Guinea - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 126

internal discomfort. I paid closer attention to the foliage and noticed the intensity of the
area'slushnessandfragrancesweregreater.Ialsonoticedthatthecharacteroftheroadhad
changed to include longer climbs and sharper descents.
Erik was voicing his concerns regarding his front tire and was afraid that it might
blow and throw him off the bike. So as a precaution, I stopped and lent him my helmet.
We continued on without incident and finally arrived in Sérédou. The decent to the village
wasverysteepandwhenweenteredwemetsomechildrenwhoescortedustotheCatholic
mission. There we ate what we had on our bikes and were invited to attend their prayer
meeting. Afterward, we were taken to a furnished room that the visiting priest or political
official would use.
I must note that this whole day and especially in Sérédou, Erik and I met many
Liberian refugees. Even though there were many camps set up by the UN in the area, once
they registered they were not permitted to leave. It seemed they were in an UN-sponsored
internment camp.
The next day proved to be a very bizarre day. Before saying good-bye, I noticed
thatmyKwik-Fixhandlebarbagholder'scablewasbroken.Slightlydismayed,Ileftbefore
Erik who wanted to start later. He eventually caught up to me at the 10 kilometre mark and
passedme.Atthe15kilometremarktherewasasmallschoolvanloadedwithchildrenthat
was stalled. I got off my bike to see if I could help. The driver told me that if he could get
the van to the top of the hill, he would roll the van down the other side and get it started.
Weallstartedtopushandinnotimewesucceeded.Forsomereason,thisgavemerenewed
energyandonceIhoppedbackonthebike,Iestablishedanexcellentrhythm.Inoticedthat
Erik stopped at the 20 kilometre mark for lunch, but I felt strong and yelled from the road
that I was going to continue. I stopped for lunch at the 36 kilometre mark.
Pulling my First MacGyver
As I cycled, I kept thinking of how I could repair the cable for the handlebar bag
holder with the spare parts that I had. In the spirit of that great improviser from the TV
show MacGyver , I decided to use a spoke and bend it around the gooseneck of the handle-
bars. It worked like a charm and lasted for years well after the tour (Note to self: take the
time to think problems through before trying to solve them).
A Model Reaction
Just as I got into a great rhythm, I suddenly heard my name being called. I turned
around to find Erik's bike on the road and him circling it with his head down as if his bike
justdied.IreturnedtofindErikslightlycutupandhisfrontwheelbuckled.Ilookedathim