Cycling The Road Less Travelled

Good news. The infection now seems to be under control; the fever hasn’t returned, the sore throat is gone, the pain and swelling is significantly reduced and I can sleep through the night. A huge relief for us both. On the downside, my knee is visibly swollen and stiff, possibly a reaction to the antibiotics. While the doctor is confident that the swelling will pass, I still have not been able to ride. This is torture for me. We have dreamed of this for years, and now I have to sit on the truck and watch it slowly slip by. The emotional toll of not being to realize this dream is much more difficult then the actual physical toll of cycling from Cairo to Cape Town. Pain from physical exertion is temporary, this I cannot control.

Between the Kenya section being cancelled, the broken collar bone, and this recent illness, it really does feel like we are being put to the test. We were prepared to deal with exhaustion, with hunger, with cramps, with heat, with stomach illnesses. We weren’t expecting to have to deal with this much disappointment…twice. I’ll be honest, I knew that there was a possibility of falling ill or having an accident, but I never really thought we wouldn’t do the whole distance. I realize that sounds completely arrogant, I don’t mean it to be. It’s just that I believe that almost anything is doable if you believe you can. With the exception of the days we missed due to the collar bone/sickness, we have cycled every day in their entirety. Ironically enough, as confident as I as was that I would be able to physically cycle the whole thing, I didn’t think I would be able to handle the disappointment of not doing the whole thing. Now I realize that you “just do”, what choice do you have?…strangely comforting.

The plan now is to take it one day at a time. Crossing the finish line in Cape Town has taken on a whole new meaning for us. Wish us luck.