Day 173
Sleeping location: Spanish Mission, Nariokotome, Kenya
Distance (km today/total): 50 / 12386
Estimated climb (m today/total): 0 / 91200
Litres drunk whilst riding: 11
Distance (km today/total): 50 / 12386
Estimated climb (m today/total): 0 / 91200
Litres drunk whilst riding: 11
Day in three words: Sand is pain
We had run out of oats so for breakfast we had pasta with peanut butter and honey, which was unexpectedly delightful. After saying goodbye to Father Andrew, Cosmo and the Silent Man we set off back along the sandy track. Again it was mostly rideable but now had a lot of the ridged washboard sections that are formed by passing cars. These shake the bikes like crazy and soon led to the effective demise of my handlebar bag. Because of its design each bump weakens the internal structure, and as the internal structure weakens it flops around more and more, further weakening the internal structure. This has been going on for the whole trip but this kind of bump is like its kryptonite and finally I had to take it off its bracket and strap it to my front rack. In between the bumps there were lots of deep sandy bits where we had to push, often with great difficulty. By mid morning it was pushing 40 degrees and the sun was beating down, and it was arduous work.
When we reach a very sandy section we stopped to look at the map and thought we’d gone the wrong way as there were no car tracks and we were no longer on the “road” on our maps, so we turned back to try and find the official route. We found it, but then it ended abruptly at a small canyon caused by a flash flood. Some kids appeared and gestured that we needed to go back the way we’d come from to get around the canyon, so we headed cross country then cut down through a dry riverbed, mostly pushing with great difficulty as the sand was so deep. On the other side we came across the track we’d originally turned back on, albeit further along, but even this was still very deep sand and the going was so hard. Finally the track became rideable again and we rode it into our first Kenyan town where we were immediately chased by loads of kids. No change from Ethiopia then, although they do seem a bit more shy here. The town was a collection of dirt streets and tin shacks, one of which rather ambitiously called itself the Grand Regency Hotel. In a shop we explored the new snacks and drinks now available to us, which included yoghurt, not seen since Sudan.
We fled the children and enjoyed our snacks in some shade which we had to share with about 100 donkeys, many of whom were making some very donkey noises. We were aiming for another mission which we’d read could provide beds and food for a small fee, and because the track was mostly rideable again thought we had a lot of time until dark, but my tummy had other ideas and caused me some issues*. By sunset we were both knackered and I was in a particularly bad way as the heat had really got to me. The mission was actually another few km down a sandy track and we ended up riding the last section in the dark, arriving after 11hrs on the road for our 50km. It had been an absolutely brutal day and I had drunk 11 litres of liquid since we set off.
The mission was huge and we ambled around in the dark until we found a collection of big stone buildings and a sign saying “hospital”. A man appeared and in my addled state I thought he was a patient in a hospital gown carrying a urine sample. He introduced himself as Antonio and I realised that he was actually just dressed in white shorts and t shirt and was carrying a jug (a JUG) of lemon drink, which he offered to us and it was very thirst quenching indeed. He explained that we’d missed the caretaker and they couldn’t do us dinner or a room, but we could camp and use their bathroom for free, which was ok by us as the amount he quoted for the room and food was way more than we had read (2500 Shilling vs 300). But then he seemed to talk himself into calling the caretaker and getting him to come back to make up a room, and then some other people arrived with food, so we actually got a decent bed and dinner and to hell with the cost.
*Although one of these issues may have been caused by drinking 3 litres of fizzy pop then riding on a very bumpy road
We had run out of oats so for breakfast we had pasta with peanut butter and honey, which was unexpectedly delightful. After saying goodbye to Father Andrew, Cosmo and the Silent Man we set off back along the sandy track. Again it was mostly rideable but now had a lot of the ridge washboard sections that are formed by passing cars. These shake the bikes like crazy and soon led to the effective demise of my handlebar bag. Because of its design each bump weakens the internal structure, and as the internal structure weakens it flops around more and more, further weakening the internal structure. This has been going on for the whole trip but this kind of bump is like its kryptonite and finally I had to take it off its bracket and strap it to my front rack. In between the bumps there were lots of deep sandy bits where we had to push, often with great difficulty. By mid morning it was pushing 40 degrees and the sun was beating down, and it was arduous work.
When we reach a very sandy section we stopped to look at the map and thought we’d gone the wrong way as there were no car tracks and we were no longer on the “road” on our maps, so we turned back to try and find the official route. We found it, but then it ended abruptly at a small canyon caused by a flash flood. Some kids appeared and gestured that we needed to go back the way we’d come from to get around the canyon, so we headed cross country then cut down through a dry riverbed, mostly pushing with great difficulty as the sand was so deep. On the other side we came across the track we’d originally turned back on, albeit further along, but even this was still very deep sand and the going was so hard. Finally the track became rideable again and we rode it into our first Kenyan town where we were immediately chased by loads of kids. No change from Ethiopia then, although they do seem a bit more shy here. The town was a collection of dirt streets and tin shacks, one of which rather ambitiously called itself the Grand Regency Hotel. In a shop we explored the new snacks and drinks now available to us, which included yoghurt, not seen since Sudan.
