Imagine cycling 2000 km through the heart of Australia, from the lush valleys of the Southern coast to the Red Centre of Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. Imagine watching the sunset over Uluru ( Ayers Rock) after a day cycling through the desert. Imagine rolling into the historic town of Alice Springs in the dead centre of Australia after two weeks of unforgettable experience and incredible scenery with new life long friends.

All Trails have been running long distance rides all over Australia for the last ten years. In May ‘08 they ran the first Rock Ride from Adelaide in South Australia to Alice Springs in the Northern territory through some of the most unbelievable landscapes in the world. Below is a brief account of what is a unique cycling experience.

The Rock Ride

Crossing Australia has been the dream of many explorers and what better way than by bike.

Clare Valley is a dream, especially in Autumn with rows of golden grapevines stretching forever, interspersed by stone cottages and farm house wine tasting rooms.

It gets even better as we skirt Mt Remarkable, a cyclists paradise, alive with kangaroos and rugged red gum tree trunks.

Further north the vegetation thins, with saltbush, red earth and treeless plains. Salt lakes extend forever, like this timeless land, bringing you the real feeling of The Outback.

Explore underground at Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world, littered with luckless mines and surrounded by white mounds of mullock. Stay underground in our 4 star accommodation with a sauna and swimming pool. We really spoil you with 5 star accommodation at Ayers Rock, where you can explore the rock and Olgas and marvel at nature’s masterpiece. Enjoy the luxury of the truly Australian “Sounds of Silence” evening.

The array of roadhouses, people, wildlife and landscapes is vast and so are the stars at night. Cycling this country is the best way to appreciate arriving at Alice Springs, The Centre of Australia.

Crossing Australia has been the dream of many explorers and what better way than by bike.

Every coach will agree that the vital first part of any training program is laying down a solid mileage base to build on. This means before putting in solid and consistent time on the bike and you should look to build a mileage base of around 500 miles or 800 km at the beginning of the season before starting a structured program. The weekly distance covered should only be increased by 10% each week.
Ten hours of training per week is often the recommended amount for fast recreational cyclists. The inevitable question is ‘ Wouldn’t more be better?’ Simply put - if your smart about your training more is not better. There is extensive research data to show that fewer training sessions per week at the same intensity will result in the same benefit.
The most important part of your well considered training program is feedback. This will give you the ability to increase your time and distance in a controlled way and establish the most effective training for yourself.
The best method of getting this feedback and monitoring your progress is a training log. There are a number of possible solutions for logging your rides but the best are software based allowing you to record not only the distance and time of your rides but also general health indicators such as weight, BMI, resting heart rate and notes on perceived effort. Cycling-Secrets.com offers free software that also includes maintenance alerts and graphical representation of the input data.
Remember rest is a vital part of training - make sure you plan for it in your program and you’ll progress faster.

There are B4H chapters world wide. Go see where your nearest one is and donate your old bike, your time and any other resources for this great initiative.

25% of all revenue from the a salecycling on this site goes to our supported charities of which Bicycles for Humanity is the first. Do some good.

B4H Melbourne thanks its current sponsors.

The Problem

Can you imagine the next week of your life with no transport other than walking? Can you also imagine the vast majority of the people in your city or region with no transport–the postal service, the police and ambulance, the delivery service that stocks your supermarket?

The first thing you’d notice is the extra time that you need to do everything. Instead of driving to work you would have to walk, perhaps getting out of bed an hour or two earlier than usual. Instead of a 30 minute bus ride to visit family you might be looking at 3 hours on foot.Instead of going to night classes to gain an extra qualification you would have to go straight home - there simply wouldn’t be time to walk to the college.

You would find your weekly shopping routine impossible, firstly because carrying all that weight would break your back, and secondly because the market stall holders, who also have to travel long distances, simply might not be able to make it to market. If you can imagine this then you’re on the way to understanding the problems faced by millions of the world’s poorest people. With no means to access opportunities in employment, education or health care, let alone the means to gather food and water quickly, these people are trapped in a cycle of poverty with little way out.

With aids ravaging much of Africa, many of those in their 20’s and 30’s having died, Grandmothers and those left now have the added responsibility of caring for the children. If this is not enough to handle, now those left are organizing, getting out there and encouraging all to get tested, educating the people about aids, delivering drugs and caring for those dying, all the time walking.

