27/04/93 (8km) - Up at 4.45am (errkk!). Got to the bus OK for a fairly uneventful journey (in contrast to the last Karonga - Lilongwe trip) [my friend Mark and I had brought three bikes back from a cycle trip to Chitipa as his sister had caught a car ride home. Not only did we find we were short of money for the bus fares - I forget what we did to solve that one though I remember getting no takers when we tried to sell Mark's garish sunglasses - but we were then hassled at a checkpoint as the policeman thought we'd come over the border from Tanzania without passports. Luckily we managed to persuade him that we could not have managed it with three bikes for two people (he may have wanted a bribe, but we had absolutely no money left!)]. Spectacular views on the route down to Chiweta. Pity I won't be cycling up this way. First cycling of the trip, to Aiden's house - now if all the days were about 5-6km! Karonga's grown since I was last here and they've done all the roadworks. Still the same old bus station though - mud, mud, mud! Other main memory of the place: powercuts, 5 in one evening.
28/04/93 (20km) - Thanks to having a lift arranged I could have the last long, lazy morning for a while. The KRADD (Karonga Rural Agriculture Development Department I think) vehicle was supposed to arrive between 9 and 10, so about 12.30pm was pretty good. After fitting the bike in the back (two people in their already) I got in the cab with Mr Njoka. We soon had 8 people in the back, hope the bike is OK! People here don't know that sitting on my back derailleur is likely to derail my trip. I remember the road quite well [I had bike up it the previous year] - or do I mean that going up in a vehicle brought back the full horror! At least tomorrow's another day.
They dropped me at Stewart's around 3pm so I took the chance to test run the bike about 10km north. Then a bit of relaxing before Stewart came in with news of a party - an official do for the District Commissioner and his Assistant leaving.The promise of free drink was enough for two Glasweigans so off we went.
29/04/93 (110km) - Not such a good idea those beers! I had a fairly relaxed breakfast so I could go with Stewart to the hospital for official photos and stamping of the form [in the end these photos went missing, the form refers to the sponsor form I carried to get the signature of every other volunteer in the country - about 75 at the time]. Then "The Beginning" - though the first stage did not last long before Malawi Broadcasting Company (MBC) drew up and did a quick interview [MBC, the only radio broadcaster in the country, had heard what I was doing via the dignitaries I'd met the previous night and did an interview for their morning show]. A bit of rain on the plain but less sand than last time, OK for cycling - if I was fit. Beginning to feel a bit rough after 40km. Bit of trouble with the bike - the outer tyre split exposing a herniated inner so I attempted to seal it with surgical tape and pieces of old tube: lets see if it lasts.
The further I dropped into the rift [great rift valley] the more I can't believe we came up it. In fact I start feeling so bad I wonder how I'll get up the Livingstonia escarpment tomorrow. Peanuts don't help by sitting on the bottom of my stomach but drinking plenty of water and an oral rehydration solution (ORS) sachet help to stabilize things. And don't look now, the herniated tyre is getting worse.
Eventually the back tyre goes with a bang - but it's OK as I'm sure I'm only a few km from Aiden's. After pushing the bike 10km I'm about to kill someone - but Aiden's houseworker knocks up tea and food and all is well with the world again - except that the power goes off permanently at 7pm.
30/04/93 (115km) - Sleep is a great healer so again I'm ready to take on the world. The road from Karonga to the foot of the escarpment is less boring than the Nkhotakota lakeshore (more lake views) but is hot and the road is in great need of repair [it was not that old at this time either]. Still feeling rather lethargic but a few good stops for ORS and soft drinks (soda/pop for the American readerskeeps me going.The trouble with this route is that you see the hill from about 50km away and it gets closer very slowly.
Feeling very tired near the end of the flat road - but seem to get a bit of adrenalin while going up [this road was an engineering marvel when it was built in the early 20th century, a zig-zag track straight up a very steep escarpment with - I think - 22 hairpin bends numbered from the top]. Lots of low-geared grunt, a long stop between bends 17-16 and 9-8, various photostops and I'm not much quicker than a guy pushing his black bike. I only have to push a short way between bends 7-6 where the going is steep and the surface gravelly.
It's getting dark and there is still the final climb to the mission - what I forgot was the 5km on the flat first: I hope there's space at the Stonehouse. My fears are realized when I arrive (in pitch dark) - 2 big vehicles. Luckily they fit me in the end room of the museum and after a shower and tea kwambiri [kwambiri: lots of] I'm nearly human. Grrrowwwwllll - only nearly!
