Bicycles and Brunch in Butare

On our last Sunday in Butare, a group of us went out to our favorite brunch spot- Hotel Ibis. Though Hotel Ibis has a storied past- it was built during Belgian colonial times and was once used by the interahamwe as headquarters- today’s Hotel Ibis is a muzungu hangout that provides the best people watching and breakfast in town. To be honest, I am sure that we would all be thrilled for any semi-American breakfast food, but the omelettes and French toast at Ibis really are fantastic. This particular Sunday morning, as we sat there remising about our eleven weeks in Butare, the Rwandan national cycling team road by. As the true triathlete that I am, I sat there and gawked, spinning my head as they went back and forth down the main street of Butare. Instead, I abandoned all attempts at following the conversation and imagined myself on my Cervelo following them over the hills of Rwanda. I suppose traversing the dirt roads on my Trek mountain bike will have to do. If riding the hills of Nepal doing aid work can help Chrissie Wellington become the triathlete she is today, just maybe it might do a little something for me too.