Halfway Down

It’s hard to believe that we have now done half the distance of this trip; pedalled through 5 countries and been on our bikes for two months.  Several bouts of diarrhoea and some nasty saddle sores in, we remember days at home when we couldn’t really believe that we were going to start this adventure, let alone contemplate being half way.

So many lessons have been learnt – Lizzie has learnt not to tighten all the screws on her bike (for example those that set the limits for the gear cable) and Ali has fine tuned his tyre changing with 15 punctures.  We know that duct tape can solve nearly everything and that if you don’t have any sensation in your left hand for a few weeks – eventually it will come back; that a tent can often be better than a hotel and that peeing outdoors is often better than in; that Ethiopians have great aim;  that the race to the front of the breakfast queue is the most important race in the day;  that skinny cyclists can eat A LOT; that Saint George beer tastes better than Dashen; that beetroot and diarrhoea don’t mix well; that chocolate can make anything seem better (and that M&M’s keep better in the heat than Snickers); that  it is possible to go from dirty to (averagely) clean in 3 wet wipes and that you don’t need to shower nearly as often as you think you should.

We are looking forward to the second half and know that there are many more lessons to come!

Halfway through the miles, we are also just over halfway towards our fundraising target.  We are so grateful to those who have been supporting us, and helped us raise nearly £6,000 for the three charities that we are fundraising for.  For those of you who are planning on sponsoring us, but have yet to find the time – get on it!  (thanks)