South Kenya into Tanzania we go!

 
8 March



115km onwards from Marsabit


The thing about corrugation is that the other side of the road always looks better. You then spend loads of energy to get to that side, just to realize that it is the same and then you spend loads of energy to go back again. The road 100m in front of you also always looks flat… but do not be deceived, when you get there it is still corrugated. If you go fast it is painful, if you go slow it is painful. So I try to go faster to get it over with faster, but I have only so much energy.. .


So hippidi-hop-hop you go all day dreaming of a flat road around the next turn!

Our camp is where the dirt meets the tarmac – what a lovely site indeed!

The local Masai people are dressed in colorful materials with lovely beads and copper headpieces, just like you always see on the Discovery Channel. Although we all wanted photos of these interesting people, we were warned that we WILL be thrown with spears or rocks… I decided that a photo from the National Geographic will have to do. Some people managed some photos for payment.

9 March


158km to Isiolo



A local cyclist racing us



Today we were all shocked by a serious of unfortunate events. A group of local men threw a stone and fired a shot at a one of the ladies in the group. The stone hit her below her left shoulder on her back, presumably to get her off her bicycle and make her stop. She kept calm and raced to get out of the danger zone. It was later determined with X-Ray scan that she fractured a rib, but otherwise was fine. The same group of men also robbed six of our other riders while they stopped next to the road, because they heard the shots and thought it wise to continue in a group. Several shots were fired at them and the one woman was hit with the front side of the gun on her ear. Money, food and water were stolen and thankfully no one was seriously injured.

I missed the incident by probably 5 minutes. I accompanied the injured lady to hospital and stayed with her until the TDA staff caught up with us at the local dispensary. The rest of the people was stopped at lunch and then driven to the end point. Some of the racers had already passed and finished the ride without any trouble.

The feedback that we received from the local wildlife authority was that the farmers in the district became very desperate the last months after being hit by a very bad drought.

climbing lane?? hehe - and did we climb!

10 March


71km to Nanyuki

Today was changed to a non-race day to let everyone relax and cycle in groups to get over the stressful experience of the previous day. The morning had a tough climb over the side of the mountain to lunch. Although the road looks flat, you are climbing! It is very misleading and makes you think that there must be something wrong with your brakes. After lunch it was mostly downhill and a great ride!

 
11 March


105km to Sagana

This morning we crossed the Equator.
 

We are camping at the Mike Sayage camp which is against the river from where white water rafting is done. It is a beautiful camp under trees on grass and most importantly – warm showers and flushing toilets – and yes, COLD beer!
 


Camping against the river



12 March

136km to Naroibi

The last 50+ km was planned to be done in convoy into the city, but after careful consideration by the TDA staff it was decided that because of the hectic traffic and all the road construction it is not safe for us to cycle. Another two overland trucks were rented and we, with our bicycles, were driven into Nairobi. Some people was really upset that they could not cycle, but the EFI status was not effected and the distance must be seen like the ferry fide from Egypt into the Sudan.
We had a feast at the famous Carnivore restaurant for dinner. We cyclists probably had a bit more meat than the average tourist...

13 March

Rest day in Nairobi at the Indaba camping site

Nairobi is a modern African city with big shopping malls and very good shops! It felt great to walk into a normal supermarket where everything you want is available.

Start of MASAI Steppe section

14 March

160km to Namanga

Six sectional riders from Egypt, one each from Germany and South Africa and two from Poland joined us today and were thrown into the TDA with a nice 160km to start with! They all did pretty well with their “fresh legs”.

Cycling on tarmac feels soooooo good! Even thought we had some bad potholes in the morning and cycling next to the road on the dirt was better (ironic don’t you think?)

The 14km cycle out of Nairobi was CHAOTIC in Monday morning traffic with taxis doing what they like and just general peak traffic chaos.

Again we camped on green grass with hot showers and flushing toilets! Things are sure changing this side of the equator!

15 March


118km to Arusha (Border crossing to Tanzania in the morning)

After lunch we had a good climb next to the mountain for 10km. The worst part of the day was again dodging the traffic coming into Arusha.



16, 17 and 18 March

3 rest days in Arusha ;)

Alice and I are sharing a room at the Karama lodge in Arusha. Lovely wooden huts located against the mountain overlooking the town. They have a lovely restaurant and dinner is great with nice South African red wine.

Wednesday afternoon we were picked up by landrovers and taken to the Ngorogoro area to overnight in a tented camp. Canvas tents were pitched for us and mattresses were provided. The next morning we were taken into the crater. It was raining in the morning and very misty and you could not see into the crater, but as soon as we reached the bottom it was cleared and the weather was perfect. Zebras, wildebeest, buffaloes, gazelles, hippos, galore! Then to top of the day, two lions lay in the middle of the road!

