Old Legs Tour Angola 2024 – Day 13
Mika Lodge, Mwinilunga - The Recovery Rendezvous
This is Louise, folks, seated at a very Not-Epic desk in Harare, debating whether or not to upload the latest blog…
And the reason for that is that I received the Day 13 and 14 blog late on Friday evening, from Jaime who was hot-spotting off the last remaining dregs of Troy’s Zambian data, as the Old Legs camped (rather unglamorously) literally on the Angolan side of the border post. After which their data was exhausted, and the Old Legs have been incommunicado ever since. (Don’t worry, they’re fine, it’s just that their Starlink appears to have a slight technical hitch, and they will only be able to do something about it when they reach the next town. And that’s a few days away.)
So here is my dilemma – to post, or not to post? Because although I have The Words, there was not enough data to upload The Pictures. And whilst Adam, Jaime and I would like to think that our words are by far the most captivating bit, I suspect that the photos from Gary, Jess and Troy may have quite a significant part to play for everyone following the Old Legs from all over the world.
However, in order to try and keep up vaguely with the Tour, I decided to make an Executive Decision, and post Day 13’s blog, with the only image I have available to me, and I apologise in advance for this. It is a screenshot taken from a 4-second WhatsApp video that Laurie S. sent me. It is NOT the work of any of our 3 amazing photographers and I apologise profusely, but when things hit a pothole back home in Zim, we are famous for Making a Plan.
So, here’s Day 13. And I promise the next blog (Day 14 – hopefully with Pictures) will be back on track soon!
Old Legs Tour Angola 2024 – Day 13
Mika Lodge, Mwinilunga – The Recovery Rendezvous
When we stumbled into Mika Lodge on Day 12, the Old Legs were exhausted and ready to collapse. However, our weary groans soon turned to cheers as Ride Captain Adam announced a recovery day – we’d be spending the next day and night at Mika Lodge! It was like he’d declared a national holiday and, let’s be honest, we desperately needed it.
As we’ve said before, a recovery day really just means no cycling or driving, but there’s still a whole lot to get done, and as we sipped on Alastair’s early morning magical coffee (thanks La Lucie!) on the morning of Day 13, the tinkering began.
Our team’s got skills, folks! Adam and Nick fixed the black Isuzu’s back window, while Gus (The Plant Hunter) and Richard (The Caveman) scrubbed our bikes until they sparkled like new. Mark fixed the trailer shower, Laurie W repaired bike spokes, and Dave and Ant tackled punctures like pros. Jaime and Jess dust-busted everything in sight, Keegan and Naison reorganised Christopher (our trusty truck), and Gary, Laurie S., and Linda cleaned their cars until they shone like diamonds. Troy, our resident MacGyver, fixed boxes and crates like a boss.
After all that hard work, Ant whipped up a breakfast feast fit for kings (or in this case, a bunch of dusty, crusty, slightly insane, mostly old adventurers). His Antonio’s Scromlet (a culinary masterpiece) disappeared in seconds. With wide eyes, Naison observed every movement, eager to pilfer the recipe for his own kitchen back home.
Jaime, Linda, and Laurie ventured into the dusty, bustling mini-metropolis of Mwinilunga, alive with brightly painted little trading stores, blaring music, and bespoke shop names like Chik A Abu Minimart and Neehazam Investments, in search of essentials like chocolate (priorities people!). You’ll be amazed at what the resilient and strong line of noble Selby women are capable of when it comes to shopping. They found everything…except shampoo. But we are not called the Old Legs for nothing – who needs shampoo when you’re Doing Epic? We’ll just stink it out a bit longer.
On their triumphant return from the big smoke, Ant had prepared a snack-tacular spread of cheese, biscuits, and his famous Gentleman’s Relish (which we’re pretty sure has healing properties). Richard even shared some biltong donated by his daughter Nikita (thanks, Nikita!).
On the sickness front, most of us are on the mend, but Keegan’s now sniffling, and Richard’s down for the count (maybe that’s why he shared his biltong). Fingers crossed we leave this bug in Zambia as we cross into Angola!
All in all, our recovery day was a resounding success. We fixed stuff, set goals, and are ready to tackle the next leg of our adventure. Bring it on!
We have been overwhelmed by your support from all over the world, and we simply couldn’t do this without you – thank you for following the Old Legs as they journey to Angola. And thank you for being part of The Power Behind The Pedals!
If you’d like to donate, here’s the link: https://oldlegstour-gdg-j1141n.raisely.com/donate
Until the Old Legs are back again (with Photos!),
Have fun, do good, do Epic!
#OldLegsTour #Angola2024 #PedallingForPensioners #HaveFun #DoGood #DoEpic