First let me say: Good luck Broad Street Runners! I hope everyone has a fun and safe race. If you're one of the folks unsure if you can do it, how about this for inspiration - I just crossed a country the size of Texas on my bicycle!

Yes, I made my goal - EFI in Botswana. Here's how the days developed since my last entry:

Mon. 4/26 148 K to a bush camp. Rode very hard in the a.m. with fellow American Stephanie Falkenstein (Like in most other sports, you perform so much better when you're with someone of higher skill than you). I can only push for so long though at this stage so I slowed a bit after lunch, let Steph leave me. Still done before 3 p.m., though.

Tues. 4/27 140 K. Again rode hard with a fellow American, Brian Rogers of Austin, Texas. We were humming along so well with the tailwind that he wanted to skip the lunch truck and get in to the restort in Ghanzi so I let him leave me. After lunch I floored it pretty well and got to the end of the race (140 K mark) at 1:06 p.m., a personal best. Beat the pants off one rider who left the same time as Brian and me and who has finished well ahead of me every day since I have been here. (I also beat that rider another time but two is when you know you're legit.)

Also, people pass each other all day long as one person stops, gets back on the road and passes people who passed him/her. This day only the racers (45k an hour MFs) and 3 other riders passed me. No one else who started after me passed me and I am very proud of that.

But here's the capper - Wed., 4/28 we were told if we had a good tailwind and it wasn't too hot we would try to push it to the border to Namibia. That was 180 K - 200 K depending on which map you read.

I was slightly freaked out but I'm shrugging at a lot of things these days. So I set off at 7 a.m. this day and finished 11 hours later (with stops) 211 K down the road and in Namibia. Bye Bye Botswana!

I did it, Philly. Crossed Botswana without getting on the truck. And I didn't have one moment of misery in that entire 211 K. Listened to Philly Dave's CD player before lunch, then waited for the doctors from Alabama, Traci Lynne and John Brewer, and rode with them and tour director Henry Gold the rest of the day.

The race ended 25 K before the border. The docs and I got there at 4:47 p.m., Henry had gotten there slightly ahead of us. When the three of us arrived at that mark Henry said everyone else had crossed the border and he didn't know if we'd make it. John, who has done EFI of the entire trip, was not getting on the truck to ride over the border to join everyone else. Neither were Traci or I. So Henry said, OK, we have to hoof it to the border and pray it stays open till six.

Hoof it after 10 hours? I was stressing a little but you adapt in Africa. So we did the last 25 K in 45 minutes. Wild. Border didn't close till midnight. How's that for drama?

Today was an easy day of 110 K to this town. My day was even easier because I rewarded myself with a motor-vehicle ride :)

We have two more days to Windhoek so I'll be back on for them and then we have a rest day. Talk to you then. Be well Philly and please comment here and/or e-mail me.

Posted April 29, 2004 02:32 PM