In Transit

My unit in Nairobi…the one I wasn’t supposed to be in 🤣

I spent my last day in India in the company of Professor Giri, a friend of Asraf and an altogether wonderful human being! As a leading international writer and scholar of political sciences I had a great day walking, talking and reflecting with him. He introduced me to one of his media friends who then took it upon himself to interview me about life on the road on a bicycle!
Once I’d packed up and Bob was tucked in his bike box it was time to leave India for Kenya. I had heard the night before that my fathers condition had noticeably deteriorated so the next few days or weeks may well be interrupted to travel home – why, that sounds very familiar! But it is what it is and I’m only too willing to get back when the time comes.
My short trip to the airport was uneventful, as was all the fuffing about that comes with pushing Bob and box through a crowded airport. Right to the end india continued to frustrate me – I was waiting for my front bike bag which I carry as hand luggage to be inspected at security as it always sets off the screening with all its electrical bits….so the guy starts to take things out. All good. Then another guy comes through security and starts chatting to the guy rifling through my bag….clearly they were old mates. Then another. Before long they’re all having a right old chat, showing photos and loads of back slapping, all the while I’m there waiting to catch my plane. After 15 minutes I got a little fed up and started repacking my bag and just strolled off!

The Air India flight to Nairobi was equally uneventful – it was on time too!! My heart warmed when the captain announced the ground temperature was 26 degrees….bring it on!!

On it came too!! The guy I booked the hotel with who said he’d collect me….didn’t. So a lovely cab driver took me to the location…. which wasn’t a hotel! Bizarrely we ended up in a place we understood was the unit I’d booked, the key was made available, so I went in and slept….only to discover the next day it wasn’t at all the place I’d booked 🤣. The owner of the previously booked hotel ghosted me, but it turned out grand as I sorted to stay another night in this other unit.

After a day of resting and just checking the route ahead I set off on Wednesday towards Mombasa along the aptly named Mombasa Road. Whilst it was busy and dusty and lumpy I was so appreciative of the trucks taking their time passing and tooting me. People are so friendly here and it helps that English is widely spoken. It was increasingly warm as the industrial suburbs of Nairobi gave way to open savanna. And of course…,a delightful headwind! But I was able to plod along spinning up the hills and rolling equally slowly down the other side. My dynamo had packed up meaning I had to use my powerbanks to charge the phone for navigation, so I need to get that fixed.

I let out a whoop when I saw my first African wildlife – one, then two, then more giraffes gracefully walking across the landscape. Whilst the road was less than engaging (other than trying to miss the millions of shards of glass in the gutter of the road where I had to ride)….the chance to see wildlife kept the interest up and the k’s looked after themselves 😊. As the afternoon sun started to take its toll I managed to find a hotel after crawling up this stinger on a climb….and those first twinges of cramp started to emerge! They not only emerged but erupted after I got off Bob. The hotel was actually very pleasant- miles from anywhere, no shops or community near by but everything I needed was here. I got to fixing the dynamo which I eventually got working again then had a fruitless hour trying to get accommodation for the next night, without success!

On day two I headed further inland towards Mombasa along the main highway. There were times I was completely alone as the road meandered through small villages and open savanna. Cycling here is really good as there’s a hard shoulder, spoilt only by the constant smashed glass ….quite how so much glass could get here is beyond me….often I’d have to get off Bob to walk around metres of broken glass. Quite how I haven’t got a puncture is equally unfathomable!

I found a place to rest after 90 odd Ks. To say it’s a hotel is an affront to hotels! You get shown this tiny ‘cabin’ with a tiny bed, no fan to help reduce the heat, a hole for a toilet, and that’s about it! But for $10 what else could one expect! As I’m heading east the mercury is rising – expected tops of 36 and only dropping to 28 at night!

I’ve come to a decision….and it wasn’t a hard one ….to get back to London to see my father. His condition is noticeably deteriorating and to be honest it seems a bit frivolous to be cycling whilst he lies in his bed. The roads will always be here. He won’t. And I don’t think I could forgive myself if I had the chance to be there with him in his final weeks or months but put my cycling ahead of that option! Quite how I’m gonna get from here to there remains a complex challenge but I’m confident it can be done 😊