Senegal - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 96

variety ofsize, colour and intricate patterns. Needless to say,it was a wonderful distraction
from the task of cycling.
This Garden of Eden did have a flaw though, i.e. the condition of the road which
became progressively worse…for motorists. The numerous potholes forced drivers to de-
tour around them causing many cars to slow down to an almost crawl. As for me, it was a
non-issue for the space provided between potholes allowed me to simply manoeuvre my-
self around them without altering my pace.
I cycled 65 kilometres past Kaolack and stopped in Birkelane where I visited the
Catholic mission. As I waited for the priest to ask permission to pitch my tent, I wrote
an article to Mr. George Gross, a sports columnist at the Toronto Sun newspaper hoping
it would get published. To pass the time, I also wrote in my journal and ate some dinner
(bread and bananas.) At 9 p.m., the priest arrived and I asked him if I could put up my tent
on the grounds. He said not to bother and told me to sleep in the guest room. He was very
sociable and we chatted until it was time for bed. I took a quick a shower and then went to
sleep.
When I awoke the next morning, I joined the priest for prayers. He asked me if I
wanted to eat breakfast with him…need I be asked? After a light-hearted conversation, I
thanked him and handed him a Canadian lapel pin. I returned to my room to retrieve the
bike and said my final good-bye.
The road to Tambacounda was excellent with only a little traffic to contend with.
Again, I was captivated with the scenery. However, there were two noticeable differences
from the day before. First, the sky was filled with puffy white clouds- the ones you can
stare at for hours. Second, I noticed more of nature's sounds. Aside from the birds' songs,
the sounds of the trees being rustled in the wind and of distant animals calling across the
fields caught my attention. It was like a wonderfully textured symphonic piece of music.
Included in these natural textured sounds was the vibrant Senegalese music. A pat-
ternquicklyformed.WhenIcycledthroughatypicalvillage,Iwouldhearthemusicloudly
being played. As I cycled beyond the village, the volume would diminish and would be re-
placedbythesoundsofnature.Then,asIapproachedthenextvillage,theirmusic'svolume
wouldovertakethesoundsofnature.Itfeltliketwosoundtracksweresimultaneouslybeing
played and the DJ was turning the knob from one track to another. At specific times when
entering and exiting a village, the sounds were perfectly balanced in a New Age-sort of
soundtrack (Senegalese music with bird sounds in the background). This was an incredible
pattern to experience and it occurred numerous times in the day (and for weeks on end).