Cape Town - Slideshow - Click Photo

Cape Town

The Final Leg – Namibia to Cape Town

The Final Leg – Namibia to Cape Town – 740 kms, with legs of 133, 117, 148, 112, 140 and 90kms.

Another 6 perfect days in paradise – and none without challenge.
As I cycled this leg with Annalise as my riding partner, I was filled with a cascade of feelings that ranged from nostalgia to gratitude.
As always with a trip of this sort, the challenges of each day’s ride only served to embellish any underlying emotions.
Was it the long climb out of the Orange River valley to the plateau at Springbok that did it? Or was it the steady and relentless headwinds. Perhaps it was the return to gravel when we were diverted along country roads to avoid the heavy traffic as we neared Cape Town. Was it the drizzly rain or the 2 degrees Celsius – or the signs pointing to Cape Town with ever decreasing distances – 370 kms to go – then 122 – then 88?
Or, was it the magnificent views of Table Mountain and Robben Island that loomed as we reached our long-awaited destination? By chance, was it the grandeur and the surrealism that attended our last 30 kms convoy ride under police escort from Blauberg Strand to the city’s waterfront on a crisp but sunny day?
It was all of these!
Whatever it was, as the tour ended, it caused tears to flood my face and to mystify my view.
Nostalgia and gratitude – these were the emotions.
For me this ride was a quest – a journey laden with significance.
Nostalgia – It was on these roads that I rode my bike as a child – It was on these roads that I drove when I returned 7 years ago after an absence of 46 years from African soil – and now, at the age of 71, I cycled from Malawi, through Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and down the Western Cape to Cape Town, South Africa. Yes, the emotion can correctly be described as nostalgia, not a desire to return to that past, but rather, a feeling of appreciation for the past. It was indeed a journey laden with significance.
Gratitude – evoked by nostalgia’s sense of appreciation – gratitude for all that I have been given.
I have received more than my fair share of this world’s benefits – more than I possibly deserve.
And so – from my vantage point of nostalgia and gratitude – I want to say thank you and au revoir.
Thank you Mum and Dad for the struggles and the challenges that you endured in post depression Canada, for daring to go to Africa in an era of pre-war global uncertainty, for giving Bev and I the African heritage we so cherish. And then – for taking us back to Canada – and for all of the goodness that awaited us there.
Thank you Bev for your constancy and your mentorship. It was you that always came to support me at my boxing matches, rode the trains with me when we went to boarding school, mentored me into medicine and more.
Thank you Wendy for the years we had together and for our three children.
Thank you Mary Ellen for our years together and for the gift of Rachel.
Sarah, Martha, Rebeccah and Rachel – few fathers can genuinely say that their children are their very best friends – but I can. Thank you for your love, your genuine joy of life and your altruism.
To Kate, Lucy, Willem and Alexander – you are ‘the greatest’.
Chris, Cory and Ed – I truly value your commitment to our family system – I am lucky to have joined your families too.
Bev, Mandy and Tess – I love you guys and thanks for everything.
Michael, Andy, Anand and Wayne – thanks for being the best professional partners and friends any one could hope to have.
Griff – thank you for the friendship and mentorship you offered in promoting and developing my career.
To all of my friends on whatever continent you reside, thanks for your loyalty and your love.
To all of my patients, many of you now deceased, thank you for teaching me the values of hope humility and humanity.
With respect to my recent bicycle journey, thank you Margaret, Chifumbe, Andrew and Chayza for attending our media event in Lusaka. We look forward to many years of collaboration and mutual learning.
A special thank you to my riding partners, Lianne, Jessica, Cat and Annalise for your care, for ‘pulling’ me up all of those hills, and for filling my days with interesting conversation.
To all of my other fellow riders and TDA staff, thanks you for receiving me so well.
To all of you who sponsored my ride on behalf of our work in Zambia - I thank you.
Linda, Gary, Kim and Kim, Glynn, Rebeccah, Joan and Joan, Muriel, Fay, Tim, Carole, Nicole, Felour, Ken, Tom, Lianne, Jessica - thank you for all you do for www.okazhi.org
Au revoir – until we ride again – may you all pursue your own quests – your own journeys laden with significance. …….

Contact me at billnelems@fastmail.fm if you so choose.

Tour d'Afrique Riders Slideshow - Click Photo

TDA Riders

Namibia Slideshow - Click Photo

Windhoek+/-

Sessriem to Felix Unite on the Namibia - South Africa border

Sessriem to Felix Unite on the Namibia - South Africa border – 700 kms with legs of 139, 153, 126, 108 and 174 kms.

Waiting to greet me in Felix Unite were ME, Bev and Jim. It was so good to see them. They had travelled up from Cape Town to greet the Tour. They will travel into Namibia for a few days and then join us as we reach Cape Town, where the Mayor and City Council will greet us before having a ceremonial dinner.
This was another memorable leg. Namibia’s scenery is stunning – it’s a ‘must return to’ kind of a place.
Bev will be relieved to know that the gravel roads became more manageable the further south we rode!
The first two days were very sandy with lots of climbing. The third day, the 126er, saw me riding quite well. Greeted by Cat at the lunch stop and with still 54 kms to go to camp, she announced, “Come on Bill. Let’s go out there and kick some ass. Draft closely behind me. We’ll do the 54 kms in under two hours.”
With 20 kms to go, Erin and Ruben passed us.
“Let’s tail them” said Cat.
We all rode as a peloton into camp. Cat kicked ass, and I just followed. I know the meaning of that phrase now! We made it in 1 hour and 59 minutes!
If you had told me a month ago that I would complete a 126 km ride along with multi-marathoner Cat and with 7 continent marathoner Erin, I’d have thought you daft. But on this day, I rode into camp with these guys.
“Hey Bill” asked Peter, “are you taking steroids?”
The last two days to the border I rode with Annalise and Dan.
It’s hard to believe that Jess Lianne and I joined this Tour one month ago, and we only have 6 riding days left to Cape Town.
I have come to know the riders quite well now. It’s been a most interesting exercise in group dynamics.
Sixty plus racers/riders in addition to 12 support staff left Cairo January 16. By the time we joined the group, they had worked out their interactions and their sub-groups. I had anticipated that it would be hard to break in, joining them late as we did in Malawi. I should not have been concerned. First, Jessica and Lianne, the integrators and connectors that they are, made immediate contact with everyone.
The incident with the lip injury occurred on our second day, and that further welded us into the group.
The names and bios of the riders, the racers and the staff are available on www.tourdafrique.com. Many write informative and interesting blogs.

I’m the oldest rider at 71. Rainer, a retired German engineer is a year younger than me. He walks with a limp, his left leg withered bespeaking a past encounter with poliomyelitis, but once he gets on his bike, he is awesome.
Rainer and I are more than twice the average age of the other riders, three under 20.
There are groups aligned by language, by racing versus riding and by age. Despite these categories, it is remarkable how well they all mix together. Two features distinguish the group; athleticism and achievement.
Each rider brings something unique and special to the group. I made a point of spending time with each of them and in doing so, I became inspired.

