Thursday, 06 January, 2011 --- Day 06

Stats
Start at SFAX End at GABES
Day dist: 135.00 kms
Riding time: 6:48
Avg speed: 19.8
Max speed: 34.5
Beg day odo: 343.3 kms
End day odo: 484.4kms

Was up at 9:00 finished the work on the computer that I was too tired to do yesterday and then walked into the city. A pleasant place to be.




I then headed for the Madina.






Walked it up and down. If I had more time I could easily spend an entire morning there.

I walked back to the hotel


I took my stuff loaded Spithas and headed out. Before leaving though I wanted to have a peak at the port.




I then hit the road (12:00)


My old acquaintance really insisted on staying w/ me and kept me company for most of the ride. I’ve been riding for three years. I wonder why when there is wind it is always in my face. I cannot recall a single time where the wind was on my back. If you have an explanation please let me know.

On top of that the road pavement was rough rather than smooth asphalt which made it more difficult to ride. Be that as it may I rode on and enjoyed it


The never ending road


I forgot to mention that yesterday at the hotel I felt the skin of my face irritated. I had not been using sunscreen or covered it, thinking that this is the winter and I do not need to do any of that. Nonetheless I was wrong. So today I took all precaution

My new face


I had bought this face cover to use it in the summer, but it came in handy at this trip too.

I rode on. The road was slightly climbing up till 40 kms after I started. When I hit Mahares it leveled off. It appears that for the rest of the trip I would be riding the highlands. I do mind the wind. I do not mind uphills. I know that when I ride an uphill I will be paid back later when I will be tired. When it comes to the wind, you are never paid back.


This country has a lot olive trees, fragkosuka, and lots of sheep!!!


At 65 kms I passed through Hachichina and at 75 through Chibani.


Typical restaurant of the country side


I had already starting descending when I decided to have lunch. I stopped near a town called El Akarit. It was 18:20, I had been 5 and a half hours on Spithas, I felt hungry, and it was already dark. I stopped right next to a small bridge and as I was eating, a young man riding his bike approached me, greeted me, and told me that it would be better/safer to have lunch a little further down. I was almost done, I only had the dessert (dates) left, so I packed up and biked a little further down at a cross road. The two cops that were controlling it came up to me introduced themselves and started questioning me. They were friendly.

After that I continued to ride. There were 30 kms left. It has always been the case that when I have to ride the last few miles in the dark it is always easier. My theory is that this will happen to me when I have a long ride which ends at a big city/hub and typically hubs are built in the lowlands so that the last leg of such a ride is downhill. That makes the ride easier. So, the ride is easier and I am also reinvigorated by the ease of the ride itself.

I rode in the dark and finally at 19:20 I entered Gabes.


I started looking for the town center and a hotel. Following the directions of a cop I went into a certain directions looking to find a four star hotel. I ended up in a dump for 10DT ($7) which ended up a lot better that it looked. It was 21:00 and went to be almost immediately. The name of the hotel was Mourad hotel.



CARTAGO DELENDA EST