Chapter 42 39 The Bike Legion Forms an Army! (Zimbabwe)

That was two months ago. I met Gang, a 24-year-old, completely unpopular musician, in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.He left Japan with his guitar on his back a month ago, and traveled freely all over Africa by train or bus.His appearance left a strong impression on people, with the faded hairstyle, and the sharp eyes of a gangster. At first glance, one would have an intuition of "will argue with this guy". Unexpectedly, after only three days, our friendship is so good that we can act together. After getting to know him, I realized that this guy is actually quite interesting.Walking in the town, children often come to beg, most tourists will say: "NO", I don't like this word very much, so I always answer "Sorry".

However, just different. "You look cute, boy. What's the matter, are you hungry? No way, I don't have any money." He responded entirely in Japanese, which, miraculously, seemed to communicate with the child as well.It is easier to understand when the child's eyes show closeness.The strange conversation continued. "It can't be helped, I know! Buy a donut, let's eat together." As soon as I said that, I bought a donut from the vendor, broke it in half, gave one half to the child, and put the other half in my mouth.He didn't show any deliberate grace at all, and behaved very naturally.

Once he said this: "I think respect should be shown in everything." In the following journey, every time I encounter similar things, this sentence will appear in my mind.I ended up spending almost a month with him in Nairobi.When we broke up, I don't know if it was a temporary idea, but he actually said: "Let's meet in Harare in two months! I plan to buy a bicycle there." He seemed to want to ride with me towards the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa. OK!Just do it!Although I agree, I only half believe what he said.Then, a month later, I heard from other tourists that sleeping pills had just been given by robbers.Just after getting acquainted with the locals he met in the hotel, he ate the biscuits given to him by the other party, which was mixed with sleeping pills, and he lost consciousness within a few minutes.When I woke up in the morning, I found that the cash hidden in the trouser pocket and backpack separately, about 250,000 yen, and valuables such as cameras, were all gone.

I was shocked when I heard it, and when I thought about it carefully, such a tragedy happened only to him. He and the prisoner who killed him probably once were as good as friends.No matter what kind of person the other party is, it is indeed remarkable to pay equal "respect" to each other, but sometimes it can be miscalculated.Too idealistic a creed doesn't work in a place like Africa.The blow of being betrayed by my own beliefs, and the amount of money that was looted is not a small amount. Just imagining his disheartened appearance makes me feel restless.If that's the case, let alone a bicycle trip, wouldn't he have already returned to Japan?

Unexpectedly, the day after I arrived in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, just like our agreement, I just came to the same hotel.He also showed a friendly smile and said energetically: "Brother Yufu, let's go to the Cape of Good Hope together!" I said in astonishment, "Are you okay? I've heard about the ransacking!" "Ahaha! You know that too? This time I'm in the same boat. I was really depressed for the first three days." But then he didn't care at all.Fortunately, the credit card was not stolen, and he could barely continue the trip. He still smiled and said:

"Anyway, things like money can't be kept!" I looked at his smiling face in a little bewilderment. Next, we started to run around the streets of Harare.The first thing to buy is a bicycle.There are still 4,000 kilometers from here to the Cape of Good Hope, which is quite a long distance, and you have to choose your bicycle carefully—I didn’t expect to buy a Chinese-made "people's bicycle" just now, and of course it can't change the speed , the price is about 7000 yen.For him who lost most of his travel expenses, this cheap price is indeed the biggest charm.What's more, he bought it for "fun". He didn't really want to be a cyclist, but just wanted to travel by bike on a whim.So, we converted this cheap car into a model suitable for long-distance travel. We tied two slender wooden boards with ropes at the back to store backpacks and guitars, and then tied several plastic buckets to the wheel frames. 25 liters of drinking water.

This car was named "White Dove", like a messenger of peace.I painted the coat of arms of "The White Dove" on the fenders of the rear wheels, and a picture of him riding a flying white dove. One day, a man showed up at the hotel where we were staying.Gang and I yelled at the same time: "Ah! Are you still alive?" Isn't that Asano?I met him in Nairobi two months ago. This guy's eyes don't look like kindness at all, just like Gang, the moment they meet, it makes people intuitively "will argue with this guy".But, unconsciously, we also became companions traveling together.Although he has a cynical temperament, he is actually a person who is cold on the outside and hot on the inside.

After Asano parted ways with us in Nairobi, he crossed Lake Malawi in a crude boat made by locals from hollowed-out tree trunks.I didn't hear any news about him after that, I thought he was eaten by a hippo, but I didn't expect him to be alive and well! just said: "Mr. Asano, come too!" "Okay! I'm going too!" So Asano also bought a bicycle. ――You guys are too casual, aren't you? (At any rate, Asano bought a mountaineering bicycle with variable speed.) After three weeks in Harare, everyone finally finished their preparations for departure.In the grand farewell procession of the good travelers who stayed in the same hotel, we set off from Harare in high spirits.

Unexpectedly, after only riding fifteen kilometers, Gang disappeared.I parked the car under the shade of a tree and waited for him, but I couldn't wait for anyone, so I turned back anxiously. I didn't know what he was busy with on the nearby road.As soon as he saw me, he yelled: "Brother Yufu! The storage table is broken!" The so-called storage table is the two pieces of wood we tied up, and something happened within an hour after we set off. After repairing it, he continued to move forward. An hour later, just now—his luggage was hit by an overtaking bus behind him, and one of them lost his center of gravity and overturned. Fortunately, no one was injured, but his expression gradually became gloomy.

After riding for about 50 kilometers, I saw a small town and a pretty hotel.After asking permission, we pitched camp in the hotel yard, and both he and Asano looked exhausted and speechless. Next, our goal is the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, and there is still a long 4,000-kilometer journey. Should I have stopped them long ago?