Steve is the youngest rider at 18, a recent graduate from Michael House School in Natal, enrolling in the Stellenbosch University soon. Michael, the young man with the earlier lip injury is 19, is enrolled in Medical School in the UK for September.
I’ve been adopted by a loose knit group, with ad hoc and self appointed leaders, Annalise, Cat, Wayne and Patrick. I don’t want to overdo the superlatives, but this gang is fabulous and fantastic!
Annalise is an investment banker from Sydney. I would guess her age to be that of Rebeccah. She is intelligent, creative and thoughtful – just like Rebeccah!
I’ve told you about Cat before – a corporate and litigation lawyer from New York. She too is remarkable. Among other things, she has worked for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia.
I’ve particularly enjoyed getting to know Wayne and Patrick, Aussies, travel industry expert and paramedic respectively. Patrick is half way through his Master’s degree in International Development.
Frequent members in our group are Sam, an undergraduate from Stanford, Diane and Jeff from Aspen, owners of Colorado Audio – Visual, Adam, an American, Michael the soon to be Medical Student and Caroline, a police officer from Peel Ontario. Diane, at 60, is the oldest woman rider.
I’ve also made good friendships with Mark from Cape Town, an Industrial Psychologist, David from Toronto, a retail consultant, Peter from Johannesburg, a construction industry type and founder of the Pizer Cancer Foundation, Carolyn, the South African nurse and Michelle, the nurse fro Kamloops, Paddy from Ireland, an accountant who wants to do an MBA at Harvard. Everyone loves ‘Hardy on Tour’, from southern Germany. Marcel, possibly the best rider, from Holland is always a delight to speak with. Paul, an agronomist from the University of Minnesota, fractured his arm a year ago and had to leave. He returned this year to complete the Tour. He sends a daily message via satellite phone to his students back home describing agricultural and other points of interest. He interviewed me one day, discussing our work in Western Zambia and the status of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Dana is a wonderful young woman, an expert on low income housing having spent considerable time in New Orleans following the Katrina disaster. Eric the retired farmer from Lancashire, now living in retirement in eastern Spain writes a good blog and is lots of fun. Jim, the lawyer from Portland Oregon always cheered me along the way. Gerard and Sunil maintained the best blogs. Gisi from Germany was the fastest woman racer, almost beating Stuart from Australia as the fastest man. I also enjoyed Simon and Nicky from Johannesburg. "Hellooooooo Nickyyyyyyy." I particularly enjoyed Erin, on her way to Stanford to do an MBA, and Ruben, a German living in Zurich, a particularly bright young man - a corporate and financial advisor.
Henry, the owner of Tour d’Afrique has traveled with us since Windhoek and Brian from the TDA head office in Toronto traveled with us from Lilongwe to Victoria Falls, adding valuable perspectives and insights.

It’s amazing how many riders are raising money for some reason or another.
Anka rides for www.mozambikes.org, Paddy for ‘Self Help Africa’, Tony for education on Ethiopia, Dana for melanoma, Peter for Cancer, Wayne and Patrick for prostate cancer. Erin is the co-founder of ‘In the Running’ www.intherunning.org
an organization that connects endurance pursuits with global grassroots fundraising. Jos rides for the reduction of child abuse in South Africa, Michelle and Andre against child disappearance during the World Cup. Eric supports orphanages in South Africa. Gerard and Dan promote the distribution of bikes throughout Africa, as does the Tour d’Afrique Foundation. Tim supports a solar electric light fund. Rick supports Livestrong – and the list goes on………

And hey – I’m riding for better health in Zambia – www.okazhi.org

Slideshow - Click Photo - Namibia photos

Windhoek+/-

Windhoek to Sesriem and the Dunes, 223 kms in 3 days.

For our first 6 days in Namibia, we saw a daily continuation of the violent electrical storms that we experienced in Botswana. It’s been raining virtually non-stop.
Perhaps my impression of the storms is embellished, because, for the most part, we have only the skins of our tents and our raincoats as our main sources of protection. My tent is soaking wet, my clothes musty and my sleeping bag damp.

We rode three days from Windhoek to Sessriem, with legs of only 115, 125 and 83 kms.
These distances pale by comparison to those done in the last few legs. However, there were some ‘mitigating’ factors about which you are about to learn, that made these days more than a little formidable.

My sister Bev, before I left to join the Tour reassured me about the roads in Namibia.
“Bill, the particular roads that you will be travelling on in Namibia are all gravel from Windhoek to the South African border. But you don’t have to worry – they’re the best gravel roads in the world.”
Perhaps roads look different from the seat of a bicycle compared to those seen from the comfort of an air-conditioned expedition vehicle.
Bev could have said, “…gravel and sand.” But she didn’t. She left it for me to discover the sand.
Sand – the kind of sand that takes 10 kph off your average ground level speed.
Sand – the kind of sand that makes climbing hills much more difficult.
Sand – the kind of sand that makes you moderate your downhill speed. If you don’t slow down – you will skid and crash. Four riders spilled on the downhills. One separated a rib cartilage and another bent her front wheel rim.
Sand – the kind of sand that makes your upper body struggle and strain to keep the front wheel from twisting.
Sand – you know – the kind of sand that this mornings rain has turned to mud.

And then there are the road corrugations. I know all about corrugations, but my memory of them was embedded in some dormant part of my brain. Within the first metre of hitting the gravel road, I remembered the corrugations, recalling past encounters.
Think about it – all gravel roads are corrugated - three corrugations per metre.
OK – grandchildren – Kate, Lucy, Willem and Ander – it’s time a mathematics test……….
If there are 3 corrugations in every metre of ground travelled, and if there are 1000 metres per kilometre, how many corrugations are there in 1 kilometre?
Mmmm – let’s see? 3 x 1000 = 3000. You’re right. That’s how many corrugations you hit each kilometre. That’s how often your shoulders get jarred – not to mention the bum hits!
Some days you have choices to make – ride the thick sand next to the car ruts or ride the corrugations.
Corné, riding the corrugations is a little like horse riding. If you are slow, it’s like trotting. Every corrugation sends a jarring jolt up your spine. But if you can increase the speed a bit, it is a little like cantering. It’s less bumpy as you round off the tops of the ridges, but it’s difficult to maintain. That, however, is where the comparison ends. When you ride a horse, the horse does most of the work. When you ride a bike, you do all the work!

