Ride Africa Day 1
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 up (something that would quickly become one of my least favourite things to do) headed downstairs and met Hattie and Chege from the child.org team, nurses Penny and Ashleigh, and a handful of fellow riders. It had that vibe of the first day at uni, where everyone is a little unsure of what to expect, but everyone was super-friendly and we all began to put faces to the names that we'd seen on WhatsApp for the last nine months, faces that would soon become our constant companions on the road. I remember being super-impressed with the organisation - names were checked off, luggage tags and name badges were issued, and it was clear that we were in exceptionally safe hands.
Our luggage was then picked up and loaded into the truck, we all piled into the bus and after a quick stop at the Hilton hotel to collect the riders who had stayed there on the previous night, we set off toward Lake Nakuru. The drive itself felt like a microcosm of Kenya itself: at the start we were barreling along the busy main roads out of Nairobi, with trucks and lorries and traffic and heart-in-mouth overtaking manoeuvres. Then there was the stop at the Great Rift Valley overlook. The view was staggering, the kind that makes you pause and marvel at just how spectacular our planet can be. We were looking down on the floor of the Great Rift Valley and that's where we were going to be cycling. Looking back now and saying that is truly mindblowing to me.
Cameras clicked for our first group picture, selfies were taken, hawkers politely deterred, and then it was back to the bus for packed lunches courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn. Of course, no proper road trip is complete without a roadside beer stop, so Spence and I may have added a couple of cheeky cold ones to the mix.
As we got closer and closer to our destination for the first night the roads became more and more rugged and we were quite clearly now in the back country. Wildlife-spotting began and people started ticking off their sightings: Zebra. Check. Antelope. Check. Monkeys. Check. A baby rhino? Surely not?!
Unfortunately the drivers had to gently let down the excitement and point out that the baby rhino was in fact...a warthog. Disappointing, yes, but also hilarious, and felt like a bit of an ice-breaker to me. Anyway: Warthog. Check.
And we also found out that Pumba means 'stupid' in Swahili. We certainly felt a little like Pumba at the time!
It wasn't too much later before we entered the Lake Nakuru National Park itself. We were checked off by the Kenyan Wildlife Service rangers, and handed over our signed agreements acknowledging that we were now officially in dangerous territory and basically agreed not to sue in the event of being eaten by a lion. Finally we reached our first stop of the trip: Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge.
Greeted with cold flannels and a warm welcome by the staff, we shuffled into a conference room and signed more forms, collected keys and then headed to the rooms, our luggage already there waiting for us, along with swag! Dry-bags, cycling jerseys, welcome notes and leaflets about child.org to read through. Sleeping arrangements involved an extra single bed crammed into the room, which Spence kindly volunteered to take, leaving me with the double. A mosquito net draped around the two beds did give an air of bridal suite, which we both found amusing!
Next up on the agenda was a bike fitting. We'd been speculating what the bikes would be like for a while now, and they were decent. Trek mountain bikes, with excellent brakes, a good spread of gears for the terrain and suspension forks. The Simbaz and the Fuel team helped set each bike up for each of us, and many people had brought their own pedals, saddles, and framebags. That bike was then tagged with our names, and would be our bike for the whole trip. It had been some time since I'd last ridden a mountain bike, and the test ride around the car park was… let’s just say wobbly. A gentle reminder from nurse Ashleigh that helmets were not optional, even now, emphasised just how safe and professional this experience was going to be.
Bike admin sorted, we had a little bit of time to ourselves. A few of us took advantage of a very refreshing pool, calls home were made, and lots more getting to know our fellow riders (beers in the bar may have been consumed). As the sun dipped, we gathered around a bonfire for formal introductions and briefings. It was a proper roll call: the child.org team, the Safari Simbaz, the nurses, Fuel, and the team of drivers and porters.
Each group had its own story and role in the bigger picture, and hearing them all laid out gave a sense of the scale of what we were about to do. This was more than just a cycle ride; it was a massive effort by a huge group of extremely talented and energetic people coming together to do something remarkable for a fantastic cause.
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