01/05/93 (75km) - Woken in the early hours by rain beating on the roof - that'll mean more trouble with mud in the morning, just like my last visit here. Up early but no sign of the cook no matter though, it's pouring down outside. As the morning goes on the rain keeps coming, the cook doesn't. Eventually I get rice porridge and tea (more like lunchtime though) and the cloud recedes enough to get a view - definitely time to be gone.
As expected it's tough getting down to the Rumphi road - thick clay jams everywhere; at least it will be better on the road - wrong!!! Everywhere is mud, thick or thin, so the bike needs to be pushed on half the downhill sections as well as all the ups. Another low point: how will I ever get to Rumphi shoving a bike through these conditions [as far as I remember I was seriously tempted to lob the bike in the drainage ditch, if there would have been any other way to travel. There wasn't.] Gradually things get better [as the road surface dries], though - some progress can be made by sticking to the rocky bits ("who cares if it trashes the bike" is the prevailing attitude). Uphills are a low gear slog but downs are OK - the bike is grinding an graunching though with grit replacing oil.
Finally I reach the head of the valley and barring one big climb (push!) and a few newly graded bits reduced to mud it's (almost) all downhill - and a basically good road. Lucky really as time is not on my side. Again got to the destination at dusk - for a much needed shower and a good feed. Good end to a very tough day!
02/05/93 (75km) - Guess what I wake up to (except a big pile of washing to be done!) - rain. Again it hasn't rained for a week [this is the tail end of the rainy season in Malawi] -just my luck. Take the morning to get organised: wash clothes, clean bike etc (bike cleaning a major undertaking). Then of course it's lunchtime so I stay for a meal - I'll need to keep up a fair pace this afternoon.
Cycling is fairly easy - a lot of flat, and cool weather. Start to feel really tired 15km short of Ekwendeni but at least I've done the last 20km [Ekwendeni to Mzuzu] several times before so I survive the slog. Noone's around at St Johns so I head to the club [Mzuzu Golf Club, social center of the city] - naturally the VSO contingent (plus various friends and relatives of Yvonne) were in residence. A meal and a few drinks rounded the day off well.
03/05/93 (110km) - As this is St Johns [a Catholic community with hospital, convent and church] it is difficult to sleep in with the 5.30am bell. Good breakfast and a fairly early start into the gloom. Not much variety of weather (grey with rain or grey without rain), scenery (trees) or cycling (long up, swift down) until after Chikangawa. Pause at the trading centre there to entertain 50+ kids with a few sweets, then on my way and soon onto the old road to Mzimba - OK dirt (except a few rough bits) taking me off the plateau and into the sunshine - at last!
A stop on the road to soak up the sun and appreciate the lack of civilization/ deforestation [it was rare to go far from human habitation in much of this country] breaks up the rest of the trip. Find the hospital OK and tour the town after a shop. Quiet evening writing (plus Led Zeppelin and REM on the CD!) and an early night.
04/05/93 (150km) - Promised to be a tough day today - but feeling good as I set off under cloudless blue skies. Will it be so good in the hills? By the time I get to Chikangawa I still feel good, and the skies - though not clear - are still blue. All the "up hill and down dale" to Mzuzu seems a lot less tough, I'm fit at last. As I near Mzuzu Aiden passes in an artic [18-wheeler] with an obliging driver who slows so we can chat, and this breaks the monotony of the last tough uphill stretch. A dinner of milk and yoghurt at Mig's (Ren has arrived to find Lisa away [Ren replaced me at work, he was visiting the VSO dentist in Mzuzu for orientation, she would have replaced me if I had not extended my service for 6 months]) followed by a visit to the dental department and an interview with MBC kills 2½ hours - then off again.
Beautiful run down towards Nkhata Bay, then a steep shortcut to the Kawalazi Road - the dirt here is fairly flat and the going OK. I'm nearly run off the road by MG11 fresh from a political meeting at Kawalazi [this was the licence plate of one of a fleet of nearly new black Mercedes used to chauffeur cabinet ministers] but enjoy riding through the tea in the evening [Kawalazi is and enormous tea estate]. Cath is very welcoming - lovely house, good food (and lots of it!) and a pleasant chat; then another good night's sleep. A good day.