The 115 km ride from Windhoek to our first southern bush-camp took me as long to ride as did my now famous 207 forays done on my 71st birthday.
First, it took me two hours to climb the first 24 kms into the hills south of Windhoek. Looking back, it’s a beautiful city embedded in mountains and valleys. We had headwinds coming into Windhoek and we had headwinds leaving. It doesn’t get its name for no reason. ‘Windhoek’ translated means ‘windy corner’!
Next, once up in the plateau, and for a considerable time, I could not get my speed up above 5 kph, what with the sand, the mud and the headwinds.
Then began about twenty ‘rolling hills’ before camp.
‘Rolling hills’ are synonymous with zero net elevation gain or loss. One rides up one hill, down the next valley only to repeat this zero gain game over and over. Whilst there is no gain or loss of altitude, there is a gradual and progressive drain in the body’s energy systems.
Remember, climbing the hills makes you strong, and riding the flat makes you fit!
On our second day south of Windhoek, as I climbed Spreetshoogte Pass, I thought of you Michael.
“Bill, you can’t lift a 1000 pound weight, but you can lift a one pound weight 1000 times. It’s like that when riding the hills.”
So, as I geared down to my lowest gear and grinded it out, your advice brought me comfort. By the way, tell Maria that I’m loading up on carbs theses days!
Reaching the bottom of the Pass, we faced headwinds all the way to camp – headwinds, rain and mud – and throw in a few rolling hills for good measure. For about 40 minutes I was caught up on the edge of one of these monster storms. Rolling claps of thunder and torrents of rain followed each bolt of lightning. It was one of my most difficult days.
I witnessed a most remarkable display of both horizontal sheet lighting strikes as well as the more common vertical ground strikes.
Sheet lightening happens when one cloud discharges its electrical current into an adjacent less charged cloud. Ground lightening happens when a cloud’s electricity is discharged to the ground. Sheet lightening endangers aircraft. Ground lightening endangers buildings and humans.
Our third day south of Windhoek, a mere 83 kms, began like so many other recent rides – in another electrical storm!
Sessriem, on the edge of the famous Namibian dunes in the Namib desert, saw the end of the storms as we had known them for the past two weeks, but the ground was moist, the potholes brimming. They had received rain the night before we arrived.

My choice of bicycle proved to be excellent, whereas my choice of tyres was poor. As some of you know, I toyed with the idea of riding a bamboo bike. But we had some major problems with it before I left, and Marty and Jim urged me to take my steel Specialized bike with the 29-inch tyres. It was a good decision.
Jessica and Lianne did ride through Zambia with bamboo bikes. Whilst they completed their rides in good form, they were not without significant challenges.
I took two sets of tyres – a narrow Armadillo set and a broader flat top – lateral lug type.
I took the Armadillo’s for two reasons. They would give me faster speeds on the paved roads of Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. Also, they market this tyre as the toughest on the road.

The problem was that ‘paved’ roads in Africa aren’t always as suspected. The road from Lusaka to Victoria Falls is heavily potholed and there are at least 4 road construction detours. The ‘paved’ roads in Botswana consist, for the most part, of tar impregnated crushed rock. It’s anything but smooth. The Armadillo’s got me about 100 kms into Botswana before being discarded, along with their reputation for toughness, into a refuse bin. They were no match for these roads. The broader tyres fared even worse. They got ditched in Maun, riddled with holes. I borrowed tyres from fellow riders to get me to Windhoek where I got some sturdy all-purpose Namibian tyres. So far, gravel and sand notwithstanding, they are holding up well.
Our day off saw us go for a 5-hour day trip to the famous dunes.
On our safari van were Annalise, investment banker from Australia, Cat the corporate lawyer from New York, Katia, a business consultant from South Africa, Jim, a lawyer from Portland, Oregon, Michael the British Medical Student. His lip is healing beautifully. What a great group of people and what a magnificent day. I know now why photo enthusiasts like Bev rave about Namibia.
Next, we have 5 riding days to Felix Unite on the Namibian – South African border.
Don’t worry folks – we’ll be riding on the best-maintained gravel roads in the world!!!
As Glynn would say, “It’s all good, I’m loving it!”

Sossusvlei in the Namib desert

Can't post a full blog folks because internet is too skimpy. Will post two from Felix Unite on the Namibia South Africa border in 5 days time................

Slideshow - Click Photo. Maun to Windhoek

MaunWindhoek

Maun, Botswana to Windhoek, Namibia

Maun, Botswana to Windhoek, Namibia – 836 kms in 5 days, with legs of 168, 140, 207, 162 and 159 kms.

Foreheads dripping, tongues slaked, this week we rode the Kalahari. Not as you might imagine in the sweltering heat. Unexpectedly, we rode in the rain. At some point in all of our 9 days in normally very arid Botswana we had moments of rain. For the last 5 days right up to the Namibian border we encountered torrential rains amidst lightning and thunder. These weren’t your typical short-lived African thunder bursts. Some of the storms lasted for 6 to 8 hours at a time. For three nights as we attempted to sleep in our flimsy tents, we were entertained by very close bolts of lightning followed by thunderous rolling claps of sound, each round of thunder releasing more drenching rain. By timing the interval between light and sound, I could tell if the storms were advancing or retreating. Awaking in the morning, we found that one camper, having failed to find high ground for his tent, was flooded. He abandoned his tent for a bench in the support truck. Rivulets ran hither and yon.
On my 71st birthday I rode 207 kms. Not only was this the longest single day’s ride for the Tour since leaving Cairo, but it was also a personal best for me – the longest one day ride I have ever done in my life!
I usually ride alone, but on this auspicious day, Cat elected to chaperone me on my journey. She is a fabulous person - a litigation lawyer from New York. As we rode we solved many of the world’s problems. It took us over 50 kms to review the history of South Africa from Chaka to Zuma, with key references to Churchill, Rhodes, Smuts and Mandela. We discussed the legal and political implications of the recent financial meltdown where Cat was involved in a very significant way, and we began the redesign of health care for 2020.
On this 207 km day we rode the first 80 and the last 20 in the rain. In between we saw storm cells to each side as they swirled about. As a cell passed, we faced the advancing head wind from the clockwise vortex only to be swept on the other side by the storm’s tail wind. This day ended at the Namibian border. For the last two kilometres the large rain droplets turned to quarter inch balls of ice.
Hail – in Botswana – it was hard to believe!
I’ve learned something about physical fitness that I never knew before. It’s probably ‘old hat’ to many of my athletic friends, but it was a new discovery for me. Advance training for this Tour in the Canadian winter allowed 5 or 6 days a week in the gym with various weight and spinning options. Then, on joining the Tour in full flight, I found myself riding 6 to 10 hour days. After 13 riding days from Lilongwe to Maun, my legs were painful and stiff.
Then, to my surprise, on this leg to Windhoek, I seemed to rediscover my rugby legs of yesteryear. I have some stiffness after a long ride, but no longer are my muscles painful.
The discovery is that one has to do a very considerable amount of forced exercise before breaking through to a new level of fitness – not one’s everyday experience of a few days in the gym or a few short bike rides.
Eastern Zambia was surprisingly hilly. Botswana, as advertised, was flat. There were hills as we approached Windhoek.
As one rider said, “the hills make you strong because of the work of climbing. But, it is the flat that makes you fit. All you do is pedal endlessly all day long.”
I’ve come to know most of the riders quite well now – too many to name them all. I’ll post a photo series later. They are a fun and fascinating group.
Guess who took the Okavango delta air flight with me? – Jessica and Lianne.
Guess the elevation of Windhoek? – 800 metres above Maun – it was a steady and relentless climb, with headwinds and rain.
Guess the universal language that unifies all races in Namibia? – Afrikaans.
I have a confession to make. I had hoped to write more about all of the thoughts and ideas that go through my head each day as I ride along, but come the end of the day, all I can do is pitch my tent, eat supper and hit the sack at 7 pm (1900 hours, as they say in Zambia)!
Breakfast is at 6 am and we’re on the road by 6.30.
It’s rather redeeming to have one’s life reduced to a tent and a bicycle!

