Scott's Cycling Adventures

I said a few days ago that Kenyan drivers are nuts, well I’m going to put a modifier on that. Drivers in Nairobi are idiots. That’s all I’m going to say on that point. On to the positive! After getting out Nairobi the 160km ride just flew by. It was a wonderful day for riding, cool in the morning, with not much wind. The afternoon was not too hot and we had a bit of a tail wind. Prior to lunch there was a 10km stretch of road that was under construction. It was VERY dusty. At one point I had slow to a craw because there was so much dust in the air (from a passing dump truck) I couldn’t see a thing. I had to wait for the dirt cloud to clear before I could continue. Even though the riding was rough and bumpy, it was kind of fun dodging and weaving back and forth around rocks and potholes. At lunch I was covered from head to toe in dirt. Filthy!

After lunch was a wonderfully hilly ride that was gentle enough not to completely exhaust you on the way up, but steep enough on the way down to get some good 60km/hr+ speed. We are camped only three km from the Tanzania border. It’s hard to believe we’ve finished Kenya already. The people have been wonderful (excluding the drivers) and the roads have been pretty great. It’s been a very peaceful country to ride through!

The Wildebeest Eco Camp is a wonderful place to have a rest day. Great pool, great food, great shower and restrooms, great staff, beautiful grounds to camp on. The only complaint is we are only here for one day. There is even a nice modern mall two kilometres away for grabbing snacks and ice cream. Other than a trip to the mall I basically just rested. Lots of eating, followed my some napping, then a bit of snacking followed by a snooze. A wonderfully lazy day. Tomorrow we have our biggest day of cycling on the trip so far. 1000m of climbing and 160km distance. I’m well rested and ready to go. 

Kenyan drivers are nuts. It’s a wonder that hundreds aren’t killed every day in head on collisions. They speed, they pass on blind corners and on hills, and they don’t care about cyclists. I can’t count how many times I was forced off the road by an oncoming vehicle passing another. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I could have cycled on the nice paved shoulder, but some genius decided it would be a good idea to put massive speed bumps every 40 feet (probably to keep the crazy motorcyclists from speeding down the shoulder). Other than that it was was a simple day of riding to lunch (mostly uphill) and hopping on a bus, to be shipped into Nairobi (to avoid the bulk of the crazy drivers). We’re staying at the Wildebeest Eco Resort which is REALLY nice. I’ve spent the afternoon doing tech support for a fellow rider who had his phone stolen, but recovered. Unfortunately the thief didn’t realize that there is no point stealing modern iPhone or Android phones since they can’t be resold. The thief “bricked” the phone by trying to guess the password too many times. Unfortunately for the phone owner that wipes all the data. I spent the afternoon “unbricking” it. At least the phone is working again, even if it’s data has been lost.  PSA: back up your phones data regularly. After a wave of phone thefts is Addis Ababa (3 in one day) I’ve copied all my TDA photos to my iPad. At least I have one redundant copy till I get home to do a proper backup. 

I just ate a litre of ice cream! I’m SO happy! We’re staying in the town of Nanyuki which is very well stocked with things that make my tummy very happy. It was the perfect end to another great day. We only had to ride 71km, but there was 1500+ meters of climbing, and today the TDA staff gave us a special challenge. We were to split into teams and had to collect or do an assortment of silly things (with photographic evidence!). I was on a team with four other riders and we sort of winged most of it. Some of the challenges were things like “cycle the stage in funny dress” or “do something interesting with a local”. Well, after a very entertaining  set of presentations from each team (showing evidence of each task accomplished) the TDA judges deliberated and named our team the winners! We were all quite surprised as we never imagined we’d have a chance. I won’t be posting most of the photos, since they aren’t particularly family friendly, but below is one we entered for “Do something interesting with a local. Yes, that’s me, sharing a snack of food scraps (from our lunch truck) that had been given to a local cow herder.  

On a serious note, I think it’s really cool that TDA goes to the extra effort of collecting and distributing food waste (usually given to livestock owners for feed) and reusable containers like metal tins and bottles that other locals happily take to reuse for other things. It makes the locals happy, and greatly reduced our waste footprint. Bravo TDA!

Today was our last scheduled bus day! With the exception of a short bus into (and out?) Nairobi we are done with the buses. Oh happy day! Our bus ride today was almost 170km. It’s was nice and quick on the good Kenyan roads. Only the random speed bump slowed us down. On route we passed a small, but interesting mountain range with some interesting features. We’ve also begun to see more wild animals. We spotted a few Thompson gazelle and our first giraffe!  It’s a pity we weren’t riding…but we say that for all the bus days.  

