Made it through the 1st week!

Posting from Lusaka I've been 6 weeks in the tour now. And what a first week it has been! After riding 700 K's (TDA slang) in only 5 days my mustles finally get some rest. It has been fantastic till now but also really tough, I'm not going to lie about that. Part of it had to do with my late arrival. I arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi on a Saturday afternoon. The taxi driver dropped me at Mubaya camp, which was exactly what it says: a camp site. So no hotel but: "go and find yourself a nice spot and be ready tomorrow morning at 5:15 for the rider briefing". OK. So I took my tent and found myself in a tropical shower just after I had finished putting up my tent. The good thing was that this allowed me to grap a few beers and get to know some of my fellow riders.

The next morning I learned what TDA is all about. Wake up, get yourself ready, break-up your tent and drink coffee at the rider briefing. Next, after breakfast and as soon as it gets light the magic happens! All of a sudden you find yourself riding through f*cking Africa! Especially at morning the scenery is so beautiful and authentic. You feel great, fit and all is fine (till reality kicks in and after a few hours of riding the temperature starts rising). 

So what do you see in Africa apart from the beautiful scenery? Well to start, Africans walk. So you see a lot of people and children along the way. Some Africans ride a bike.  And let me tell you, a lot of these guys are athletes. If their bikes were not that crappy, they would certainly overtake me :-). Also saw some great Baobab trees which are my favorate. One of them must have been 10 meters in diameter. Not seen that much animals yet but that will be different in Botswana.

The group is about 50 people and very divers. I already met a lot of them. The food has been great. Maybe this is because you are out in the field but it is really tasteful. The humor is mostly about the conditions that everyone find him/herself into. Like the 4th day, when I started with a flat. By the time I had finished repairing I was about the last one to leave the camp. After 1 hour I really had to go (field drop :-). But I heard these 2 women behind me, chatting. So I went slower and slower untill they caught up with me. But they didn't pass me, they rode with me. Damn what to do? So I made a stop and they also stopped. I told them to ride along but they wouldn't! Turned out they were the swipers that always stay last :-)

I have a little set back because I dropped my laptop so I cannot post to many pictures.

Tomorrow the tour continues to livingstone (Victoria falls). It will take us 3 days of riding but then we will get 3 days of rest!

# moments (what did I get myself into): 1

# awsome moments: already countless!