I asked a seemingly knowledgeable man what i was up against today. He said I had 20km down then 20km back up the Abay Gorge so a decent breakfast was in order. I wasn't going to kill myself like the Blue Nile Gorge and go without a previous dinner and breakfast so the two dinners last night would surely help aswell.
The second I was out of Dejen I was into the descent. The view was absolutely spectacular but there was no way I could enjoy it. Full concentration and focus was necessary to manoeuvre down the road without smashing into a pothole. The road was in a bad way and it seemed gravity and lorries had combined to create moguls in the tarmac the entire way down. The only smoothish section of the road was the part that people were walking up.
Every 100metres there were groups of elderly women carrying back breaking amounts of wood on their shoulders. The road was so steep in some sections it must've taken them at least 6 hours from bottom to top to walk up. The smell of burning gearbox filled the air and it was a struggle for the lorries, let alone the locals. I could feel my brake pads melting as I tried to keep Nigel from running away from me off the edge of the cliff.
As I got closer to the bridge at the basin of the gorge I flew past a group of surprised monkeys that scattered off the edge of the cliff. I couldn't believe it, I have cycled to a place where monkeys live! I've cycled to my local zoo loads of times but this was something else. It was like pedalling through Longleat but I had no protection of a car! I was pretty pleased they were scared of me as I wouldn't really know what to do if they fancied a ride on Nigel.
When I got to the bridge at the bottom I thought it would be a good idea to give my tyres an extra pump up for the long climb I had ahead of me. Stupidly I lazily kept the bags on the bike and payed the price when the valve on the rear tube decided to split under the weight. As the sound of air came rushing out the two policemen standing next to me learnt some new English words. Annoyed with myself I got straight into changing the tyre and it was 25 minutes from the sound of a split tube, to waving the policemen goodbye, this wasn't too bad but meant I would definitely end up cycling through the midday heat.
The road was steep yes but not impossible and I managed to stick to a rhythm that worked well. As time went on myself and Nigel began to creek and click but the focus was on never stopping, never daydreaming and bit by bit I would get to the top. Sweat began dripping and my breathing got increasingly heavier but my legs were still in good form, those two dinners and breakfast were really paying off. Around half way up I dragged myself past an elderly couple walking down. The man stood there and gesticulated he wanted food, talk about timing I thought, I was far from in the situation to be stopping and giving out gifts! This annoyed me at first but I had no energy to summon anything other than a frown in his direction.
As I continued up the gorge I thought to myself about "cheek" and what people in Ethiopia find acceptable or what they do to get my attention. They have no tact as they wouldn't know how to have tact. That man must've really been desperate as he wouldn't of asked in the first place. It didn't matter to him whether he saw me walking past on a flat runway or struggling up a cliff, he was in need. I hate it when the adults beg as you think to yourself that they should know better but they need it just as much if not more to be able to keep going in life!
This stayed in mind as the climb got increasingly harder. The road zig zagged constantly and I just focused on completing a zig then completing the zag and continued to do that until the road stopped zigging and zagging. A few corners later I came across a mother and three children. All four of them had water containers either on their back or shoulders and each container differed in size compared to the size of the child.
I was struggling, I didn't need to stop and i knew i was going to make it to the top but there was no two ways about it, this gorge was tough. We make jokes about the people of Africa walking miles and miles each day to get water when really they should just move house! Now here's a situation that I found myself in, under the searing midday heat and panting my way up a gorge with 2 litres of water strapped to the back of a heavy bike. The difference being, I know that I'm only going to have to do this once which is the main factor in helping me actually do it. That mother and her 3 kids will probably make that walk 4 maybe 5 times a week, possibly everyday and there isn't any choice for them.
The kids asked for pens as i wheeled past them and this stayed in mind along with the old man. The second I cycled past the family one of my two Christmas songs came on. Since the start of my ride, almost everyday I have had to skip the song until Christmas time. It being the 2nd December I thought it was fair enough I kept it playing. It was one of my favourites, little drummer boy. I listened to the lyrics and they struck a chord with me and I felt my emotions building.
