Today’s ride was for Josua. The Kipling Lodge (where we slept last night) and its staff were so lovely that we decided to stay through lunchtime and only have a 20 mile day into Jinja. The terrain was a mixture of small Jeep trails and then the highway which wasn’t as bad as I thought … Read more
I realized I have forgotten to say who we are riding for each day. Day one was for Ssenyonga Jane, the one who has been in and out of the hospital in the past month or so. It was so good to see her healthy the other day and in her school uniform. The second … Read more
Well, I started sweating at 7:30 when we woke up to start packing and didn’t stop until about 8 pm after I had made us some dinner using our alcohol stove…thankfully using our alcohol stove. Last night we went to make dinner and realized I had bought white gas – the wrong kind for the … Read more
Well, I didn’t sleep last night….At all. My mind kept switching between English and Luganda and I was thinking of all of the things I forgot to put in a place where I would have access to them in my bag. It was kinda a rough night. When we got up and ready, Vincent and … Read more
Wow. Africa has already kicked my butt and we haven’t even left yet. Between canceled flights, lost luggage, lack of food and electronics that needed to be replaced at the last minute, I’m honestly feeling pretty discouraged. We start pedaling tomorrow and it feels like a daunting task. My bike has more weight on it … Read more
I actually Googled this phrase and this is what came up: I don’t know about ‘something brave’ but this is definitely something I have never done before. I have never left my job for two months. I have never been away from home for this long. I have never NOT slept in my own bed for … Read more
These are my words for this year. Girl, Be Brave. I will repeat them over and over again to myself as I tackle both small things (like entering a room of strangers or biking in bear country), or big things (like asking for support and riding my bicycle in a foreign land). I wonder if … Read more
Chaos…yes, that’s the right word. Dusty, crowded, smoky, intriguing, beautiful chaos… I set foot in Uganda for the first time on foot in a frantic line-up at the Visa station. I had no idea where to go or what to do so I just followed the crowd and got yelled at a couple times. I … Read more
I melted when the little ones reached up to hold my hand or crawled into my lap every time I sat down. These sweet children who, despite their poverty and suffering, went out of their way to make me feel welcome and part of the culture. There are few words to express how the heart soars … Read more