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I’m sitting in a resort hotel in the little town of Yabello surrounded by tents, overland trucks, cattle, sheep, goats and dogs while being stared at through a barbed wire fence by some Ethiopian children who speak loudly and push and shove each other to gain your attention. I want to laugh at them but as I have learnt from experience here in Ethiopia…that only serves to excite them a little more so I pop in my Ipod speakers and pretend that I haven’t seen them. (Thank God for mirrored sun glasses! They cannot see you staring at them) We have been in Ethiopia about 3 weeks now and in a couple of day’s time we are crossing the border into Kenya. The African Routes boys, Shanny and Miles are cringing and worrying about the trucks, truck springs, brackets and anything else that will shake loose because apparently it’s quite bumpy on the lava rock. The riders spent their morning doing laundry but there was also a rush on the 'off road' tires as the tarmac that we have enjoyed is slowly coming to an end as we get closer to the border. The road condition has deteriorated into a narrow bumpy pot holed route which has slowed everybody down and those without suspension on their bikes have stated that they didn’t realize they had muscles in their arms again. The crowds have thinned out dramatically which seems to have eased the frustrations of the riders and allowed them to relax a bit without the feeling that they are being watched all the time (which is pretty much what happens each day)! There is more a rural feel where we are at the moment…..less people, smaller villages, lots of cattle herders around, more traditional clothing and only the occasional ‘you, you’ and coke stops! Ethiopia has been like a rare gem, a jewel, a diamond, a pretty flower and a great adventure all rolled into one. The changing landscape, the mountains, the trees, the greenness of it all, the people, the coffees and the ride have all served to add to the richness of our experiences from Sudan. It is nothing like you expect it to be and then much more after that. The children are ever-present each day….naughty, cheeky with those ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ smiles that get the best of us. It’s hard not to enjoy hanging out with them. The people, warm and inviting most of the time, want all your money and sometimes even your bike! Some of us were lucky enough to spend evening time with a family who roasted their own coffee and served it up to us with a type of popcorn all in a thatched hut that they shared with cows, donkeys, goats and chickens. It is tradition here that when you are having coffee, you have 3 cups! As a result, for some of us, that night was a sleepless one. To save money they serve it with salt instead of sugar! That was a new one for the taste buds. The riders have developed ‘hill’ riding legs not by choice but by necessity and I don’t think they will forget their achievements in the Blue Nile Gorge. The bikes have taken a ‘hammering’ and with more to come in northern Kenya you can see riders scrambling for the attention of Dean, our bike mechanic. They still ride and pedal onwards, most of them knowing a little bit more about bike maintenance than they previously had. I think that most of them are hoping that the stories they have heard about the first part of Kenya are exaggerated and not true….the overland boys seem to be gearing up for long days of driving….maybe I should be taking a bit more gear in my bike bag after all? With a little under two days left here in Ethiopia, it was nice wandering around the market in Yabello, enjoying Enjura for lunch with some red wine, buying some brightly colored material and stocking up on toilet paper. Today we are in a bush camp with people surrounding us speaking Swahili, checking us out but more interested in Shanny’s negotiations to have them dig a toilet for us. The pick axes are out. The price has been confirmed. The women in their beautiful colored wraps and jewellery stand quietly watching us intently not willing to come closer and meet with us. Soon we’ll be at the border, getting new money, our passports stamped, learning some new words, seeing new people and working out how to navigate lava rock and big bumps!! For today we’re enjoying the music, the quiet, the shade of the trees and our time in Ethiopia.

A hot day in the hills of Ethiopia today as the riders climbed away from Yabello to our bush camp about 80kms away from the Kenyan border which we head to tomorrow. We have really hit rural Ethiopia now and although we had a small crowd at our campsite, once they had looked, checked us out, asked some questions (through Wundy and Addis, our Ethiopian locals) they soon left to go about their business which was bringing the herds of cattle in for the day. There is a large well near where we are staying so we’ve been watching them bring water up for the cattle to drink. Everyone is looking a bit exhausted and red this afternoon. We can expect more heat as we head into Kenya and into the desert where we leave behind the tarmac and roll over some of the toughest terrain on this trip – the Dida Galgalu desert.

Aaaaaa, the beautiful truck stop town of Yabello, our 'resort' for tonight and for tomorrow’s rest day. The showers are refreshing, the cokes freezing cold, the cows are in their pens so we are able to put our tents up and tomorrow is a rest day. To get here we climbed out of our bush camp this misty, cloudy, dewy morning, saying goodbye to perimeter camping and surprise, surprise the amount of people have dramatically decreased! We headed into what seemed like the more 'rural' part of Ethiopia today: lots of camel and cow herds, women wearing brightly coloured beads and dresses (tied almost like saris), small clusters of villages with traditional mud huts and a severe lack of coke stops. It was great seeing the colours in the outfits that the women were wearing. The landscape has changed to rocky ridgelines, red soil, small dense brush, dry creek beds and a road full of more potholes than the ones in the Sudan. Of course it was up and down too! Yabello is a seriously tiny place. Our rest day seems as though it is going to be just that…a rest day! After the last few days... a well deserved rest day!

This country doesn’t cease to amaze with its incredible landscape. Today was all about 'undulating ups and downs' as the riders climbed out of the village town of Chooko, up and up into the hills (I think we gained about 2,000m in elevation) riding through small villages that were lush, green and chock full of banana trees. The kids were in a happy mood, cheering and applauding so the riders were in great spirits coming into lunch. As the route continued out of lunch the road climbed up onto a ridge line that literally took your breath away with how beautiful the scenery was. Gunther was firing today making an early break from the main racing pack before lunch and one which he held onto until the finish flag. Eva, due to an injury to Janet who is unable to race at present, is mixing it up with the boys and going strong along the flats and up and down the hills. She is proving to be a strong competitor and serious racer now. Once again, the thunder clouds are building up in the distance and we are hoping that a good shower may get rid of some of the crowds that have formed around the campsite. A few more days to go and we will be in northern Kenya and apparently….not as interesting as we are in Ethiopa! Bring it on!

