87th Day - Lusaka - Zambia

Well it's certainly been a long time since i have been able to access this site, obviously a lot has happened, and i hope to fill in the blanks at some time.

For now i will try and carry on as if we are all up to date, and only put in refs if necessary. We hit Capital of Zambia today, with some haste as, after another 5 days of riding we have earned a rest day.

There have been a few personal changes, as riders have left after doing their sections and have been replaced by new faces. we still number around 60, and as you would expect have formed into sub groups, based generally on things like age, nationally, sex, smell, weight, singing voice, since of humor, and weather they can ride a bike, though the latter is optional. Obviously my little band of brothers (Team Josh) have very high and exacting standards, and new riders are inspected from afar as well as up close and personal, before they can be excepted into the team, although being "in" or "out" is under constant review for most, but out of the question for some!

Today is the last riding day for the lovely Joe from UK, who has been with us for such a short time (about 24 days), so party time tonight!!

Some bright spark in the team thought it would be a good idea to "get an early start" so we could make the most of the day in town, now a "normal" start for me is 5.30 am, so i can get to what ever we are using for a toilet before the rush, or it overflows, pack up tent, pack away gear, stuff into Red Box, jump up and down on Red Box, risk double hernia lifting Red Box, and if time grab some Breakfast before hitting the road around 7ish. So a suggested start time of 6.30 meant that i was up at 4.45 to start the day! I made it on time, but had planned a little surprise for the others. My normal kit consists of camel back, camera bag, and my rack bag, i had a good ride for a while yesterday, so as i have had the "Mick" taken for the last 3 months about the amount i carry, i ditched all but the camel back, and greatly decreased the weight of my bike, with startling results for the others! 106k in 3 hours 42mins averiging 29kph