Solutions

As with any development initiatives, the solution to the transport problem in poor countries must be locally accepted and locally sustainable. There is little point in building a metro train network in an African city if no one can afford to buy tickets or repair the locomotives when they break down.

On the other hand, one of the simplest transport technologies, the bicycle, is far more affordable and can be maintained anywhere in the world with minimal tools and spare parts. In places where transport options are severely restricted, bicycles greatly improve personal mobility and enable people to determine their own schedules.Yet despite their relative affordability, even bicycles may be beyond the reach of the world’s poorest people. A new bicycle costs around US$50 in Ghana, US$85 in the Gambia and US$100 in Namibia. Where income levels are less than a dollar a day, these prices are beyond the reach of the most needy.

Every year rich countries discard millions of bicycles as people upgrade to newer models. Most of these bicycles are in perfect condition, or require only a little maintenance to get going. Over the past 20 years a number of organisations have formed to ship these bikes to poor countries, where they have the potential to change lives.

As the bikes are refurbished and distributed, local people are trained in bike mechanics, and business opportunities arise for community based bike shops where the bikes are sold at low prices. Opportunities to extend the reach of healthcare, education and other services also become possible.
Some of the groups that benefit from bike distribution include:

* Women, who typically spend more time walking than men through performing domestic duties like gathering food, water and firewood.
* Children, who face long walks to school and arrive too tired to learn, or simply don’t attend
* Healthcare workers, who often walk long distances to provide medication and counselling to people living with HIV/AIDS and malaria in their homes
* Unemployed people, who can start bike shops, delivery businesses, tourism ventures or spin off projects making trailers, racks and other addons.

How we aim to help more people become mobile

Currently only a fraction of the rich world’s bicycles are shipped to developing countries. In the US alone, 15-20 million bikes are purchased each year, and it’s estimated that around 10 million bikes are discarded. The figures are similar in other Western countries. Even if only half of the West’s discarded bikes are still usable it represents an enormous untapped resource.

Each year, Western collection organisations ship less than 50,000 bikes to partners in the developing world. There is huge potential for growth.

‘Am very thankful for your gift and also on behalf of the club,I received your free cycling secrets Software.This will usually help in well coaching our team, so that it can improve more in cycling. The team is

much happy for your assistance in providing the required tactics on cycling.I know very well that you can make us shine in Kenya and in Africa at Large.Although we are still faced with some few problems such as kits eg Bike spare parts and clothings.We are forwarding our concern on you for more help on how we can get sponsors who can support us with those kits.

Some of our club photos are attached herewith:’

Samuel sent through a short history of the club (see below). We’ll be doing all we can to support them and suggest you do the same.You can donate here through PayPal.

Words of support or queries can be sent to kasaunited@yahoo.com

A pastime and sport unites people the world over, whatever challenge your facing on your bike right now you can guarantee someone a world away is sharing all the same emotions and triumphs. You have the ability to make that connection just that little bit more concrete and in doing so make a difference. We’ll keep you posted on the clubs progress.

Kasarani Youth United Cycling and Triathlon Self Help Club - A Short History

The club was formed in 2001, after most of people around the area were willing to participate in cycling due there were many events of cycling were hold. In regard with this, we got gathered 5 of cycling members and decided to start a self-help club, which was based on cycling. In matter of fact, it was a bit difficult due every member was to depend on himself. During the time the club was growing slower by slower since we have members who are really interested in cycling but have no required kits for the sport.

Then it was registered under the ministry of Sports and Culture in the year 2003. We have increased the number of cyclists, although we have loosed one member due to death. For now we have introduced Triathlon in our team since it’s a new game that has arisen to our country, and that has made us to increase the number of members who are good in Triathlon .Since from then we have been organizing some various local races and also participated in various competition and won some certificates and trophies. Apart from Cycling and Triathlon we hold other various activities which are based community work:

• Volunteering in community work
• Charity group ride for Fundraising
• Helping the less fortunate i.e. feeding the street children, opharns etc
• Tour Ride

It has been very hard to allocate for sponsors since in Kenya both the two sports (Cycling & Triathlon) is not much recognized, but we have who much are willing in those two sports. We have been doing it because we love it very much.

For now the club is made of 30 cyclists including 15 seniors, 10 Ladies and 5 juniors, every official is a cyclist according to our constitution. We usually meet every Sunday either for training or meeting of which already we have a calendar fixture of various events held annually.