It was hard to leave Lake Lagano today as the sunrise turned it on for us this morning after our stormy night and two Ethiopian dance parties that were happening on either side of our camp. The rolling hills came back with a vengeance before and after lunch as the country side changed yet again from acacia trees to banana plantations, gums and lush green vegetation with thatched huts and mud brick houses dotting the route to Chooko. The crowds were with us again at lunch and up for a good dance too, mixing it up with some Ethiopian dance moves. One thing you notice about our campsite tonight is the sheer volume of people around the perimeter – they must be about 3 to 4 deep, cheeky, naughty and we must look like something out of National Geographic to them. They’ve enjoyed watching the tents go up, people washing, changing, eating, drinking and generally just hanging around the camp. Bring on that afternoon thunderstorm that has been happening each afternoon for a week now and hopefully it may soften the ground we are camping on, settle the dust and send some of these kiddies home. Another day in paradise!

Imagine this…..a beautiful lake surrounded by rocky cliffs, a cool breeze, grass, shade, a bar with patio, birdlife everywhere, hot showers and Spaghetti Bolognese…..if you can do that…then you are with us tonight on beautiful Lake Lagano. Today’s ride was a fast, flat, smooth 110km with the headwind coming in early but that didn’t stop too many people from hightailing to get to this campsite. It was well worth the effort. There were plenty of birds, monkeys, ostriches and children to keep the riders entertained throughout the day. The tandem team had a strong ride today with our blind cyclist, Douglas, and his guide Joash, both from Kenya, taking the honours today followed closely by Jan, from Holland. Eva Nijssen, fresh from her section win, is still riding strongly and claiming stage wins in the women’s division. Today we found a small café, with great Ethiopian jazz, a DJ and coffee that kept you going back for more as well as comfy couches and a great atmosphere. Tomorrow, the tour heads south into the rolling hills that have come to characterize Ethiopia. The road is paved, sommething the riders should cherish as the challenge of Northern Kenya begins to loom in the not to distant future.

A new section, an overheating truck, flat roads, a great coffee stop, Gunther having slicks on his mountain bike and a lake campsite ahead marked our departure from Addis Ababa early this morning. The riders have all commented on the fact that this was possibly the easiest day on the tour so far since leaving Cairo. Everyone was in camp by 2.30pm. Tonight we are staying on Lake Koka, with its lush green vegetation and mountains rising up in the distance. At present, the campsite is littered with thermarests and bodies that are either sleeping, reading, listening to music, talking and enjoying the cool breeze and sunny weather. (some of the more motivated ones are working on their bikes). We have seen monkeys, storks, ibis and vultures along the way today and fisherman are hanging out near the campsite with enormous fish to sell. Fortunately for us, Miles sourced out some fish so we can have fresh fish and couscous for dinner. How does that saying go….’Life is so good’!

It’s a rest day in Addis, and a chance to dislodge what I once considered a natty pair of Diadora cleats from the hungry grasp of my trusty, but clearly now out-dated steed’s stiffening peddles; a chance to surrender, and have someone else refresh the variously faded and filthy bits and pieces of bottom-softened spandex that we all seem to swear by wearing; and a chance to think a little of what trespassing down this thin line across the Sudan, and now through Ethiopia this past month has meant to me. First, there’s the meaning of my body. And a slowly accumulating pleasure in finding out that I’ve become just a little fitter. Of discovering that what I once would have thought entirely improbable now seems quite achievable -- that a century of rolling hills a day, across unrelenting sand and stone and under an unreasonable sun, can be done; that slipping down a 1300m slope and up the other side of a disgorged Nile can be fun. Second, there’s the meaning of my bike. And a happy recognition -- from someone who has never really ridden the thing -- that it can be comforting to abandon oneself to its meditative cadences. And so, at the moment at any rate, even in this current mud-sodden and rapidly rusting state; she feels more like a comfortable couch than the instrument of torturous intent I’d figured her for in a short pre-trip peddle around the corner from a Cape Town home just over a month ago. And third, there’s the meaning of the map that sits besides my race number. And a renewed appreciation, as I watch the wonder of the world pass by each day, acquiring in the process some sense of my own existence that this ‘tour of freaks’ across a continent has very little do with a sense of personal accomplishment or endurance; of measuring incremental steps in a quest to cover it all off; or remembering the proper order of things and people and places. Rather, that this map of Africa is one that has helped me to celebrate being displaced; in having my own ordered sense of the world continuously disrupted by experiences that always suggest the fragility of a shared human condition.. So, for Rider Three-One-Three at least, the section from Khartoum to Addis Ababa, called ‘The Gorge’, has been full of memories and meaning that could have happened anywhere in the world where people meet. Accept of course that we’ve learnt to say ‘salaam’ (hello) and ‘amasiganalo’ (thank you) when some shy kid sticks out his hand or a stick and lobs you with a stone as you struggle up yet another undulating ascent.

Today, the tour 'hit' the city of Addis Ababa. As has been the case over the last few days, the riders climbed and descended on route to the start of the convoy (about 90km from camp) which was at the top of a winding road that lead us into the heart of the city. Here we were met by delegates from the Ethiopian Cycling Federation and Paralympic Committee as well as a bunch of Ethiopian Cyclists who joined us for the ride into town.