Ride Africa Day 2: Kuondoka Kubwa

(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 privilege, and something exceedingly rare - most visitors are strictly confined to their safari vehicles with large fines imposed for those who disobey this rule. We were certainly an object of fascination and envy to those we passed.

This was not just some arbitrary rule: we were heavily escorted while in the park. The rangers were posted every 50-100 meters, all armed and very diligently keeping a very close eye out for potential danger. And it wasn't long until we found out why...our first significant animal spot from our bikes was a family of lion, resting in the shade perhaps 50 meters away from the track! Not visible from this picture unfortunately but most certainly visible to the eye!

Understandably we were quickly instructed to ride on, but what a thrill!

The morning proceeded, much as I've described in previous posts, but this was the first day, so there was plenty of getting to know fellow riders, getting used to the bikes, and getting acclimatised to the weather and the trails. Certainly hot and bumpy, but lots of fun and thousands of miles away from a desk in cold and grey Westminster!

Our first break for water and snacks saw us at a local beauty spot, Makalia Falls.

And before long we had to stop at our first zebra crossing!

The original route as planned would have had us cycling on a causeway alongside the lake, but due to unseasonably heavy rains the river had burst its banks and flooded. However we still were able to cycle to the edge of the water and see the flocks of pelican and flamingo that live there.

The morning came to an end as we arrived back at the entrance to the National Park, where we feasted on delicious packed lunches provided by the lodge, watched the birds who seemed very irate with us for disturbing them, and listened to a lovely talk from the commander of the Kenyan Wildlife rangers, who had looked after us so diligently (and a couple of whom who had joined us on bikes for an opportunity that not even many rangers get to experience).

After lunch we left the dusty and lumpy terrain behind for a little while, cycling along some nice smooth tarmac where somehow I managed to get my first puncture of the trip! Another highlight of the organisation of this event was feeling like a F1 driver in a pitstop as rather than repairing the puncture, my wheel was simply removed, a spare brought in from the support vehicle and in 30 seconds or so I was back in action! It was impressive to watch, and made me think of punctures back home, trying to get a tyre off with freezing cold fingers in fading light!

Passing through the towns of Elementeita and Kikopey was a blur of smiling faces and cheers of encouragement, kids lining up for high-fives and fist-bumps as we cycled past, and the promise of a cold beer getting closer and closer with every pedal. We were skirting around the south and east sides of Lake Elementaita and had been warned of a particularly fast and bumpy descent from the road down to the lakeside Sentrim Elementaita Lodge where we would be staying that night. By that time we'd got the hang of the bikes a bit more, and there were some whoops and cheers as people made the descent at speed, bouncing over bumps secure in the knowledge that we would NOT have to cycle back up the slope in the morning, but would be driven up in the bus! Result!

The lodge itself was just as lovely as the previous one, and on arrival we were greeted with clean flannels (soon made not so clean!) and cold juices. Rooms were much bigger than on the previous night, and this time I volunteered to take the single bed so Spence could have the double. It didn't take us long to find the room, dump our stuff and head straight for a swim in the pool, looking over the lake and wondering just how we'd managed to find ourselves in such a wonderful place!

After that it was beers in the bar, and having a fascinating discussion with Chege around the bonfire about the work Child.org also does with local men. Women in many parts of Kenya don't have full autonomy over their own health and bodies, so Child.org has implemented a Team Dad programme, led by Chege, that seeks to help men understand more about women's and maternal health in a non-judgemental, collaborative approach. It was a really interesting discussion, with many UK-based healthcare professionals in the group, and really helped to ground our efforts during the day in the reality of why we were doing this in the first place.

Dinner then followed with conversations naturally around the distance we'd covered, and the incredible landscapes, animals and people we'd seen and met. Tomorrow's timings were announced as a 6:00 breakfast and a 7:15 departure time, so it wasn't long before most of us drifted back to our rooms for an early night in preparation for the next day.