We were back in Arusha at about 6pm.

Through Ethiopia and beyond!

22-27 February  Addis Ababa to Aber Minch

Unarmed children

It is 23:00 and everyone in the camp is already asleep. I just backed up all my photos from this section and as I look through them again I feel a bit sad looking at the children. They look so poor and so dirty.
These four days had its ups and downs, with the children and the hills. Cycling on my own through a town, I was hit by five stones at once. The one even hit my brake rotor so hard that it was bent and I had to replace It. Luckily I did bring a spare rotor for the back.

Then at the one Coke stop my iPod was taken from the table in front of me. After I asked around and the young waiter denied taking it, I asked the owner to please phone the police. The waiter took the owner around the shop and he returned with the iPod, so he must have not liked my choice in music.

Bob enjoying the view from our campsite

In Aber Minch we stayed at a hotel for our off day. We camped in the front of the hotel on the grass. The hotel had the best view ever over the lake, but no water and no electricity.  I took a shower under a hose pipe in the open with my shorts and sports bra on.  After a few days of cycling and no washing, it felt great! That water was soon finished too and we had to scoop water from a tank.

28 February   Start of MELTDOWN MADNESS SECTION
Today I could only cycle to lunch at 62km, because of an upset stomach again. During the afternoon I started vomiting also etc.. To be so sick in the bush in your tent is really not nice and I felt very sorry for myself. Never in my life was I so thirsty, but every time after I drank water – it had to come out via projectile vomiting. Then diarrhea and so it continued.  The advice from the medics on tour is to wait at least 2 to 3 days before taking the antibiotics, but I am just so soft… so I started my second dose of antibiotics (Cifran).
After almost 2 months on tour it seems so normal to talk about bowl movements as it is to talk about the weather. It is the main topic over various dinner meals. I will need some adjustment back in the normal society.

1 March
Today I was in the truck. The cycle was very tough and some people finished after 17:00. It was also gravel and a lot of climbing. We are in a little town and staying at the Yebello Motel, an oasis in the middle of nowhere. For only $17 I am sharing a room with warm water and electricity! The perfect place to recover. I slept most of the afternoon.

Kristian and Elvis going down the "singing well"

2 March   126km
The locals from this region are the Oroma folks and are much friendlier than the Ethiopians we have thus far experienced.  We only had an 857 m ascend to do and enjoyed the ride.

Our camp tonight is called the “singing bush camp” as it is near the singing wells. Just before dinner Sam, Kristian and I decided to go and have a look at this singing wells that sound like whales. We found the well, but heard no sound coming from it.. We then made sounds into it and Kristian even climbed down in it to see what is going on down there. Luckily Elvis showed up and explained that the name originated from the women who sing while collecting water from the well.   ughh not the well itself.

3 March    83 km to Moyale – Border to Kenya
Today was the last cycling day in Ethiopia and I was really looking forward to enter Kenya.

4 March   79 km
Today was a “warm up” on not to bad dirt roads. I really enjoyed it and had a great day. After lunch the road was a bit corrugated so I got off and cycled next to the road on the camel path. What an adventure it was! Real mountain biking over heaps, dodging thorn trees, I felt like I was in an action movie!

5 March 84 km
A very rough morning of corrugation, loose rocks, corrugation, lave rock, loose rocks…
I decided to try out the camel path again adjacent to the bad main road. At some point the road split and I took the nice path to the right, because it also had two bicycle tracks on. Then after about 5km on a single track path, thinking I have made the best discovery yet! No corrugation and maybe a shortcut? I had a great time between the trees on the track. I cycled past a group of ladies leading a whole group of camels in single file. They were very amused by my cycle outfit and felt my helmet while I tried to explain what it is for. Then I met up with three local Kenyan men… eating PVM energy bars.  With their Swahili they tried to explain that two of my kind was also on this track and it is not the road to Nairobi – I have to turn around. Eight kilometres later I was back on track. Claire was riding the sweep for the morning and was very surprised when I caught up with her, as she is supposed to be behind the last rider.

Sarge waving good buy to Ethiopia - on the road just before the border to Kenya

6 March   87 km to Marsabit
I thought that the two cycling days in Sudan on the badly corrugated dirt was the worst ever. But in Kenya – lava rock, loose stones and a strong head wind was added!! 
In the morning about 20 cyclists decided to rather get on the truck than have another tough day on these roads, but I decided to try it and see how it goes. It was a very tough morning and after lunch I did about 16km in 2 hours! When the lunch truck caught up with me, I decided I had enough and the thought of a cold beer waiting at camp was just too alluring.