Chapter 43 40 Our Journey (Namibia)

"I will leave an hour earlier than everyone tomorrow." During dinner, Gang said. Because his "White Pigeon" can't change the speed, he has to push all the uphill, and there is no way to speed up on the flat ground. As a result, our pace becomes an hour of riding, and we often have to wait for him for ten to twenty minutes. .Maybe he couldn't forgive himself for dragging everyone down. The next morning, Congo really woke up an hour earlier and set off early.Although he looks like a gangster on the outside, he is really serious about this kind of thing.I didn't expect Asano and I to catch up with him in less than an hour after setting off.He was sitting by the side of the road massaging his feet, looking like he was having cramps.Riding with him made me feel uncomfortable too.He was sweating profusely, his eyes were dazed, he just stepped on the pedal silently, and he didn't respond to his jokes.

Even more troubling was the fact that his bike was an unbelievable piece of shit.On the third day of riding, the crank of the pedals started to rattle. When I took it apart, the balls were about to loosen. It was so fragile that it was unbelievable.Replaced with a new ball, wanted to lock the nut, but couldn't tighten it properly, so I could only force it obliquely, barely coping with it.The next day, the bolt that locked the crank broke with a snap, so I had to tie it with iron wires, and barely managed it; after a while, the brake also fell off, and I had to tie it with iron wires first, and barely managed it.I've never seen such a shoddy bike.

Asano's bicycle is not bad, and he can ride it briskly, but he is still tired.It takes about a week for the body to get used to stepping on a bicycle full of luggage all day. Before adapting, the muscle pain and helpless fatigue during this period can only be endured. Both Asano and Gang are exhausted every day and endure hardships beyond their imagination.However, worrying that they have begun to regret why I rode a bicycle seems to be nothing more than worrying. At dusk, the village at the end can be seen.For a moment, Gang, who had been weak all the time, suddenly accelerated and overtook me. When overtaking, he glanced at me with a smug smile on his sweaty face.

"Ten years too early!" He continued to advance at full speed without giving up, laughed wildly after passing me, and replied to me: "Old man, don't be too sad!" Asano laughed from behind. We report to the village pub every day.There's nothing better than a good beer after a long day of sweating on the bike, when I'm alone it feels like I'm moving forward for the beer, three laughing and drinking together , the beer is even more delicious. one night. We set up a tent behind the bar, and we lay in the haystack, looking up at the starry sky while we were slightly drunk.The fragrance of grass is permeating, and the sound of crickets can be heard from all around.

Asano murmured, "Is that a UFO?" Looking in the direction he was pointing at, an object with yellow light accelerated violently across the night sky. "Wow! That's probably an artificial satellite!" "Great, it's definitely a UFO!" We lay down and made a lot of noise. I don't know why, but at this moment, I suddenly felt that this is youth.I smiled wryly by myself.