Greetings from your African dirt correspondent, exactly a month on from our first taste of dirt in Sudan. I'm writing from a small settlement called Laisamis, 95 kilometres from a dusty town called Marsabit, en route to Nairobi.

As we left Ethiopia, the heavy rain that had plagued the tour eased up and we were generously treated to several days of dryness. The weather changes quickly though and at 4:30am on our rest day in Marsabit riders were busily putting their rain flies on their tents. The roads in Marsabit quickly turned to mushy mud and vehicles (including our own bucky, the 'Drama Queen') were getting stuck every few hundred metres. We've not had to ride over any serious mud so far on this tour so this was shaping up to be an interesting riding challenge.

There was no real rain overnight and as the riding week began, we were told of the muddy sections that awaited us on the road. After a pretty serious downhill, I settled down for a morning of gradual descent to lunch. Soon enough the first mud arrived, vehicle tracks were carved half a foot in and any clear cut path soon vanished.

Riding over the mud was slippery and I was very glad of my previously ill-thought out decision to use fairly skinny dirt tyres. The mud attaches to your wheels quickly and within minutes it's rubbing against the inner edges of your frame and fork and collecting on top of your brake callipers, making no sound but slowing you down noticeably.

For one of the early sections, there were a hardened section on the sides of the road which was much quicker to ride along. I was riding along merrily at somewhere between 15 and 20 kmph when I caught sight of a local. He shouted and pointed straight across the road to something just metres in front of me. Slamming on my brakes and almost vaulting over my handlebars, the object he was pointing to was immediately apparent - a deep and wide crack in the earth.

Saved from this possible end to my riding day, I continued on to lunch, passing through water logged section after water logged section. The clear rain water turns brown as soon as it touches the soil and the standing water covering the depressed sections of road leaves a layer of fine grit on your skin, clothes and bicycle as you pedal through it. Bicycles were creaking for much of the day as the water washed off lube.

Visible from lunch was another water logged section of road where a truck had got stuck in a seemingly deep pothole. The cab of the truck was arched at 20 degrees to the surface of the water and it seemed that it was submerged about a metre. Normally the puddles aren't that deep, or at the very least, their surface maintains the same consistency as the road immediate before and immediately after it. Another rider Jason was standing on the other side of the puddle scraping his shoes but I took little notice of this. Feeling confident at my ability to ride such puddles, I cycled straight into this puddle, picking a line that followed the ruts on the road leading to it.

The first small puddle was fine but less than two metres into the second puddle I felt my front wheel disappear into some mysterious underwater chasm and I actually went over my handlebars this time. Luckily there was no hard impact, unluckily I was now soaked from neck down. The crew and passengers of the stuck truck broke into laughter and Jason, who hadn't seen me cycle in, was shocked to see just my head floating above the water. We stood and watched as three more riders crossed, somehow picking a line where they stayed relatively dry. One of the TDA trucks tried the same and was wedged underwater within seconds.

The afternoon featured the much promised 'extreme corrugation' and arriving to camp was a timely relief. As riders came into camp, it was pleasant to see some of the chronic complainers extolling their enjoyment of the day.


Sunil Shah powers through the tough stuff!

-written by Sunil Shah

www.geekonabicycle.co.uk

The last few days in Ethiopia felt different somehow.  The children seemed to be less aggressive and the stone throwing seemed to be isolated incidents instead of the norm. The vocabulary of the children also started improving.  From ‘you, you, you’ to the odd ‘Welcome’ or ‘How are you’ was also a welcome change.

The last two days the people started getting taller and not everyone was carrying a stick.  The quality of the roads deteriorated into a patchwork of tar with lots of potholes. 
Fortunately the only motorized traffic on the roads seem to be trucks or buses, with very few privately owned vehicles, so we were able to spread ourselves between potholes.

We have seen a lot of rain in the lastweek, and had pouring rain on the rest day at the border, which is when laundry always gets done.  So we left Moyale withplenty of wet laundry.  The best thing to do with wet laundry seems to be to wear it where the warmth of the body driesit out.  We were really worried about thewet roads for both riders and the trucks getting stuck, but fortunately the first three days in Kenya were dry. 

