Just another manic Monday.

Monday 17th March

I had a good sleep but in the morning I was woken up by some rustling near the bin bag that has my tent and roll mat in. This noise combined with crows walking their steel boots up and down the corrugated steel roof ensured I wasn't getting a lay in!

I packed up Nigel and as I was putting my tent on the back of the bike, a toad jumped out the bag. Can't I not have a night where I don't spend it sleeping with some other living thing?! The toad was a surprise but I got an unwelcome one when I checked around Nigel's back wheel, he had a broken spoke.

It must've happened near the end of the day yesterday as I didn't hear it go and didn't notice any wobbling. The broken spoke completely messed up my plan for a long productive day but what can you do? It was a grey day which would've been perfect for pushing hard on the bike but I was delayed momentarily. My poor start to the day continued when I couldn't find any shop selling water and had to resort to biscuits for breakfast just so I could experience some food going in. 

What i eat for breakfast and lunch really does make a difference to my energy and happiness levels. You notice it alot more when you're pushing your body's fitness everyday for the whole day. Biscuits are a quick fix and not ideal at all but its literally all they sell. I managed to find some decent food 2 hours in, in the form of fish and nsima. Nsima is what the Kenyans call Ugali and I actually really like it. It is literally the only thing every Zambian, Malawian, Tanzanian and Kenyan eats. You may get a bit more variety in Tanzania but in northern Zambia, Nsima is the only food.

The fish was really good aswell and I was recharged and all set for a long second stage in the increasingly hot sun. It seems no day is the same, I haven't managed to get into a routine at all over the last 7 months and ideally I like to have a short ride after lunch but today I had a good 50 miles to cover from midday. Again I didn't know where I was going but I wanted to get at least 70 miles under my belt to give myself an option of getting to Lusaka in two more days.

The road turned bumpy, it was by no means bad but it was the unsealed tarmac that is fine for motor vehicles but for sore bums its utterly horrible. I was not enjoying it at all, i couldn't find any comfy position and I couldn't pedal without a constant pinching feeling on my bum cheeks. Generally I don't mind my bum being pinched but i draw a line at it happening every 3 seconds for 7 hours straight.

I just had to suck it up and keep going and the locals were very happy and actually helping take my mind off the pain. They don't really have a word for hello so they normally go straight in for the kill and begin conversations with "how are you?" This does get very tiresome to answer around 50 times a day with either "good, thanks" or "fine." I end up answering with "fine" just like your wife or girlfriend does when things most definately aren't "fine." By her saying fine she means Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional and in my case its my, "I don't want to speak to you" answer. 

Today I was different though, I decided to play a game with the locals by telling them exactly how I was. They certainly learned a few new words and my favourite was the look on the guy's face when I replied his question of "how are you?" with "rambunctious!" This kept me entertained for at least an hour which isn't bad I suppose but due to the constant bombardment that I've received of the most pointless question/answer combination just to seem interested, I vow from now on to never ask "how are you?" unless I really care and to always give an honest answer when I'm asked it. 

I arrived in the town of Nyimba quite late and the distant storms gave me a solid reason to stop and find a guesthouse. I could've continued but I had set myself up for 2 big riding days to get to Lusaka so I was still happy with the days ride. The room was nice but a little more expensive than in previous towns similar to Nyimba. I need to get back to tightening the purse strings if I want to continue staying in guesthouses for the rest of my ride so I decided to cook some food in my room. On the menu tonight were cheese noodles that a Tuvalu were not that bad.

As I sat enjoying my noodles and complimenting my stove and myself for a well cooked meal I turned to Nigel to also compliment him on a fine ride and recovery from this mornings spoke change operation. I looked at the front tyre, still pumped up - good. Rear tyre, still pumped up - good. Spokes, hang on a minute, that's a large gap between spokes?! I couldn't believe it, another broken one! Again, it must've happened near the end of the ride because I regularly look down to see if the rear wheel is rotating straight-ish and it was.

It was a good job the cheese noodles were good otherwise I would've been really annoyed! I finished my dinner before changing yet another spoke and then it was bed for me. If I get any other hiccups in the next two days then I definately won't make Lusaka in two days but as always, its not the end of the world and ill get there eventually!