Finally, we are growing stronger and stronger, since we are forwarding to look for sponsors who will raise the morale of the club and enable our vision of establishing the school of sports (Cycling and Triathlon) especially to the needy children to happen, so that we can unlock their talents.

]]> http://www.cycling-secrets.com/2008/09/15/kasrani-cycling-and-triathlon-club/feed/ http://www.cycling-secrets.com/2008/09/15/resting-heart-rate/ http://www.cycling-secrets.com/2008/09/15/resting-heart-rate/#comments Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:10:09 +0000 admin http://www.cycling-secrets.com/wp/?p=172 ‘Resting heart rate’ refers to your heart rate in beats per minute when you are completely at rest.Your resting heart rate is often a good determination as to how fit you are, as well as indicating if you’re either over training or unwell - showing up as unxplained increases in resting heart rate.

Your resting heart rate is best recorded when you naturally wake up in the morning ( not with a heart starting alarm) and before you get out of bed. Any physical activity will raise your heart rate, so you’re best to have a stop watch beside the bed for the mornings recording.

You may record your pulse for one minute, although recording it over a number of minutes and dividing the result will give an average and a more accurate result. One method is to start the stop watch and count a pre-determined number of beats, recording the time taken, and then divide the number of beats by the recorded time. For example you record the time taken for 150 beats, the result is 2 minutes 30 seconds - 150/2.5 = 60 beats per minute. The advantage of this method is that you just count the beats, stopping the clock at the end, rather than counting the beats and watching the clock. it is also recommended that you take reading over three days to get an accurate average result.

The pulse rate (which in most people is identical to the heart rate) can be measured at any point on the body where an artery’s pulsation is transmitted to the surface - often as it is compressed against an underlying structure like bone. The two most commonly used are either the inside of the wrist on the side of the thumb or on the neck (carotid artery), the strong pulse felt just below the corner of your jaw.

NOTE: The thumb should never be used for measuring heart rate as it has its own pulse which will interfere with an accurate recording.

You can use the cycling software on this site to track the progress of you resting heart rate as it is generally a great indicator of fitness. Be sure to use a consistant method for measuring any of the health stats and over time they will provide extremely useful information to extend your training and track your progress.

To record your Resting Heart Rate open the Health Dialogue Box by using th Add menu or double clicking on a calendar day in the Health Calendar.

Body fat percentage is an estimate of the fraction of the total body mass that is adipose tissue (or referred to as Fat Mass), as opposed to lean body mass (muscle, bone, organ tissue, blood, and everything else) or referred to as Fat Free Mass. This index is often used as a means to monitor progress during a diet or as a measure of physical fitness for certain sports. It is more accurate as a measure of excess body weight than body mass index (BMI) since it differentiates between the weight of muscle mass and that of the fat mass while BMI lump all masses into one figure. However, its popularity is less than BMI because equipment required to perform the body fat percentage is not readily available and skills are required to perform the measurement. Even when measured by a skillful person, there are factors that contribute to a significant margin of error.

Total body fat percentage consists of essential fat and storage fat. Essential fat is that amount necessary for maintenance of life and reproductive functions. The percentage for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. Essential fat is 2-5% in men, and 10-13% in women. Storage fat consists of fat accumulation in adipose tissue, part of which protects internal organs in the chest and abdomen. The minimum recommended total body fat percentage exceeds the essential fat percentage value reported above.

NIH/WHO guidelines categorize ranges of body fat percentages as follows with age represented on the left hand vertical axis.

Women

Men

There are a number of ways to calulate % body fat. While a BIA (Bioelectrical impedance analysis) or other method will be more accurate, we don’t all have a machine handy (try your gym). The Cycling-Secrets Software provides a calculator that uses the Height and Circumference method used by developed by the U.S. Navy

This method compares abdomen or waist and hips measurements to neck measurement and height.

The formula for the calulation was developed from statistical data and as such has some potential inaccuracy. In general using one method of calculation consistently will provide useful relative data over time. Don’t hold your stomach in or flare your neck out while taking the measurement, you’ll only be cheating yourself

You can use the cycling software available on this site to calculate and track your body fat percentage. The Body Fat calculator can be accessed through the Health Details dialogue box. Either open this through the Add Menu or double click of a calendar date in the Health Calendar.

