Gearing up for the race to Kilimanjaro

Posted on 20 July 2009

We were greeted like long lost friends when we arrived back at the Southern Sun. All the staff knew us personally and asked us how our Zanzibar break was.

A personal welcome note left on the writing desk of our rooms, by the GM, Adam Fuller, made us feel like we were celebrities. Caroline was treated to a gift of fabric and instantly started designing herself a new dress.

Playtime was over for Marc and me as we got stuck in to the maintenance of our steeds. We were still awaiting the new rim which had been couriered from South Africa for Marc, which also had a care package of a carton of Peter Stuyvesants and a fresh batch of Game and chocolate! The rim became a problem at customs but the brilliant work of Dylan and his team from Vodacom had it released in no time. Marc had to sit without his passport for 24 hours, which for anyone in a foreign country can bring on a bout of anxiety.

After two days of preparation and repairs we were ready for our next leg of the Pedal2Peak Charity Cycle Tour. For the first time on tour we had a deadline. We had six days to cycle the 500km to Moshi, which would leave us with two days rest before starting to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. This left no room for error or injury.

Dylan Lennox organised a press conference for us and we were snapped by the press cycling past the Southern Sun donned in our new Vodacom riding caps, exclusively embroidered with “Vodacom VIP customer.”

Dylan and fellow Vodacom employees treated us to one last night in Dar es Salaam, ending up at a karaoke night at O’Willies Irish Pub. Feeling shy we stuck to our beers.

The next day we had to say goodbye to the extravagance and hospitality of the Southern Sun Dar es Salaam, and loaded our kit on our Vodacom escort back to Chalinze. Caroline took a bus to Arusha and booked her safari to the Ngorogoro Crater, while Marc and I slogged the pedals to reach Moshi in time to rest our legs for Kili.

We were on the road again.






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