Two different rides

This weekend I managed to ride each day, both rides were 5 hours riding time but different rides. I enjoyed them both but the Saturday ride will remain in my mind.

DAY ONE
Friday my buddy Erik Zweig slept at our house and we schemed that evening for a 3 hour easy ride. We got up early enough but repairing two broken spokes turned into cleaning his drive train. Then he worked on his brakes and then it was 8am and everyone else was having pancakes so we had pancakes and messed around and left after 10 am.

We did the familiar route up into the Meru Forest, and then headed east on the main forest road. We then rolled up and down ravines high up on the mountain. We talked to a few people and greeted almost everyone.

At the highest point we stopped for some fruit and water and started the descent. Immediately after leaving the forest we stopped by a large group of kids and bought two big avocados. We were still hungry and it was 1pm so we asked for a "hoteli" and were directed to a shack. We shared a bowl of cooked bananas with a few pieces of beef and a bottle of Banana Wine. We shared a table with two guys and struck up a conversation.

We wanted to pass but Fred's house above Sanksi. Fred is some guy Erik met and wanted to visit. They said if we follow the road then we have to climb back up, which is what i expected. Rather they could show us a trail through the big ravine and then a road that would eventually take us to the Sanksi road.

We paid for the meal, a bit under $2, and were guided to the trail. We traveled at the same speed as our guides as the trail was steep and rocky. We carried and pushed and shortly the trail became a track that we were told would carry us down. We stopped frequently for directions and greeted a ton of people.

Ever since the entering the forest the road was slick. We both went slow. I noticed my average speed was only 10 kph.

We came to a big Lutheran church and gazed around like two lost boys. A pastor came along who knew Fred, but by his Meru name. He enlisted a kid to show us the way. We rode up and down on slick small tracks through small farms . I was starting to think this "detour" to see Fred, a guy I don't know might be a waste of time. After 30 minutes our guide points to a house on a wide hill.

As we ride up the hill the trees gave away and we had views in all directions. My lower jaw fell down to the handle bars. It was incredible view. At the house the view was spectacular. Mnt Meru, Kilimanjaro, south Masai steppe, Arusha town. We were high enough we could see the water of Lake Duluti that is in a small crater!

Fred is the son of a Meru and Canadian. He grew up in Canada, but they had strong ties to this area. A few years ago his wife and their small child decided to try to live in this area. He is a lawyer but made some money in "multimedia", whatever that is. He worked for a local lawyer and bit and now the UN ICTR.

We ended up drinking a beer and talking a mile a minute. They wanted to know what i knew about the submarine fiber optical cable coming to our country, and when it would come to Arusha. Then the kids, Erik, and Fred played catch with a baseball. They have about 5 acres of grass around the house.

At 5pm we took our leave and coasted the 10km to the main highway at Duluti. Then Erik and i split up and i slogged up to Arusha and home. I only went 50 kms and was riding 5 hours but gone 8 1/2 hours. Talked with a ton of people.


DAY TWO
Sunday morning I got out of bed at 5:15 an stumbled around making coffee and tea and looking for something to take to eat. I mixed some raisins, almonds, peanuts in a bag, grabbed 2 apples, a tangerine, and then wanted to make a sandwich but that seemed like work and i remembered that Bibi (grandma) had made some banana cake to i cut a piece. there are some energy gu right next to where the raisins are kept so i grabbed one of those. I took 4 litres water and a thermos of tea.

I was 20 minutes late to meet Wes, Thomas, Reiner, and Franco in Olasiti. i started riding 615am. The pace was fast and no slowing down in the rocky sections as we headed south, riding on single track mostly. We came to the big caldera from the south side which was new for me. My rear tyre went down , then i changed the tube and it went down three times so i used a tube from Wes. We ate some food at the caldera and discussed para gliding. The banana cake tasted pretty good with tea.

We descended off the rim of the caldera and i popped into a boma I had visited once cut my friend wasn't there. We split with Franco and Reiner heading straight back on the dirt road and we other three decided to ride around Moita hill. Eventually we found a track and cruised up on a ridge where the we came upon a kilometer of rocky ground. on the other side it was fast and we cruised back to the road arguing about which hill was which, as we look at them from the other side. I lagged a bit , feeling tired and Thomas pushes fast and Wes follows. We cruised up to the tarmac highway and home. Today was 80+km and ridden at 16kph, 5hours riding in 7 1/2 hours. Not much visiting but a good ride.