by Henry
Howling and barking dogs again almost all night just outside camp, which contributed to restless sleep for everyone.
It seems every day, we are presented with reasons where riders opt not to or cannot get on their bikes; this is a hardy group of trekkers are not looking for excuses.
With the sun and heat yesterday, Lois developed a pruritic heat rash that prevented her from sleeping at all. She was too wiped out to ride today.
Vince was feeling some chills yesterday and tested positive for malaria, so he’s going to take some time off from riding to recover. As a practicing family medicine physician for most of his career (over 30 years) in Ghana, he has had several bouts of malaria. Historically, when he is stressed, malaria can flare from its dormant state. So he won’t be riding until he feels better.
102 km, just over 1300 m total elevation gain, high temperature 26° C. We had a 10 km stretch of dirt road leaving camp, followed by a 20 km climb of over 800 m. We reached an elevation of just under 2800 m, the highest so far on the tour. There were gusty headwinds for the last 5 km of the climb.
Small lake at the summit.
Some in the group took a short detour to see Thompson Falls. I did not go, so this is a borrowed picture.
We encountered additional headwinds before reaching lunch at 73 km. Our course is a little bit zigzag through Kenya; we supposedly crossed the equator again today at 76 km, but I did not see any signage to announce that.
Firewood is hauled by all sorts of conveyances.
Some who ride bicycles find that pickle juice can be a soothing tonic.
We were greeted near the end of the day with an additional 26 km of unpaved road.
The unpaved road is to the right is more rocky and bumpy than it appears. There was a smoother footpath to the left of the road, which we rode for a long while to avoid the road’s jarring surface.
On this long stretch of unpaved road, we encountered a lot of sheep and cattle herders.
I got my 4th flat with an acacia thorn, which I think will happen to all riders with relative frequency as we traverse Africa.
Our destination was Mutara Bush Camp under the fever (acacia) trees. These trees tend to grow near swampy areas, the natural breeding grounds for mosquitoes - the vector for malaria. Early European arrivals noted that those settling near these trees often contracted a fever (not understanding that it was malaria), and the name stuck.