As a measure, BMI became popular during the early 1980s as obesity started to become a discernible issue in prosperous Western society. BMI provided a simple numeric measure of a person’s “fatness” or “thinness”, allowing health professionals to discuss over- and under-weight problems more objectively with their patients. It is meant to be used as a simple means of classifying sedentary (physically inactive) individuals with an average body composition. For these individuals, the current value settings are as follows:

a BMI of 18.5 to 25 may indicate optimal weight;

a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight

while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight;

a BMI below 17.5 may indicate the person has or a related disorder;

a number above 30 suggests the person is obese (over 40, morbidly obese).

The BMI is meant to broadly categorize populations for purely statistical purposes. Its accuracy in relation to actual levels of body fat is easily distorted by such factors as fitness level, muscle mass, bone structure, gender, and ethnicity.

Whatever the accuracy across differing body types BMI becomes a useful relative tool for tracking your general health and fitness.

You can use the cycling software available on this site to calculate and track your BMI. To calculate your BMI click on the Calculate button in the Health Dialogue box which you can open through the ‘Add’ menu, or by double clicking on a calendar date in the Health Calendar.

Cadence is the speed at which you turn the pedals measured in revolutions per minute. There have been extensive studies done on which cadence rate is the most efficient and the general current, common wisdom is that a cadence of 90-100 rpm is optimal. If you’re new to cycling this may seem fast - the reasons this speed has been determined the most efficient over time is linked to the bio-mechanics of the sport. Cycling, in most instances is an endurance sport with a need for consistant and on going energy output over extended period. A higher cadence will ensure your muscles will tire less quickly and will work at their peak efficiency over a period of time.

If you compare this to lifting weights with your arms it demonstrates the idea very clearly. Imagine lifting a 10kg weight for a number of repetitions, say 5, over these repetitions you’ve lifted 50 kg and your muscles are fatigued. Once recovered, imagine lifting a 2 kg weight. With the lighter load your muscles will be able to repeat the lift many more times than the 25 required to equal your previous effort before fatiguing.

To effectively monitor your cadence you’ll need to get a bike computer with this function on it. You can then enter this data into cycling software available on this site. Open the Ride Dialogue box by using the Add Menu or double clicking a calendar date in the Ride Calendar.

Cycling north from Greymouth along the rugged West Coast, you take in the spectacular rainforest, Punakaiki’s pancake rocks and towering limestone cliffs along the route. Then it’s a gentle ride along the stunning Buller River, through to the historic goldfields of Reefton, and on to the relaxing thermal areas of Maruia and Hanmer Springs.

After a rest and sightseeing day in Hanmer, it’s on to the wine and olive growing regions of Waipara and Amberley, before a gentle ride back to Christchurch.

With self-guided cycling tours, you independently carry your own equipment and your support vehicle, if required, is public transport. This means that self-guided cycle tours are the most eco-friendly possible way to travel. Your day is yours to do at your own pace. All you need to do is follow a comprehensive daily itinerary; which suggests sites to visit, local landmarks and amenities along the way to your next stop. Put together by cyclists with excellent local touring knowledge the itinerary lets you spend your holiday seeing the scenery rather than worrying about where you’re going to stay the night.
The geography and lack of population in New Zealand mean that while New Zealand is a great place for cycling, unfortunately, you can not expect to find accommodation every few kilometres. Towns are often 50-100 km apart, making pre-booking essential for those without the back-up of a tent. Having talked to many cyclists, the worst thing is cycling all day only to have to try to find a place to stay at the end of the day. For our tours we have selected quality, clean accommodation with local hosts, who are happy to share their enthusiasm for New Zealand with you. Breakfast is also included, with lunch and evening meals taken at your own discretion along your route - just use our suggested recommendations or ask your hosts.

Included in the cost of your cycling tour is the use of a quality bicycle and equipment, suited to the demands of bike touring in New Zealand. Having the bike, panniers and equipment in New Zealand means that you can avoid the hassles and costs associated with bringing your bike with you; Additionally, you aren’t left looking for safe storage for your bike when cycling is done.
Lastly, but for most of us, significantly, the cost of a self-guided bike tour is a third to half of the cost of fully guided group tours. Given that you are seeing the same countryside, on the same roads, staying in equivalent (but more user-friendly) accommodation, it’s easy to see why self-guided cycling tours are becoming the increasingly popular way to cycle around New Zealand.
Why choose Independent Cycle Tours NZ?

