Dounghal to Labe - Day 215

Date: March 21st, 2010
Distance: 102km
Country: Guinea
Song of the Day: Headlong - Queen

I woke up early, as I heard the other men staying in the villa stirring. I didn't see them though. They must have been up earlier than me. It was a good morning though. I had a mango and some peanut butter bread on the back porch. I could see down into the little mist covered valley below. I kind of like some of the crazy places I end up at.

It was only supposed to be 60 kilometers to the main road. Plus it should have been mostly downhill. I was so ready for that. Downhill is apparently a loose term, though. I do think I lost altitude, but it was up and down a lot. The roads were still terrible. I actually preferred a slight uphill to a steep downhill. All the dirt has been worn away in the steep sections. That leaves just the bare rock that makes up the mountain. Not exactly easy going. I make better time in going a bit uphill than a lot down hill.

I also don't crash. About 4 klicks out of Dounghal I lost it. Going (slowly) down a steep and rocky section my front tire caught on a rock, twisted. I did my best superman impression and slammed into the ground. I would like to take a minute to thank my protective gear. Yeah, I wear a helmet, but in this case that didn't help. It was the gloves that saved me. I landed on my hands hard enough to bruise the heels of my palms. I didn't grind sand and gravel into them though, for which I am glad, because of the gloves. I did wear a bit of skin off my right elbow and knee though. Still nothing major broken on either me or the bike, so I kept going. Just not a great way to begin the morning.

The rest of the way to the main road was a pain. I really think these are the worst roads I have been on so far. It is a combination of the inclines, rocky and sandy conditions, plus the length. It is 250km of bad roads. It felt great to finally be back on the paved road. From that point on I just cruised into Labe. It is so good to go fast again.

In town I found a cheap place to stay. The cyber cafe was closed though. So maybe I will stay here and rest a day. I can go there tomorrow. Plus that will give all my scrapes an bruises a chance to heal.

-Dravis