Slideshow - Click Photo. Victoria Falls to Maun

VicFalls-Maun

Victoria Falls, Zambia to Maun, Botswana

Victoria Falls, Zambia to Maun, Botswana – 680 kms in 5 days.

I am missing my two travel mates, Jessica and Lianne. They sent their bikes back to Lusaka, rode the lunch truck with us across the Botswana border, took the Chobe river cruise with the Tour riders, before bussing on to Gaborone to see Lani, a friend from UBC Okanagan.
On the river cruise we saw elephants, hippos, a lion, Marabou storks, fish eagles, hammerkops, crocodiles, monitor lizards, kudus and more.
As we broke camp leaving Kasani in northern Botswana, we were told that we may see game along the road.
As usual, at the start of each day, the riders and racers spread out quite quickly.
On this day as we rode, Carol and Andra found themselves surrounded by a large pack of wild dogs who seemed very interested in them. The dogs circled and bayed.
Fortunately for the riders, a car approached from the rear, saw their dilemma and rode behind them for about 10 minutes. The dogs finally broke off and left, disappointed that their morning ‘meal’ was denied!
Many of us saw giraffe on the road. Patrick and Wayne saw elephants.
As I rode, alone, I saw an oncoming car flashing his lights on and off as he passed. A few moments later a safari game-viewing vehicle stopped me to advise that I was to be cautious. There was a herd of Buffalo on the roadside ahead. With that warning, he sped on his merry way. As I crested a small hill, looking down, I saw a dozen Cape Buffalo grazing on the left side of the road. About twenty feet from the road, watching vigilantly over his herd, stood the alpha male, menacing and mean. I know that the buffalo and the hippo are amongst the most unpredictable and dangerous animals on the planet. My first instinct was to look for calves – there were none. Calves would make the herd hyper-vigilant and potentially more dangerous.
Some years ago, whilst camping at a Provincial Park in British Columbia, a game warden came to advise campers that grizzly bears were in the neighbourhood. We should stay in camp if possible. If we did leave, we were to go in groups. In the unlikely and unpleasant …sic… situation that we did encounter a bear, we should stand upright and face him directly. We should raise our arms to look greater than life, and we should scream loudly. That was one’s only line of defence.
As I cycled down towards the herd and the watchful bull, I realized that my ‘grizzly bear’ moment had come. I pedalled to get maximum speed. As I approached him, I stood up and faced sideways, waving wildly, and screaming ‘yeahhhhhhhhh’.
The bull looked up, saw this strange apparition waving and shouting from moving cycle. He hesitated, and then, along with his herd, he bolted into the bush. If it hadn’t happened this way, I would not be posting this blog today!!
Reaching Maun on the edge of the Okavango delta, who of all people were there to meet me? Jessica and Lianne. They had borrowed Lani’s 4x4 and had come to join the Tour on our day off. We plan to take the flight over the delta today. Did you know that the Okavango and the Jordan are the only rivers in the world that do not enter an ocean? The Jordan with scant flow drains to the heavily salinated Dead Sea. The Okavango drains to the delta, the largest wetland in the world. The fact that it is not a saltpan is a testimony to the wonders of wetland regeneration of nature.
I’ve been riding now for 17 days, and my legs seem to get more painful and stiffer each day. The night’s rest before each ride doesn’t seem to allow me to fully recover. Apparently, this is what other riders felt early on when leaving Cairo. So……. I’ll just keep on pedalling, and maybe I’ll break through soon.

Lianne..... 'Oh the Places you go...

Oh the Places You’ll Go…..

I think our experience as a part of Tour D’Afrique has been described by my two friends who have a beautiful vernacular, and therefore I will try to describe the experience from a humorous standpoint.

Firstly I would like to ask who thought I would be able to ride over 1000km in the African Sun??? Exactly…I didn’t either! But we all did it, and we did it gracefully. This time in Africa I have learned many things, but one of the most inspirational being the power of believing in oneself. The three of us really really wanted this bike ride and we trained and we rode hard….and the payout was the completion of a very difficult event. It goes to show that you really can do anything if you put your mind to it.

Secondly, I would love to express my passion for nursing. How we linked nursing with riding your bike across an African country is still mind boggling, but it has been done! I’ve enjoyed spending my time with the two nurses on the tour and learning the art of fluid replacement, rash management, and sadle soreology…..which I may or may not have been a patient of the later ailment.

Looking back it is hard to believe it is over. What is even more surprising is how much I am going to miss it. Who in their right mind would miss waking up at 5 am, packing up the tent again, and applying cream to a very sore bottom only to get on your bicycle to ride over 150km in the hot African sun? I do…and it makes me want to do it over again!

One of the finer memories from this trip was the noises you would hear at night…they were pretty much the typical African sounds, dogs barking, people dancing and playing music, and those darn roosters crowing all night. But wait….don’t those roosters belong to the tour staff?? On a few occasions the local staff who drove the support vehicles bought roosters to eat. However, they often took a few days to prepare the meals and riders patience would slowly be pushed as the roosters kept us up at all hours of the night.

Another favorite memory of mine was day 3 without running water…Not that bad, I know. But 3 days of riding your bike and producing more sweat than you ever have in your life and knowing you have to share a tent, that is a little more challenging. We were quite good at using the sun to “sterilize” your clothes and baby wipes to shower with. But on day 3 we stayed at a camp with a water pump. I will never forget the sheer joy on peoples face as people took turns inching themselves under the water pump for a shot of fresh skin sans salt!

On a serious note, I will truly miss the amazing food. Who would not love 4 solid meals a day with the portion sizes enough to feed a mother pregnant with triplets? The best part was the guilt free feeling that was accompanied by a hard day of riding. I am currently working on shrinking my stomach back down for my return home.

So in closing I want to express how much I have enjoyed the members of Tour D’Afrique, my fellow riders, and my two closest friends Bill and Jessica. I feel quite sad to know that this trip has come to an end, but on the positive side I am left with new outdoor enthusiast friends, stronger relations with my existing colleagues, and a deeper love for Zambia and it’s beautiful people.

I love biking. I love Zambia. I love these times of my life!

Kilimanjaro next year team?

Lianne

So why Western Province, Zambia?

