It started raining lightly at 1 AM, and it didn’t stop until about 5 AM, just when we had to wake up and get ready for our 5:45 AM bag call.
The entire soccer field was a muddy mess because of the rain. I woke up to a flat front tire, so I had to repair that after breakfast.
I soon became aware that there was more drama this morning. I heard initially that two riders had their water bottles stolen overnight from their bikes, despite TDA having hired security guards for our camp.
More alarmingly, three bicycles were stolen, even though they were locked up. Two were locked to each other, and one was locked by itself, but not secured to anything. Our tour director Colleen immediately contacted the police and school headmaster. A reward was offered, and in short order, the three stolen bicycles were procured from the village. The bags attached to the bikes were gone.
Elizabeth with her recovered bike. 
Geoff and Christine were happily reunited with their bikes, and would ride again.
108 km, 633 m total ascent, 29°C maximum. Overcast all day again, which is my preference as it keeps the heat to a minimum. It remained cool for riding all day, with a drizzle in the morning. 
Heavy cloud cover. In this 20 km of road, there was grading on either side to allow for two additional lanes on each side. Not sure what the actual plan will be given the road infrastructure desperately needed elsewhere.
After lunch, we encountered another 15 km stretch of future road improvements. The grading on both sides is the same width.
For most of the day, the edge of the road had disintegrated, and there was essentially no shoulder on either side. 
Triple peak mountain.
Our destination today was Kasungu Inn. Because it was a short riding day, most arrived by 1 PM or earlier. It was a dated property, but notably, there were small ants everywhere that were hard to keep out of our tents.
From 4 to 6 PM, general debauchery ensued with our “halfway” party. We had been encouraged to procure our costumes two days ago in Mzuzu, where eager vendors were stationed outside our campsite. Strangely, many of the clothes still had tags priced in US dollars, like they were rejects from USA Goodwill stores. TDA supplied the punch.
We also received a WhatsApp update from our injured rider with the fractured ribs. She spent a few days in the Mbeya hospital, but then was transferred to a larger and more modern hospital in Nairobi. At some point, her doctor will release her for transport back to her hometown of Washington DC.
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