Cycling The Globe

Distance: 115.2 km
Ride time: 7:11:11
Average: 16.0 km/h
Max speed: 55.1 km/h
Total: 48974 km

I had been looking forward to hit the dirt roads of Tanzania – with a certain amount of anxiety mixed in. The ride from Sumbawanga to Kigoma is supposed to be very rough and very remote. Before leaving town I stocked up on food and water – something I haven’t been needing to carry much of for a long time.

The road certainly got very rough as the tarmac ended. The first couple of kilometers I was paying attention to the new spoke. Luckily everything seemed to hold up fine, and I was sending good thoughts to the bike mechanic in Sumbawanga.

I had only been riding for half an hour when I car stopped. Peter and his friends from South Africa and Spain jumped out to say hi. It turned out that Peter (on the right) was from Denmark and bought a bike in Nairobi to ride down to Cape Town! Peter had decided to hitch a ride through this remote part of Tanzania – making him the 3rd cyclist I have met who skipped it. I wonder how I will fare… At any rate, quite a chance meeting out here in the middle of nowhere!

Back on the dirt I was enjoying myself. Progress was obviously not as fast as on the tarmac, but after all this is not a race. Instead it was a great experience cycling through the local villages, getting a chance to see how life is lived out here. As usual, when you imagine something you often over-react; there is usually a lot less to feel anxious about. But then again, today we got no rain 🙂

I was cycling through the village of Kisa as the sun was setting. Looking around I realized there was no guesthouse in town, and the usual invitation to stay didn’t materialize after talking to a few of the locals – I think mostly because communication in English is a challenge. Speaking Swahili would be helpful.

Instead I was cycling a kilometer out of town to put up my tent.