OF BIKE DONATIONS AND COOL KALAHARI NIGHTS

Saturday, April 26th;

The 3rd in a series of very successful bicycle donations in Africa was held today in Windhoek, Namibia. Billed as "Chris Wille's bike donation", this event featured the donation of 68 bicycles to 3 separate, very deserving recipients, ranging from a refugee camp located in Namibia, which houses thousands of refuges from other countries, to a local tuberculosis aid society, to a youth at risk group. The donations were well received, and very much needed. speeches were made by representatives from the TDA, the recipient organizations, and myself. It is humbling to hear how something as simple as a bicycle can and does change people's lives for the better.
a huge thank you to family and friends who kindly made donations to the tune of $6800.00

The donation ceremony was made possible by the hard work of one Michael Linke, an amazing person who has done wonders for the distribution of bikes, the training of local people in each local area to service and repair the bikes, a outstanding bicycle ambulance building and distribution program and a host of other good things. Michael is the founder of BEN, Namibia.
BEN stands for bicycle empowerment network. Please Google BEN, and BEN, Namibia, for more info on the amazing projects this group has on the go.

Pictures of the donation will be posted as soon as they are available...

As for the Tour....We have just recently arrived in Windhoek, Namibia. This signals the end of the latest section, called the Elephant highway. A few lucky riders saw elephants along this section, but all the racers saw was horses, goats, sheep, cows, and lots and lots of Armoured crickets...I was lucky to ride well and stay relatively healthy (How healthy can one really be riding over 160 kilometers (one hundred miles) at high speed day after day?) , and placed second overall in this section. I also am very fortunate to retain 3rd place overall in the whole race, the best placing by a Canadian in quite some time...

Nights have been cold in the Kalahari, prompting riders to bundle up in the morning, something we have not had to do sine crossing the Sahara in Sudan. Luckily, the temperatures warm up quickly after the sun has been up for a while. This makes for very pleasant cycling temperatures after the initial morning chill. On a recent day when we had to cover 207 kilometres, riders were horrified to find ice on their saddles. Many began to seriously debate the global warming theory at that point...

One section (the diamond coast), about 2,000 kilometers, and less than 2 weeks separate us from our arrival in Cape town, and the end of our remarkable 4 month journey across the African Continent. Its' been great.....More stories and pictures to follow...

Chris Wille in Windhoek, Namibia.

A tale of Armoured crickets,yellow goo, and bike donations

Armoured crickets? What next...? They are all over the A-3 Botswana highway we have been travelling. Big, black, six legs, ugly! Since the city of Maun, Botswana these icky creatures crawl out and converge on the tarmac by the millions. Most riders try and avoid running over them. Some sadistic cyclists, however have made it a sport of running over as many as they can. A sickening crunch sound ensues, and then a splatter of yellow goo all over their tire and front down tube- sick!! It's amazing how many of these creatures there are per kilometer..very creepy! 19 days left on the tour, and we wonder what is next!!

The swirling winds and cool temperatures we have experienced so far across the vast Kalahari have done little to slow the racer peloton down as we travel west towards Namibia. We will arrive in Windhoek, Namibia in 3 days. There, on Saturday, April 26Th, a large bike donation will take place. These bikes are badly needed by african aids healthcare workers, and represent the total number bikes that I have fund raised for. Thank you to all that have donated, and to those that may wish to donate; please contact the TDA office in Toronto via phone or e mail, and mention my name.

Cheers for now, Chris Wille ( stage winner today!) on the 2008 TDA.

Across the Kalahari

Rested and ready! Tda riders enjoyed a day off in Maun, Botswana on Sunday. A popular activity on the day was taking a scenic flight over the famous Okavango delta (very cool, lots of Giraffes, elephants, hippo's, loads of other animals, and vast swampy areas and water channels). other riders booked canoe trips in the delta, while others just relaxed by the pool, caught up on laundry, or caught up on eating and drinking...
Tomorrow our travelling road show heads out across the Kalahari desert. % days of riding will take across the desert, out of Botswana, into Namibia, and to the cosmopolitan town of Windhoek.
There we will be able to sample the German style food...should be interesting..wiener schnitzel unt sauerkraut anyone?

Our stay in Maun has been friendly and relaxed. Arriving a day early has allowed for an extra days rest, which will hopefully pay dividends down the road...

we have survived the Sahara in Egypt & Sudan. Experiencing the Kalahari will be interesting. Rumor has it there will be headwinds. No problem; we have had headwinds since Sudan, so we are quite used to them. The weather has been beautiful; hot and sunny every day, with the nights cool enough for sleeping. I will take that any day, accompanied by some great days riding, as opposed to snow and cold temperatures in Victoria......Burrrrrr!

Next entry will likely be from Windhoek, Namibia, our 9th country in Africa..

Cheers, Chris wille in Maun, Botswana.