Back In Addis ready to leave Ethiopia

I am back in Addis at an Internet cafe that has keyboards that stick like crazy so I apologize for any spelling errors I do not catch.

We arrived in Moyela Ethiopia after a number of hot gruelling riding days. I walked to the Kenya border and looked at the road we will not be going on...and we are all happy about that. One rider has chosen to ride into Kenya knowing his insurance will not cover him. I trust he will do well but North Kenya is very rough. This section is called Meltdown Madness for a reason. We are all tired and many are sick. I still continue to eat little more than pasta and eggs on rest days and I seem to be okay. The water we drink is heavily chlorinated and thus tastes like a swimming pool but at least it is clean. We all drink a lot of fluids due to the heat.

Here are the rider injuries to date:

1. One rider was drafting a truck to gain speed and hit a piece of metal and went over the handle bars. His helmet saved his life and we were warned once again not to do this.

2. One rider hit a speed bump at a fast speed and went over the handle bars and suffered a broken collarbone and cracked rib and has to leave the tour for 6 weeks to heal.

3. One rider hit a child (she is fine)and he went down and suffered a cracked rib and had memory loss for awhile.

4. One rider was pushed over a ledge by a local with an umbrella and then she had rocks thrown at her and she suffered a cracked rib and had her camera stolen. The locals found the camera and it was returned.

5. One rider hit a child ( I will explain about this) and she had to take stitches to the knee and leg. In the end she had to pay the mother of the child 100birr...about 9 dollars and then she was free to go...this with the police involved.

6. One rider hit a goat and had stitches to the shoulder severe road burn.

7. Many riders have been sick with a fever and other ailments.

The good news is my hand has healed and I am not sick.

As for the hitting of children with bikes. As we ride through towns we have children running after us shouting "YOU, YOU, YOU" and "Give me birr". We are not able to stop as we will be swarmed with kids demanding money. So as we do not stop they do what they do to their animals to get their attention...they shoot rocks at us...and try to put sticks through our wheels to stop. You need to be on guard at all times and thus some children get hit with a bike. We have grown very hardened and just ride as fast as we can. As we have been in this country for almost a month now we are all anxious to leave.


We were bused back to Addis..two days with a bus that had a huge poster of the Virgin Mary staring back at us...and did we need it as the animals have the right of way and since cows and goats are the currency here there are many of them. The first day was 13.5 hours and the second day was 6 hours. I checked into the hotel and stood in the shower for about 30 minutes while the water ran brown. We were commenting on how we just get to a camp site and put on the same dirty clothes and it all seems so normal. The first month we were very awre of the crap shi#%^^## that was at every camp site...now we just kick it out of the way and set up our tents. We have 12 nw riders joining us in Arusha and it will be interesting to see how we looked and reacted to things two months ago...they will be like deer and headlights to be sure.

I leave tomorrow for Zanzibar and I will update my blog from their. While I have had a great experience I am looking forward to getting back to some developed country things like ATM machines and the use of credit cards...and ice cream...and food that is not lamb, or goat...not that I eat it!!!!


On my next blog I will inform you of many of my experiences but for now I am getting frustrated by this keyboard and am ready to go to the Hilton Hotel for a little bit of luxury...a pastry and a BIG cup of coffee.

For those of you going to South Africa give my love to the GAP school...say hello to Anathi for me and all the others I care for.


As I have traveled through three countries I can see that the long term plan for GAP is so important. Much of the aid I have seen is short term and has caused many to dependent on it. There are so many children who are not in school here due to fees and such. The students at GAP are getting a very special education that is not available to many. So this ride for me has for me taken on a deeper meaning and my connection to the GAP school is stronger than ever. If I can help Anathi and others to get and education then I have made a small difference.

Anyway...stay warm and look forward to my next blog update hopefully with pictures.