People ask me, ‘Bill, why do you go to Western Province to do your work?’
As stories go, it’s a short one……..
Five years ago, reaching a point in my life where I would be free to give back to Africa, the continent of my childhood, I set out in search of my University of Toronto Medical School classmate, Chifumbe Chintu.
He was easy to find. The Professor of Paediatrics from the day he returned to Zambia, then the only trained Paediatrician in the country, he’s now an international icon in terms of his multiple and diverse contributions to health care in Africa.
In the bowels of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, there was my graduation class picture on the wall of his office.
At different times, most of my family members have been to Zambia with me, Rebeccah, Bev, Sarah, Mary Ellen and Rachel. I attended a Freeman Patterson photo workshop in Namaqaland in the Western Cape with Martha. Mar, you are next to come with me to Zambia.
Chifumbe directed me to Dean Mulla, who asked if I could help to develop Thoracic Surgery in Zambia. It did not take long for me to realize that Thoracic Surgery development in Zambia wasn’t going to happen any time soon. In Canada, and other first world countries, we cantilever Thoracic Surgery off a sophisticated General Surgery platform. Here in Zambia, surgical development is still quite basic, especially in rural areas.
Over the next three years, I met with several Surgery types in Lusaka but never gained any traction. I arranged to spend a month with one surgeon one year. When I arrived, he was away. He had forgotten my offer to work with him, and so I began looking elsewhere.
Along the way, I met with Dr Margaret Maimbolwa, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Medicine – and it was here that we began to make headway.
Through Margaret we saw a Memorandum of Understanding between UBC Okanagan and University of Zambia come to fruition. The long-term outcome for this MoU will likely be in the field of Nursing education and simulation lab teaching.
Through Margaret we were directed to support health activities in Western Province, sometimes known as the ‘neglected province.’
Lianne and Jessica, then recent graduates from UBC Okanagan School of Nursing, had volunteered to go to Mongu, Capital of Western Province to teach at the local two-year diploma Nursing School there.
Knowing nothing about Mongu, the needs, the suitability of such a venture, safety issues, housing options and a raft of other issues, I took it upon myself to go to Mongu in person to check it out.
It was in Mongu that I met Dr Andrew Silumesii, CEO of the Lewanika General Hospital, and with nursing school-teachers Mumbuwa Silumbu and Pelina Chibanje. Administratively, the School of Nursing also comes under Dr Silumesii’s purview.
This was just the beginning of what would develop into wonderful friendships with these colleagues and with many others.
Jessica and Lianne taught at the Nursing School for six months. They stayed with Sister Christina at one of the Catholic Orders. They built relationships with all and sundry. In doing so, not only did the citizens of Mongu take them into their collective hearts, but also they returned their affections in equal part.
They became known fondly as our ‘makuwa Lozi girls’; white women trying to learn their local language.
And then, like in Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point’, as if like gifts from the gods, others signed up to join our Zambian mission; Gary O’Connor – Orthopaedic Surgeon, Linda Hawker – Family Physician, Cameron O’Connor – then UofA Science graduate, now medical student, Kim Lefevre – Neurosurgeon, Tim Murphy and Ken McKenzie - Family Physicians, Felour Berlouzi and Nicole Arnt – Registered Nurses, Glynn Jones – Hospitalist, Joan Basset-Smith, Fay Karp, Joan Bottorff, Carole Robinson and Muriel Kranabetter – all Faculty members at UBC Okanagan, Tom Kinahan – Urologist, and my daughter Rebeccah – a very experienced consultant in international development.
We teamed up with the Canadian Network for International Surgery. In October 2009 we took an Essential Surgical Skills course to train 24 local physicians, medical licentiates, clinical officers and one Nurse Practitioner. Of course, Jessica and Lianne came with us to develop the nursing components to the ESS course, something CNIS had yet to do. We stayed at a new 12 bed house run by Sister Kathy of the Presentation Sisters.
In February 2010, Fay Jess and Lianne lead a successful 7-week student elective to Mongu for 10 UBC Okanagan fourth year nursing students.
We founded the Okanagan Zambia Health Initiative as a registered structure in Canada. Check us out at
http://www.okazhi.org
Then, Jessica Lianne and I joined up with the Tour d’Afrique to raise awareness of our work.
You can see the rest of the story at
http://cyclingforzambia.blogspot.com
The media event in Lusaka on April 12, 2010, was most satisfying for all of us. As you will see from our photos, posted at the blogspot, all of our most valuable and trusted colleagues and advisors were there; Dr Margaret Maimbolwa, Professor Chifumbe Chintu, Dr Andrew Silumesii and Dr Chayza Sikambale.
This year, as a group, we were awarded the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award by the Canadian Network for International Surgery for our work in Western province. We were humbled and honoured.
We will return again to Western province this October.
I’ll post another blog sometime soon on our philosophy of medical health care support – the model that is defining our work.
For now, I’ve got to get my beauty sleep – at 06.30 hours tomorrow we ride out of Zambia, crossing the Zambezi river by ferry, entering Botswana - another one of my favourite countries…………

Jessica's second Victoria Falls blog - Why I love Zambia.

Why I Love Zambia

We have spent the last two weeks navigating our way through Zambia, and biking my way through has given me a whole new appreciation for this country. Although I have in the past driven all of the roads we have biked across, doing this trip has allowed me to see, hear and feel the heart of Zambia just that much more. Biking allows you the freedom to stop along the way and to integrate with the people. Again, I find myself continually appreciating how friendly the Zambians are…they are the reason why I am here. I have also been able to appreciate the different terrain this country has to offer. In Mongu we are immersed by the Zambezi flood plain and the sand of Western Province…in Eastern Province we got to see the lush, forest filled hills, and in the south it is the farms and sugar plantations that line the route where we cycled. What a beautiful place. Now ok back to cycling those hills of eastern province, they are really hilly! Most times the muscles in my legs sure didn’t appreciate those hills, but sure was a great way to train!

I have enjoyed my time with the other 60 riders on the Tour D’Afrique. Even though we have only been with them 2 weeks it already feels like we are one big family. There is nothing like 60 people all camping together in a bush camp…on the side of the road in Africa…with no running water…no bathrooms…to unite us together! The TDA riders are an eclectic bunch, from many different countries and all walks of life. But it doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from because ALL of our bike shorts smell bad. If that doesn’t bring you together, than what does in life..right?!

I will never forget our last day of riding as we cruised into Livingstone. We had just spent the last 20 kms on pretty terrible gravel roads. I was having a hard time trying to navigate the dirt and gravel with my small road bike tires. My arms were sore from trying to keep myself stable on my bike, and my hands were cramping from clutching my handle bars so tight and trying not to fall off my bike. I kept thinking to myself ‘Why haven’t paved this road already! Then we came to the crest of the hill, and all of a sudden we are overlooking the town of Livingstone. I look up to see the beautiful mist of Victoria Falls, my motivation to just keep going! There is a reason why Vic Falls is called in the local language ‘The Smoke That Thunders’…the smoke is really thundering right now. Right now in Zambia the rainy season has just peaked, which means the waters of Vic Falls are the highest they are going to be all year. What a perfect way to finish off our bike trip, I will never forget that sight. Also yet another bonus was we hit the smooth pavement, no more gravel roads to navigate through!

Overall I am so proud of myself and my other two musketeers, Lianne and Bill. We have biked long and hard, and done better than we all could have ever expected. (especially after not having been on a bike until last year). Overall my personal lesson learned is that I can really do whatever I put my mind to. Out there on the road I had a few down times when I didn’t think my legs muscles could push myself along anymore. I just kept telling myself to keep going…and I did! The other, more overlying motivation to do this bike ride was for one thing, the Lozi people of Western Province. The more time I spend in Mongu and in Western Province, the more I feel at home. I love being able to nurse in a hospital filled with doctors and nurses with whom I respect. Nothing makes me more proud than to do this bike ride for them. In honour of our tribe living in Western Province, I wore my white Lozi bracelet the whole time while biking. Whenever I had a tough time out on the road, I looked down at my Lozi bracelet and said to myself ‘this is the reason why I am here, these are the people for why I am riding my bike across Zambia..keep pedaling!’ And I did.

