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cleaned it and repacked it with grease. Fiona was leaving with her daughter for the day so
before she left, she gave me 4,000 kwacha as a gift and told me to help myself to anything
in the kitchen (I was polite and didn't touch anything including those delicious rum balls.)
She also gave me the address of Keith and Helen Koppart, a Canadian couple who lived in
Chingola just south of Chililabombwe.
After a big hugand thank you,Iwas offonmy first full day ofcycling in Zambia. I
didn't know if it was me or the bike, but something felt out of place. The bike felt sluggish
and heavy. I cycled slower than I thought I would on such a great road.
Alarm bells started to ring when the free-wheel wouldn't engage as I cycled for-
ward. Instead, my pedals would spin freely as if I was back-pedaling. A quick note: inside
the free-wheel there are two tiny metal teeth with springs that engage into grooves that al-
lowyoutodriveforward.Whenyouback-pedalyoucanhearaclickingsound.Thatoccurs
because the metal teeth ride the backs of those grooves. My problem was that those metal
teethwereslippingoutofthegrooveswhenIcycledforwardcausingmetospinmypedals.
This was perhaps the most serious mechanical problem I had to contend with thus
far. A temporary solution I used to keep moving forward was to back-pedal a couple of
rotations and then pedal forward until the teeth engaged. Once the teeth were engaged I
simply had to keep pedaling without any pauses. If I paused, I would have to repeat the
process of back-pedalling.
I soon passed the spot where Andrew met me the day before and continued onward
to Chingola, the site of one of the world's largest open-pit mines. Eventually I arrived in
the town and with Fiona's directions I made my way to the Kopparts' home. Mrs. Kop-
part answered the door and I asked for her husband, Keith. She immediately thought that I
wanted a tour of the mines.
I explained who I was, how I met Fiona and Andrew Harris, and then was quite
forward to actually ask if they would allow me to stay the night. She said it was OK and
quickly asked the cook to make a new place setting for me. We chatted for quite a while
untilKeithcamehomeforlunch.Whatalaidbackguy!Hewassointerestingtotalktoand
toldmethathehadworkedmostofhisprofessionallifeinvariousminesaroundtheworld.
He was presently the manager of the copper mine in Chingola.
The Kopparts were in the process of being relocated to Ghana, so everything in the
living room was in either boxes or was about to be sold. Keith told me to make myself at
home as he returned to his office. So to help pass the time, I played the piano that Helen
was trying to sell. She was delighted when her friends visited for I was advertising how
wellthepianosounded. Dinnertimearrivedandafteranincrediblemeal,Ilistenedtosome
music and then went to bed.
The next day turned out to be a rest day. I went with the Kopparts to Kitwe to
buy some souvenirs. Helen told me that the $2 necklaces she bought sold for over $60 in
Canada. We returned by lunchtime and after our meal, I spent the rest of the day really
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