Day Three

I woke up to the loud mooing of a few cattle. Knowing that cows usually moo quite loud, I ignored them and started drifting off to sleep…

Then came the scream and the growl. I jolted upright in my mat, shivering with fright. I had been warned about the lions who killed cattle, but I didn’t think it was actually true. Adrien had woken up, and was trying to comfort me. I heard another loud growl and a loud mooing, then another scream. It wasn’t a human scream, it was a cow. Adrien left the hut and joined a few people standing outside watching the lion. I could hear them whispering. All of the sudden, they were shouting and running around, trying to chase the lion away. The lion growled again, then disappeared into the thick brush. Adrien walked into the hut, shut and latched the door, then told me everything would be all right. In a matter of moments he was sound asleep, like nothing even happened. I told myself to go to sleep, get some rest, because we were biking in a few hours. But I was scared out of my wits. I stayed curled up in a tight ball, replaying the lion over and over in my head. I really wanted to go on a walk, but I wouldn’t get up, in fear that the lion would come again. 

I had just drifted off into a light sleep when Adrien was shaking me. “Time to get up. Its your first biking day in Rwanda.” I rolled over groggily. My watch said it was 6 AM, but it felt so much earlier. Fighting the sleep, I got up and got dressed, made my bed, washed my face, and ate a passion fruit. Feeling a little more energized, I started putting my bike together, piece by piece. 

About an hour passed before the bike was done. Adrien pulled out his own bike, which was nicer than mine. “Lets go.” He told me. We petaled out of the village quietly, saying hello to the people we passed. The next village we came to, Adrien stopped and got off his bike. “Here we have to walk.” He told me. “There are many large rocks and glass around here. We need to be careful.” He led me to a small house, and let himself in the door. “You can’t just walk into someone’s house!” I shouted at Adrien. He just laughed to himself. I caught him muttering, “Oh Americans. They don’t know anything.” I waited outside for about ten minutes, then Adrien walked out, following by three tall guys, which I recognized from some pictures of Team Rwanda. “This is Abraham Ruhumuriza, Valens Ndayisenga, and Joseph Bizivaremye. They don’t speak much English.” I stretched out my hand to shake, but they just looked at me like I was crazy. “Mwaramutse.” Abraham said to me. “Mwaramutse.” I said back. Adrien went over to a few more huts, and returned with the rest of the team. Some of the guys were out competing in South Africa. There were nine guys here right now, standing in front of me. They all went around and said their names once again.

“Adrien Niyonshuti”

“Abraham Ruhumuriza”

“Valens Ndayisenga”

“Joseph Biziyaremye”

“Patrick Byukusenge”

“Nathan Byukusenge”

“Basore Hategeka”

“Jean De Dieu “Rafiki” Uwimana, Former Rider, Now Apprentice Mechanic”

“Jamie Bissell, Mechanic”

After the introductions, the guys departed to the “bike shed.” The bike shed was exactly what it sounded like. A shed for the bikes. It was also the mechanic shop, for the bikes that have broken down. One by one, the guys returned with their own racing bikes. After gathering and talking for a little bit, Adrien nodded and told me what we were going to do that day. “We aren't going to bike that much today, maybe forty miles.” 

“Fourty miles!?” I exclaimed. “Jeez!” But Adrien was gone by the time I finished talking. So I had no choice but to hop on my bike and join the team. 

We rode over hills, across river beds, hopped rocks and only stopped to talk to people or to get food or drink. Some of the guys rode fast, others just enjoyed the ride and rode slowly, talking to one another and giving kids a passion fruit or a sip of their gatorade. We rode all through the morning and afternoon, stopping briefly every five miles or so. By the time we got back to the guy’s village, it was 6 PM. Ten solid hours of biking. The guys said goodbye to Adrien and I, then left to cook dinner. The golden sun was setting behind the hills again, this time turing the sky into a beautiful shade of cotton candy pink. The white puffy clouds made it look like a scene out of a movie. Adrien mounted his bike and I soon followed. Riding in silence, I reflected on the day. Too soon, we were putting our bikes away, cooking and eating dinner of beef and curdled milk. I only ate the beef, I didn’t want to get sick off the milk. We cleaned our dishes, washed our faces, and crawled into bed. I fell asleep right as my head hit the pillow, dreaming about the upcoming days biking across Rwanda.