Day 3: Bush Camp to Nata

Nata, Botswana - I had really mixed feelings about the ride today. On the one hand, I was pretty pleased with myself for completing my first century. Now I know I can do it - today's ride of 150-ish km should be a piece of cake! On the other hand, it would be my third day of straight riding, my second long ride in a row. My legs might rebel.

But I stuck to my plan: Slow and Steady. The landscape can be a bit monotonous, since it is so flat. Not that I'm complaining! My knees love flat. But there are not a lot of distractions as you look around.

Every so often, you come across some other riders. Actually, in my case, it's more common that they come across me, as they probably got a later start than I did, but they are riding faster then I am, so they quickly pass me by. Or sometimes we are able to find a compatible pace for a while, which is good for a chat.

I also find that I am able to keep up my pace a lot better when I am cycling with somebody else - as long as I don't have to talk too much. For some reason when I am riding by myself it feels like it consumes more energy and my pace really lags.

I have a lot of admiration for these riders who have been going since Cairo. They are hardcore! The cycling is tough. But besides that, they are sleeping in tents, living in a communal setting and following an extremely rigorous routine. It's takes a lot of mental discipline and human compassion to do that for twelve weeks.

Anyway, the highlight of day three was the elephant sightings. First, we saw a massive carcass at the side of the road. Or should I say we smelled a massive carcass at the side of the road. That thing stank to high heaven. 

We had been warned that there was an elephant watering hole shortly before the lunch truck, and in its vicinity I saw three different elephants who had come down for a drink. After lunch there was another one crossing the road right in front of my. Elephant Highway, indeed! 

Day 2: Kasane to Bush Camp

Nowheresville, Botswana - I think I was the first one up this morning, I was so nervous about the long ride. We were supposed to ride 160km - that's officially a century (100 miles) - farther than I have ever ridden before. Plus, I knew I had to pack my bags up and take down my tent and wolf down my breakfast before starting.

It's important to get an early start because it's nice and cool in the morning so you want to get in as many miles as possible before the sun gets high and hot - which is about 10am. So I was up at 5am, eating breakfast at 6am, and on the road before 7am. 

I was definitely operating according to the old truism: Slow and Steady. A few hills and a steady crosswind added a bit of challenge, but for the most part, the route was flat and straight. Good for the knees. I honestly felt like I could go forever at that pace!

The landscape varies from agriculture to grasslands to scrubby growth. But it's all flat. I was riding with the video camera so I stopped to do some filming for LPTV. I also did some filming when I got to the lunch truck. The problem is that I was really taking my time. There were a lot of other riders phaffing about the lunch truck, but I didn't realize that they were not going to cycle the second half of the ride. They were waiting to hop on the truck. This is perfectly legitimate for somebody who has been on their bike for three months, as most of these riders have been.

But I am only here for 11 days and I certainly wasn't going to hop on the truck on the first long day of riding! So I was actually the last rider leaving lunch, followed shortly by the sweep. That's the staff member who rides last to make sure that everybody makes it. Of course the sweep caught up to me pretty quickly and I felt bad that he had to ride at my dawdling pace for a while. 

Fortunately we caught up to some of the other riders who were making a pit stop, so I was able to "speed" on ahead. And I was not last coming into camp!

All in all, it was a pretty good day, although I learned my lesson about dawdling. Slow and steady is fine, but don't forget the steady part.

 

Day 1: Vic Falls to Kasane

Kasane, Botswana - One down, ten to go! Day one was a wonderful way to start. We had beautiful blue sunny skies, a smooth paved road and a relatively short route: 82km.

I was pretty excited and nervous this morning - packing up my bags and scarfing down my breakfast so that I would be able to get an early start. Having just completed the previous leg, LP team member David Nelson was on hand to see us off. And so Tom Hall and I set off before 7am to take advantage of the cool morning air. Unfortunately, the first few miles were rocky dirt roads and Tom promptly got a flat!

But after that inauspicious start, everything went smoothly. When we rode through villages, the children would come to the roadside to shout greetings and cheer us on. The roads were paved and smooth - certainly better than the roads in Lincoln Mass! There were a few hilly spots but just enough to keep you on your toes.