Eight very good reasons…

Eco-friendly tourism
Independent Cycle Tours New Zealand self-guided cycle tours are the most eco-friendly way to travel. You use pedal power to see this beautiful country, thus minimising your carbon footprint. We strongly believe that ecotourism is an important part of New Zealand’s future and are proud to be part of the growth in sustainable green tourism.
Flexibility
to do what you want without being tied to tight schedules and crowded groups that a fully guided bike tour would entail. You needn’t worry about minimum numbers and dates that may not suit.
Accommodation
One of the key differences between ICTNZ and other tour companies is the quality of the accommodation and friendliness of the hosts. We carefully check all accommodation to ensure the best possible experience for all our customers. We believe that many memorable holiday experiences are made by the friendly local people you meet. The friendliness of the hosts and the high standard of accommodation have frequently been commented on by our customers. Get to know the real New Zealand and real New Zealanders, while experiencing the beauty and majesty of our unique country.
Affordability
Costing around half that of fully-guided bicycle tour; self-guided bicycle tours allow you to spend longer biking and doing the things you want to do; making your New Zealand adventure holiday more affordable
Knowledge
ICTNZ has been set up by cycle tourers, for cycle tourers. We have extensive knowledge of bike touring in the South Island of New Zealand, gained through tens-of-thousands of kilometers cycling all the routes we recommend. We have used the knowledge we have gained to put together these self-guided tour routes because we think they offer the best experience of the spectacular scenery and unique culture that the South Island has to offer.
Equipment
that will get the job done, not leave you sitting on the side of the road. The bikes are replaced every year, and are thoroughly checked after every hire, so you can be assured of a well serviced, quality bike for your journey. To undertake a bike tour in New Zealand, you need a bike capable of standing up to the rigours of this diverse countryside. We provide cheap tours, not cheap gear. We offer well-serviced bikes with Shimano deore 27 speed componentry as minimum. We believe that anything less is not capable of dealing with the demands of bike touring in New Zealand
Safety
New Zealand is a safe place to travel in. Due to our relatively low population, particularly in the South Island, our roads are in good order with low traffic flows. You may find it uncannily eerie at times when there are so few vehicles travelling on the routes you will cycle on.
Support
Another factor that separates us from other tour operators is that we will deliver the bike and gear to your accommodation in Christchurch (or a number of other cities around New Zealand). We come to you, saving you time and hassle in an unfamiliar city. If you get stuck or need a day off, all our tours are developed so the routes are covered by a major (New Zealand-wide) shuttle service, which is able to take you and your bike to the next location. On many of our tours we provide a luggage cartage service so that your gear can be waiting for you at the end of each day instead of being carried by you on the bike.

We aim to meet the needs of anyone considering New Zealand as a cycling destination. As experienced cyclists, these are the bikes and equipment we would want to use if we were visiting New Zealand, and as New Zealanders we can assure you that these are the best cycling tour routes you will find.

Independent Bicycle Tours New Zealand9 Main Road, Governors Bay, RD1,Lyttelton, Christchurch.New ZealandPh +643 3299 496Mobile (+64) 027 524 4234Fax: +643 3299 497
http://www.cyclehire.co.nz
info@cyclehire.co.nz

It was an adventure and it was real.So nothing can really compare to the wave of relief and sense of independence we felt when we cycled out of Addis Ababa. The daunting prospect of having ¾ of the African continent ahead of us was a distant second to the feeling of pure freedom.The excitement of being in an unknown land with everything we needed on our bikes made us feel alive. The adventure had begun. To describe our trip in a short space is merely impossible. Every single day provided us with memorable adventures, intriguing encounters, unique scenery and a new glimpse into the remarkable life of Africa. So rather than try and describe our 7 months and 10,500km through 11 African countries, I have instead included one of my journal entries written on the day we crossed from Rwanda into Tanzania.

