Crashing at the zoo (Day 14)
By admin. Filed in Sudan |
Today was the day of the big crash. At least I hope it’s the biggest crash we’ll experience during the tour. Something tells me it’s not.
I finally managed to find a group I can keep up with if I really push myself. Riding in a group has a few advantages: wind resistance reduces effort by up to 30%, it’s easier to maintain a constant level of effort, and socializing helps the day go by faster. Here’s what happened: About 10 of us were riding in two lines. One rider bumped wheels with another, lost his balance, and fell into the middle of the group. One by one, four others fell behind him down the line. The domino effect seemed to happen in slow motion, but I was so taken by surprise I couldn’t warn anybody that it was about to happen. I was in the back of the group and managed to swerve and stop in time. I was also in the perfect position to observe it all, but had just turned off my helmet camera a couple of minutes before.
What you’re probably dying to hear is: was everyone alright? Yes. There was quite a bit of road rash and some bikes that needed adjusting. We collectively went through most of our first aid supplies before moving on.
By riding with a group, the day definitely went faster. I finished the 120km day and was in the zoo by 1PM. That’s right: the zoo. We’re inside; the locals are outside, looking through the bars. As you’ve probably figured out, we’re quite the spectacle when we roll into town in our spandex.
It’s a Friday, so most businesses in Sudan are closed until 5PM. I went out with a few riders and found some snacks and phone refill cards (the SIM cards we bought on the ferry had very little money on them). After that, we found a hotel and negotiated a rate for them to do our laundry. It was rather expensive, but one less thing to deal with. There was an Internet cafe around the corner with very poor connectivity, so I got some blog entries started, but again have no pictures ready.