Because it was a short ride, we had an early lunch break. I pulled in somewhere around 10am, which is sort of funny, but of course I was hungry.

Aside from lunch, the highlight was the border crossing from Zambia to Botswana. The border is at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe rivers, and during the cross you can actually see four different countries: Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe all meet here. After getting our exit stamps from Zambia, we rode a ferry across the river and disembarked in Botswana.

But you're not in yet! After getting your Botswana stamp, you have to ride through a puddle of murky grimy water as a precaution against foot & mouth disease!

Since we had a relatively short riding day, most of the cyclists are taking a sunset cruise on the Chobe River this afternoon. I have opted out of this activity, since Jerry and I took the same cruise last week. But I will take the opportunity to post a few photos, since I wasn't able to earlier.

It was indeed a lovely way to spend an afternoon, watching hippos and elephants frolicking in the river, spotting the majestic fish eagle and the spry fisherkings perched in the trees along the shore, and admiring the cranky crocodiles who were glaring out from the water with their beady eyes.

But the undeniable highlight was watching the white-fronted bee eaters. This is one of the reasons we came to Botswana. It was like being dropped into the middle of a National Geographic special, as the boat was able to pull up close enough that we could observe the birds feeding their chicks in the funny nests they make in holes in the river bank.

Tonight  I'm going to eat as much dinner as I possibly can and then go straight to bed. Tomorrow we have to ride twice as far as we did today. One cyclist reassured me that it will not be so bad... "It's just like today but we do it twice," he said. I agree that does not sound so bad, except that the second time we do it is in the hottest part of the day. And it is HOT. 

Of course it's hot. This is Africa.

 

T Minus One

Livingstone, Zambia - I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow commences my 966 mile journey from Victoria Falls to Windhoek! 

Jerry and I arrived here on Friday - just a few hours before the TDA riders started rolling in. Everybody was looking forward to two days off from riding, not to mention the comfort of a camp with showers and flushing toilets. There are about 65 riders and staff and we pretty much took over the Livingstone Safari Lodge.

I got my bike put back together right away, thanks to the highly efficient TDA mechanics. It has been great to talk to riders who are actually doing this thing, as opposed to the speculation that has been going on in my head. I also met up with several members of Team Lonely Planet. I watched Nate Cavalieri and David Nelson roll over the finish line. David's finish was particularly dramatic as he had suffered a pretty nasty fall on his last day of riding. But both of them were in excellent spirits, having just completed the ride of their life.

The next day, I was pleasantly surprised when Fiona Siesman walked into camp! She is another member of the Lonely Planet team who had completed the previous leg, from Iringa, Tanzania to Lilongwe, Malawi, then she took off on safari in Zambia for 10 days, then met up with the riders again at Vic Falls. Yesterday, my riding partner Tom Hall showed up. So Nate and David passed us the virtual baton so we can continue the LP ride.

Jerry left me this morning to return home. He was doing a very good job hiding any signs of envy about the bike ride! We will be off bright and early tomorrow morning. The first day is relatively short: 80km (50 miles) from Livingstone, Zambia to Kasane, Botswana.

 

Mobile Safari

Chobe National Park - First of all, I needn't have worried about a lack of ammenities in the bush. We are traveling with a crew of three people. Yes, we are only two people but apparently we need three people to take care of us: the guide/driver, the cook and the camp assistant. This means we do not have to set up tents; we eat loads of food, all of it cooked over the open fire; and somebody heats water for our bucket shower. If I had known that this was what camping was like, I would do it more often!

The wildlife has been amazing. One day was lion day (two sleeping males plus three carousing females spotted).

The elephant families are not shy here and have blocked the road on more than one occasion. When this happens, you basically just stop the jeep and wait for the elephants to continue on their way. They are not to be rushed.

We also witnessed an incredible zebra migration - thousands and thousands of zebras moving across the plain.

The landscape here is much different than the delta. There is not as much water and therefore not as much greenery. It is more of the wide open savannah that we have all seen on the Nature Channel. It makes for spectacular sunsets.

