Today's ride is the first in the section called "Jewel of Africa". This section will take us through Rwanda, Uganda, and most of Kenya. Rwanda's nickname is aptly "land of a thousand hills", and we were certainly going to experience that firsthand today. High temperature 26° C, very little wind, 85 km, 1610 m total ascent. There is a 23 km irregular, unpaved segment with treacherous potholes on the main ascent. Our tour director actively encouraged those who don't feel they can ride the whole day to either take the truck in the morning or the afternoon.
This is one of two custom-built support trucks for our tour. They are also two additional SUVs tagging along. All the vehicles have ability to haul bicycles. There is a lot of space inside these trucks for bicycles, baggage, and cooking supplies also.
The drop off point where we began our ride today.
Very green rolling hillsides, with red dirt.
Today was Sunday, and we rode by women who were dressed in very bright colors. We could hear cheerful hymns emanating from the churches. Seventh Day Adventist Churches have a strong presence here.
Rwandans almost universally have single gear bikes. While carrying heavy loads, they can power up hills faster than most of us with derailleurs. As we crept up the hills, kids often ran alongside our bikes for a surprising distance. Kinyarwanda is the main national language. In Kigali, English was more commonly spoken and understood. In the villages, not so much.
The kids would greet us with something in their local language. When we heard English, it was usually "money, money, money", or "give me da money".
It was humid and hazy, and the temperature was rapidly increasing during our long ascent. I got a rear flat tire from a moderate-sized glass shard about 1/4 of the way up. My friend with the broken finger and his wife stopped to help.
Very near the top, I came upon one of the riders who was suffering from heat exhaustion by the roadside. She took some electrolyte powder I was carrying and after about 20 minutes, she was feeling better. During this time, we were surrounded by about 20 curious young onlookers, who did not have the same concept of personal space that we do. We had only about 1 km left in the long ascent, and she was able to successfully complete the last bit of the climb. 5 km of downhill later, we were at the lunch stop. She definitely felt better after lunch, but the medics recommended that she hitch an afternoon ride on the support vehicle into camp.
We arrived late to lunch, but the earlier riders shared the 3 photos below of curious onlookers who had gathered on the hillside as lunch was being set up. We are an endless source of fascination, and one of the TDA staff told me it's basically the same all the way through Africa.
The trees look like something Dr. Seuss might draw.
If you stop pedaling, it literally only takes a few seconds for a crowd to gather.
There was heavy rain for about 15 minutes in the afternoon during the long descent.
First view of Lake Kivu, our destination for today. This is a very large lake, and only a small arm is shown. The border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda goes right through the middle of the lake.
Campsite on the shore of Lake Kivu.
We now enter 2 rest days, and a local guide will come in the morning to review optional activities for this region.
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