The first day was pretty tough on the dirt road, and then proceeded to get pogressively worse with the constant corrugations and volcanic rock and stone.  The third day was the toughest, and the riders arrived at Marsabit very ready for a days break.So now we are in Kenya where we are called Mzungus rather than Farengis, and everyone says ‘Jambo’ with huge smiles. Being a former British Colony the people speak good English on the whole, and it is much easier to be understood.  The lastthree days have really been isolated, and it’s been good to see some civilization again. 

It’s amazing to think that this road we have been riding on is the main road between Kenya andEthiopia.  It appears there are politicalreasons for the Kenyan government not to want to develop this road, as then Mombasa will become the main port for Ethiopia with the vast increase intraffic that will go with it, instead of using Djibouti as they currently are.  It will be interesting to see how many years it will take before TDA riders will be riding this lava rock road as opposed to tarred pavement.

The rain has started again as we sit here in Marsabit, and we have grave concerns about the road ahead for both cyclists
and especially trucks.  Think of us as we head for the muddy mess in the days ahead.

   --Caroline Murray.

We have just received the latest 2010 Tour d'Afrique financial report from our field staff enroute in Ethiopia. Here are a few of the entries we have just reviewed...

Feb 2       Sudanese Pounds 30            fine for having bike on roof of 4WD vehicle
Feb 2       Sudanese Pounds 20            for labour digging vehicle out of sand at Abu Dom
Feb 16     Ethiopian Birr 100                 for car wash at Blue Nile River
Feb 16     Ethiopian Birr 3500               for purchase of 8 sheep
Feb 21     Ethiopian Birr 500 .               for "mule payment"
Feb 23     Ethiopian Birr 1800               for Addis Ababa Convoy accident damage

So we sit here asking ourselves what exactly Revenue Canada and its auditors would think of these!?!

I could wax poetic about breakfast at length, if the mood and audience permitted; it’s my favourite meal of the day. And so, when we woke a few mornings ago to the cold, drizzling rain for the first time on tour, I took comfort in the inside knowledge that this would be a particularly good day for breakfast. The anticipatory buzz was palpable, sparked by rumours of a fruit salad that had begun to circulate since the previous afternoon, when every available knife and chopping board was set to the task of butchering crates of the sweet, vitamin-y goodness that is mango and pineapple. But only a select few knew the scope of what was in store on this particular morning in camp. True, there would be fruit salad, but also glee inducing-muesli, and the chocolate-hazelnut temptress of breakfast spreads that is Nutella. There is something that awakens deep inside the recesses of the brain when a jar of Nutella is cracked. Now giving a crowd of more than 60 cyclists that have been pushing themselves to their physical limits on a daily basis any one of these breakfast knee-bucklers on their own is a recipe for breakfast blitzkrieg, our seemingly jovial and considerate group reduced to a mob of multi-tool brandishing, every-cyclist-for-themselves hooligans.  Sooner or later someone would lose an eye. And so, James employs rather clever strategy to quell the impending riot and make the good stuff last. Serve all three – at once. Like a boxing match in its final round, the muesli becomes the left hook, the Nutella a right jab, and the fresh fruit salad a final dizzying flurry to the solar plexus, rendering his opponents so overwhelmed by the paradox of choice that they retreat to their previously altruistic breakfast-consumer state. At least that’s how I imagine it. And then a few days ago, like a magical fantasy lunch mirage, Janet put together a fried egg and avocado sandwich buffet. I was over the moon! No lunch bag letdown here.

One would have thought these last few days of rain would have dampened —pardon the pun — riders’ spirits. But that hasn’t necessarily been the case.  Wrinkled rain gear has emerged, unearthed from the cavernous black holes of locker and luggage storage, and soggy camaraderie flows. Paddy continues to entertain with his white “condom jacket,” which quickly becomes translucent and does little to protect him from the elements, and Martjin and Janet are adorable with their garbage bag specials (poke three holes: one for your noggin, two for your arms, and voila!). All this rain mixes with the reddish-brown earth — like chocolate cake batter — making for some muddy rides. But there’s something invigorating about getting that dirty. You can see it on their mud-spattered faces as the roll into camp. The riding has been intense at times, thanks to Ethiopia’s behemoth climbs, scarred pavement and the never-ending sea of locals, donkeys and livestock that crowd the roads as we pedal through their lives.  But the rock wounds will heal, and the unbelievably picturesque landscapes of this country will leave a permanent mark in our memories as we change our tires and prepare to say goodbye.


