Cycle to Club Makokola
This morning began with recovering from the day before. Bikes had to be hosed down from thick, encrusted mud. Another round of repairs to pedals, cranks and gears. Meanwhile Chrissy had her leg in the air and a bag of ice wrapped around her ankle.

Eventually we were off... by bus... Today was the longest day of cycling, and we needed a headstart to enable us to reach our destination before dusk. We eventually got on our bikes near Liwonde. This was the hardest day for me. For some reason I just wasnt in "the zone" emotionally, psychologically or physically. I guess in part that I knew this was going to be a tough day and just couldnt work myself up to try to conquer it. Additionally, the plan was that the last support vehicle would start picking up the last riders from 5pm, with an absolute stop for the lead riders at 5:30pm. This made good sense because dusk starts settling in after 5pm, so the bugs and particularly any mosquitoes come out, and its just not sensible or safe to be riding without lights as it gets darker. However this meant that there was a strong likelihood of getting picked up before reaching our destination. I think that that sense of knowing that I probably wasnt going to complete - under my own pedal power, on my own bike - any of our long cycling days was frustrating and undermined my ability to keep pushing. So this day really was long and hard...

Eventually, around 4pm, my determination finally kicked in and I managed to grit my teeth and pick up some pace ... wanting to get to our final destination or at least catch up with wherever the lead riders stopped, before the support vehicle caught up with me! 5pm came and went and I was still on the road... As I was becoming aware of the slowly settling dusk, I knew that it couldnt be much further now, and that helped me keep propelling myself forward... To be still on the road at 5:30pm felt like a milestone as I kept on pedalling, at that time with Les and Davo beside me. The lead riders couldnt be far ahead, and there was no obvious sign of the support vehicle behind. Maybe we might just make it... Though the insects were definitely starting to come out in force as I remember swallowing a few!

I'm sure we passed signs for Mangochi, but how much further could it be? As 6pm passed, the light was fading fast, and the road ahead just seemed to stretch on and on. At every bend I was hoping that the lead riders would be there waiting, but instead all I could look forward to was another mouthful of insects. What happened to a 5:30pm deadline? Suddenly it all felt that the plan just wasnt "coming together", and being the kind of person who likes things to fit together just like it says on the box, I suddenly found frustration settling back in. How much further is it to go? Why am I cycling in the dark? Cant these insects just bug off? Godammit if I didnt just want to get to the f**king end already!

A few minutes later and the support bus pulled up and reeled me in. Unfortunately I just wasnt in the mood to celebrate the fact that I had actually just achieved cycling a distance of 110km. Instead I dropped into my seat on the bus and stared through the windows and into the darkness of my soul...

Well done to us all for all the kilometres we rode that day. And apologies to everyone else for being a moody so-and-so.

The bus took us the rest of the distance and to our final stop that night at Club Makokola. Wow - what a wonderful place. Large, hut like suites with our own individual bedrooms. A large pool. White sandy beach. Beachside bar and open air restaurant. Apparently this place even has its own airstrip! The frustrations of the day faded away as I found myself enjoying the sheer luxury...