Jessica's first Victoria Falls blog - the Beginning.......

The Beginning……

Sometimes I have to ask myself why I decide to do the things I do. In the months and weeks spent getting ready for this bike ride, I most certainly have had the ‘What was I thinking?!!” thought more than just a few times. Probably one of the main reasons for this thought is because until a year ago, I had not been on a bike in over 15 years. Now here we are riding over 1000 kms in just only 8 days, across Zambia. Although we were training in Mongu during the two months leading up to this bike ride, I don’t think anything can really prepare you for a bike ride like this. The days of riding are long, averaging about 150 kms/day, this is a pretty intimidating number for someone like me who has never ridden more than 30-40 kms in one day. (Never mind 5 consecutive days in a row!) Also yet another challenge is the fact that we are after all in Africa, which just in itself can be a challenging experience.

To decide to ride your bike across Zambia is certainly not something I would ever have guessed that I would be doing in my life! But here I am. It is certainly not something that I would ever have done on my own, so thank goodness for my other halves in this, Lianne and Bill. Over the past couple years I have been so proud of all the accomplishments we have been able to achieve with our work in Zambia. I am also amazed at all the things I have been able to do and see all over this continent. There is no way that I would have been able to achieve these wonderful things without Lianne and Bill, we really are like the ‘Three Musketeers’. I couldn’t ask for any two better people to be embarking on such a challenging journey. The best part about the three of us is that you just never know what we are going to do next….and now here we are at it again, with the ‘Three Musketeers’ riding our bikes across Zambia!

In the days leading up to joining the Tour D’Afrique in Malawi my feelings of nervousness and apprehension began to increase as the reality set in that I would soon be riding my bike across Zambia.  The same thought just kept rolling in my head…. ‘Can I really can do this?!’ As we hopped on our bikes the first morning and rode out of Lilongwe, I was excited and feeling positive. Then we hit the first hill just outside of town, and my legs were already hurting! That was just the beginning of the mental game I had to play with myself on this trip. I just kept telling myself over and over to push it, and keep pedalling. Positive thoughts and words of wisdom from family and friends back home also helped too!


It didn’t take us long to get into the biking routine out on the road. By this time the Tour D’Afrique and all the riders (who have been here since Cairo, Egypt) are a well oiled machine. The day starts early at 0500, waking up and getting yourself and your tent all packed up. The sun is still not up at that point, so as you look across to the fields, schools, or churches where we are camping along the way, all you see is a dance of headlamps as everyone is packing up for the day. I call them the Tour D’Afrique fireflies! Now normally I am not a morning person, but being on the TDA makes you a morning person. The faster you get out on your bike, the faster you get to the next camp. It also means you get to escape the burning afternoon African sun. 
There is no better way to experience a country by riding your bike through it. The TDA offers that chance, and has been the best part to joining this tour. Ok to tell you the truth some of my favourite memories have come from the times when take a rest on the road during our day of cycling. The ‘Three Musketeers’ have been known to stop once or twice at a ‘coke stop’. A coke stop is a TDA created term, by definition it is a local pub or rest stop in one of the villages along the way. Sometimes the cokes are cold, other times not so much…but this is Africa right?! Sometimes it just feels like I am just trying to pedal myself from one coke stop to the other….but I’m ok with it! We have even been known to take a few minutes on the side of the road for an afternoon nap. Together we share our energy bars, and remind each other to keep up on our H2O intake. We take off our sweaty helmets, lie down in the grass and give our bums much needed rest. (those saddle sores don’t take long to develop!) Although I do enjoy the days on the bike, nothing is more satisfying than seeing the orange flagging tape that signifies we have reached the next camp. Another of cycling done! The routine continues when we reach camp, and out comes the tent to be set-up…again. Dinner comes courtesy of our wonderful cook, James and then it is off to bed. Our early mornings mean that when the day of riding is done, we are all in bed at 7pm. I fall asleep so fast, barely even noticing the fact that I have no pillow. This is the time when I reminded how I don’t need much more than a backpack, a tent, and a bike to be happy in this world!

Click Photo - Lusaka to Victoria Falls....

Lusaka-Victoria Falls

Lusaka to Victoria Falls - 492 kilometres in 3 days!!

Lusaka to Victoria Falls – 492 kms in 3 days – you do the math!
I continue to be impressed with the riders on this Tour. Three quarters of them have run marathons – Erin has run marathons on 7 continents including Antarctica. Half a dozen or more have done Ironman contests.
But it is not these athletes that impress me so much. It is the other 25% who have never done any major contest in their lives before.
Lianne did her first bike ride a year ago – the 80 km ‘Bike and Braai’ at home – and now she rides her bamboo bike with the best of them. Jessica is fast and fit and she too excels. Andra, new to biking, rides her heart out every day, always smiling. Paddy from Ireland, never having ridden before, amazes everyone every day. These are the stars of the Tour d’Afrique!
The media event – photos below – was very successful. Margaret Maimbolwa and Chifumbe Chintu attended. Andrew Silumesii and Chazya Sikambale came from Mongu in Western Province to be with us. We were very honoured that they all came.
The ride to Victoria Falls was fast and furious. Thought of my sister Bevy as, wind assisted, I pedalled into Mazebuka at 35 kms per hour. As children we passes this way so many times on our steam engine train on our way to boarding schools in South Africa.
I spent the morning with Shinga the bird-man, saw many species and flocks of birds. The collared palm thrush is unique to this very small part of the world – saw many…….
Much to everyone’s relief, we now break for two days in Victoria Falls. We leave Sunday for the Botswana border and points south………

Click Photo - Lusaka Media event. Dr Margaret Maimbolwa, Professor Chifumbe Chintu, Dr Andrew Silumesii, Dr Chazya Sikambale, Jessica, Lianne and Bill

LusakaMedia

Click for photos - Lilongwe to Lusaka

Lilongwe - Lusaka

The Tour d'Afrique - Not for the faint of heart! - Lilongwe to Lusaka

The Tour d’Afrique – Not for the faint of heart!

