Riding with Ross Methven: day 11

Ross Methven is riding a bicycle from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Cape Town, South Africa. He is currently cycling through Tanzania and I am accompanying him on part of the Tanzanian leg. My Mt. Kilimanjaro guide, Yahoo, says cycling is one of the best training options for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

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Thursday 8 August 2013
This is the day we had planned to ride a monumental 80 kilometres. We didn't and there are several reasons why.

First, the waitress told us yesterday that breakfast is served at 0600hrs; by 0645hrs the cook's were still dragging themselves in the kitchen and not in any hurry to prepare breakfast. We went to a nearby location where we had our breakfast and departed before 0800hrs. We had planned to leave an hour earlier.

A little after we left we attached the rear view mirrors that I bought yesterday for Shs.1,500 each ($US 0.94). It was the most important purchase we have made yet on this trip. No more straining the neck to watch approaching traffic.

I am still cycling far behind Ross but today I only got off the bicycle once to walk up a short but relatively steep uphill section.

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If you want to donate to Ross' cause please follow this link:

http://fundraise.unicef.org.uk/MyPage/value-adder-to-vagabond

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At the 50-kilometre point we camped at a place called Nanga. The locals said the next village on our route did not have suitable accommodation. And, we decided, at 30 kilometres away, Igunga was too far. Ross said: "This is supposed to be fun. We don't have to punish ourselves."

The shopkeeper at Nanga, first left, talks to me in front of his shop.  

And that was how we ended up stopping at Nanga and spending part of the evening shooting pool.

That was after Ross visited the local barber for a haircut. I attempted to discourage him not to allow his hair to be experimented upon by a barber who may not have the experience to cut Ross' hair. The haircut went well. The barber was not only good at haircuts, but equally so at overcharging. Ross had noticed the rates on a notice board, which were lower than what the barber demanded. When he pointed that out the barber said it was all a joke; he had no intention of overcharging. We did not believe him.

One thing about long distance cycling is it's a boring repetitive process and I told Ross I understand why it was necessary every so often to break off for a few days to rest and explore the local surroundings.

Next: At Shelui, no women permitted at the hotel

Related posts:
http://www.rossmethvensbigbikeride.co.uk/
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2013/09/riding-with-ross-methven-day-10.html
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2013/09/riding-with-ross-methven-day-12.html