Day 23: Cycle to Menegai Crater


We never said we would cycle in a straight line... Main roads have two characteristics: they go the shortest route from A to B and they do so crossing as few contour lines as possible. We are avoiding main roads and take the scenic routes. We may not like crossing contours, but we just get on with it. Wow, Eric picked a special route for us today!

You will know from previous posts, that we firmly decreed a maximum of 65km a day. Well, add to that a maximum of 1,000 metres of ascent please. Aï! We did 1,100m today which is 3,600ft in old money. We would be pushing the lever for another gear, only to find that we were in 1st already and there was nowhere else to go but dig deep.

Our route went through the amazing Dondori and Bahati Forests. They are both plantations, but surprisingly beautiful. In parts a reminder of Perthshire!

After 2 hours of riding through the forests, there was still this much left to go:
The snag (apart from the hills) was the mud. Cycling in mud is not good / impossible. It has rained a lot but luckily not on us when riding. We praised the ubiquitous piki pikis that had been on the track before us as they tend to remove the stickiest layer of mud and leave a small trail to follow. It is tragic to see so much top soil washed away in places.

Tomorrow, we are starting a big loop for 2 days to avoid the 25 km of main road that would take us to Tuesday night's planned stop. But the view will be spectacular. 

You can see our route today on Relive here. We are pleased to be sleeping in a proper bed tonight, the roll of thunder all around is constant.

And for different pictures and short video clips don't forget our Insta page.

Technical Corner
During preparation, Tom was told in no uncertain terms that shoes which clip-in to the pedals are essential. So far, he has only fallen off once with both feet still clipped in (at slow speed, into a Leleshwa tree). Another thing he's learnt is that they are a pain when in the mud, like today. Cleaning them makes you feel like a syce.

Comments

  1. Al HayMay 9, 2022 at 10:55 AM

    1100m off-road climbing = another huge day. Your diversions to avoid that 25km road stretch shows the men are made of the same steel (or carbon!) as the bikes .

    ReplyDelete

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