 

Pom Pom Lodge

Okavango Delta, Botswana - Our trip to Botswana went so smoothly it was almost spooky. Aside from a little skirmish with the customs officials who were overly interested in my bike-in-a-box, the trip was smooth sailing. We flew in a tiny five-seater across the Okavango Delta, which was amazing, and then we were greeted by the staff of Pom Pom Lodge, singing a traditional Tatswana welcome song.

Don't ask me why it's called Pom Pom Lodge. It seems like an unfortunate choice of name, but it's really wonderful. Ten luxurious tents (I know that seems incongruous but they really are lovely) set around a lagoon that is teeming with hippos.

There are game drives every morning, with plenty of animals but also a coffee break. Afternoons are devoted to siesta (which we desperately needed after our 24-hour commute). And evening game drives, centered around sundown drinks. It's all very civilized.

I can't possibly recount all of the adventures, but it has been a thrill to see the herds of zebra, impala, red lechwe and wildebeast grazing in the grasses.

On our very first day, an elephant wandered into the camp and startled two women when they emerged after their siesta.

That evening we spotted a gorgeous leopard as she was waking up from her afternoon nap.

Now we are leaving the life of luxury to set off on four days traveling across the Botswana bush.

 

Off to Africa!

Somerville, Mass - In about six hours, I will be getting on an airplane and flying off to Africa. Six hours! I can't believe that this moment has finally arrived. I feel like I have been preparing for this for AGES (and pedaling for ages) and yet somehow it went by so fast. Isn't that always the way it works?
As you might imagine, these last few weeks were more than hectic. Thank you for noticing that I have not been posting as often as usual - it's nice to be missed, Mom! Aside from riding my bike 3-5 hours a day, I was also finishing not one but two manuscripts about Boston - the last of which I turned in at 2:30 this morning!
Yes, it wouldn't be a real trip without at least one all-nighter leading up to it.
But the moment is now. My bike has been fitted with extra water bottles and new "flat-proof" tires. My handy new handlebar camera bag gives me easy access for when I am whizzing past the elephants and I want to get a photo.
Now my baby Bianchi is all packed up in a giant box in the back of my car. She and I have had a love-hate relationship over the last few months, but we have come a lont way. And I know I can trust her to carry me across Africa - as long as my knees hold up!
My bags are packed with extra tubes and energy bars and enough chamois shorts to make Lance Armstrong jealous. I even practiced setting up my tent. Jerry and I ate left-over lasagna for lunch in the living room - inside the tent. Then I took it down.
Jerry and I are going to spend 10 days on safari in Botswana before I start riding. This is a lifelong dream for both of us. We'll spend three days at a lodge in the Okavango Delta and four days camping in Chobe National Park, before we finish up at Victoria Falls. And that's where I get on my bike. (At least it sounds like I will be riding downhill to start.)
Thank you so much to everyone who has shown me support over the past few months. I am so grateful to the Charles River Wheelmen and the small group of biking maniacs who have kept me company all winter long. All I had to do was show up, and somebody (usually Chris!) would lead me around the rolling hills of Boston's beautiful western suburbs. I got free nutrition counseling,  tire changing and some tale telling.
Most importantly, I had the comfort of being surrounded by cyclists who think it's perfectly normal to ride a bike across a continent. Many of them have already done it themselves.
And I cannot talk enough about the generosity of friends and family (and a few strangers!) who have donated almost $4000 to the Bicycle Empowerment Network. It feels really good to know that so many people are supporting me. This show of support means so much to me. It's like having my own personal cheering section - rooting me on and sending good vibes - as I pedal across the miles.
This chunk of change also gives so many people access to transportation, health care, education and income opportunities. This is far more than I expected to raise and I am really looking forward to meeting the BEN volunteers and beneficiaries when I sail into Windhoek at the end of 11 days on my bike!
Incidentally, the BEN-sponsored bicycle team is going to be riding with us across Namibia. Or more accurately, in front of us.
I will end with one final plug for BEN. It's not too late to donate!
On that note, I'm off to Africa...