'I didn't know you could rollerskate?' was the response from most people when I announced that me and Emily were skating across the Netherlands. Well, actually, I can't really skate! I dabbled in it about twenty years ago, but not recently. Emily had gone to a roller disco for her daughter's birthday party but nothing more than that.
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I can't believe we are fully into Autumn now. The leaves are brown and crisp, and the evenings getting dark and cold. I feel like not so long ago I was preparing for my summer adventures. Now, it's all over and a new chapter begins.
People say time flies when you are having fun, well I agree to an extent but when I think of all the places I have been, and all the things I have achieved, in a few months, it feels like years could have passed. With only a few days of running left to complete the cross-continental challenge, I was desperate to keep going and not be held back. But considering how much energy I had lost over the last couple of days, things weren't looking so great. Day 86 - 0km
I woke up early this morning so that I would be able to get back to the start point for the day, and hopefully manage to get some distance under my belt. I lay in bed and tried to figure out how I felt, if I was capable of running or not. After quite a bit of talking to myself, attempting to bully myself or fool myself into running, I came to the decision that I just could not run. I had no energy in my body and I probably wouldn't be going further than a few meters. So I just lay feeling sorry for my weary body. After having a day of rest in Lichinga, we drove back to the place where I finished running two days before. I planned on pushing through the last few hundred kilometres of running to get to the coast with no more days off. Thankfully the crowds of pushing and shouting people slowly decreased and the terrain changed for a few days but not all went so smoothly.
Keep reading to learn about days 78 - 85 out of 89 (November 16 - 23rd 2014) ... Getting away and having an adventure doesn't always mean a complete change in culture, climate and cuisine. I usually think it does, but this weekend I have discovered something new... there is a lot of fun to be had within hours of your home!!!!
There were multiple reasons for my first lone cycle-tour adventure, but the main ones were to get out on my new bike and learn all about it, and to have some time to myself which seems to be a rare occurrence these days. After a not so positive arrival in Tete, the hottest place in Mozambique at the hottest time of year, we were very lucky to be staying with someone who knew a doctor. Mike was extremely ill for a few days. All the symptoms of Malaria. I took a day off running to be with him as I was so worried on the first day. But once he had been seen by doctor and we knew he wouldn't die, I carried on running with the wonderful Robert Kazunga as support while Mike recuperated. Here the story continues with extracts from my diary of Day 69 - 77... (7th - 15th November 2014)
On May 22nd 2015, me and Emily Pitts will commence our rollerskate adventure, 200km across the Netherlands. Neither of us have skating experience. In March, I bought myself a pair of roller-skates and the training/learning began. Here are two videos. The first is my debut outdoors skating session. The second hopefully shows an improvement in my skating, after one month of practice.
We had a lovely break in Harare, meeting local people, eating delicious food, resting, doing interviews, visiting the SEED Project office and gearing the bike up to be able to carry more equipment. Me and Mike then set off again by ourselves while the team stayed in Harare. Here is the next instalment, from November 2014, day 61 - 68 of the trip.
After three and a half days of unwanted rest and meetings, my legs were feeling pretty seized up. We drove all the way back to where I was stopped running, and there we camped before starting again in the morning. I had now (at this point in the run) been running for two months and my body had no idea what I was doing to it. Here is my blog about day 51 - 60 (out of 89).
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