Our 600-Mile Kenya Route

Our thanks to Ken Myers for assisting us in Kenya to develop a 600-mile route that is road friendly, scenic and challenging for our Bike Kenya 2012 team.


ROUTE SUMMARY. The route takes our team west and north of Nairobi (P) as far as Kisumu (F) at the edge of Lake Victoria and Eldoret (H). It features a visit to a safari at Nakuru (J) and day-long ride through Hell's Gate National Park (K), in which our team will be riding among the wildlife (yes, it is safe; this is the feature of this particular park). The route calls upon our team to bicycle every day for 12 days, though some days we will actually ride just a few hours.


POINT-TO-POINT. Briefly, here are the point-to-point locations and distances:


May 8 - Nairobi local test/adjust ride - 20 km / 12.4 mi
May 9 - Mai Mahui to Narok - 90 km / 55.9 mi
May 10 - Narok to Bomet - 82 km / 51 mi
May 11 - Bomet to Kericho - 75 km / 46.6 mi
May 12 - Kericho to Nyakach - 50 km / 31.7 mi
May 13 - After AM church: Nyakach to  Kisumu - 54 km / 33.6 mi
May 14 - Kisumu to Eldoret - 111 km / 69 mi
May 15 - Eldoret to Temboroa - 75 km / 46.6 mi
May 16 - Temboroa to Nakuru - 102 km / 63.4 mi
May 17 - After safari: Nakuru to Naivasha - 64 km / 39.7 mi
May 18 - Hell's Gate National Park - 52 km / 32.3 mi
May 19 - Naivasha to Karen - 86 km / 53.4 mi
May 20 - After AM church: Karen to Nairobi - 80 km / 49.7 mi


CLIMBS. I will focus on the diverse elevations (interpret "hills," "climbs," "pain") in a post in a few days.


SHARE. Share our plans and adventure with others...and keep coming back!


CONTRIBUTE. And, please, help us achieve our goal--to build a new school--by making a per-mile contribution for this cause (right side bar).

Six Weeks and Counting

The great Rift Valley will be a common site for a significant part of
our 600-mile trek through northwest Kenya.

FLIGHTS BOOKED. Our Bike Kenya 2012 team of eight cyclists is now officially booked for flights to Nairobi, Kenya, departing Sunday, May 6 and arriving at NBO on Monday evening, May 7. As one who's job it is to sweat some of these details, I'm relieved to get get this task behind me and airlines booked before airfares go crazy.

TRAINING WELL. All eight of us are taking advantage of incredibly warm weather in the American Midwest to train for the 600-mile ride through Kenya. While we train in America, Bishop Nixon Dingili, our Kenyan team member, is training in Kenya.  Putting time in the saddle now will pay off for the six to eight hours we'll be pedaling each day in Kenya.  Six weeks will pass quickly and we are getting more pumped for the experience every day.

A NEW TEAM MEMBER. We're happy to announce the addition of Dr. Bob Burtch as one of our team members. Bob lives in Batavia, Illinois and is a retired biologist and teacher. Bob has visited Kenya and was a member of the Bike Vietnam 2011 team with me last year.  He's a great source of knowledge and fun and we're glad he will contribute to this effort.

MATCH OUR SWEAT EQUITY. Speaking of contributions...remember that the purpose for which we ride is to raise funds to build a new ICCM school in Kenya. Our team will visit the location during our ride and talk with school students and teachers.

Your contribution of 10c, 25c or $1 per mile of our 600-mile bicycle ride helps make that possibility a reality for them.  Please take time right now to go to the Special Funds donation page at International Child Care Ministries (ICCM) and make a contribution of $60, $150, or $600 (or more or less!) toward this challenge.

FOR KENYAN KIDS EDUCATION. $40,000 is needed to purchase the property and building materials.  The school will be operated under the auspices of ICCM in Kenya (learn about ICCM at www.childcareministries.org).  Children attending the school will be sponsored through ICCM, too.

We hope you will match our sweat with a generous gift for a new ICCM school!

TRACK OUR ADVENTURE.  Please subscribe to this blog ("Track Our Ride") to get new posts via email. Also, please follow us on Twitter @bikekenya2012. We will share photos and stories during the journey in May.

