Ride for Polio, Day 2 - Republic of Benin, Cotonou to Grand Popo

After yesterday’s marathon ride I have had to readjust my attitude towards the journey I plan to complete. Yesterday’s ride was not only the longest I have ever ridden in one go, it was also going to be the first time ever that I have to do it all over again the very next day. There was no mistake – I was seriously apprehensive to start day 2 and was already starting to question the reasons for taking on this journey.

We set off at 7am this morning after enjoying a quick breakfast in the very, very expensive 3 star hotel in Cotonou. There was a lot of cloud cover and a slight breeze which made for a good start weather wise. In no time we reached the outskirts of Cotonou and came across an accident scene. On what seems to be a busy intersection under repair, a big truck overturned and was laying upside down on the lower embankment on the side of the road. This obviously caught my attention so I turned around to record a video clip with the video camera mounted on my helmet. The next moment a police officer approached me wanting to know what I am doing. After telling him about the Ride for Polio and kindly offering him a T-Shirt he was happy to wave me goodbye.

After about 90 minutes into the ride I came across three other cyclists who were about to set off in the same direction I was going. I promptly stopped and after introducing myself to them they decided to join me for a “short” warm-up cycle before they start their real workout for the morning. Within the next 10 minutes or so our group grew by about 4 or 5 other cyclists who were all going for the same weekly cycling event. After another 10 minutes we stopped and hooked up with their coach who arrived on a small motor bike (great coach – I always thought it would be better if the coach cycles with them). It turns out he is Benin’s national cycling champion and that they were all getting ready for a race that was going to be held later in the morning.

After handing out a t-shirt to each of them and posing for some pictures they agreed to cycle with me for the next 10km after which they were going to start their race. The 10km turned into 15km when we eventually reached a toll gate where their assistant coach (driving a Landie – also not cycling) was waiting to signal the start of the race. Before saying good bye their coach left us his contact details promising that they will meet me at the same spot on my way back and cycle with me all the way to the Seme border crossing. Awesome!

We averaged about 25-28km per hour while cycling to the toll gate and I felt like a hero because I thought I gave them all a good run for their money. Little did I know that they were just toying with me because after about 20 minutes after leaving them at the toll gate, they came speeding past me with shouts of “äu revoir” and “bon voyage”. It did not take them a long time to disappear over the next hill. I did not see them again for the rest of the day. Embarrassing!

After reaching what seemed to have been the mid-way point for the day we stopped for a quick snack and another ice cold coke at a little make shift “restaurant” right next to the express way (it basically provided us with good shade). God bless the maker of Coca Cola, the best non-alcoholic drink in the world – there is nothing that refreshes quite like an ice cold coke (free advert!). I had a can of sweet corn for some extra carbs.

Shortly after our mid-way snack we came across a little dirt road that veered off to the side of the expressway. At the end of the road, on the horizon, I caught a glimpse of a massive lake in the middle of nowhere. My curiosity got the better of me so off we went. After a short decent and a trip through the local village I reached the edge of the water. Desperately wanting to go for a quick dive, I eventually decided against it for two key reasons: (a) it did not smell fresh (probably the local sewer outlet); and (b) there were too many spectators and I did not think it appropriate to parade my assets to complete strangers. As disappointing it may have been the trip down to the water side was well worth the effort.

The last 20km of today’s ride was pretty tough. The prevailing head wind all of a sudden picked up a few knots and I really struggled to maintain a reasonable pace. The bigger challenge at this point however, was my bottom. After yesterday’s ride I was feeling pretty weary and even though I felt strong for most of today, the normal consequences of spending up to 6 hours in the saddle started to show. Hano, a running buddy from Lagos, aptly coined a phrase which rung in my ears while I was chipping away at the last few miles for the day – “comfortably numb”. Yes that is exactly what I started to experience. I never thought one can feel such pain in that part of your anatomy. Otherwise I was feeling great and unlike yesterday I maintained a good level of hydration throughout the day.

The last 10km felt like it was never going to end but eventually I saw the ocean and realised that we were almost at our final destination for the day. Unfortunately I did not know where exactly “Awale Plage” was or what kind of land mark to look out for. All I knew was that theoretically it should be situated along the express way. When we got to what seemed like one of the final street side “restaurants” I stopped to ask for directions. It so happened that the owner of this little shop is also the owner of the “Awale Plage” and that it was only about 1km down the road. When we got there we could not miss the larger than life signage which very clearly indicated that we have reached our tropical oasis for the day.

Awale Plage is owned by a French expatriate who has probably been here for most of his life, as is the case with most expatriates in this part of the world with investments of this nature. It’s a wonderful beach resort littered with big palm trees that are pregnant with fresh coconuts. The air-conditioned rooms are very basic, have running water and are clean. There is a nice big swimming pool and a restaurant with roof covering. As I am typing away at this blog (18:19), there is a cool sea breeze blowing and I can hear the waves crashing. What a wonderful little oasis in a place not frequented by most world travellers. This is as they say, one of the world’s best kept secrets!