got to thinking last night about my last blog entry and how it was half assed and didnt explain remotly what is going on anymore. So im sitting at the side of the road with my laptop in the middle of nowhere, Im surrounded by scrub land with mountains in the distance, its stunning.
My duty today is time keeping, so I got my ass out of riding. I have lost most of my motivation to ride right now, im physically and mentally drained. Its kinda weird, you dont have much to worry about, you rise before dawn, eat, ride, fix bikes, eat, sleep. It sounds very simple, but its the small things that start getting to you. The constant routine waking and dropping your tent in the dark, running around sorting your shit trying to get out and on the bike early as if you get into camp late the hot water is long gone as is anything else that is worth having. No matter how early you get up you still dont seem to get your shit together in time and before you know it there is hardly anyone left to ride with. Hit the road and knock out 80kms before lunch, sometimes stopping to chat with riders you catch, problem here is you have all done and seen the same thing for 4 months now so there isnt always that much to be said. Food drains you too, porridge almost every morning makes you feel like puking before you`ve even tried to eat it, you know you have to get food in you but the same shit every day fucks you off. I get to lunch which tends to be nasty cheese or tuna sandwhiches and just stare at it in disgust most days. Dinner is much the same, there are only so many ways you can dress up stew before you want to throw it at someone.
The ups and downs that we are all going through are greater now than they have been at any point of the tour, people that have been best friends are getting to each other through the routine and fatigue added together. Even riding one minute you feel like the Lance Armstrong, the next you feel like you have been hit by a truck.
I feel i'm ungrateful that i'm traveling through this continent in the way I am and all I want is to get out of here now. I`m trying not to but I am counting the days, its felt so distant from the lifestyle im used to that yesterday when we got to walk into a normal western mall for the first time in months I was excited. Finding things to buy that you totally take for granted at home was the highlight of my day. I ran round a sports store like a kid in a candy store, finding things that i`ve been needing since january, simple things like a new water bottle for the bike, an inner tube and some more tent pegs. Buying fresh milk and good cheese - total luxury.
The ups are incredible too, you come around a corner and see a view that blows you away, then turn the next corner and see another. I have put a slideshow of the pics I have on the laptop on a rest day and feel incredibly inspired again. The animals, the feeling of acheivement when you roll in after a hard day, the sense of companionship and support that's there from other riders. Its catch 22, I want to get home and take the dog for a walk, but the minute I get there, I know i`ll be bored and wishing I was still out here.
Sesriem, Namibia.
Finally the legs are back, I have't felt strong for pretty much all of april, but yesterdays 154km off road was a tough stage but for whatever reason I felt strong again. I will never understand what changes from day to day. We came over a pass that I cant pronounce let alone spell to one of the most incredible views of the tour, the rest of the day was rdiing through savana with harsh rocky backdrops but absouloutly stunning. I finished the day sitting at 40kph with Tom racing to try and beat the sunset and get into camp in daylight (we where late due to an extended coffee stop, numerous camera stops and mainly through the burger stop we found at the halfway point.) it was one my best riding days so far and felt truly like africa again.
Hit the dunes of the namib desert today, kind of the standard cluster fuck that the africans manifest. They strongly recomend that you get there for sunrise, then they only open the gate 20 minutes before sunrise. You then have a Mario Cart race down 45kms of road at around 120kph in the land rover racing all the others to reach the dunes in time to see the sunrise, the best part being that there are strong warning signs all the way down about speeding above the 40kph limit. Could be a little better managed!
Felix Unite, Nambia / South African Border town.
6 riding days left, we cross to SA tommorow then the days are relativle simple, between 120 and 140kms till Cape Town and what promises to be a monumental piss up.
This week has been one of the hardest, long long days in the middle of nowhere, its also been the most beutiful riding of the tour, passing game all day long with nevada like backdrops. when you do find a small hamlet there is normally a coffee shop that is well stoked with pies, sausage rolls and apple crumble. I have eaten well everytime, normally putting back enough food to feel ill for the next hour.
Namibia is without a doubt my favorite part of africa, if anyone is planning a trip over here make sure you include it. Very few tourists, stunning vistas, nice (if a little direct) people.
A few of us partook in a naked mile yesterday dont know if this connection will alow me to upload a photo, but if it doesnt you probably dont really want to see 6 guys spotty arses anyhow.
Have a Shark dive, wine tour and some shopping planned in Cape Town after the hangover, then a fun flight home, so im guessing this is porbably the last update. Cant wait to walk the dog.
mark.