Rwanda to Tanzania … What a day!
We woke at 6:30am after quite a restless night. Our bed for the night had a large dip in the middle, so we spent much of the night kneeing and kicking each other as we attempted to roll over. We set off and it was straight into the hills. The legs were heavy from yesterday, and felt more like tree trunks than light, fast and nimble pistons. There were people everywhere along the road all pretending to be on their way to somewhere, but nobody was in a hurry. The roads were lined with people carrying water, boys on bikes, women carrying babies and a random assortment of other characters. Being a Saturday there was no school. No school in Rwanda means kids everywhere with not much to do, a kind of Mzungu (white person) bike tourers dreaded combination. The vehicle traffic was pleasantly light, but the human traffic was as you would expect for the most densely populated country in Africa. Everyone was friendly, and we must have averaged one “bonjour” per minute. Even those who were lazily hanging around found the energy to spring up and jump on their bike to chase us and see if they could keep up with the Mzungus. In typical African young male fashion, they would often speed past us to show off, and although they were shouting out to their mates in French, we could guess the calls went something like “look at me, I’m faster than the Mzungus”. To see me cycle past often created minimal fuss, but Christine was a different story. Women don’t ride bikes in Rwanda, so to see Christine ride past stirred up the mainly male roadside crowd, often motivating them to jump on their bikes to ride with her. Today we weren’t in the mood for any cycling battles, as our legs weren’t feeling up to it, so we had to settle for an easy defeat and friendly laughter from the roadside audience.
We agreed that we would cycle until 8am, and then look for a spot on the side of the road for breakfast. We spotted a stall with half a dozen juicy looking pineapples on the side of the road, and decided that this would complement our weetbix perfectly for breakfast. After pulling over in search of the person who owned the pineapples, people came from nowhere to observe and ‘help’ me buy the pineapple. All of a sudden I had a decent congregation of locals all interested in my purchase. After agreeing on a price, I strapped it to my front pannier and we headed off to the friendly smiles and waves of the now rather largish crowd.

It was 8am; we were hungry and ready for a rest. Finding a breakfast spot has become a bit of an art form in Africa. We have become quite selective, and always search for the perfect combination of peacefulness, nice sitting spot and ideally with fantastic views. The views and sitting spots were aplenty, but peacefulness was going to be near impossible to find. There was an endless stream of people, and unlike the Ugandans, the Rwandans stop and gather - we refer to people with this behaviour as ‘gatherers’.

Our hunger and impatience got the better of us, and we had to stop amongst the human traffic. We had a lovely spot with a nice view over the fields, but sure enough a small crowd was gathering.

We got out our weetbix and pineapple, and the crowd, who were keeping a safe distance, peered with curiosity.There was some commentary and discussion, but it was kept to a whisper, just in case we could understand French. Over the course of our breakfast we had quite a high turnover of onlookers as people came and went, but we also had a loyal audience who stayed for the entire time, about an hour, we took to relax and enjoy our breakfast.

A crowd definitely attracts a crowd, and people were coming from everywhere to see what everyone else was gawking at. A few of them settled in and found a comfy front row spot to sit with a good viewing angle. If you see something different, for example a nice car, you stop and have a look for a bit. But after say, 5 minutes, there isn’t much more to see. We assumed the same theory for our breakfast eating, but no, the crowd were waiting and watching with anticipation, as though they were hoping, or almost expecting some entertainment. I tried to provide this by joining them across the road, and then pointing and laughing at Christine calling her a Mzungu.

They might have thought we were strange before this, but it was now a certainty after this episode. We finished our breakfast and packed up as the crowd’s confidence was growing and their safe distance was now an intrusive swarming. We would have to save our teeth cleaning performance for further down the road. We rode off, and as usual many of the crowd rode and ran with us for some time. I needed to stop to relieve myself, but again it was difficult to find anywhere without people watching. I normally pull over to the side of the road, and go to toilet while still straddling my bike. This is a bit of a skill I have mastered over my many days of bike touring.The ability to do this makes Christine very envious, as her obvious constraints make toileting a little more challenging for her. Anyway, every time I pulled over suspecting a quiet spot, kids would come from everywhere shouting “Mzungu” attracting much attention. When I finally did find somewhere and begin, I had a small audience of kids watch, totally undeterred by the fact that I was going to the toilet.

