A Hilly 600 in Kenya Awaits Us

Each autumn in southern Indiana, I ride the "Hilly Hundred." It's a two-day, 100-mile ride through the Hoosier state's beautiful hills amid fall foliage. As I've been examining Google Earth and topographical maps like the one above, I'm dubbing our upcoming excursion the "Hilly Kenya 600."

Our ride begins in Nairobi, with an elevation similar to Denver, Colorado--the "Mile High City." That's our base. Our ride ascends from there. The highest point on our route appears to be at 2800 meters or 9150 feet. That's near the equator at Nakuru. And that's just shy of the elevation of Breckenridge, Colorado--3/4 of a mile higher than Denver.

The first week, our route takes us along and across The Great Rift Valley, riding west from Nairobi to Kisumu on the edge of Lake Victoria.  Our second week takes us north into highlands to Eldoret and then east to Nakuru, south to Naivasha and back to Nairobi. The 600-mile loop includes some significant climbing.

I'm not sure of the nature of the Kenyan hill climbs. Will they be long, mild grades, or will they be short, sharp climbs?  Will it be undulating--up and down, up and down?  Or, will it be more consistent? I recently viewed movies set in Kenya--"Out of Africa" and "I Dreamed of Africa"--and I can't tell from these what kind of uphill pedaling we'll be getting into. But if the vistas I saw in those movies are ANYTHING like the reality, whatever pain I experience on a climb will be worth it.

"Be prepared for anything." That's how I've been training and encouraging our team members to train. This is not a race, so we've got plenty of time to scale heights at a pace that's bearable.  We will be riding at an elevation where air is much thinner than what the American Midwest enjoys (all members of our team from the Midwest), so we'll grapple with that factor as well.

By this time next week, if all goes to plan, we will have ridden our second day and spend the evening in Narok. Talking to our team members, I know we are all anxious to get there and get going.

Thanks for joining our journey via this blog. As you have the time and interest, please feel free to add a comment. Encouragement from friends, family and associates throughout a cross-country trek like this are really appreciated.

-- John Franklin Hay