On January 16, 2010, 60 or more cyclists left Cairo for a 4-month, 12,000 km ride to Cape Town. These were the full tour riders.
The Tour is divided into 8 sections, bounded at each end by an International airport. Sectional riders can join any one or more of these sections without having to complete the whole Tour. On April 7, Jessica Lianne and I joined in when the Tour reached Lilongwe, Malawi. By now the riders had completed 7,500 kms.
They were lean, fit, conditioned and grizzled.
We were about to find out what other sectional riders before us had learned and written about when it came their turn to join, mid-stream, this relentless determined expedition – it’s tough.
In the 5 days it took us to get from Lilongwe, capital of Malawi to Lusaka, capital of Zambia, we covered a distance of 726 kms, with daily rides of 153, 197, 124, 148 and 104. the 148 km day included a 1900 metre climb!
The Tour was in full flight, and we hung on like kids having boarded a moving train! For the last three months, I’ve been reading all of their blogs. It was fun to recognize so many of the riders and to see them in action.
It’s a certainty – the Tour meets Harry’s first rule, “Break a sweat six times a week.” And then some!
The Tour d’Afrique is not for the faint of heart – especially when you're 70 years old!
On the first day across the Malawi border, I had to keep my heart rate at 150-155 just to keep up with Lianne and Jessica.
Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Barker, your daughters are doing very well - they are strong and fit. As we say in Zambian understatement - “they are fine.”
Early on, a Zambian man, wearing our new Okanagan Zambia Health Initiative biking jersey, was seen standing at the side of the road. Many Tour riders noticed him and recognized the jersey, with surprise.
As Lianne and Jessica approached, this total stranger greeted them; “Hello Lianne – Hello Jessica. Welcome to Zambia!”
For the first time in their lives, they were utterly speechless!
After a time for recovery, they asked, “Who is this stranger? How come he wears our jersey?”
As I rode up, Jim said; “Hello Bill. Nice to see you – again.”
Zambian Jim and I sat next to each other on the Amsterdam – Lusaka flight. When he told me that he lived in Chipata near the Malawi border – together, we arranged this prank for the girls.
For me, my riding on the second day was diverted to the care of one rider who had experienced a head-on collision with a local cyclist. He had suffered a midline full thickness laceration of his upper lip, the tear extending to the base of his nose. From one side, a 7 milli-meter tag of vermillion lip, de-vascularised, hung precariously by a thread. Both upper incisor teeth and one lower incisor had been knocked out. This was certainly a repair for a Plastic Surgeon. A phone call to Lusaka, 500 kms away, informed us that their only Plastic Surgeon was away on holiday.
The Italian Orthopaedic Hospital declined his care; “We don’t do that kind of thing here.”
The on-call General Surgeon at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka refused to accept him, “I don’t do that sort of stuff.”
A call to an American Trauma Surgeon, volunteering in Lusaka, was quite instructive, “Don’t bring him here. He will likely be sutured by an Emergency physician or a Clinical Officer.”
Well OK, then let’s get him to South Africa. A further phone call informed us that the earliest flight to Johannesburg would depart the next day, leaving at least a 36 hour interval from injury to potential repair – decidedly too long a wait.
And so it came to pass that my Plastic Surgery career was launched.
Armed with some 5-0 sutures and some local anaesthetic taken from the Tour’s medical kit box, the patient, Tour nurse Carolyn and I proceeded 4 kilometres down the road to a mission hospital run by Irish nuns where we found a Spartan but spotless operating theatre, and all the tools we needed.
We did a little operation - and we fixed him up!
At least I dodged most of the 197 km ride that day.
One day as we rode, Jomumba caught up to us from behind. His bicycle was old and squeaky, but his legs were like iron. He could easily out-distance us, despite our fancy bikes. We rode together for about 5 kilometres and we talked about life in his village of 75. He was on his way to the next village to attend his uncle’s funeral - just another day in the life of the average Zambian.
On another day, I struggled up a hill that thrice dwarfed the Commonage to Vernon by both distance and incline. I pushed my heart rate to 155 for as long as I could. Then I tried zigzagging back and forth the way that Alistair and Stan had taught me. Finally, as a last resort, I walked and pushed my bike. Behind me I could hear a vehicle labouring up the hill. I stopped and watched as a heavily overloaded Mercedes Benz truck inched its’ way up-hill. As the truck approached, the driver waved and smiled at me somewhat curiously. As he passed, emblazoned on the back read a slogan, “Life is a journey.”
As I stood in the heat of the African sun, my eyes blurred with sweat, I mused to myself, “How apt?”
Arriving in Lusaka, the Tour riders, Jessica, Lianne and I included, were grateful for the rest day ahead.
Dr. Chazya Sikambale and Dr. Andrew Silumesii joined us for dinner. They have come from Mongu in Western Province for the media event planned for April 12. It was a joy to see them. We really appreciate their support!
More later.
Bill

A letter to Kate, Lucy, Willem and Alexander - The Code for the blogs that follow!

Hello my 'fabulous four' grandchildren, Kate, Lucy, Willem and Alexander.
This is your Grandpa Bill, sometimes Grandpa Beef, checking in from Africa - Sub Saharan Africa, that is, to my Tunisian babies.
I'm in Zambia today, fly to Lilongwe in Malawi tomorrow, where Jessica, Lianne and I will join the Tour d'Afrique. We start our ride April 7.
So why, kids, am I doing this ride?
First of all - taking a page out of your book Lucy - it's fun - it's an adventure. I can just see you sitting on my handlebars, grinning, laughing, enjoying every minute of it! Every day as the adventure unfolds, I'll be thinking of you, Luce.
(Code L = Lucy = Fun and Adventure)
Second - As I ride, I'm going to have time to think. You're a great thinker Kate. You always make amazing observations and then you follow that up by figuring out how everything fits together. As I ride along, I will be thinking, contemplating, pondering about the world's most pressing problems. You are incredibly smart, I'll draw my insights about thinking from you Katy-Kate.
(Code K = Kate = Thoughts, thinking, Understanding)
Third - riding my bike is going to be a time for creativity - a time for a little of Edward de Bono's 'green hat' stuff. When it comes to creativity, Will Will, you are my hero, my source of inspiration. As I ride, I'll think of your imaginary 'lung cutters' and the fun we had 'operating' with them. I'll remember how you can spend hours creating environments, societies, mythical characters, adventures. You live in a world where nothing is impossible. Alternately stated - Everything is possible. It's going to take creativity to solve some of the world's most thorny problems, but you will be with me Will as the solutions for these challenges unfold.
(Code W = Willem = Creativity, Intuition, Problem solving)
Fourth, riding my bike through Africa will be a time for me to emote, to express and to experience my feelings, my gratitudes. I may not have told you this before, Ander, so I'll do so now. I don't know anyone else, regardless of age who is so connected to their emotions, their feelings, as you are my oldest grandchild. Conventional wisdom suggests that we look to the old, the published, the worldly, when it comes for advice or insights into our emotional world. For me, Ander, I look to you. I learn from you every day. When riding my bike, whenever I feel happy, ecstatic, sad - I'll be thinking of you. By the way, I see that the Rockets won their series with a 7th game win, but now they are behind with the Tri City Americans - go Rockets! Also, your science project was beyond brilliant - well done - I am so proud of you.
(Code A = Alexander = Emotions and Feelings)
So now you have it - the CODE!
Each day will be an experience, a quest, a journey of great significance.
Each day I will experience all aspects of the CODE.
It will be like a WALK in the park,
Get it? The CODE
WALK
W = Willem = Creativity, Intuition, Problem solving
A = Alexander = Emotions and Feelings
L = Lucy = Fun and Adventure)
K = Kate = Thoughts, thinking, Understanding)
Each day I will experience all of these codes and I will think of each of you.
I will write about all of these in the weeks ahead......
Some creativity...... a little gratitude........ a little fun...... many thoughts.....

