Feb. 26th - Weerawilla to 30km before Tangalle - Kim and Glory - Cycling beyond

February 26, 2024

Feb. 26th - Weerawilla to 30km before Tangalle

Bring on the heat!

Although I really enjoyed my two nights of luxury, it really hit home how much I get to see of the real Sri Lanka (or anywhere really) versus travelers who come to places like this and stay for a week. Yes, I was well taken care of, but it felt very sheltered. I needed that at this point and not knocking people who choose this kind of vacation, but I am thankful I travel the way I do.

Digestive track was a bit unhappy this morning after my buffet last night, but I didn't leave my hotel until 12:30 so it had time to sort itself out. Just to play it safe though, I took an Imodium so there wouldn't be any issues on the road! I knew I was going to do a short day today because I was leaving so late, but I really wanted to enjoy my hotel up until the last minute. The receptionist was so nice and gave me some delicious cookies to go! (They give you a nice warm cookie on arrival.) She also mentioned how hot it was outside. Umm, thanks for reminding me!

At one point I had considered backtracking to go to Udawalwe National Park, which is supposed to be superb for elephant spotting, but good thing I had decided not to. I had a rip-roaring tail/cross wind and had I backtracked the 12 miles to the junction, that would have meant a headwind for me. Some things are just meant to be.

Saw some interesting things along the way today and a variety of "people" were "sharing the road."

And by "people" I mean "monitor lizards" (look closely, he's crossing the road)

It almost doesn't phase me anymore. Almost.

Straggler. I'm a straggler too. We'd get along great!

Looks like a great place for a drink of water (for the cows, not me!) I saw some headed this way. But, look closely in the middle of the picture, far left...

...but I'd reconsider! This guy is huge!!! I hope no one got eaten!

The A2 road I was riding parallels Bundala National Park, so the scenery was nice.

For a second I thought these were the not nice water buffalo as they are on the other side of the electric fence, but they have collars

There were all these stork like birds above the road at one point. Not sure what was up. Probably enjoying the winds.

Couldn't grab the pic in time, but I saw another large croc and then he went under

There were signs for an "expressway", but I was following highway A2. It actually expanded to three lanes, and I stopped a couple of times to make sure I hadn't ended up on the expressway. It definitely looked like a freeway that I was on, but hardly any cars. Great! More room for me!

I ended up going further than I had planned because of the wind, but still only 22 miles. However, the hot weather was getting to me, and I felt really wiped out. I actually went to bed early for once.

I stayed at Sobaya Residence which had great reviews, but it was a bit disappointing. Although the room was huge and great, the guys running the place (not the owner) had the music and tv blasting downstairs oblivious to their guest upstairs. Also, I had to be really persistent that I was not leaving my bike outside overnight no matter how many times they tell me "It's safe." It's a chance I am not willing to take if I can help it and I had mentioned on arrival that it needed to be inside at night. The other issue was a ridiculous swarm (probably not the right word) of ants in the bathroom including the toilet! The guy came and sprayed and washed them all away. Later I went to pee and saw one so lifted the toilet seat just to see more clearly and another swarm of them. I made them come and clean it all up again. Not really their fault as it's just a thing here, but in the morning, there were two dead cockroaches in the bathroom too. Gross! What was funny is that I came out of my room one time to go downstairs and there was just this huge fog and it smelled like incense. I went down and asked, "What happened?" The explained it was for mosquitos. Timing is everything.

Night. Just as I was ready for bed, I had to get dressed again to go ask for a top sheet or blanket. Grrrr

Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km)
Total: 1,205 miles (1,939 km)

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