Katete, Zambia - It all fall's apart

I left Malawi and arrived in a very small town in Zambia called Chamkhanga late in the afternoon. I was felling pretty tired.  It was hot, I had blisters on my arms and legs from the sun and a blisters on my ass too.

The next day I had my usual breakfast of cold pasta and made my way into town for a Coca-Cola. Coffee is not part of the breakfast routine in rural Africa so some Coca-Cola is the next best thing. It was a little after 8am and there were a dozen or so locals in various states of intoxication in the street and some bottles were being thrown. I was hassled a little for money but when it was clear there was none everything was fine. All in all it was a pretty normal start to the day.

I set off for the next stop, a town called Katete around 75km away. I arrived around 1pm. A little bit tired but mentally broken. I had been struggling since I left Cape Maclear.
How was I going to get to Cape Town on time? I would need to do 100km/day every day to achieve this and the thought of this filled me with dread. Just looking at the bike made me feel sick.

It was a feeling I have experienced before. When doing triathalons, the last week of Ironman training which I refer to as hell week. Its the longest most intense week of training where you spend around 25 hours that week swimming/biking/running. Usually I walk into a friends office at work, she calms me down, reassures me I can do this, we have a laugh about it and I go and get it done.

In the town of Katete there is no office to walk into, no Internet and I cant get a Sim card to talk to anyone. There is no enjoyment in the biking anymore, pain and pressure to get to Cape Town is all that I think about. I fell totally alone, totally lost and with no motivation to go anywhere. How was I going to fix this?

I found a cheap guest house. I put the bike in the corner where I couldn't see it and went out for a beer. I meet the manager of a bar, watched the football, played some pool and generally had a good time with the people of Katete.

I woke the next morning, I didn't look at the bike and just went and had breakfast.

I don't remember what I ate but I do remember what I thought.

I had broken today/tomorrow rule and it had broken me.
I only need to think about what I need to do today and what do I need to get ready for tomorrow. Anything beyond that doesn't matter.

I came back to the room, watched some movies on the laptop, cried a little then went out again to write down the plan.

I would do 100k a day when it was possible and not anymore unless I need to get somewhere. There will be no more pressure. I would forget the date and I get to Cape Town when I get there. Most of all I will enjoy the final leg of this adventure. The tough parts of Africa are done and I only have southern Africa to go.

The next day I left and ride the 90k to Petauke with a smile on my face. The first time in a while.