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13th - 22nd March 2002

Cycle to the Summit Part 13 - Northern Ethiopia

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 19:53:22

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She found this beyond belief and kept repeating her statement to the point of driving us mad. Then out of the blue she claimed repeatedly 'Your bicycle is not complete', presumably because we were struggling to push them. We replied, 'no our legs are not complete'. Four hours on, the hill flattened sufficiently for us to call it the top. We both collapsed unceremoniously at the side of the road. Solomon, an army officer came to our rescue and said he would be waiting for us in the next village with some food. In the army camp we ate yet more injera. It is apparently polite for an Ethiopian host to hand feed his guest food. It felt like I was being force-fed and I always know there is something up when I am off my food. 'Eat like a soldier' he would say as he despaired at our lack of appetite and dexterity at eating with our fingers. It seemed Ruth was feeling equally rough and we both spent the whole afternoon in Soloman's quarters in a state of semi-consciousness and feverous. That evening Solomon took us to stay with a friend in the village (Sevana). Ephram kindly gave up his bed. Normally we would not have accepted but on this occasion we had no energy to argue. The bed left a lot to be desired but we were so desperate to lie down again it was very welcome. We both made many trips during the night to the shintabit (toilet) having to negotiate two cows, a small flock of sheep, a pile of stones and duck under some timber work. Ephram was 21 and a professional footballer from Addis Ababa but was staying here for a few months to look after his Grandmother who was 70, a very good age for an Ethiopian, but still looked much stronger than we did at this point.

17th March 2002 - Saraba to Iimba 42km

Another hilly day using the lowest of the low gears frequently and not helped by the fact that we were both still feeling lethargic, so progress was sedate. In the evening we stopped to help a boy with a puncture and ended ...