The Congo - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 196

Within the hourit actually began to rain heavily.Fuck it. Inan oddway Ienjoyed it
even though I knew that the rain was making the road one hell of a challenge. For the next
52kilometres,theroadwasliterallyaseaofmud.Itwasunbelievablyslipperyandbecause
it was so hilly, it made my Senegalese border crossing experience like a stroll in the park.
A couple of English missionaries drove toward me in their 4 by 4 Land Rover
and stopped to chat. It seemed so bizarre for there I stood straddling my bike completely
drenched in the pouring rain as we casually exchanged pleasantries. Before we parted, the
woman offered me a red delicious apple which I gladly accepted. As soon as they left to
negotiate the mud hills, I remained in the centre of the road in the relentless rain enjoying
the sweetness of my apple.
Iresumedcyclingandverycautiouslyheadeddownthehill.Tocontrolmydescent,
Ihadbothwheelsrigidlylockedanddraggedbothfeetontheground.IfeltlikeIwasskiing
in the snow. There were several occasions when my wheels jammed full of mud which
forced me to dismount. I simply lifted the fender and scooped out the packed mud with my
fingers. At one point, I actually snapped my rear fender in half. I strapped the remaining
half of the fender away from the wheel and continued onward.
Atthe30kilometre-to-gomark,Istoppedforalateluncharound2:30p.m.Bythen
the rain stopped and I found a place to enjoy my food. Even though I was caked in mud,
I only washed my hands before eating. After a quick lunch, a passer-by helped me as I
cleaned my chain to remove the excess mud.
From that point on, the cycling became a little easier. Even though the gradient of
the road tapered off, I still maintained a relatively slow speed. This was for many reasons.
First, I had to address the adverse effect that the accumulated mud had on my brakes' poor
response to gripping the rims. Second, my free-wheel was a mound of mud which preven-
tedmefromchanginggears.Finally,Istillhadtocontendwiththeinnumerablepuddlesall
over the road.
Contrary to what I did in the past which was to negotiate around these puddles, I
decided to slowly cycle through their centres. I did this to clean the rims of mud for my
brake pads to function. Another reason was that I wanted to lubricate the mud still under
my fender for I was afraid that if I went too fast, the friction between the tire and the dried
mud would generate enough heat to blow my tires.
As I slowly made my way through the puddle minefield, to my amazement I came
upon a paved road. I started to cry tears of joy. Before I sped off, I checked my wheels.
I noticed that all my puddle-cycling actually helped wash away a layer of mud from un-
der the fenders. This allowed both wheels to spin freely without fear of overheating. So I
mounted the bike and pushed off. My speed quadrupled. I pumped the brakes periodically
to dry them out and they quickly returned to normal. As the mud began to dry, it fell onto
the spinning wheels converting my bike into a weapon shooting mud projectiles in front of
me and behind.