-- John Franklin Hay, Bike Kenya 2012 Team Coordinator

Countdown to a Kenyan Adventure

The reality that our Bike Kenya 2012 event is seven weeks away makes me realize how much we have to do before we board a plane for Nairobi.  We're making lists and checking them twice--both our cycling team preparing in North America and our host team preparing in Kenya.  Details sweated now will reduce the sweat of regrets when we're pedaling across Kenya in May.

So, what does one take on a two-week cycling adventure like this?  Well, since our cycling team will be supported by a driver and host in a mini-bus/van, and since we plan to spend nights in churches, schools, guest houses and hostels, our load is lightened considerably.  Still, for starters, each of us plan for cycling gear: helmets, cycling gloves, bell (yes!), biking shoes, lights, flashers, sunglasses, water bottles or Camelback-type reservoir, bike rack and rack bag, flashlight and extra batteries, sunscreen, insect repellant, lip balm, cycle computers, repair kits, tubes, hand sanitizer. Oh, and, of course, bikes and bike travel boxes.

And then there are clothing, personal items, medical supplies, electricity adapters, water filters, bedding, team support materials, etc. And official forms and documents completed. Itineraries. Checklists. Details. Small things to sweat. All are important in varying degrees to a fruitful event.

We're also asking, once again, for our friends to support our ride.  While we sweat the details and sweat the 600 miles for 11 riding days of 6-8 hours in the saddle, will you match our sweat with a donation to the school for which we ride?  Will you support with each mile we pedal--at 10c, 25c or $1 per mile?  Can you do it as a family? As a small group?  As a church?  As a civic group?

10c per mile = $60
25c per mile = $150
$1 per mile = $600

Or, give a greater or lesser amount.  Every contribution to build the ICCM secondary school in Koi Barak counts.

Click here to give on online at International Child Care Ministries (ICCM) secure site. Once you're on the ICCM "Special Funds" page, scroll to the bottom of the page to select to give at 10c, 25c or $1 per mile.

Thanks for your giving and your prayers and your attention to this project.

During the ride, we hope to post daily photos and reflections from the open road in Kenya.

Subscribe to this blog site (right sidebar) and follow on Twitter @bikekenya2012 to join in this adventure with us.

Our special thanks to Andrea Anibal for creating our Bike Kenya 2012 logo!

We Have Our Team!

John Franklin Hay of Indianapolis will lead a 9-member
cycling team through Kenya in May in a fundraising
effort to raise $40,000 for a new school near Eldoret

We're happy to announce our Bike Kenya 2012 cycling team.  Eight people--six men, two women--from the American Midwest will be joined by Bishop Nixon Dingili of Kenya to pedal 600 through Kenya in May to raise funds--our goal is $40,000--to build a new school.

Our Bike Kenya 2012 team includes:

Kevin Williams of Sorento/Greenville, Illinois
Bob Burtch of Batavia, Illinois
Jack Hughey of Alton, Illinois
Mark and Megan Booth of Mogadore/Akron, Ohio
Alex Drummond of Indianapolis, Indiana
Rebecca Lamp of Bucyrus, Ohio
John Franklin Hay of Indianapolis, Indiana

Each of our team members is paying our own way, but each of us is asking individuals, organizations, fiends and associates to support our ride with a per-mile contribution that goes directly to build a new ICCM school.

Please consider a gift of 5 cents, 10c, 25c or $1 per mile--or less or more--to help us help Kenyan children have the school they need to continue and complete their education in their community.

Click here to make a Bike Kenya 2012 contribution online right now (on the ICCM Special Projects page, scroll to the bottom of the page for Bike Kenya 2012 giving options).

5c per mile = $30
10c per mile = $60
25c per mile = $150
$10 per mile = $600
We welcome lesser and greater contributions, too!

Our team members are training now for the 12 days of cycling 50-70 miles per day, day after day.  We are preparing and will put in lots of sweat equity in Kenya from May 8 to 21.

We hope you'll join us--with your contributions and your prayers and your attention.  We will post updates and photos on this blog page throughout our cycling experience in Kenya.

Lots to do.  Please check back frequently now for blog updates.

-- John Franklin Hay