As this happened, I spotted a boy ahead of me standing on the edge of the cliff just looking out towards the gorge. He turned and watched me pedal up towards him but unlike every other kid I have come across in Ethiopia, didn't say a thing. As my Christmas song finished I stopped the bike alongside the boy and flicked my head back in acknowledgement of his presence. In that moment of silence between songs he walked over the road towards me. I turned and got the 2 litres of water from under my Bungy chords and gave it to him, still he said nothing, he just put an open hand up and I turned silently and continued up the cliff. The second I pushed on the pedals the next song began and it took just seconds after that for me to open up in floods of tears.
I really can't tell you why I released so much emotion, was it the previous thoughts that I was keeping in mind? Was it the fact that without a word spoken, a connection and understanding was made? Was it the timing between song and situation? Or was it just a release of days and days building up and the realisation that I was going to finally break down the barrier the gorge has been posing.
I don't know what it was but it was a moment I will never forget. A situation that I felt was beauty personified and my Christmases and more specifically 2nd of Decembers will never be the same again after Ethiopia. Not for anything that I did may I add, it was the boy, the way he looked at me and the way it was a moment in life of pure silence and the action was a natural thing to do, with both parties having a seamless understanding despite the obvious barriers.
The whole situation clearly (the blog should give it away) resonated through my body and I probably would've blubbered my way all the way to the top of the gorge. I didn't though as I heard frantic beeping coming from behind me. I turned around to find a familiar beaming smile bombing his was up the road. Edwin had stayed in the hotel an extra night and left early this morning and caught me up. We both acted like we had been friends for years and hadn't seen each other in ages! We had a quick chat and I was pleased he hadn't been eaten by hyenas. Edwin's plans were to head straight to Addis so I got his email and will give him a shout when I get there in a couple of days.
Blubbing soon changed to beaming and I continued what was still another 8 miles up to the top of the gorge. My man this morning was spot on! I hit 12.5 miles to the gorge bridge and then hit 25.2 miles as I punched the air with a huge sense of achievement when the road flattened into a plateau. This was greeted by a few beeps of support from some locals driving past which I very gratefully accepted.
The next village of Gohatsion was just a short cycle away and I stopped to grab some food. Whatever happened next, today and the gorge climb will be remembered forever.
I had just 40km left and a guide who was eating food on the table next to me said it was all flat to Gebre Gurach. I was so happy and really looking forward to finding a nice place to stay. I acquired a cycling buddy for about 10km. I don't know if he thought I couldn't see him but he cheekily slipstreamed behind me from one village to the other. I caught his shadow out of the corner of my eye and for a good half an hour or so he was very content on letting me do all the work whilst he hid behind me.
He eventually got alongside me and we had a quick chat, he was a teacher and was cycling home from work. As I happily chatted away i noticed my rear tyre getting pretty flat. I had a puncture but I was only a couple of miles from my destination so gave him a quick pump up and nursed Nigel back. The tyre got flat a lot quicker and I ended up walking the final mile to my hotel.
I looked like the Pied Piper as I arrived into the town with a line of five or six kids following behind me. I stopped at the Africa Hotel where a room and a shower was 70 birr. I should've just got a room for 60 as the shower didn't work. I grabbed a coffee and some food from the restaurant next door where they were roasting the coffee beans outside. It was amazing and I'm sure i won't be able to recreate the same coffee when I get back home so I'm making the most of it now.
After dinner I went back to the room to fix Nigel. The second time I've had to change the tyre in a day! I had to do it by headlight as the room light was horrible and dim but I changed the tube no problems. I'm using old tubes now which isn't ideal, I will see if I can get some strong ones in Addis.
A very very special day. I was so proud to cycle the gorge with no help or pushing, happy to see Edwin again and got an extra experience that I will never forget. In a life and country of relentless noise and craziness I think it was the 10 seconds of pure silence and the action and reaction that got me so emotional in the end.
It really was a beautiful day.
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