We fled the children and enjoyed our snacks in some shade which we had to share with about 100 donkeys, many of whom were making some very donkey noises. We were aiming for another mission which we’d read could provide beds and food for a small fee, and because the track was mostly rideable again thought we had a lot of time until dark, but my tummy had other ideas and caused me some issues*. By sunset we were both knackered and I was in a particularly bad way as the heat had really got to me. The mission was actually another few km down a sandy track and we ended up riding the last section in the dark, arriving after 11hrs on the road for our 50km. It had been an absolutely brutal day and I had drunk 11 litres of liquid since we set off.
The mission was huge and we ambled around in the dark until we found a collection of big stone buildings and a sign saying “hospital”. A man appeared and in my addled state I thought he was a patient in a hospital gown carrying a urine sample. He introduced himself as Antonio and I realised that he was actually just dressed in white shorts and t shirt and was carrying a jug (a JUG) of lemon drink, which he offered to us and it was very thirst quenching indeed. He explained that we’d missed the caretaker and they couldn’t do us dinner or a room, but we could camp and use their bathroom for free, which was ok by us as the amount he quoted for the room and food was way more than we had read (2500 Shilling vs 300). But then he seemed to talk himself into calling the caretaker and getting him to come back to make up a room, and then some other people arrived with food, so we actually got a decent bed and dinner and to hell with the cost.
*Although one of these issues may have been caused by drinking 3 litres of fizzy pop then riding on a very bumpy road
We had run out of oats so for breakfast we had pasta with peanut butter and honey, which was unexpectedly delightful. After saying goodbye to Father Andrew, Cosmo and the Silent Man we set off back along the sandy track. Again it was mostly rideable but now had a lot of the ridge washboard sections that are formed by passing cars. These shake the bikes like crazy and soon led to the effective demise of my handlebar bag. Because of its design each bump weakens the internal structure, and as the internal structure weakens it flops around more and more, further weakening the internal structure. This has been going on for the whole trip but this kind of bump is like its kryptonite and finally I had to take it off its bracket and strap it to my front rack. In between the bumps there were lots of deep sandy bits where we had to push, often with great difficulty. By mid morning it was pushing 40 degrees and the sun was beating down, and it was arduous work.
When we reach a very sandy section we stopped to look at the map and thought we’d gone the wrong way as there were no car tracks and we were no longer on the “road” on our maps, so we turned back to try and find the official route. We found it, but then it ended abruptly at a small canyon caused by a flash flood. Some kids appeared and gestured that we needed to go back the way we’d come from to get around the canyon, so we headed cross country then cut down through a dry riverbed, mostly pushing with great difficulty as the sand was so deep. On the other side we came across the track we’d originally turned back on, albeit further along, but even this was still very deep sand and the going was so hard. Finally the track became rideable again and we rode it into our first Kenyan town where we were immediately chased by loads of kids. No change from Ethiopia then, although they do seem a bit more shy here. The town was a collection of dirt streets and tin shacks, one of which rather ambitiously called itself the Grand Regency Hotel. In a shop we explored the new snacks and drinks now available to us, which included yoghurt, not seen since Sudan.
We fled the children and enjoyed our snacks in some shade which we had to share with about 100 donkeys, many of whom were making some very donkey noises. We were aiming for another mission which we’d read could provide beds and food for a small fee, and because the track was mostly rideable again thought we had a lot of time until dark, but my tummy had other ideas and caused me some issues*. By sunset we were both knackered and I was in a particularly bad way as the heat had really got to me. The mission was actually another few km down a sandy track and we ended up riding the last section in the dark, arriving after 11hrs on the road for our 50km. It had been an absolutely brutal day and I had drunk 11 litres of liquid since we set off.
The mission was huge and we ambled around in the dark until we found a collection of big stone buildings and a sign saying “hospital”. A man appeared and in my addled state I thought he was a patient in a hospital gown carrying a urine sample. He introduced himself as Antonio and I realised that he was actually just dressed in white shorts and t shirt and was carrying a jug (a JUG) of lemon drink, which he offered to us and it was very thirst quenching indeed. He explained that we’d missed the caretaker and they couldn’t do us dinner or a room, but we could camp and use their bathroom for free, which was ok by us as the amount he quoted for the room and food was way more than we had read (2500 Shilling vs 300). But then he seemed to talk himself into calling the caretaker and getting him to come back to make up a room, and then some other people arrived with food, so we actually got a decent bed and dinner and to hell with the cost.