We’ve officially been in what TDA calls “The Tribal Lands” for over a week, but it’s really becoming apparent now. The men we pass on the roads are wearing more traditional garb and have elaborate earrings. The women are wearing some very beautiful dresses adorned with very fancy neck ornamentations. These are just people walking out on the side of the road, not some fancy gathering. Clearly these are people who are proud of their heritage and culture. 

It’s another short day of riding. 96km that I finished before 11:30am. It’s a good thing too, it’s another scorched of a day. The sun is beating down on us and there is barely a spot of shade to be found. Even in the shade our “devices” are overheating. My wifi “hotspot”, is just that…too hot to post this. I’ll have to wait till it cools down a bit. 

(WordPress changed something and posting from my phone has become almost impossible, I really hope they fix whatever they messed up! Appologies if this post is a bit messed up.)

I forgot to mention that yesterday, about 5km from camp, I got my first flat. Well, almost flat. It was actually  a slow leak. I noticed it on the last climb of the afternoon. I didn’t feel like pulling over to fix it, so I limped into camp with it (shifting my weight forward on the bike to try and keep as much pressure off the leaking tire as I could). In camp I could fix it at my leisure and do a thorough check of the tire. Too many times people rush the change and miss the source (or sources) of the flat and end up with a second flat a few minutes later. It’s happened several times on this tour so far. 

Upon inspection, I found a small piece of wire stuck in the tread. It was most likely from one of the many shredded and abandoned truck tires that litter the sides of the road. It was just long enough to puncture the inner tube. I removed it and inspected for any other foreign objects stuck in the tire. It was all clean, inside and out. I replaced the tube and reassembled my bike. All seemed well after taking the bike out for a quick spin up and down the road. 

We were warned that we were in for a windy day, and were not disappointed. We had a very strong wind that wandered from crosswind to headwind, depending on which way the road turned. It was going to be a long day. Then about 20km into my struggling, I got another flat. This time, not a slow leak but a fast one. I pulled off the road and flipped my bike over to inspect the rear tire again. This time, nothing obvious from the outside. I proceeded to pop the wheel off and pull the tube out. Running my fingers over the inside of the tire I found the problem in seconds. Another small piece of wire, slightly larger than the previous days. No way I had missed this, it was new. Talk about bad luck, no flats in 3500km, then two in less than 25km. I had to break out my patch kit to seal the new hole because I was lazy the night before and didn’t patch the old tube (that’s what I get for being a slacker and thinking I’ll be good for another few thousand Km). I also didn’t have any new tubes left because the rest were in my permanent bag, on the truck. So, about twenty minutes later I was all patched and pumped back up and ready to hit the road again. Of course, by this time everyone had passed me and the sweep rider was waiting with me. 

Back on the road I went and the tire held up fine. Back to riding with the harsh wind pushing me all over the road. The landscape was a bit like the surface of Mars, very red, and rocky. If it wasn’t for the odd scraggly little tree and some dried grasses here and there, it could have been a good stand-in for the red planet. Add to that some gigantic locusts that littered the road, and you’ve got yourself some strange Martians.

The rest of the day was uneventful as I fought with the wind. The last 50km were all uphill, which made things very difficult. The only saving grace of the constant wind, was it kept things cool. I arrived in camp a little after 3pm having drank about seven litres of water and averaging about 16km/hr. A VERY slow day. I’m pooped, but tomorrow we rest.  

…left is right. Confused yet? I am. Here in Kenya they drive on the left side of the road. It’s taking a while to wrap my head around. I think Kenyans should throw off the shackles of their former colonizer and drive on the right side of the road. Look at the good it did for us Canadians. Best country in the world (authors opinion)! I guess, however, I’m going to have to get used to this wacky way of driving/riding, it’s going to be this way for the rest of the trip. 

Today was hot. Not quite Sudan hot, but close. The mercury got very close to 40 in the shade, and over that in direct sun (in comparison we had readings of 45C in the shade in Sudan). The ride itself was easy. It was mostly flat with a few hills, so other than the afternoon heat, it didn’t pose any real challenges. We’ve lost the spectacular landscapes of Ethiopia and traded them for more sterile vistas. Also different is the population. It’s much much less populated, and that for me is wonderful. The constant “you you you” was beginning to grind me down. The few kids that are here are wonderfully behaved. I’m loving the silence and solitude between tiny villages again. 

Now it’s time for bed. Looks like it’s going to be another warm night. In Sudan the nights were actually cold. Here they’ve been very hot. Tonight’s low temperature is a sweaty 26C. I think I’ll risk some Malaria and sleep with my tent open. Last night was a sauna in my tent even with the vents open.