For those of you who don't know my second generation babies, suffice it for you to know that Kate is the most intellectually alert person on the planet.
Lucy is the most fun-loving and most adventurous person alive.
Will gets the universe's gold, silver and bronze medals for imagination and creativity.
No one, any where, all ages included, has more emotionally intelligence than Ander.
One thing that you, dear reader, needs to know about me - I have no biases!

Lianne and a few of her friends........ click photo

Lianne

Hey.. It's Lianne.. also checking in from Mongu

When I was a kid I enjoyed going for strolls around the block on my banana seated Strawberry Shortcake bike. It was a way for me to occupy my time and spend quality time with my friends and neighbours.

Now that I am almost 25 years old the face of biking has changed for me…or has it? I enjoy taking my bicycle for a stroll down by the river having the air whip at my hair and the beautiful scenery all around me as I take my bike down a new path on the search for a new adventure. When I look back and relate my experience of biking as a child on the banana seat to me on my much smaller seat now, I see the same excitement and joy, the same yearning to find a new adventure!

The beautiful thing about biking is how practical yet versatile it can be. It can fit almost any lifestyle. I enjoy biking to work – it is economic, cuts down on transmissions, and fits with my hippy side of life. I enjoy the exercise – it creates endorphins after a stressful day and helps with the guilty feelings you may feel after eating those Timbits. I enjoy the rush – downhill biking allows me to feel the rush as I manoeuvre my bike through trees and up and down ramps. I enjoy the challenge – pushing myself to bike from Lilongwe, Malawi to Victoria Falls is something I never doubted biking could do, but something I never saw myself caring out. Once again, biking is taking me on a new adventure.

I was recently training for this bike ride in Inuvik, NWT. The one gym in town was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After a shift I would head to the gym and ride for 1-3 hours. I would sit there and watch the gym community at large “climbing Kilimanjaro” on my bike. A month ago I arrived in Mongu, Zambia. Awaiting me was 9 Canadian nursing students, two instructors, and 13 yellow Zambikes. I must admit in the first few weeks the bikese didn’t see much of me. However in the last 3 weeks I have been biking almost daily and remember the pure joy of biking. It has also reminded me how HOT it is in Africa! Nonetheless, I am ecstatic to embark on this journey with my good friends Jessica and Bill. It won’t be easy, but we will do our best to have as much fun and as many adventures as possible!


~lianne

Jessica and her famous 'double flat' pot hole......... click photo

Jessica

Jessica - checking in from Mongu, Western Zambia

My name is Jessica Barker, and I am a Registered Nurse from Kelowna, British Columbia. I have been working in Africa for the past three years, mostly with the Okanagan Zambia Health Initiative in Mongu, the capital city of Western Province, Zambia. My Zambian colleagues tell me each time I come back to Mongu that I am returning ‘home’. Now here again I find myself back in Mongu…. and I’m really starting to feel like a local! Zambia truly does feel like a second home, and I love that. In three weeks I will be embarking on a bike ride through Zambia with a couple other Zambian ’locals’; Bill and Lianne! There are many reasons why I am doing this bike ride, but think the most important personal reason is that I get to do this for the Zambians I have grown to love most, those living in Western Province.

This time around I have been in Mongu since February and have been continuing my training for the bike ride on the ground here. I am glad to have had some time to acclimatize…it is hot! Biking in Africa has been an experience. But I would not have expected anything less! From my time spent living and travelling here, I have realized that doing anything in Africa is always an experience. That is the beauty of this continent.

Six weeks ago I came with fellow teachers, Fay and Lianne, and with nine nursing students from the University of British Columbia-Okanagan, and helped guide them through a clinical placement at Lewanika General Hospital, our local hospital here in Mongu. With funds raised by the students they were all able to purchase ZamBikes to use around town. I will never forget the first day we all went down to the bus station to pick up our ZamBikes. The bikes are quite flashy looking compared to any other bike you usually see on the road here. First, they are brand new (compared to most of the other rickety bikes you see on the roads here) and the other is that they are painted a very bright yellow! We were quite the talk of the town riding those bikes home from the bus station that day. I don’t think Mongu had ever seen a sight quite like it…imagine ten Makuwa’s (the Lozi name for white person) riding through the streets of Mongu all together on bright yellow bikes! It is uncommon in Mongu to see even just ten young female Makuwa’s all standing together, never mind them all riding bright yellow bikes together.

Biking through the roads in Mongu can be a bit dangerous at times (sorry Mom!). The taxis and minibuses drive so fast, barely paying attention to the mass amount of people walking and biking up and down the roads. The roads are also slowly falling away, leaving jagged edges and potholes in the pavement. This means you have to avoid these dangers all at once! The other thing about Mongu is the sand.
Any Zambian can tell you that Mongu is famous for three things…fish…rice…and the sand! This is a very sandy place, and riding or driving around in it reminds me a lot of navigating through snow. You can see how this would be an added challenge; because you are constantly having to swerve your bike tires around so you don’t get stuck!

Lianne and I have been working in Mongu since 2008, and from the beginning we were one of the few female ‘Makuwas’ in town. This means we usually always have people coming up to us to introduce themselves; we can’t help but stand out! But the beauty of it all is even if we’ve met someone just once…they always seem to remember it and now us means we are friends for life! (Just yet another reason why I love Africa) I am constantly amazed at how many people remember my name; even I only shook their hand once. This has also been reflected in my biking experiences here. It seems that every time I hop on my bike and start biking anywhere in town, I have multiple people coming up and saying hello or wanting to carry on full conversations! I can be biking on any road, and will often hear Jezzzzzzzka! Jezzzzka! (That is how they pronounce my name here). Each time I hear my name being called I never know who it is going to be…. maybe it is one of my taxi drivers, maybe it is a lady from the market, or maybe it is a patient’s family member, who knows who it will be next time?

I think my favourite thing about biking in Mongu is that it brings you so much closer to the people and their lives here in this town. You can see the sights, hear the sounds and smell the smells just that much more. My favourite time to bike is around 6pm, when I am out on the road alongside everyone heading home from work. (Most are usually walking or biking home since they can‘t afford vehicles). This is always good time for conversation with the locals, and they are often shouting out a Hello! Or Kimanzibwani! (Lozi saying for Good Evening).
Dusk comes as the sun begins to set; the women are setting the fires in preparation for bathing the children and cooking nshima (the local dish). There is an air of peace and calm, and I get to soak it all in.

This is only just the beginning!

Jessica

March 14, 2010 - Getting Ready!

March 14 finds Lianne and Jessica in Mongu, Western Zambia, where they have just completed teaching UBC - Okanagan students. Students spent 5 weeks there on a student elective rotation http://ubconursesinzambia.blogspot.com/
March 14 also finds me in Inuvik in the Western Arctic. We are all in training mode and we join the Tour d'Afrique April 7 in Lilongwe, Malawi

Map - Lilongwe, Malawi - CapeTown, SA

View Bill - Tour d'Afrique in a larger map