Guinea - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 128

The next morning I said bye to Erik and started to cycle on my own. In the early
morning mist, the temperature was rather cool and made for some beautiful photographs.
The smells, sights and sounds were intoxicating. It helped to take my mind off the road. I
would often stop in the middle of the road just to absorb the surroundings. The orchestra
of birds, the beauty of the butterflies and fresh smell of the tropical forest added so much
to the day's experience. Even the sudden downpour didn't deter me from the enjoyment of
cycling. When the rain started, I just stopped and popped open my umbrella and said the
Rosary.
Icameuponalargeriverandusedabargetocrossit.Iremovedmysocksandshoes
and lifted my bike onto its deck and waited for departure. When I arrived on the other side
of the river and back on the road, I put my socks and shoes back on. About 20 kilometres
from Nzérékoré, I decided to stop for lunch. As I ate my rice, Erik drove by in a taxi and
we just waved to each other. I finished my lunch and waited until the rain stopped before
I continued into town. I immediately was surrounded by dozens of children as I looked for
Eric. I met him as he was going to check on the progress of the repair job on his bike. I
went with him and saw the mechanic hard at work. The front rim was looking good and
almost re-spoked but he still needed to fix his forks.
I changed my day's plan. Instead of making my way to Lola to arrive by the late
afternoon,IdecidedtostaywithEric.WeapproachedtheCatholicMissionandweregiven
a room. We socialized with delegates from Benin, Togo and Senegal and then spent a quiet
evening just writing in my journal after dinner.
We decided to stay the next day as well. I met two Belgian animateurs (leaders/
organizers) who worked in the health sector and had lunch with them. I went to mass on
my own in the morning, which was said in the Mlinki language. The priest had a wicked
sense of humour for the congregation was continuously laughing. I spent the day strolling
in the market and bought some provisions for the next day.
My First Big Mechanical Set Back
Thenextday,October12,1992provedtobethegreatestmechanicalsetbackIhave
had thus far. About 2 kilometres from Lola, I felt a periodic skip with an accompanying
clicking sound coming from my chain. Just as I looked down to see what the problem was,
the chain broke, caught the derailleur and tore it off the bike's frame.
I slammed on the brakes and to my horror saw that the derailleur broke 2 cm below
the mounting bolt (probably from metal fatigue.) In other words the damage to the derail-
leur was irreparable. The broken derailleur then wedged into the free-wheel but thankfully