   -Allison Barnes

We would like to offer a little perspective on the issue of Ethiopian children throwing rocks at the cyclists during the Tour ‘d’Afrique from our Brazilian colleague, Christiano Werneck…  

“The stories and videos about the rock-throwing kids in Ethiopia caught my attention. That country has been always a part of my dream about riding in Africa, as something very different from everything I have ever seen.

A couple years ago, a small group of friends and I started a night ride. The idea was to do something different from other groups we have here in my city. It was going be for free, for everyone, and without a support car. We called it RUT's, abbreviating something like Thursday's Night Ride, and playing with the word ‘roots’ in English. Roots because we were back to the most simple way of cycling. Get together and ride. No police cars, no stopping traffic, nothing, as bicycles do not need cars or people stopping traffic to be respected. We put our advocacy to it.

I stopped going a year ago, and during that time, they had to change the meeting and starting point, and it ended up being great. A lot more people have been going. I went last Thursday night, and there were more than 80 people. It's a very unstructured thing. Each week, someone chooses a route. Anyone can be the guide.

It ended up that, because of all those factors, they have been occasionally going through some sections of the city where the other night rides never go - distant neighborhoods, slums, etc.  It's nice. Last Thursday I heard a guy saying to another: "The nice thing about this ride is that we get to go to places in the city we have never been and would never go, if it wasn't for this". Anyway, as we rode through a very infamous slum on a brand new avenue which now crosses it between two fancy neighborhoods, it rained stones at us. And as we talked about it later drinking a nice cold beer, I was told that this was not the first time nor the first place this had happened during a RUT ride. It's not common, but it has happened sometimes as the group got bigger. And to think I had gotten so excited to talk about it happening in Ethiopia - as if it was something very alien.” 

And it is also instructive to recall the wise words of our own Miles MacDonald posted in 2008…

  “Within our time in Ethiopia many cyclists have experienced the peculiarity of having stones thrown at them by children. Bizarre in one right, explainable in another. Occasionally the gap between wealthy tourist and half naked child brings such a degree of miscomprehension that stupidity ensues. Though the purpose of traveling by bicycle is to slow down and step beyond the doors of a Toyota Landcruiser; it is still too quick a mode of transportation to bridge the distance in understanding. Days, weeks or even years are necessary for a foreigner to understand the intricacies and beauties of this culture, let’s hope a few stones don’t deter any curious souls from riding a bicycle here, or from taking the time to learn.”

Another section of Tour d'Afrique has been completed and that means new section winners.  This section saw rough terrain that had never been cycled through with Tour d'Afrique before.  The riders beat down three days of off road between Khartoum to Gondor.  The off road section was a defining moment in the race for The Gorge Section title winner.  Marcel Van Zwam (Netherlands) experienced 12 punctures on his fast and light cyclecross bicycle through Dinder National Park in South Sudan.  Initially this may have set him back in the section but he was able to enjoy the bonus rest day in Gondor and set a blistering pace for his competitors.  Completing the 1525km in 65:03.  The women's race for the section was more spread out then the previous race.  Gisela Gartmair (Germany) was the female champion for the section.  Gisela was previously only one minute behind Pharaoh's Delight winner Juliana Austin-Olson.  This time the pint sized mountain climber Gisela was able to spread the gap by almost an hour.  Gisela was also the female winner for The Blue Nile Gorge Time Trial. 

Gorge Stage Winners

Men Gorge Stage Placement

1. Marcel Van Zwam  65:03
2. Frans Smit 69:30
3. Stuart Briggs 69:38
4. Jethro De Decker 71:18
5. Daniel Spasojevic 73:18

Female Gorge Stage Winners

1. Gisela Gartmair 78:22
2. Juliana Austin-Olson 80:05
3. Erin Sprague 87:38
4. Jennifer Crake 105:21
5. Stephanie Sleen 109:27

Capetown's Jethro De Decker won the Valentine's Day Stage -  February 14th 2010,  117km from Gondor to a Farm Camp outside of Bahir Dar. De Decker slaughtered his competition with a tricky maneuver.  The mountain biker passed his larger geared road cyclists at lunch stopping only briefly for a banana.  De Decker, who loves to climb the mountain around Cape Town used the two climbs in that stage to achieve his win  - "the roadies have less of an advantage on the climbs, they can't use their big gears".  De Decker is quickly becoming on of the racers to beat moving from 9th overall in the Pharaoh's Delight Section to 4th in the recently completed Gorge Section.  Jethro also finished 4th in The Blue Nile Gorge 20 km Time Trial.  The cheeky De Decker credits his win to "honour, limits and rules, in other words, don't take long lunches just because the roadies do".

