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 it would be. I feel like riding the North Shore at home is much worse.

The highlight of the day was riding over the Nile River. I can’t believe I got to do that. Tonight we went shopping for a pair of sandals to replace the one I lost yesterday, went to eat and then slept at a place called Bikeventures where they pour their earnings back into the community with various bike projects and tours.

The closer we get to tourist areas, the worse the kids get. They yell, “give me my money” or “ give me sweets” and someone even threw a mango at John but thankfully missed. Even some of the boda boda drivers will yell at me to give them money or other inappropriate things as I pedal by. John has been good about letting me catch up when we come into a town just to make sure I’m safe. Mostly, I just keep my head forward and ignore the men. It’s the women that I enjoy connecting with. Yesterday I passed two different local women who were riding bikes in nice dresses. Here I am a sweaty mess covered in mud literally from head to toe and they were so clean and regal looking. I wonder where they were going.