried to take it all in stride. We are westerners on bikes and that meant that we saw Ethiopia from the road each day and the fact is that life in that country is hard. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world and sometimes the poverty was overwhelming. I can only imagine what we must have looked like to the Ethiopians that we passed by each day - I kind of felt like we were a travelling circus - people on nice bikes, setting up perimeters at lunch and around our camps and living in tents! Ethiopia was challenging for sure but Laura probably said it best when we left Ethiopia - she said something to the effect of "I may have had some rocks thrown at me but I didn't get as many rocks as I did smiles - 2 million smiles" and it is true there was lots of smiles too!

I still have not processed my Ethiopian experience yet - I think it will take some time. I was sick through much of Ethiopia which made everything harder but I loved descending the Blue Nile Gorge for 20km and then climbing another 20km up the other side. I loved the mountains and the 5 days south of Addis Ababa. The climbs were incredible and the scenery was spectacular. Nothing has been more mentally challenging for me personally than those 3 weeks in Ethiopia but it was all worth it (okay maybe not the stomach craps and all that comes with Ethiopian illness). Ethiopia taught me a lot about myself - about patience and recognizing my privilege. I didn't forget for one moment just how fortune I am and what it means to be Canadian. I am lucky and I know it!

We left Ethiopia 4 days ago and I look forward to getting back on track with my blog and updating often. I can't wait to get back to describing my rides too!

More to come from Kenya!

Jx