Reflections on Tanzania

The countries seem to be flying by at this point, just as we get our money changed into one currency we are crossing another border, getting ready to change into a different currency. Tanzania gave us a run for our money with difficult dirt roads and long days, but is wrapping up with some nice paved roads with short days (110km and under)..We have had several days of rain but have been lucky because it is the rainy season in Tanzania and we haven’t had as much we could have. Tanzania has been so beautiful. It is lush and green and rainforesty. There are huge fields of sunflower crops which remind me of my friend Jess Kayser. It is definitely a welcome relief from the desert landscape that we have gotten used to. The rest day in Iringa was a chance for most people to overhaul the drive trains on their bikes if they hadn’t already done it at some point on the trip. New handlebar tape, cassettes, chains, cables will make the second half of the trip more enjoyable and ensure that the bikes actually make it to Capetown. In a couple of days we will be crossing the border into Malawi (our 6th country). We will be staying on a beach on Lake Malawi for our first rest day. I have been getting more and more tired as the trip has been going by. I have slowed on my blog updates to allow myself more time to actually “rest” on rest days as our “rest days” are already filled with mile long lists of errands to prepare for the next week of riding. By the time that hand laundry, bike maintenance, and snack shopping is done, the actual “rest time“ is minimal. So I apologize for the lack of communication at this point and thank everyone for the support that I have been getting.