Pedal Powered Stories

(Google Translate assures me that this is the Swahili for Grand Départ!) Distance: 78.8km (49 miles) Elapsed time: 7h 42m Moving time: 5h 34m Temp: 32 ℃ So this was it - the first day we'd actually be cycling in Kenya. All the preparation, training, jabs, and fundraising had led us to sitting on a saddle, about to set off on an epic journey. And the excitement was palpable all morning, over breakfast and as we made the last minute adjustments to our bikes and gear. All wearing our beautiful Ride Africa jerseys we gathered in the car park for our first briefing, our first warm-up and our first 'flagging off' ceremony. It was lovely to hear from the Kenyan Wildlife Service  and the hotel management, providing words of support and encouragement, and with the wave of a flag we were finally off! Today we were cycling through the stunning Lake Nakuru National Park, home to most of the famous 'big five' animals (no elephants). Riding in the park was an awe-inspiring privil...

In the previous daily entry (before my retrospective of the overall ride) I had left off having got back to the hotel to relax after a hectic day exploring Nairobi. I chilled out by the rooftop pool for a while, had a very delicious dinner with the chefs grilling various meats to order out in the garden, then retired to the bar to watch replays of Premier League football and enjoy a couple of cold White Cap beers. After a while, the phone began to buzz, and messages started to come in on the Ride Africa group chat as people got connected after the London flight had landed. And not long after that, the hotel reception began filling up with people with that unmistakable aura of cyclist: lean, fit, and (my biggest clue) - carrying cycle helmets. Spence arrived not too much later, and after he checked in we had a couple more beers, chatted about his journey, and soon it was time to call it a night. Tomorrow was the real beginning. Morning arrived with an 8:30 meetup in reception. I packed ...

First of all, my deepest apologies to all those I promised regular updates throughout the week of Ride Africa. I had grand plans of posting each day, giving immediate impressions and descriptions of what we’d seen and done. But the reality found once getting on the ground made finding the time to do that a bit trickier. So, here’s a general overview of the event, and I’ll follow this up with further posts talking about each day in a bit more detail. BTW - child.org is still fundraising and is running a targetted campaign to support their brilliant Team Dad outreach programme (vital work in areas that are still deeply patriarchal), so if you would like to donate a few pennies please use this link which will see any donations made this week DOUBLED! Each day consisted of an early start, with timings confirmed at the previous evening’s dinner and accompanied by either groans or cheers from the collective, depending on the exact time announced! Our luggage was all labelled, and each mor...