Day 3: Nyeri to Nyahururu - 98 km

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Our first day cycling!!!! It was a REALLY tough one: beautiful, hard, never ending hills and a true challenge. I think I assumed (incorrectly) that our third day of cycling (Day 5) would be the toughest. But if this was anything to go by Day 5 is going to be a killer. 

Kicking off with an early start at 5.30am we were ready to start at 7.00 am. I am really rubbish in the mornings - not someone you want to speak to, let alone exercise with!  As we went down for breakfast up you could cut the atmosphere with a knife - I was running on pure anticipation. The fear and excitement of the unknown...  

Group 2 Cycle Kenya - just before we started our cycle challenge

Saddled up and ready to start the day we had to do a warm up. Always slightly awkward (I personally never stretch before cycling) but it was a pretty funny sight: more than 70 lycra clad women! Warmed and ready to go it was my responsibility to carry the pink horn – our version of the Tour De France’s yellow leaders t-shirt. As the first to be honoured with the horn I had to lead the group out of the hotel and we set off on our first 20 km. I LOVED the first 20km – some big hills to contend with but we set our own pace. I rode with Rachel and the other Claire. The time sped by and when we reached the checkpoint I felt as though I didn’t need the break! Little was I to know what was to come…more hills far too many to count. 

By lunch a mere 66km completed I felt wrecked. It was a really difficult ascent – not impossible but tough. I think this was made harder by the heat and altitude. While we’re not likely to suffer altitude sickness – it’s not high enough but usually you would need a few days to acclimatise before exercising. Going up the hills was definitely harder. I now have lovely paw marked hands because I forgot sun screen on the backs of my hand! Suffered from a bad headache but was able to use my huge drug supply to get myself back in gear! Also employed my old field excavation technique of dousing my head with water – no sea to dip my head in – but we have water canisters for just such a purpose. The scenery has been absolutely gorgeous! As we cycled we caught a glimpse of Mount Kenya – heavily obscured by cloud but it was peaking through (as we were told by the Minister for Tourism in the region it must have been shy with so many good looking women – he clearly appreciated lycra!).

I find it hard to describe the scenery because the vista was so beautiful, fields of fruit, vegetables, and sugar cane. Lots of kids lined the route to cheer us on and they like to shout: 'how are you' very loudly. At first this was fun but after a whole day of 'how are you' it got a bit annoying!

It was a really tough day and the last 20 km was a strain - mainly because I was so knackered. BUT we all made it. A truly extreme day, with far too many long hills for my liking. As I arrived at our hotel, Thomson's Falls Hotel, Nyahururu I felt tired but relieved great start to the Women V Cancer Cycle Kenya Challenge.

Day 1 and 2 - London to Nairobi and then to Nyeri

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As we met at Heathrow there was an air of anticipation and excitement - a heady mixture. We were all in our Women V Cancer t-shirts and given that there were 71 women in pink it wasn't difficult to find each other! Our tour assistant, Anna and our doctors, Sophie and Sarah were also with us on the plane out (lucky them - hope the doctors had some valium with them!).

The flight was uneventful and those of us who were able to slept did so, the rest of us like me, lay there too excited to sleep!

Monday morning we arrived blurry eyed in Nairobi. We were met by our second tour assistant Gideon and Action for Charities, Ann F. Straight onto a bus and on our way to Nyeri - the start point for our cycle ride.

At the Baden Powell Museum

Nyeri is Kenya's 8th largest town and the administrative capital for the Central Province. It is located in the Aberdare National Park with stunning views of Mount Kenya. Nyeri is famous for its links to Lord Baden-Powell and we visited Baden Powell's house now a museum and we got a chance to try out our bikes by cycling down to the museum. You can feel the altitude up the hills!

We had an hour or so with our fab bike mechanics to get our mountain bikes in shape. I managed to get my lovely gel, ergonomic saddle and my kit bag on to the bike. Still waiting nervously for the day when I get a puncture (in all the time I have been training I have never had a puncture - thank you puncture resistant tyres - you were worth the money but now I have no idea what to do if it happens). Anyway, all of us have prepped our bikes and are ready to go at 7 am tmrw! It is going to be a tough day with multiple hils and heat to contend with but we will end of up an elevation of 2200m and have some beautiful scenery to keep us entertained! Wish us luck.

We've just had a great meal, and about to turn in for the night in our fantastic hotel, the Green Hills, willing the night to go fast so we can get on with our adventure!!! More soon...

Some pics:

 

More pics are on FB: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.796540735850.2285955.202909845&type=1&l=2b3290ff29 

Slow internet so sorry for not posting more...

