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| Sunrise at Leopard Rest - Uganda |
Tuesday: Supposed to be a great day of cycling, but it ends badly for me, no tattoo's, but my first major mechanical failure. Judith on the other hand, had a great day out on the bike.
Start the day by doing 9km on the dirt road back to the tar road, yesterdays final downhills become today's first uphills.
While cycling behind me, Judith notices
that my rear wheel has developed a wobble, my initial prognosis is that either some of my spokes are loose, or the rear bearings are giving up after so many kilometers.
Cycle 45km to Igongo Cultural Centre, where we stop and have Cappuccinos and Muffins. Judith does some retail therapy, I order an additional toasted ham, cheese & tomato. We don't visit the Cultural Museum, as I dedicate the stop to sampling the culinary delights of the Kaahwa Restaurant.
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| Michael bringing up the rear (Photo by Rupert Dixon) |
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| Judith loving the dirt road section (Photo by Rupert Dixon) |
While cycling behind me, Judith notices
that my rear wheel has developed a wobble, my initial prognosis is that either some of my spokes are loose, or the rear bearings are giving up after so many kilometers.
Cycle 45km to Igongo Cultural Centre, where we stop and have Cappuccinos and Muffins. Judith does some retail therapy, I order an additional toasted ham, cheese & tomato. We don't visit the Cultural Museum, as I dedicate the stop to sampling the culinary delights of the Kaahwa Restaurant.
Judith goes off alone to catch up with some of the other lady riders, I stay to finish my food, I have decided to abandon after lunch due to my mechanical problem (don't want it to get worse before the bike mechanic can check it out).
I leave the Cultural Center and catch up with Rob & Brad in the next town. Rob is helping him fix his puncture, so between the two of us, we fix Brad's puncture, but not before we create immense spectator value for the locals (who obviously haven't seen three Muzungus fixing a puncture before!).
Get to the Lunch Truck and find we have created great spectator value (positioned just outside a Junior School).
To my surprise Pooh Bear is in attendance at lunch, but don't ask why, TIA!
Judith leaves after lunch and cycles with Suzy and Erin, they have a great ride with plenty of hill climbing, and get to the finish at Uganda Camp (Backpackers attached to School in Ruhanga Village) and without any hassles.
I load my bike on the Lunch Truck and get a lift to camp, wait for Bike Clinic time, Leo the Mechanic checks out my problem and gives me some bad news. My back rim is cracked in 6 places, says I can cycle on, but there is a risk that the rim could collapse.
Tomorrow the route is quite hilly and there are plenty of rumble strips, so there is a definite possibility that I could be doing 50km on a downhill, hit a rumble strip and my rear wheel folds at speed!
Later on, we attend the Riders' Briefing and have Dinner (we are both on dishes duty with Murray). After dish duty, we join the rest of the riders who are attending an impromptu concert at the School.
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| Arriving at the Culture Center and locking up the bikes |
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| Happiness is a great cup of coffee with a toasted sandwich |
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| Some of the riders enjoying the culinary delights |
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| Philip posing with Pooh Bear |
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Little Pooh Bear meets Big Pooh Bear
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| Judith and Suzy before departing on the second half after lunch |
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| At the Uganda Lodge I spoil Niklas by rocking him in the hammock (I did tell his Mother I would look after him) |
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| Welcome to Uganda Lodge |
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| Briefing Meeting - Tomorrow's Ride |
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| An indication of some of the damage to my rear rim |
I will have to ride on the Main Truck tomorrow and miss a full day's riding, also have to make a plan to organize a replacement rim...
Cheers,
Mike T
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