Chisekesi to Mazabuka (Golden Pillow Lodge)

July 6, 2022

Hilly day

I was so excited when I left this morning. The forecast indicated not a direct headwind today and the typical down to 7 knots (with gusts up to 16). P.S. One knot = 1.15mph. THAT is a massive improvement from what I've been dealing with.

I didn't make tons of notes about today, but I do remember finding this gem of a lunch spot! I pulled out my chair and everything to really enjoy it. The neighborhood kids were spying on me, but mostly too bashful to approach too close.

Rocks for sale. I later saw that the locals actually break these rocks up. Seriously, it's a hard life here.

More goods for sale. Everything is always precariously stacked, but it looks nice.

I could watch the cows, chickens and goats around the water. I looked on my map, but this body of water isn't listed.

What's not to love? I certainly loved it!

This is a two for one shot. Road conditions deteriorated today and locals in the back of a truck hitching a ride. It's a common way of transport so I will never hesitate if I need a ride.

Wow. Two scenic waterways in one day?! A rarity around here. Crossing over a bridge. I had actually stopped on purpose to lose this guy, but when he stopped too, I felt a little uneasy. I sent him on his way before pulling out my camera.

It was another long day on the bike and the last 10 miles were a bit chaotic. It started with a break in a more garbage strewn village than usual for some cold water. Not long after I left there, some young boys saw me coming and ran over to the road. I said hello to all of them and kept going. They thought it would be fun to run alongside of me which was all fine until one boy reaches over and slaps me on my butt! I turned and pointed at him and gave him a stern, "Hey!" but quickly decided this wasn't a great situation for me. The kid wasn't even a teenager yet so I was surprised. I stepped on the pedals to out sprint them. Of course they kept up for a bit, but then a man ahead must have seen what was transpiring and ran across the street and towards me yelling at them. I just said "thanks" as I rode by. Maybe he knows more than I know, but I was glad to see an adult stepped in even though I had outsprinted them at that point.

Locals transport everything on their bikes

The shop where I bought my last cold water

More garbage than usual strewn on the right side of the picture

Traffic got much busier as I approached town. There was a bike lane and lots of people were using it. I pulled over to check for my directions as it was getting busier and busier. I saw a lady trying to pull out onto the main highway from a side street and not looking my way at all. A cyclist that had been behind me caught up. He appeared to slow down for a minute and then decided to proceed just as she decided to pull out into the traffic making a sharper turn with here steering wheel. The two of them collided and he left a decent dent in the side of her car. Although he didn't fall over, he was holding his hand. I'm not quite sure how he didn't see she wasn't paying attention, but as a cyclist, it's still not what I want to witness.

I made my way into town only to find I had to make a right turn and then proceed up a big hill. Whose bright idea was it to put a big hill at the very end? I'm beat.

I was shown a couple of rooms reasonably priced, but opted for the smaller one as it was closer and a bit cheaper. I wasn't going to be there very long so I thought I'd save some money for once.

I got showered and walked back down the hill to the stores and my favorite fast food restaurant "Hungry Lion" for dinner. It should be noted that unlike America, fast food isn't really a thing here. There's Hungry Lion, KFC, a pizza and burger joint and that's about it. Very few and far between. It should also be noted that walking up the hill, which had a steep section, wasn't any more enjoyable on foot than on my bike.

When I walked back into town, I snuck in this picture of all kinds of fish for sale.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 3,360 miles (5,407 km)

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Susan StewartWhen I got into town, same thing so busy. I was watching a guy stopped waiting to pull out as I proceeded slowly. He never watched for me either but I was prepared and yelled Hey Hey Hey. And then he yielded to me. I’m loving riding your ride.
Haha I probably wouldn’t even have to take pictures. I could just borrow yours. Nothing seemed to have changed in the two years.
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