The battle between excitement and extreme fear - which will win?!

In 46 hours, I'm leaving with 70 other amazing women to go on an adventure!!!

Am I ready? Hell no but are you ever ready for 400 km?

This week has been rather hectic – seeing friends and family; finishing all of my work errands; making sure I get everything on the huge kit list and the even larger drug list (perhaps I am completely naïve and will be eating my words by next Saturday but how will I really need two packets of Ibuprofen and two packets of Paracetamol?). Regardless of my denial of the actual difficulty of the trip, everything, including my massive drug supply, is now piled up in my room and ready to be properly packed. Still missing the gin hip flask...must search for that tomorrow.

I am £105 away from hitting my fundraising target of £1000 - a massive thank you to everyone that has donated so far. Should you feel the need to top up my fundraising page, here's the link: http://www.justgiving.com/travelingorilla (feel free to share it with your friends!)

As a parting gift, my Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust Colleagues bought me some jelly beans (Marks & Spencers - yummy!) and pink smarties. Can't wait to crack open the beans at the top of the 26km hill. Thank you Team Jo's and of course the rest of the office, you really have offered me so much encouragement over the last couple of months even when I went into too much detail about chaffing...you all still listened and nodded sympathetically. THANK YOU!   

Pink smarties and jelly beans to help me keep pedallin'.
Thanks Team Jo's! 

So far this week, I have experienced an interesting combination of: excitement, insomnia, fear, panic over lack of waterproof trousers (let’s not even go into details about that one - needless to say it was verging on hand me the valium all over waterproof trousers), and the best one of all mild indifference. And I haven't even started the cycling bit of the challenge yet. No idea which emotion will win but what I want more than anything is to get on the plane NOW!  Really can't wait to meet the rest of Group 2 and start cycling! 

Roll on Sunday! 

Our challenge - pictorial view

This is the route!!! From Nyeri to Kisumu...400 km on a bike in 5 days.


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3 weeks and counting until Cycle Kenya!!!

Work has been so busy that I've hardly had a moment to write anything on the blog, however, I'm planning to update more regularly as we get closer to leaving the UK in 3 weeks!!! And will, of course, attempt to blog every day during the challenge. 

Friends keep asking me how I feel about the trip: am I ready?
My response depends on the day. At the end of August I felt ready but now I swing between really excited and really freaked out. Mainly because by this point the plan was to be cycling to work 4-5 times a week (that's 20km a day) and doing at least two exercise classes such as spin, zumba or yoga. Unfortunately, the training schedule isn't on track, last week I got a stomach bug and that stopped me training for a whole week. Today was the first day back on the bike and it felt good - I didn't think I would miss cycling but I actually have. So I am now resigned to my fate, whatever level of fitness I am now, I've got to go with it! PMA - Positive Mental Attitude is what I'm relying on and chocolate, lots of chocolate.

So with 3 weeks to go - most things are sorted out:

• Kenyan visa - check
• Travel insurance - check
• Backpack (courtesy of my lovely cousin Katie) - check
• Cycling shorts - check
• Sunscreen - check
• Hip flask of gin - check
• Light summer cycle helmet - check
• Massive supply of pain killers - check
• Amazing travel guide to Kenya with illustrated notes of all Kenyan snakes - check

Things that haven't been sorted out:

• Vaccinations - turns out that to get my vaccination history I have had to phone a variety of health practitioners: the GP Receptionists three times, the Practice Nurse twice and finally the Practice Manager. Apparently, they cannot find any record of any vaccinations (I had some last year!) and the earliest travel clinic appointment was a month away which was booked a month ago. Let's hope they can sort me out next week! 
• Malaria tablets - as above! 
• Snack supply - sourcing trek bars which are amazing and I cannot leave without them! 
• New bikini - must be prepared for any eventuality and you can't go on a challenge like this without a bikini! 
• Antelope training - just in case! 

OK, will update with more pre-Kenya preparation soon...

The Beast from the East...

Over the last couple of months I've had a sinking feeling, I felt overwhelmed by the distance that I will have to cycle in Kenya – 400 km just seemed epic and hard to contemplate. So to conquer the fear of long distance cycling, I decided to sign up for the Beast from the East otherwise known as the BHF London to Hastings cycle ride. Seventy miles over 7 peaks crossing the beautiful North Downs and through the High Weald before facing the South Downs, and then finally down towards the coast (see the map below). My hypothesis being: if I do a 70 mile ride then I will be able to do Kenya.

