TdA Stage 60. The Tyranny of Completeness.
124km. Mzuzu to Corn Field Camp.
Almost 2000m of climbing today puts this as one of the three greatest climbing days of the trip. Somehow it doesn't seem so hard when it is spread out over a continuous string of rolling hills in lovely weather.
I rode in fog/cloud for the first 70kms, sometimes with visibility of less than 25m. It made the experience a bit dream-like (doesn't everyone have a fog machine on the set of their dreams?). I imagine that it might have been where the Wild Things live. The fact that I rode this stretch on my own made it perfect for the deep sort of meditation and reflection that I'd hoped to get on this trip. I'm not exactly certain what I'm hoping to achieve from all of this thinking; if I've learned one thing in life, it is that searching for clarity and answers through thinking is futile. The harder I strive to find it, the farther it gets. Ah, the tyranny of completeness.
I rode the second half of the day with Scott and Dennis. By this time the sky had cleared, giving us a spectacular view of the thousand colours of green that make up the landscape in Malawi. Beautiful. We've been through so many different countries and places and they have all been beautiful in their own way.
Our camp tonight is in a soccer field that is framed by corn fields. I went for a walk down a dirt path that divides one of the fields and found a house with a shady tree out front and a nice breeze. Perfect spot for a nap. This place is so tidy (I could swear the owner must sweep the dirt path) that laying on the dirt somehow doesn't feel dirty at all. I shut off my brain and just enjoyed the simplicity of the afternoon shade. Day number five of good health. That's really all that I need.
Almost 2000m of climbing today puts this as one of the three greatest climbing days of the trip. Somehow it doesn't seem so hard when it is spread out over a continuous string of rolling hills in lovely weather.
I rode in fog/cloud for the first 70kms, sometimes with visibility of less than 25m. It made the experience a bit dream-like (doesn't everyone have a fog machine on the set of their dreams?). I imagine that it might have been where the Wild Things live. The fact that I rode this stretch on my own made it perfect for the deep sort of meditation and reflection that I'd hoped to get on this trip. I'm not exactly certain what I'm hoping to achieve from all of this thinking; if I've learned one thing in life, it is that searching for clarity and answers through thinking is futile. The harder I strive to find it, the farther it gets. Ah, the tyranny of completeness.
I rode the second half of the day with Scott and Dennis. By this time the sky had cleared, giving us a spectacular view of the thousand colours of green that make up the landscape in Malawi. Beautiful. We've been through so many different countries and places and they have all been beautiful in their own way.
Our camp tonight is in a soccer field that is framed by corn fields. I went for a walk down a dirt path that divides one of the fields and found a house with a shady tree out front and a nice breeze. Perfect spot for a nap. This place is so tidy (I could swear the owner must sweep the dirt path) that laying on the dirt somehow doesn't feel dirty at all. I shut off my brain and just enjoyed the simplicity of the afternoon shade. Day number five of good health. That's really all that I need.
posted by tori at
1:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home