What a day! Late night drinking last night, 0300h reveille this morning, 250+km of riding, getting lost, navigating by dead reckoning, finding the most beautiful windmills, off-roading to the top, being chased by security, later repairing a puncture in a small hamlet of perhaps 100 homes, WhatsApp video call with US-settled schoolmates I haven’t seen in 30 years (at least) and who were having a reunion and were drunk by the time we spoke, lots of laughter, so many photos, rustic food, the companionship of friends & fellow riders, topped off with a rather swift ride back from Loni to Wagholi, beers at Toit, bike refuelling, home, kit cleaning/recharging, hot water bath, chatting with Maa, and then this delicious (and fresh) buttermilk made on demand! Now, to bed. Kym’s racing tomorrow, and her cheerleading squad has to be refreshed and ready to go at 0400h tomorrow. So, good night, world. See you on the other side.
Here are some pictures and videos from my new Insta360 X3 from the trip.
Oh, and by the way, here’s what happened at Toit where I went all alone for some post-ride beers:
‘Hello. Welcome. How many of you, Sir?’
‘Just me.’
<Putting down 2 in the app>
‘No, just me.’
‘But someone will join you, right?’
‘No, it’s just me. Moi seul.’
‘Ah, OK. Please take that table.’
‘Hi, may I take your order or are you waiting for someone?’
‘I’d like a large IPA please. I’m alone.’
‘Alone?’
‘Yes. Just me. One IPA, s’il vous plaît.’
‘No one’s joining you?’
<Smile>
<Smile>
<Continue to smile>
‘All right then, one IPA. Just you, by yourself.’
‘Thank you.’
Sigh!
![Mr Baba: 'Would you like to take off the backpack now that you've been downstairs for like 30 minutes?'
Ms Kym-Kym: 'I like it like this. You should try it. It's very comfortable.'
Mr Baba: [Pulling on his backpack] 'Hmmm, you're right. That's rather snug.'
Ms Kym-Kym: 'Twinning! Yay!'
#LuckiestManAlive #BearFamily](https://scontent-lax3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/416920031_3373151642830342_6696851954454537274_n.webp?stp=dst-jpg&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=ZMLmjPdSAEUAX8nnJex&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfB0olvUVmnenPKd2wCllMDehg5gzDgAbc4BDsGLqIm6pA&oe=65BA4561)
![Kym: 'Mr Baba, can I tell you something wierd? You can actually get tired from doing nothing!!'
Me: 'It is called boredom.'
Kym: 'Noooo. I mean, like physically tired.'
Me: 'One can get tired and sleepy due to boredom. I remember reading about it somewhere. Let's find out.'
[Some Googling later]
Me: 'It says here that "A new paper published in the journal Nature Communications finds that a part of the brain that is associated with motivation and pleasure - the nucleus accumbens - also can produce sleep. The new findings may explain why we have the tendency to fall asleep in the absence of motivating stimuli, i.e., when bored." Isnt it interesting?'
Kym: 'I already knew that. Why do you need to research things we already know?'
Me: [Finding a subject worth talking about now]: ' Ah well, that's what we'll talk of tomorrow on your morning run. It's very interesting the way science is done and our understanding of the universe is expanded.'
Kym: 'Can we talk of unicorns instead?'
Me: 'Sure. How do you know they exist? That's an interesting question too that you can use the scientific method to answer.'
Kym: 'Do they have to exist for us to talk about them? We can just pretend they do for an hour and have fun.'
Me: [Laughing] 'Yes, sure. We can do that too.'
#BabaBabyConversations #BearFamily #KymAndI](https://scontent-lax3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.29350-15/416410840_383105434396466_2267910263456009774_n.webp?stp=dst-jpg&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=LIozs445JFcAX_48wGC&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AfDQ2qbb0yO_wUmLj_L0ZxF61eDdwlIN-vyrd8GZe_pBMQ&oe=65BAFA57)