  -- Kelsey Wiens

It's our first rainy bike day.  Some riders like Jethro and Frans seems to thrive in the muck other like Simon and Tim can't wait for a warm shower.  Sorry boys you'll have to ride one more day before (hopefully) warm showers. We are reaching the end of our stay in Ethiopia.  The vistas and hills have been stunning; the rock throwing children and the upset stomachs however we will be happy to leave behind.  Today took the riders 133km through some serious hills.  One over 20km climb before lunch (fortunately for the riders tomorrow we will lose most of that elevation before we arrive for our rest day. Jen Crake described today as her favorite ride of the tour so far.  We'll try to find some more hills for you Jen! In the meantime we are drinking lots of chai, trying to stay warm and drying or our tent when (and wherever) we can.   - Kelsey Wiens

Overview

Wedged between the Arab world and Sub-Saharan Africa is Ethiopia. We're still on Earth, but we're miles from the familiar. We'll be in Ethiopia for three weeks, longer than any other country on the tour. By the end you'll swear you'll never eat injera again. But enjoy it while you can, as three weeks gives you barely enough time to sample the dizzying array of foods to offer.   After three weeks, you may find yourself a little sick of injera. Fear not, in the wake of their failed conquest, the Italians left something of their culinary legacy. Try spaghetti on injera for the ultimate in fusion cuisine.

  Staple Foods

Injera - No that isn't the hand towel they're eating. It's injera. The fermented crepe like flat-bread that is the staple food of Ethiopia. As with sourdough starter, ground teff is mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days. The resulting batter is then  poured onto a traditional clay plate which is placed over a fire. In some households an electric stove  does the trick. When food is ordered from an Ethiopian restaurant it almost invariably arrives served on a large piece of injera. Again the injera is eaten with the right hand only; the basic process being to tear off pieces of the bread, then use these pieces to grab bits of food. When all the bits are eaten, you eat the injera which has soaked up the delicious juices. It is considered polite to feed your friends the best bits; the bigger the bit, the better the friend.  

Teff - is the staple grain of Ethiopia. It is the primary ingredient in Injera, and nearly one third of the land mass is covered by this remarkable grain. As you cycle along, you will pass vast swaths of land covered in what appears to be a golden hay; this is teff. Teff is the smallest grain in the world, fifty grains of teff can fit inside a single grain of wheat. It is a nutritional powerhouse, contains all eight of the essential amino acids, is high in calcium and iron, and is suitable for celiacs. Teff has remarkable abilities with regards to drought resistance; producing substantial harvests when other crops fail altogether. It prefers to grow at altitude and flowers best with twelve hours of sunlight; making the horn of Africa an ideal climate for this incredible crop.

Berbere

Ladies! If you're looking to land yourself a quality Ethiopian man, you better start by mastering this ubiquitous spice mix that gives Ethiopian food its distinctive flavour. According to Ethiopian culture; the woman with the best berbere has the best chances of getting a good husband. Aside from the obvious chilis, berbere contains several other spices including ginger, cloves, coriander and allspice.    

Street Food / Snacks

The basics of Ethiopian cuisine can be broken into three basic categories: 

Wot- a basic stew that starts with cooking onions until soft then adding berbere powder and desired meat or vegetables; which can include anything from chicken, beef, lentils and chickpeas, to swiss chard, carrots and potatoes.  

Tibs- another broad category of Ethiopian food is tibs. Basically any meat or vegetable that is grilled or sauteed as opposed to stewed.  

