I think our experience as a part of Tour D’Afrique has been described by my two friends who have a beautiful vernacular, and therefore I will try to describe the experience from a humorous standpoint.
Firstly I would like to ask who thought I would be able to ride over 1000km in the African Sun??? Exactly…I didn’t either! But we all did it, and we did it gracefully. This time in Africa I have learned many things, but one of the most inspirational being the power of believing in oneself. The three of us really really wanted this bike ride and we trained and we rode hard….and the payout was the completion of a very difficult event. It goes to show that you really can do anything if you put your mind to it.
Secondly, I would love to express my passion for nursing. How we linked nursing with riding your bike across an African country is still mind boggling, but it has been done! I’ve enjoyed spending my time with the two nurses on the tour and learning the art of fluid replacement, rash management, and sadle soreology…..which I may or may not have been a patient of the later ailment.
Looking back it is hard to believe it is over. What is even more surprising is how much I am going to miss it. Who in their right mind would miss waking up at 5 am, packing up the tent again, and applying cream to a very sore bottom only to get on your bicycle to ride over 150km in the hot African sun? I do…and it makes me want to do it over again!
One of the finer memories from this trip was the noises you would hear at night…they were pretty much the typical African sounds, dogs barking, people dancing and playing music, and those darn roosters crowing all night. But wait….don’t those roosters belong to the tour staff?? On a few occasions the local staff who drove the support vehicles bought roosters to eat. However, they often took a few days to prepare the meals and riders patience would slowly be pushed as the roosters kept us up at all hours of the night.
Another favorite memory of mine was day 3 without running water…Not that bad, I know. But 3 days of riding your bike and producing more sweat than you ever have in your life and knowing you have to share a tent, that is a little more challenging. We were quite good at using the sun to “sterilize” your clothes and baby wipes to shower with. But on day 3 we stayed at a camp with a water pump. I will never forget the sheer joy on peoples face as people took turns inching themselves under the water pump for a shot of fresh skin sans salt!
On a serious note, I will truly miss the amazing food. Who would not love 4 solid meals a day with the portion sizes enough to feed a mother pregnant with triplets? The best part was the guilt free feeling that was accompanied by a hard day of riding. I am currently working on shrinking my stomach back down for my return home.
So in closing I want to express how much I have enjoyed the members of Tour D’Afrique, my fellow riders, and my two closest friends Bill and Jessica. I feel quite sad to know that this trip has come to an end, but on the positive side I am left with new outdoor enthusiast friends, stronger relations with my existing colleagues, and a deeper love for Zambia and it’s beautiful people.
I love biking. I love Zambia. I love these times of my life!
Kilimanjaro next year team?
Lianne
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