*Although one of these issues may have been caused by drinking 3 litres of fizzy pop then riding on a very bumpy road
We had run out of oats so for breakfast we had pasta with peanut butter and honey, which was unexpectedly delightful. After saying goodbye to Father Andrew, Cosmo and the Silent Man we set off back along the sandy track. Again it was mostly rideable but now had a lot of the ridged washboard sections that are formed by passing cars. These shake the bikes like crazy and soon led to the effective demise of my handlebar bag. Because of its design each bump weakens the internal structure, and as the internal structure weakens it flops around more and more, further weakening the internal structure. This has been going on for the whole trip but this kind of bump is like its kryptonite and finally I had to take it off its bracket and strap it to my front rack. In between the bumps there were lots of deep sandy bits where we had to push, often with great difficulty. By mid morning it was pushing 40 degrees and the sun was beating down, and it was arduous work.
When we reach a very sandy section we stopped to look at the map and thought we’d gone the wrong way as there were no car tracks and we were no longer on the “road” on our maps, so we turned back to try and find the official route. We found it, but then it ended abruptly at a small canyon caused by a flash flood. Some kids appeared and gestured that we needed to go back the way we’d come from to get around the canyon, so we headed cross country then cut down through a dry riverbed, mostly pushing with great difficulty as the sand was so deep. On the other side we came across the track we’d originally turned back on, albeit further along, but even this was still very deep sand and the going was so hard. Finally the track became rideable again and we rode it into our first Kenyan town where we were immediately chased by loads of kids. No change from Ethiopia then, although they do seem a bit more shy here. The town was a collection of dirt streets and tin shacks, one of which rather ambitiously called itself the Grand Regency Hotel. In a shop we explored the new snacks and drinks now available to us, which included yoghurt, not seen since Sudan.
We fled the children and enjoyed our snacks in some shade which we had to share with about 100 donkeys, many of whom were making some very donkey noises. We were aiming for another mission which we’d read could provide beds and food for a small fee, and because the track was mostly rideable again thought we had a lot of time until dark, but my tummy had other ideas and caused me some issues*. By sunset we were both knackered and I was in a particularly bad way as the heat had really got to me. The mission was actually another few km down a sandy track and we ended up riding the last section in the dark, arriving after 11hrs on the road for our 50km. It had been an absolutely brutal day and I had drunk 11 litres of liquid since we set off.
The mission was huge and we ambled around in the dark until we found a collection of big stone buildings and a sign saying “hospital”. A man appeared and in my addled state I thought he was a patient in a hospital gown carrying a urine sample. He introduced himself as Antonio and I realised that he was actually just dressed in white shorts and t shirt and was carrying a jug (a JUG) of lemon drink, which he offered to us and it was very thirst quenching indeed. He explained that we’d missed the caretaker and they couldn’t do us dinner or a room, but we could camp and use their bathroom for free, which was ok by us as the amount he quoted for the room and food was way more than we had read (2500 Shilling vs 300). But then he seemed to talk himself into calling the caretaker and getting him to come back to make up a room, and then some other people arrived with food, so we actually got a decent bed and dinner and to hell with the cost.
*Although one of these issues may have been caused by drinking 3 litres of fizzy pop then riding on a very bumpy road
We had run out of oats so for breakfast we had pasta with peanut butter and honey, which was unexpectedly delightful. After saying goodbye to Father Andrew, Cosmo and the Silent Man we set off back along the sandy track. Again it was mostly rideable but now had a lot of the ridge washboard sections that are formed by passing cars. These shake the bikes like crazy and soon led to the effective demise of my handlebar bag. Because of its design each bump weakens the internal structure, and as the internal structure weakens it flops around more and more, further weakening the internal structure. This has been going on for the whole trip but this kind of bump is like its kryptonite and finally I had to take it off its bracket and strap it to my front rack. In between the bumps there were lots of deep sandy bits where we had to push, often with great difficulty. By mid morning it was pushing 40 degrees and the sun was beating down, and it was arduous work.
When we reach a very sandy section we stopped to look at the map and thought we’d gone the wrong way as there were no car tracks and we were no longer on the “road” on our maps, so we turned back to try and find the official route. We found it, but then it ended abruptly at a small canyon caused by a flash flood. Some kids appeared and gestured that we needed to go back the way we’d come from to get around the canyon, so we headed cross country then cut down through a dry riverbed, mostly pushing with great difficulty as the sand was so deep. On the other side we came across the track we’d originally turned back on, albeit further along, but even this was still very deep sand and the going was so hard. Finally the track became rideable again and we rode it into our first Kenyan town where we were immediately chased by loads of kids. No change from Ethiopia then, although they do seem a bit more shy here. The town was a collection of dirt streets and tin shacks, one of which rather ambitiously called itself the Grand Regency Hotel. In a shop we explored the new snacks and drinks now available to us, which included yoghurt, not seen since Sudan.
