Travel Reference
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that was the only way I could fit in their evening's tight schedule. So after dinner, we
thanked the sisters and drove to the bar in the town and sat near the telephone. As we
waited, Jacques told me that before I left Bitam the next day, I had to register at the police
station which was located in the town office or else I could be sent back when I arrived at
a further checkpoint.
After eating breakfast with Jacques the next morning, I said goodbye to the team
andthanked them forallowing me sleep intheir home. Ileft before 8:00a.m. andcycled to
the town office. Once it finally opened, I was the first person to register and to receive the
stamp in my passport. By 9:00, I was off.
The road was excellent, a bit too excellent may I add, for I was speeding on my
descents and had a couple of close calls from veering into the trees at the bottom of the
curved road. Part of the safety problem was youthful exuberance/stupidity. The other part
of the safety problem was that my front tire was losing its tread and was not gripping the
road well.
What really captivated me during this morning's cycle, more so than on any other
day, was the lushness of the rainforest. It was unparalleled. As I came upon some private
homes, I was also fascinated that many of them had manicured lawns and pretty flower
gardens like what you would expect in Austria and Switzerland. I even saw a lawn mower!
(I was told that ever since they discovered oil in Gabon, imports skyrocketed.)
When I arrived in Oyem, I was pleasantly greeted with a paved road. I found the
Salesian Catholic mission and met two European volunteers, a Dutch woman who was
teaching with the sisters and a German man who traveled through Africa by truck but
couldn't return due to the political problems in Mali. He ended up staying at the mission
for months building a school for the bishop.
To my dismay, when I woke up the next morning I found that I had a flat tire and
a broken spoke both on my rear wheel. I postponed fixing it for I was about to be given a
tour ofthe workshops. At this centre, they taught boyswood-working and electrical trades.
They also had a library with books in several languages.
After the tour, I returned to my bike and had great difficulty removing the free-
wheel. After two hours of trying on the porch, I went into the garage and used their car-
penter's vice that was attached to a large workbench. Success! I decided while I was there,
to use the vice to hold my spare spokes as I cut them to size for the future. I then replaced
the broken spoke and cleaned and reinstalled the free-wheel. As I was about to start repair-
ing my flat tire, I was called for lunch. Food took precedence.
After my meal, I returned to quickly repair the flat tire and when completed, I in-
flated it and placed all my gear on the bike to see if the repair would hold. I left the bike
in my room and planned to check it the next morning. I finally took a long awaited shower
and visited the chapel to join the Fathers in evening prayer. After dinner, I spent my time
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