Woke up this morning after a GREAT sleep - strange but good. The bed was kind of hard but somehow comfy - in fact the comfiest one we have had so far! Didn't wake in the night until 4am for my night pee and 'midnight' snack. In fact it was funny as Scott awoke at about the same time so we lay in bed eating kit kats and having a little giggle. Had another hour or so sleep before breakfast. Today's race had been cancelled to further allow people to regroup and recover from yesterday's events. Breakfast time was extended - was good to actually take my time for a change. In fact I also had time to re-pack my permanent bag and sorted out a lot of stuff.
Scott and I headed off together when we were ready. Good not to have to worry about racing today - my legs were sore! Our mission was to be on the look out for wildlife! We were able to ride alongside a variety of people which was fun. It was only a 75 km day - so we assumed it would be fairly fast as well as short! I didnt have that much to eat as breakfast as I was expecting to be done pretty quickly. However .... In the morning there was a gradual uphill climb against a headwind and we were only managing about 12 km/h. I was worried it was going to be a long day after!!
After about 20 km we took a coke stop. We knew we still had a fair bit of climbing to do - basically all the way to lunch - downhill in the afternoon. But the road definitely got smoother and allowed us to pick up speed - it was no longer a constant climb -a few flats/slight downs to allow us to pick up speed. We pretty much overtook all those again who had passed us at the coke stop - there were just the two of us. The wind turned - sweet. In fact at about 40 km just before lunch we were whipping along at about 45 km/h even going slightly uphill - pretty awesome! We rolled into lunch - it was very windy and a bit chilly but with fantastic views of Mount Kenya. Had two sandwiches and relaxed for a while - longest lunch break I've had for a while!
Left the lunch stop for downhill with a tailwind - we were flying! We slowed down to look around a village - cool! We were wondering about the buildings - painted with advertisements for Coca Cola, Fanta, Dasani etc - all professionally done! Seemed strange way out in the villages !! Felt great - just rolling along. Suddenly I heard a loud bang behind me! What the ...? Turn around and Scott's tyre seems to have exploded - he saw it come off the rim, slowed down and the inner tube just went pop!! So we fixed that and carried on.
It was a relaxing, easy afternoon with great views. Seemed a more prosperous area - big farms with tractors, massive greenhouses full of flowers/plants. We went past a British military training camp - lots of army presence in the area. The day finished in another really nice hotel campsite. Kendra and Kari offered me their floor - will save me fighting with the tent in the morning!! After a cheeseburger or two we relaxed by the pool - strange to think a few days ago we were in the middle of the desert and now here we are lounging poolside!
Went for a massage and had a walk into town to stock up with snacks and just now am waiting for the rider meeting before going to bed. Race day tomorrow which I know is going to be hard as my legs are so sore! The day after is just a ride and then we have a rest day in Nairobi!
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