February 14 :: Louga, Senegal

February 14 :: Louga, Senegal :: 51km / 2688km total

Well, I had a choice today. Riding out of Zebrabar I could either backtrack 18km towards St Louis and pick up Highway 2 towards Dakar, or I could take a dirt road 17km South and pick up a secondary road to meet Highway 2 at Louga, a distance savings of about 35km but on a road of questionable ridability. When making decisions like this I usually opt for "adventure", so South I went, into the unknown.

The first 5km flew by and I was confidently predicting a big day, but then all went to hell. The road degenerated into sand, literally, that not even a mountain bike could've ridden. Oh well, I had plenty of time. Off the bike, on went the sandals, and I began to push. The sandy track divided and on the advice of the locals I soon found myself walking along the beach, the easiest way to progress through the sand. It went on like this for quite a while, and I started wondering how long my arms could handle the strain of urging the bike forwards. Just in time I spied the end of a gravel road, all good. Back on the bike the road soon turned paved, then East into the Harmattan. 32km of that, and just after 11am, I was in Louga, and I had to call it a day (heat).

Weather and landscape dictate the pace and nature of cycling trips, and you just have to "roll" with it. In Senegal I can't do long, steady days anymore, like I could through the desert, since it gets too hot from about 11:30am to 4pm. So, now its on the road by 7am for an allout hammerfest till 11:30, then calling it a day.