Redwood Road - Training Day 2

Ahh Redwood Road.  50 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain.  Day 2 of outside riding on February 10.  Stunning day, weather-wise, and I’m always amazed at how within minutes of leaving the house, well for me it’s more like hours because I ride so slow, that you can find yourself on a little two lane road with scenery like the one in this picture.

I was pretty happy when I took this picture because the serious climbing was behind me and I felt good!

Was a bit apprehensive starting out on this ride because I recently made a dramatic change to my diet and was concerned I wouldn’t have the energy to complete the ride.  Last week in fact, while happy with my shoulder, I was quite light-headed the last 10 miles of the ride.  Telling myself to remember to stop at red lights, you know, important stuff like that.

Well happy to report that the tweaks made to my diet during the week to prevent a reoccurrence on Redwood Road worked!

Bring on Mount Diablo!!

The Windmill Ride - Training Day 1

The Windmill Ride.  So named because when the Windmill in this photo comes into view the ride, or at least the difficult portion, is almost over.  It is cause for celebration, hence the name.

This ride is Day 1 of outside training and occurred February 3.  It is a relatively short ride, roughly 40 miles, and not much elevation gain but an important ride because it is the first outdoor ride since May 2012 when I separated my shoulder crashing during a training ride.

The training ride was in anticipation of the Grizzly Peak Century (Century rides are 100 miles in length) and I was at about mile 70 having a great day when my hand pump dislodged itself from my bike and a little rubber tube wrapped itself between the front forks and the wheel hub.  The tire froze snapping the handlebars to the left and down I went, right shoulder first.  25 mph to 0 in 0.5 seconds.

I was lucky.  Walked away with a separated shoulder and two cracked ribs.  Felt good enough to attempt the Grizzly Peak two weeks later.  Made 50 of the 100 miles.  Chalk that move up to dumb things men do.  Got a nice t-shirt though!

Back to the Windmill Ride.  I was really happy with how my shoulder performed over the 40 miles.  A little sore but certainly good enough to continue training!

You might notice the mountain in the background.  That’s Mount Diablo and is the training ride February 17.  It too is short in distance but it is a bear to climb.  But before Diablo I’ve got to tackle Redwood Road February 10.

Tour du Burundi Route

The Tour du Burundi, a 7 day 400 mile bicycle ride, takes us around the country in a counter-clockwise direction.  Use this map and the route description below to follow our daily progress.  Also see the elevation profile flowing the final day’s description to gain a sense of the climbing we will do.

Simon provided this description which I’ve included verbatim to give you a sense of his quirky personality, which I truly enjoy.

Sunday 19th May – Bujumbura (capital) to Nyanza Lac, 75 miles, far South of country, very hot day as in the plain at low altitude, gorgeous road along the lake, flat all the way.

Monday 20th May – Nyanza Lac to Rutana, 57 miles, South to Central South, vey hilly, will be knackered after the first day, and this will be another challenging one.

Tuesday 21st May – Rutana to Gitega, 42 miles, South Central to Central, short day, but we end up at our Homes of Hope (YFC) orphanage, so will have time to hang out with the kids, and also see the newly opened Gitega International Academy (first English-speaking boarding school in the country) as well as the orphanage school and medical clinic. i.e. we’ll actually have time to engage with people, have fun, will have very sore butts by then, not a hard day.

Wednesday 22nd May – Gitega to Muyinga, 57 miles, center of country to North East.

Thursday 23rd May – Muyinga to Kayanza, 65 miles, North East to Central North .

Friday 24th May – Kayanza to Cibitoke, 51 miles, Central North to North West, from mountains (all of the above for some of the days) to the hot sweaty plain again.

Saturday 25th May – Cibitoke to Bujumbura, 38 miles, of which we’d get out for 9 miles of them which are too bad for our bikes, would load them up onto the bus, back to the capital, not a long day, for celebratory naked riding of hippos in the lake by night.

The chart was created by one of the British riders so allow me to translate: 1 meter = 3.28 feet and 1 kilometer = .62 miles.

Introduction

Gitega International Academy (GIA), the first English-speaking boarding school in Burundi, opened in 2012.  Burundi, located in central Africa, and referred to as the heart of Africa not only because of its location but also because it is shaped like a human heart, is a country which has seen more than its fair share of trauma.  Like Rwanda, its sister country to the north, Burundi experienced years of civil war and a similar genocide - although Burundi's was more protracted, lasting 13 years.

When visiting Burundi a few years ago, the people told me: 1) They know that in order to be a player on the world stage the children must be taught to speak English (French and Kirundi are the primary languages); and 2) Africa does not lack natural resources, it just lacks leaders with strong moral convictions and integrity.

The Gitega International Academy addresses both those needs which is why I, along with eight other people, have committed to a seven day, 400 mile bicycle ride, in Burundi - the Tour du Burundi!  Our purpose is to raise awareness of the academy and also to seek out donations from people such as yourself who are interested in supporting a school dedicated to raising up generations of English speaking leaders with a strong moral compass that will lead Burundi to new levels of prosperity and peace never before seen in that country.  My goal is to raise $15,000.

Let me assure you, every dollar donated will go directly to the academy. My friend, Simon Guillebaud (pronounced Gill-bo) is organizing the Tour du Burundi.  Simon is British but has lived in Burundi for over 10 years and it is through his organization, Great Lakes Outreach (Africa has great lakes too), that donations will be made.  I trust Simon (hey, I'm travelling 10,000 miles to ride a bike with him so I must trust him) and you can trust him to get every penny of your donation to the Gitega International Academy.  Your donation is tax deductible.  You can read more about Simon's organization at http://www.simonguillebaud.com/.

So the question now is "How do I give?”  Grab your credit card, click here, and follow the instructions from there.

Should you have any questions send me an email.  I would love to chat with you.

Thanks so much!

Burundi Dave – burundidave@gmail.com