Kitfo-I bet you didn't think you'd get steak tartar in Africa! Directly translated kitfo means minced or chopped finely. Kitfo can be catergorized depending on the level of doneness. In order of less cooked to more cooked (less recommended to more recommended) they are kitfro tre (completely raw) and kitfo leb leb (rare)   The fasting platter (an oxymoron no?) is my favourite offering. While it will contain a mixture of tibs and wots, it gets special attention because I like it. Ethiopians observe several days of fasting throughout the year, including every Wednesday and Friday. During these days no meat is to be eaten, but any vegetarian offerings are fair game. Loaded with plenty of lentils, chickpea purees and vegetables, the fasting platter has all the good stuff you need to keep you going through the day.    The layered drinks of Bahir Dar: Don't think too hard about how they make these delicious layered drinks which include your choice of mango, papaya, pineapple, and avocado. The avocado is a must, its unlike anything you've ever tasted. 

Drinks

While Ethiopia may be the supposed birthplace of humanity; it is more important to note that we have Ethiopia to thank for coffee. The history of coffee in Ethiopia dates back to the 9th century, and was largely confined to Ethiopia until the Arab world began to expand its trade horizons. To not drink coffee in Ethiopia is a culinary crime. While much of what we drink here will be coming from modern Italian coffee machines, it is an incredible experience to be part of, or observe a traditional coffee ceremony.  

Alcohol

After the last stretch through Sudan, many of us are ready for a cold one. Thankfully St. George is waiting for us. While lack of refrigeration facilities generally means that your beer will be ambient, it's still a beer.   Tej is an alcoholic drink made from the fermentation of honey in water. It is also known as honey wine and is similar to mead; variations of which can be seen all over the world, and were likely developed independently in ancient times. Like orange juice and champagne, Tej makes a very acceptable breakfast drink on rest days.   While some would say that an apology to France and the other great nations of the wine producing world is in order; others will happily sit back and work through a bottle of Gouder with not a word of complaint. It is made from a blend of grapes and has a strong dry taste. The cost is certainly a drawing point, the lack of any other options is another.

The classic saying that "French wine is good, but Ethiopian is Gouder", bears little truth.   

What you can expect from the TDA kitchen

chewy meat
sour oranges
a bit of fish in Addis Abeba
lots of smiles      

   -James McKerricher

This dude gets serious points for originality. On Friday, with the spectacular panoramic views of the Blue Nile Gorge in front of them, sectional riders Georgina and Marc got engaged! The charming pair leave the Tour d'Afrique today, having completed the challenging “Gorge” section of the tour, but I couldn't let them sneak away without dishing the goods on how Marc popped the question. I tracked them down for an interview during lunch amid the green rolling hills of Ethiopia, where we found a spot amongst the cows and resting bicycles to tell the tale.

Allison: How did Marc propose?

Georgie: Marc had been violently ill the night before. I banned him from riding that morning, but he went ahead and rode in the afternoon anyway.

A: He had a mission...

Marc: Exactly.

A: Where did you do it?

M: It was about 10 minutes into the descent (into the Blue Nile Gorge). I said, 'oh here's a nice spot. Let's stop and enjoy the view.' G: I was a bit annoyed because I didn't want to stop, but Marc insisted, so we sat and overlooked the Gorge. So, yes, we were sitting, there was no kneeling involved!

A: Exciting! How did he word it?

G: Marc said, 'I wonder if you could carry something for me?' - which I thought was a bit mean really – I was slightly confused! And then he said, 'will you marry me?' and i didn't say yes, I just cried, and I think he said, 'I'll think I'll take that as a yes!” Then I had to climb the Gorge of hell – but I did it with a big smile on my face. Some people get to toast their engagement with champagne; we toasted with electrolyte drink.

A: Marc, what made you decide to propose on the Tour d'Afrique, 10 minutes into the epic 20 kilometre Blue Nile Gorge descent?

M: Georgie loves Africa; it's her favourite place in the world and I thought it would be perfect with the stunning views...
G: ...and I am over the moon! It couldn't have been more perfect. The Gorge was the whole reason we chose this section. And I have to say, having survived it, and Dinder National Park of hell together, we can survive anything!  

Georgina and Marc joined the Tour d'Afrique for “The Gorge” section, from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The couple of two and a half years live in Gerrard's Cross, near London, which sounds pretty darn cute. We wish them all the best.      -- Allison Barnes