We fled the children and enjoyed our snacks in some shade which we had to share with about 100 donkeys, many of whom were making some very donkey noises. We were aiming for another mission which we’d read could provide beds and food for a small fee, and because the track was mostly rideable again thought we had a lot of time until dark, but my tummy had other ideas and caused me some issues*. By sunset we were both knackered and I was in a particularly bad way as the heat had really got to me. The mission was actually another few km down a sandy track and we ended up riding the last section in the dark, arriving after 11hrs on the road for our 50km. It had been an absolutely brutal day and I had drunk 11 litres of liquid since we set off.
The mission was huge and we ambled around in the dark until we found a collection of big stone buildings and a sign saying “hospital”. A man appeared and in my addled state I thought he was a patient in a hospital gown carrying a urine sample. He introduced himself as Antonio and I realised that he was actually just dressed in white shorts and t shirt and was carrying a jug (a JUG) of lemon drink, which he offered to us and it was very thirst quenching indeed. He explained that we’d missed the caretaker and they couldn’t do us dinner or a room, but we could camp and use their bathroom for free, which was ok by us as the amount he quoted for the room and food was way more than we had read (2500 Shilling vs 300). But then he seemed to talk himself into calling the caretaker and getting him to come back to make up a room, and then some other people arrived with food, so we actually got a decent bed and dinner and to hell with the cost.
*Although one of these issues may have been caused by drinking 3 litres of fizzy pop then riding on a very bumpy road
We had run out of oats so for breakfast we had pasta with peanut butter and honey, which was unexpectedly delightful. After saying goodbye to Father Andrew, Cosmo and the Silent Man we set off back along the sandy track. Again it was mostly rideable but now had a lot of the ridge washboard sections that are formed by passing cars. These shake the bikes like crazy and soon led to the effective demise of my handlebar bag. Because of its design each bump weakens the internal structure, and as the internal structure weakens it flops around more and more, further weakening the internal structure. This has been going on for the whole trip but this kind of bump is like its kryptonite and finally I had to take it off its bracket and strap it to my front rack. In between the bumps there were lots of deep sandy bits where we had to push, often with great difficulty. By mid morning it was pushing 40 degrees and the sun was beating down, and it was arduous work.
When we reach a very sandy section we stopped to look at the map and thought we’d gone the wrong way as there were no car tracks and we were no longer on the “road” on our maps, so we turned back to try and find the official route. We found it, but then it ended abruptly at a small canyon caused by a flash flood. Some kids appeared and gestured that we needed to go back the way we’d come from to get around the canyon, so we headed cross country then cut down through a dry riverbed, mostly pushing with great difficulty as the sand was so deep. On the other side we came across the track we’d originally turned back on, albeit further along, but even this was still very deep sand and the going was so hard. Finally the track became rideable again and we rode it into our first Kenyan town where we were immediately chased by loads of kids. No change from Ethiopia then, although they do seem a bit more shy here. The town was a collection of dirt streets and tin shacks, one of which rather ambitiously called itself the Grand Regency Hotel. In a shop we explored the new snacks and drinks now available to us, which included yoghurt, not seen since Sudan.
We fled the children and enjoyed our snacks in some shade which we had to share with about 100 donkeys, many of whom were making some very donkey noises. We were aiming for another mission which we’d read could provide beds and food for a small fee, and because the track was mostly rideable again thought we had a lot of time until dark, but my tummy had other ideas and caused me some issues*. By sunset we were both knackered and I was in a particularly bad way as the heat had really got to me. The mission was actually another few km down a sandy track and we ended up riding the last section in the dark, arriving after 11hrs on the road for our 50km. It had been an absolutely brutal day and I had drunk 11 litres of liquid since we set off.
The mission was huge and we ambled around in the dark until we found a collection of big stone buildings and a sign saying “hospital”. A man appeared and in my addled state I thought he was a patient in a hospital gown carrying a urine sample. He introduced himself as Antonio and I realised that he was actually just dressed in white shorts and t shirt and was carrying a jug (a JUG) of lemon drink, which he offered to us and it was very thirst quenching indeed. He explained that we’d missed the caretaker and they couldn’t do us dinner or a room, but we could camp and use their bathroom for free, which was ok by us as the amount he quoted for the room and food was way more than we had read (2500 Shilling vs 300). But then he seemed to talk himself into calling the caretaker and getting him to come back to make up a room, and then some other people arrived with food, so we actually got a decent bed and dinner and to hell with the cost.
*Although one of these issues may have been caused by drinking 3 litres of fizzy pop then riding on a very bumpy road
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