The Slow Way Down

"You! You! You! Where are you go?" - I had heard that strangely formulated question a million times already. How could I possibly respond when I hardly knew the answer myself? Ethiopian children had never heard of Cape Town anyway!
For now it felt as if I was going nowhere, stuck in a slow motion world. Head down, all I could focus on was the sluggish rotation of my knees, and the tiny feet that bounced off the tarmac along my front wheel. I had never been so sick while cycling before and despite the 3000m altitude, it felt like I was hitting the lowest point in my life! Headache, fever, stomach cramps and fatigue were turning the climb into a survival exercise. Just as I thought that things could not get any worse a stone hit me, bringing my focus back to the real world for a few seconds. I was in fact somewhere in the Ethiopian highlands, trying to finish stage 36 of the longest bicycle race in the world. By now our starting line in Cairo was a mere souvenir.
"You! You! You! Where are you go?" More children were now joining the questioning parade, rushing towards me to ask for money. "You! Give me Bihr! You! You! You!" My desperate attempt to drop the crowd of young beggars, by launching a surprise acceleration, turned out to be pointless as more fresh legs kept on emerging around my bike. It was hard to believe that these frail looking children dressed in dirty rags could run up the steep Ethiopian hills, bare foot, faster than me riding a carbon frame mountain bike! Even if I was struggling, the ease at which these kids could keep up with my pace was mind blowing. More than anything, it was obvious that Ethiopians would still rule the world of marathon for years to come...
Some of the boys were now getting impatient with me, raising their voices, obviously upset by the lack of attention I was giving them. It was time to lose my impetuous supporters. I launched a second attempt at a sudden sprint. It worked! The young crowd was now dropping behind giving me a bit of space to breathe. Unfortunately, my unexpected move hadn't done much for my popularity levels and stones started flying at me again. Infuriated by such idiotic behaviour, I slammed on my brakes turning around to chase the little pests! My surprised 'fan club' immediately ran away in every possible direction. This was the fastest and most organised dispersion I had ever witnessed - it was obviously not their first time. I knew that the sudden calm resulting from my mock charge was going to be short lived, and getting back into the climb I was already preparing myself to brave the next wave of harassing children.