-47 percent grade.

You know it is steep when John lowers his seat .

Lots of stuff going on this weekend.  So Sunday only two John's show up at my house at 630.  White biker chick is out for awhile. 

We ride the normal route up to the west meru plateau.  As soon as we cross over the steep canyon we are in some dust.  A bit surprising.  Crossing the canyon I am convinced John can carry his bike faster than I can push mine up and down the rocky canyon track.

The air is clear and crisp and we have some amazing views. 

as we get on the edge of the plateau we can look west and instead of clear it is brown dust haze. Only the tops of mountains stick above the dust, but we see every mountain in northern Tanzania but Hanang.

I beg to stop and eat.  we have ridden fairly hard for 3 hours and have gained almost 1000m

We ride 30 minutes on plateau before turning off and are quickly in this open moorland. 

there is some cultivation going on, and this must be in the national park.

We ride on a faint track southerly until the end and find a single track.  John also turns on google earth and we are 2km  from other tracks.  Into the forest and immediately it turns  47 degrees down.  this is where we lower the seat post.  We have to walk over some roots and when it gets excessively steep.

From where we start going down it is only 18.6 km and one km vertical to my house, but we only average 11.3 km/hr and it is always down hill.  and sometimes I thought I was going fast.  I am amazed at the low average speed.

Below is after the steep native forest.  John is not smiling in this picture but wincing from running into stinging nettles and thistle.

It is a great route.