Distance: 76.6 km
Ride time: 3:37:05
Average: 21.2 km/h
Max speed: 44.3 km/h
Total: 52709 km
What an enjoyable day on the bike! The distance to Bahrir Dar was only 75 kilometers – most of them downhill as the city is located at the shore of Lake Tana. Furthermore, there was no rain, and even the kids behaved exemplary – almost like “normal” day on the road in the rest of the world 🙂
The landscape continues to be lush, green, and in parts dotted with wild flowers decorating the road side. The heavy traffic that I faced close to Addis Ababa is on the return as well. It seems like each town I pass results in less traffic on the road. Indeed getting close to the end of Sub-Sahara Africa up here in Northern Ethiopia!
Weather wise the African heat came back as I was descending towards the lake. The temperature was now close to 30 degrees again, and I was looking for a place in the shade to have my late lunch. What a contrast to the last cold and wet days in the mountains.
After my spaghetti lunch I was having a hard time finding a cheap hotel. Bahrir Dar is the major city and this always mean that prices go up compared to the tiny villages I have been staying in lately. I was close to accept a room over my budget but decided to keep looking.
In the end I found a cheap room, but so basic that I considered for a moment to return to the other option. I’m not picky when it comes to comfort, but the room I found is what I imagine a prison cell in 18th century Denmark would look like. In the end I decided to stay put.
From here it’s another two days of cycling towards Gandor, the city in northern Ethiopia where I plan to park my bike and return to Addis Ababa to sort out my visa for Sudan.
