Home » Ethiopia » Cycle to the Summit Part 14 - Bahir Dahr to Addis Ababa

A few days of rest and then it was time to do battle with the roads and children of north Ethiopia. Said goodbye to the Blue Nile for the last time. Negotiated bad roads and 1000m gorge. Hit tarmac and rolled into Addis Ababa for some ice-cream!

Cycle to the Summit Part 14 - Bahir Dahr to Addis Ababa

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 19:56:13

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the night before had made us sceptical about the percentage of tarmac still in its original place and not washed down into the ravine below. We were pleasantly surprised when many sections were still intact and we made the descent quite quickly. In some ways it was a sad day as this was the last time we would see our companion the Blue Nile which we had rarely left since leaving Cairo two months ago. We bid the great river goodbye and took all day to negotiate the 1000m climb up the southern side. We had only minor hassle from the children along the way and were nearing the top when a very annoying truck horn bellowed out from behind. We were pleased to see that it was not another annoying local truck driver but the Hotrock overland truck full of waving and cheering rockclimbers (we had met them in Khartoum). After being told we were crazy numerous times, they offered us some free beers and a feed at the top. Spurred on by the invitation we climbed the rest of the gorge and set out along the flat plain in search of the big red truck. About 20km down the road a local boy appeared brandishing a note 'Sorry, nowhere to park the truck, hope to catch you in Addis!'. Plan foiled we opted for a local hotel and a fair few beers anyway.

Hitting tarmac

Late in the evening and about 100km North of Addis Ababa we hit the real plush tarmac. The kind of tarmac that dreams are made of, with white dotted lines along the middle, a 1 metre shoulder, and those reflective bobbles they glue to the surface. Paul had great fun pretending he was on a slalom ski course weaving in and out of the white lines. It was a bit of a ceremony that we said goodbye to the last of the bad roads (possibly for the rest of the trip) and set off at great speed along the newly laid tarmac, no vehicles allowed!!!!!The next day we rolled up and down the hills, bathing in the delight of the big black tar strip along the earth's surface. After dropping out of slip streaming a truck carrying a tank I thought I would contribute something to the Ethiopian economy. Two men downhill were picking some clothes up off the road, turning them over and laying them down again in the tracks of oncoming vehicles. As I came speeding down towards the clothes on the road the men started shouting and pointing at them. I got the message to roll over them, obviously some form of ironing. The smell of dead animal hit me as my tires sunk into fatty cow hide and slopped out the other side back onto tarmac. The cheers and clapping of the men were enough to get me the rest of the way to Addis with a smile on my face. With only a massive downhill of perfectly laid tarmac, tight corners and a bit of Dutch courage between us and Addis I called for a rolling race. Toby although not first past the line, won on account of being most reckless, his Cairo Special tyres (cheap rubber) nearly peeling off the rims as he took each corner like Wayne Gardener (Aussie motorcycle racer). Once in Addis Ababa we headed straight for ice cream, pizza and pastrie before going to work on the bikes.

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