The next two villages were like ghost towns. We wondered where everyone was as we rested our voices from saying “bonjour”. After a steady stream of people all morning, it was quite strange that two villages in a row were empty, and quiet. As we rounded the corner to begin a long climb, the human traffic once again picked up, all of them also walking up the hill. As we slogged our way up, the kids who were walking slowly and peacefully on the side of the road, were now running with us, laughing and shouting as they went. As we progressed up the hill, we picked up more kids like we were some kind of kid-magnet, and the noise and excitement could be heard through the valley. As we neared the top, I turned around and there must have been 100 kids running alongside Christine, all of them shouting, laughing and basically going nuts with excitement. We then found out where everyone was as a sea of bright colour stood out from the green surrounds to our right. We’re not sure what was going on, whether it was a market or some kind of community working bee, but it was loud and chaotic. People were working, there was lots of noise and boys were carting rocks and water to where the mass of people had congregated. This combined with the 100 ecstatic kids running with us made for a pretty crazy 20 minutes or so. It was the kind of experience where you definitely know you’re in Africa. The gang of kids having a great time running with us came to an abrupt end. At the top of the hill there was a police roadblock, and an important looking officer shouted, actually he ordered, that the kids halt their chase. Although it wasn’t bothering us, in fact we found it to be quite enjoyable as the kids were very friendly and happy, we responded with a polite “merci” (thankyou) to the serious looking officer carrying a big gun. He took this thanking seriously, and as more villages were ahead, and the hill actually kept going, meaning we couldn’t speed away from the kids, he ordered another officer to escort us up the remainder of the hill and through the next village. So here we were now cycling along, with a policeman on a motorbike purring along in front of us with his light flashing as an escort to deter chasing kids. As if we didn’t attract enough attention already, now we had a police escort. Thankfully we were spared too much embarrassment, as the next village was empty. They too were at the crazy happenings in the last village, and although we did feel silly as we called out “bonjour” to the few remaining people wandering around, it was quite a nice novelty and we thanked the officer as he left us at the real top of the hill.

We cycled on and eventually came to the border with Tanzania after 60km. The border lies at an impressive waterfall, with a narrow bridge separating Rwanda and Tanzania. We crossed easily and quietly, moved back to the left hand side of the road (Rwanda was the right) and searched for some food and drink on the Tanzanian side. All that we could find was a 1.5ltr bottle of mango juice.

As we sat and rested after a challenging morning, we sculled the mango juice until we were bloated and felt sick. We had made a few friends in this time. A group of 4 young kids were busy chasing chooks and playing with old tyres, but one of the young girls took quite a liking to Christine and I. She didn’t say anything, nor did she smile.But she liked to touch our white skin, and took particular pleasure in playing with my leg hairs. She was only about 4 years old, had a snotty nose and grotty clothes, but she was beautiful. I saved her no more than a mouthful of juice, and as we got ready to leave we observed her taking the smallest of sips. By the look on her face she had never tasted mango juice before, but she liked it and she was going to make this mouthful last as long as possible.
We pedalled off not really knowing what to expect on the Tanzanian side, and also not really knowing where the next town would be. The hills kept going, and they were steep. We crawled up, and flew down. On one descent I hit a top speed of 75km/hr - a bit scary on a loaded bike with a trailer. The black clouds that were closing in above us finally opened up, and started to pelt us with large drops and hail stones. It wasn’t cold though, so we were happy to resist our waterproof jacket and simply get wet. Thunder and lightning roared and flashed above us, and we welcomed the coolness of the water on our backs in the humid climate. We also welcomed the lack of people on the Tanzanian side. There was bush everywhere, and people nowhere. Getting excited by this, we decided that we would look for a nice place to camp, and enjoy a night in nature without people and noise. Before we found somewhere though, we crawled into a small junction town looking very soggy. We found a lovely little guesthouse for $3.50 and the lady owner was lovely. We decided that we would keep dry for the night and take a room. We are so glad we did because the lady and the other workers were very kind and welcoming. But we were also glad after our conversation with the lady who had excellent English and a million stories to tell. Hiding in the bush for 100km on this side of the Rwandan border are some “left over” Rwandan and Burundi refugees. They are causing trouble in the area as they are heavily armed and have taken to a banditry lifestyle. Hijackings have occurred, and only 2 months ago a car was stopped and the driver and passenger were robbed and then shot dead. The police went into the bush in search, and found and killed a group of “suspects”, but some escaped and are still hiding in the bush. Apparently it is safe during the day, but the lady said that wild camping would be fraught with danger. We breathed a sigh of relief at our decision to not camp tonight.We listened to more of her fascinating stories and realised how much we learn about the people and country when we can communicate with locals. Language is a barrier that makes really getting to know a country and the people difficult, so we milked the lady for all sorts of stories and information. We enjoyed a plate of beans and rice for dinner and reflected on yet another adventurous and eventful day.

Fund Raising

As a bi product of our trip, we raised money for two different charities in Africa that aligned with our personal beliefs and values. We visited both charities, one in Tanzania and the other in Namibia, and felt very happy to be able to contribute to such wonderful concepts. We raised a total of $9,196 which will go a very long way to helping those in need. To find out more about the two charities please visit http://benbikes.org.za/namibia/index.htm and http://www.globalallianceafrica.org/. To read more about our trip visit www.biking4bikes.com.au.