Ghana - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 146

behaviour to the government's response to other parties' rallies. Thankfully, the elections
were extremely peaceful and I just had to contend with only this asswhole.
Shortly after I resumed cycling, I had a second mishap. As I plodded along, a bus
cut off a cyclist who swerved into me. I hardly felt the collision because of all the padding
my gear provided. Luckily my total weight was substantially more than his so I didn't fall.
However, he ricocheted off me and onto the road. I stopped to see if he was injured and
thankfully he was fine.
It is said that all bad things happen in three's, so I guess I met my quota when I
encountered my third mishap. After receiving directions to the cathedral, I pushed on and
shortly after rear-ended a car that suddenly stopped. Of course the driver never felt it and
thankfully the bike was OK. When I arrived at the cathedral I was told that there wasn't a
place to stay for the rectory was full. The priest directed me to the YMCA down the road
whereIstayedfor$1pernight.Sincetherewerenoshowers,Ijustchangedoutofmycyc-
ling clothes and went for a quick dinner at a roadside stall.
ThenextmorningwasthefirsttimeinAfricaIcelebratedmassinEnglish.Thecel-
ebrant's homily dwelt in part on the current election and simply encouraged the people to
vote for the candidate who had humility and not ego. After mass, I went to the Canadian
High Commission on foot. I asked a man for directions and he insisted on driving me.
Within minutes he dropped me off at the gate. Once I entered, I met John Holmes at the
embassywhowasmosthelpful.BeforeIleft,heinvitedmetotherecreationcentertomeet
his family the following Sunday.
I strolled around Accra and noted the locations of the UNICEF office and the US
InformationServicewhereIwastoldIcouldwatcharecordingofthe1992WorldSerieson
video. I made my way to the town center and eventually came upon several bicycle shops.
I was quite excited at first when I found a derailleur for sale. Unfortunately it was quite an
old model and was not compatible with my chain. On my way back, I visited the Ghanaian
TimesandwasaskedtoreturnonSundayforaninterview.IreturnedtotheYMCA,rotated
mytiresandcleanedmybike.Iwashedupandthenmademywayfordinneratmyfavorite
local street vendor.
After waking up at 6:00 a.m., I packed the bike, shaved and dressed for Sunday
mass. I cycled to the cathedral and asked permission to leave my unlocked bicycle some-
where in the rectory. Father Pius Kpeglo not only gave me permission but also invited me
to stay in the rectory for the next few days. He offered me breakfast and then we headed
together for the 9:15 mass. After the three hour service, I left for the Ghanaian Times and
had to negotiate through roads that were full of people who were lined up for voting. I
eventually arrived at the newspaper and was interviewed by Mr. Maxwell Ayamba, a staff
reporter. The article was published a couple of days later.