My friend Nick decided that he wanted to do it with me and it was reassuring to have someone with me who has done plenty of long cycle rides. So, two weeks ago we booked our places and our entry numbers, 531 and 532, promptly arrived in the post. With no expectations I prepped for the day by storing up on my trek bar collection (essential for any sporting activity), eating pasta for 3 days in a row and not cycling all week (I maintain that excess pasta eating is the way forward!).

At the start - waiting to go!

Sunday morning was clear and crisp as we set out at 7.15 am in the taxi to Crystal Palace – Nick did suggest that we ride the 15 miles but I put my foot down...The ride was really well organised and all we had to do was hand in our registration cards and we were off by 8.45 am. I have to say I enjoyed the route out of London; it was hilly but nothing major. As we left London we rode into some beautiful countryside. Nick, much speedier than me and rode ahead, giving me a chance to chat to other cyclists. There was an interesting mixture of keen enthusiasts and relative novices (like me). The first 20 miles were hard but by around 11 am as I approached Tunbridge Wells I started to get into a rhythm and felt really good on the bike. There were a few tough hills, including the one that had a 25% incline (I fell off in a very spectacular way) and the hill that went on for far too long (a few plateaus and then another steep bit to get up). I patted myself on the back when another cyclist with the full cycling gear, amazing road bike and very athletic-looking cycled up to me and asked if I had just cycled up the hill. When I said yes, he looked shocked and congratulated me – he had to get off and walk!!!

Arriving at the beach

Around 1 pm, there was a torrential downpour, we had to shelter under a tree for about half an hour but the weather cleared quickly and we didn’t get too badly soaked. By 2.45 pm we had reached the coast with only about 8 miles to go – I celebrated with a Mars bar (apparently I had burned 4000 calories by that point)! Seeing the sea was incredibly motivating and the final 8 miles passed by quickly. Although there was a minor incident where Nick fell off his bike and managed to bang his head and cut his arm. His bike was also injured…We made it to the finish line and then straight to the first aid tent and Nick was patched up (luckily no serious injuries were sustained).

I really enjoyed the whole day: gorgeous scenery (topped off by reaching the sea), some great people to ride with who really love cycling, and some challenging hills to conquer. I’m so glad that I decided to take on the Beast: the distance wasn’t nearly as scary as it sounded.

 

On the finish line - looking suitably tired after 70 miles

On the train home with my medal

We took the train back to London and cycled from the station to home, which meant we actually cycled 80 miles on Sunday! I cycled to work on Monday and I felt fine – so now I have to maintain this level of fitness and I am ready to go. Thank you to Nick for riding with me – it was great having you with me.

BRING ON KENYA!

The London to Hastings route:

@travelingorilla newsflash: Gin improves cycling!

"Every weekend, there are lots of people who genuinely enjoy cycling long distances". This probably doesn’t surprise you but it really has surprised me; I’ve just never noticed the number of dedicated cycling enthusiasts out on the streets of London.

As the world of cycling is slowly revealed to me, I'm starting to notice it everywhere (types of bikes, saddles, helmet styles)! Last night, I went to a house party and I got chatting to two different guys both of whom are avid cyclists. They both regularly cycle around 50 km. It’s really impressive. I'm very envious that they've reached the 50 km mark, today I only cycled a meagre 22 km. But last night taught me that I can nod enthusiastically about cycling and talk about black cabs who've tried to drive into me. I'm getting there: I will be a real cyclist by November!

Along with my new-found awareness of other cyclists, this week has included a few firsts:

"Gin and tonic may help to improve
cycling efficiency" Cohen 2011

• I changed my brake pads myself – quite easy and I feel proud for not paying the £12 that the bike shop close to work wanted to charge me!
• I swapped my pain inducing saddle for a specialised women’s gel one– already feeling the benefits. So happy that the divorce from the old saddle has gone ahead. I can report the new saddle is gorgeous and really comfortable. Actually did 22 km today without cycling shorts - testament that my new saddle is AMAZING.
• I suffered a cycling related burn that made me look like I have joined a strange cult (massive white cross on my back and slightly reddened surrounding skin which is now fading to a tan). Not at all embarrassing when my work colleague gasped and asked what happened to my back before they burst out laughing! Mental note now made: must invite a kind friend or family member over to my flat to plaster me with sunscreen before the next ride.
• This week I've cycled approx. 120km (Monday to Sunday) - hard to believe but all the shorter one hour rides add up!
• I have scientifically observed that gin and tonic helps my cycling - seriously considering taking a hip flask with me to Kenya!

Overall training is going well BUT I need to sign up for a practice cycle event so that I can prove to myself I can do over 60km in a day...suggestions for events welcome!