Ps - on drafting

I forgot to mention that I am not the only one on the roads making use of the drafting principle. It is not uncommon for local cyclists - on their way to or from their fields, or traveling to the next village- to suck in behind me, making use of my meager slip-stream. It is always fun to share the road for a while, and they think it is a hoot to ride with the crazy white guy. Often times their baggage is a bag of rice or something else like that, much heavier than what I am carrying, and their bicycles have fat, wobbly tires, but they have extraordinarily strong legs and reach amazing speeds for short periods of time. Often, just before turning off on their road, they will give a burst of energy and spurt out from behind me to show me up and then wave goodbye, laughing, as they drop off the pavement, onto a little pathway that winds off into the vast fields of millet.

If they stick with me for long enough for me to need another drink from my water bottle (every 3-5km), then I will slow down and pass the bottle over. They are usually grateful because they are doing more work to go that speed than I am. Very rarely, I wind up with someone going a long distance and able to keep up with me, but if so, I will also invite them to join me on my hourly break for a package of “Glucose Biscuits”. Glucose biscuits are what keep me going in between meals. A couple of these little packets have just enough sugar to keep me going for another hour, and at $0.10 each, I always keep my pockets full.

Sometimes, young kids (10-15 years old) will challenge me to a race. This is always lots of fun. They can usually beat me for a ways, but eventually, my skinny tires and the advantage of gears leave them behind. I always shout out encouragement as I catch them: “Allez-allez-allez! Tu vas le faire- poussez, poussez!” (Go, go, go! You can do it – push, push!) It is things like this that make me smile!