Long Days in Zambia

Hello from Zambia!

We cycled into Zambia six days ago and have reached the capital city of Lusaka. Like Malawi it is lush and green and there are lots of rolling hills. Who knew Zambia had so many hills!?! The riding days have been really tough here - I am not sure what I expected but wow - there's lots of climbing. We stopped at a nice camp site the day we arrived in Zambia - nice bar and good camping. I travelled into the town with Tony and we loaded up on booze and snacks for his 50th birthday the next day. The TDA staff kindly sourced some ice to cool the drinks and after a 200km riding day we arrived at camp to find tubs of cold beer and punch. It was another rider, Julianna's birthday as well and she and her husband made dessert for the whole group - an Africa version of Nanaimo bars - so good. The birthday bash was great fun. I put together a playlist on my ipod and we plugged it into one of the big TDA truck speakers - instant party in the middle of nowhere. I don't think I have ever seen so many riders up until 8:30pm - drinking, laughing and mingling. Tony really knows how to through a good party - even in Zambia!

The 200km day seemed long but at the moment all the rides seem long. We are all getting really tired and it is starting to show. People are more irritable in camp and fatigue is written all over all our faces. The distances in this section have ranged from 125km-200km with lots of hills and the next three days are 150km back to back. We are currently about 450km from Livingston and Victoria Falls where we will get two rest days. I am really looking forward to the break. I hope I don't sound like I am complaining because I am not. I have been feeling super strong on the bike despite being ill on the rest day in Lusaka (really the first time I have felt sick since Northern Kenya so I feel lucky!). I am hoping that this stomach problem passes quickly so I can really enjoy Vic Falls. We are just over a month away and 4,000km from Cape Town. It is hard to believe that we have been on the road for 3 months and have covered over 7,500km. I looked at a map the other day and was amazed at how far we have come.

So on to Victoria Falls. I hope to be able to email and upload photos from the lovely Victoria Falls Hotel on the Zimbabwe side.

Until then......

Jx