June 23

Remember that time you smiled with your entire body, rather, your entire being? I do, and it happened today…all day. I got an early start, leaving Andasibe by 8am with hopes to knock out the 90km before noon. Again, I started out riding in a slight mist. I have come to expect this and am beginning to enjoy it since it is so different than weather in Colorado. The 2 lane, perfectly paved road, flowed, climbed, descended, and meandered effortlessly. Jenna had called this road the “vomit road” because clearly she had not done it on a bicycle. The views of the valley below and the peaks across made it nearly impossible to focus on the road, until an approaching truck gave me a polite honk reminding me to pay attention.

The first 35km were mostly downhill, sprinkled with an occasional climb…a climb that was long enough to nearly wipe that goofy permagrin off my face…nearly. There were small villages every couple of kilometers. On one side of the road was a steep hillside going up and a steep hillside falling away on the other. “Mana una!” everyone would say as I passed them. “Salam!” I would shout back. This went on for 2 hours until about 11am, I had descended far enough that I was coming out of the highlands, and almost on cue, the sun popped out and never left. While I enjoyed the mist, the sun lit up the lush, vibrant green landscape. I’m sure Crayola has made a color based it.

At about 12:15 and 90 km later, I rolled into Antsampanana, which literally means “junction”. Cue the foreshadowing. Here, there is a road going north and another going south. This was my endpoint for the day…so I thought. Oh the irony. There was 1 hotel in town, which I found, and which I found was full. The day was going too easily so I knew there had to be a catch. Decision: take 1 step (10km) back to find the next closest hotel, or 5 steps (50km) forward to the next town of Vatomandry. Math. Can I average 12.5km / hr for the next 4 hours before it gets dark, even though I’ve already been riding for 90km and 4 hours? The hotel owner served me a plate of chicken bones and rice and a cold Coke (jet fuel) and by 12:30…I jumped.

The road to Vatomandry was equally up as it was down, with relentless hills. At first I tucked my chin with the intent to plow through. Due to the landscape, the only camping option would have been on the side of the road, something I preferred not to do. For the first 30 minutes I drove forward, barely looking up… until I saw my first full body wave from a group of children, yelling, “Mana un!” At that moment, I snapped out of my drive to re-appreciate the specter of the day that I was having. The spirit, kindness, and smiles of the people of Madagascar have been inspiring and carried me all the way to Vatomandry.  The 50km ticked away and by 4pm, I rolled into town. The check engine light was definitely flashing. I had ridden 7.5 hrs and 145km. I was shattered. The payoff? I dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean. Elation.