The Top of the Tour d'Afrique

The past five days where among the most interesting of the Tour upon till now. Leaving Bahir Dar we constantly drove at altitudes of 1700-2500m, constantly climbing or descending. The Ethiopian Rift Mountains are beautiful, the scenic panorama's that you get to see after each and every turn, are breathtaking. Sitting on a bike is the perfect position for taking in all these impressions.
Because of the altitude, the temperatures are very agreeable. Sunday and Monday we reached altitudes of above 3000m, this is the highest point of the entire Tour. Riding at such an altitude is harder than at sea level. You're sooner short of breath, but upon till now I have managed. I'll have a tremendous condition when I get back at sea-level!!
The climax of the week was the stage on Saturday when we crossed the Blue Nile gorge: first a descent of 1400m, then we cross the Blue Nile, and than back up again, the same 1400m, over a distance of 22 km. Though but fun!
Actually there is only one negative aspect about Ethiopia so far: there are a lot of children in this country, so almost every km there is group of them awaiting you to yell things at you (Hey you, where are you go), or to ask for a pen or for money (hey you, I want my money). There is nothing wrong with this, but the moment the kids start throwing rocks at you, or try to poke a stick between your spokes, things get less pleasant. Undoubtedly these rascals can't oversee the possible outcome of their actions, but for us it is an absolute pain in the ass! You constantly have to be on the alert.
I have finalized my plans for the two weeks off, due to the Kenyan situation: On march 3 I'll be flying to Zanzibar, stay there a couple of days, after which i'll get a boat to Dar Es Salam, have a look around there, and move up to Arusha for a visit to the Ngorongoro-crater. On march 16 the Tour continues from Arusha, February 29 is the last cycling day in Ethiopia. It will be strange: two weeks without a day of biking!

The Wolfpack

Approximately 10 men and 5 women take part in the race (i am not one of them). Of these 15 people, there is a group of 5 racers that are far better than the rest. They often leave in the morning after me, and they pass me after half an hour. For some weeks now I call them The Wolfpack, because when I see them approaching in my rearview mirror they look like a bunch of hungry wolves, ready to attack.
Who are these wolves? (from left to right):
Jos: A dutch IT-consultant from the eastern part of the country. He has raced as an competitive amateur-cyclist in many places in the world. Jos is by far the best racer of the Wolfpack, if he really puts the pressure on, nobody can follow. If he stays in one piece, Jos will win.
Bernd: The youngest (27 yr) member of the Wolfpack is fom Austria, and has recently finished his education in sports science at the university. He is the only Wolfpack-member riding a mountain bike, the others all use cross bikes.. In the beginning Bernd had problems with his knees, but now he is top fit, and ready to challenge Jos.
Chris: Lives in Victoria, BC, Canada. He is manager of a company n transmissions, and has completed several full-triathlons and marathons. Chris is a real fast-rider and can keep up a high pace very long. The first few days in Egypt he lost some time because his bike did not arrive, and he had to ride on somebody else's bike. During the intermezzo because of the Kenyan situation Chris will be taking part in the Kilimanjaro-marathon in Tanzania.
Bent: Is from Denmark, and is the oldest Wolfpack-member (60 yr). Bent has been racing on a bike all his life, and has also completed full triathlons.He is a youth racing-coach (and has trained a.o. Tour de France winner Bjarne Ris) and is working for the Danish Cycling association. The last few weeks the high Wolfpack-speed is getting a bit to much for Bent.
Janet: is the only female Wolfpack-member. She comes from New Zealand, but lives and works as a fitness trainer and -coach in Los Angeles, USA. Janet is by far the best femle rider on the Tour. She took part in the precious edition of the Tour d'Afrique, but broke her wrist in Ethiopia. This year she came back especially because she wanted to ride the part in Northern Kenya. You can imagine her disappointment when Kenya turned out to be nogo-area.