Biking in the void

On Tuesday we’ve done the last stretch in Zambia, to reach the four-country corner between Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. There we took the ferry over the Zambesi river to Botswana. From the border town of Kasane we rode the 650 km to Maun in 4 days, two days with side winds in Southern direction, and two days with a very nice tailwind to the west.
Botswana has a size comparable to France, there are living only 1,6 million people (and 800.000 elephants) Riding your bike through the country you hardly see any people, only in the few villages you pass, you see someone. The much exercised Coca cola stops, we’ll have to forget in Botswana.
Or African standards Botswana is a very prosperous country, in the cities there are big supermarkets with everything you need. Most of the TdA-riders use these opportunities to stock up on all the food they like. I left the local Spar with a bag full of fresh milk, chocolate, pastry, and lots of other goodies.
I’m in a good biking shape right now. There are no more medical issues I have to think about, so I get on my bike every morning sharp and shiny, ready to consume the kilometers that are in front of me.
Next week we’ll be crossing the Kalahari desert, on our way to Namibia . One of the items on the menu is the longest stage: 207 km to the border.

Fuel in the tank

This text is about eating. In the normal life you do this at least three times a day, and mostly don’t give it to much attention. You eat what you need, and you go on doing the things you were doing.
During the Tour d’Afrique this approach is completely different. Eating and drinking are of the utmost importance, it is the fuel that powers the engine you have running all day.
What does an average TdA-rider consume every day? At breakfast I take a bowl of oatmeal, about four sandwiches with peanut butter or jam, and tea. After that I fill my water bottles and camel bak with appr. 4 liter of water or sportsdrink, I put a few energy bars in my bag, and off I go. After three hours (around 10.00h) the lunchtruck is waiting for me, with tuna-sandwiches, tomato-salad, peanut butter and lots of fruit. This is consumed in large quantities. After the stage there is a big pan of soup waiting, which gives you the opportunity to replenish the salts you lost during the day. I take at least three bowls of this, together with more bread. Dinner is made up of potatoes, pasta or rice, and a meat/vegetable-sauce. Like hungry wolves we devour this, most of the riders are back in the queue for a second helping very fast.
This is what the TdA-organisation supplies us with, everybody is supplementing in there own way. If we pass a supermarket (which happens more often since we’ve entered Zambia) the complete peleton dives in the store and gets out with lots of goodies like chocolate, milk, yoghurt, cookie, fruit juices, etc.
As can be expected with something important and vital, there is a lot of talking and criticism about the food: the vegetarians say the meals are to much the same, the meat-eaters wan’t to have the food the veggies are getting, everybody say there is to little at lunch, etc. I think it does not matter what you put on the table and how you prepare it, during an endurance event like the Tour d’Afrique, there will always be a lot of fuss about the food.
Being away from home for more than three months now, the conversations are more and more about the food you’ll have when you get back home, people can talk about this for hours.
Whatever you eat, it will never be enough to replenish the energy you used during the day. If I look at my colleague riders (and if I see my own body) they have changed a lot since we left Cairo on January 12. Of course this goes for my own body just the same. When I get back home, I think that, for the first time in my life, I have to start working on a weight problem.