Day One : Moshi to Olpopongi

We all gathered at the front of the hotel at 7 to set off at 7.15 and amazingly everyone was there on time.  After the obligatory photo of the group in front of the banner we started on our way. 

It was fantastic, we started on a rough track for about a kilometer then we hit Tarmac. We rode on the main road around the base of Kilimanjaro waiting for the clouds to clear so we could see the peak, we glimpsed it briefly before the clouds came back! The Tarmac then suddenly disappeared and we were back on rough track cycling through towns, past children heading to school and appeared to be a real source of entertainment to the crowds of people starting their day!

We had some long hills, dusty flat trails and some deep sand traps (which did catch a few of the riders out but luckily no serious injuries). 

Our camp for the night was in the Maasai area of Olpopongi which was a cultural village set up to show visitors what Maasai life is like. We ended up sleeping in a genuine mud hut with Lee and Kate which was very nice as the tents looked awfully small!  Roasted goat for dinner around a lovely campfire before heading off for a relatively early night, that's if we can find our way in the dark! Beautiful clear starry sky - absolutely stunning.