Out with Captain Fresh Legs

Another national holiday yesterday!















So Bryant and I decided it would be good to mountain bike daily. Sounded good at first. Then we invited Mat Bailey with us (Captain Fresh Legs). We had been going up hills for 4 days and invited this crazy Aussie for another spin. Love biking with him, for sure, but our reserves were low this time. And he hadn't biked in several days.

Mbutwai and Kimane stopped in this am to finalize plans for our trip to their farm- we're leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday. It should be awesome.

We ate some toast and then started working on public health. About 1 PM Bailey texts us about a ride. We tune up Bryant's bike, inflate the tires, knock off the mud and go. We are usually gone about 2-3 hrs. Today we went very very very far up.

After about 2 hours we decided to take a very steep pass cutting through the side of a mountain. This went up for about an hour. The incline was about 60 degrees and a lot of bike carrying. We found a duka shop in the small "village" of Oloigeruno for some expensive warm coke and slammed them down. None of us expected such a long day and we didn't have much water. The locals borrowed my bike and we talked with the kids. Then we heard about a waterfall even further up. We hit a very nice grove of evergreen trees that reminded us of Minnesota. Far back into this we hit another slope that ended our climb. The waterfall was very far away and nowhere near us!

We replaced Bryant's back tire and headed down the mountain. Very steep and on either side of slick mud paths are nettles that will cut you if you simply look at them. Bryant took a header over the handlebars into them, and we found an easier slope. Throughout there are bridges of rough cut trees over streams/ravines/etc. Half way back through a small group of Bomas we met Michael, who insisted we come to his small home. It was about 10x20 ft, split evenly into 2 rooms. Entering the door, the first room was empty but very clean. His bedroom barely fit a twin bed and small table (just large enough for a small briefcase). He showed us numerous pictures of random people and his text books for education. He then lead us out of the valley. But as we left he chose paths that went up rather than down and so we departed with the last of our energy.

Overall we saw many spectacular views, met many children asking for money, water, our bikes and are completely exhausted. We just ate an impressive meal of steaks and pasta, probably more than either of us has eaten since arriving.

I am excited to be here, with so many experiences packing the day. But I also can't wait to get home, start residency and especially see my family! Laura and I are looking for places to live and it is an exciting prospect to have some comforts of home and space to stretch out.

Mtasinzia mzuri,
Eric