Wednesday 14 November: Kabernet to Eldoret (88kms)
This was it, our biggest challenge of the challenge! We started off by driving 40 kms up to the village of Kabernet which was to be the start point of today's ride across the Rift Valley. The road to Kabernet itself gave us some spectacular views as we climbed to over 2000 metres before stopping close to the start of our 18km descent to the floor of the valley. The descent itself had some heart-stopping moments. Though the road surface, thankfully, was pretty good, there were a couple of tight turns and one stretch of steep descent where the road just seemed to disappear over the brow of the hill. The views (when you had a moment to admire them) were also pretty stunning. After the fastest 18 kms I've ever done, the section across the "flat" valley floor came as a bit of a surprise: most of it was in fact uphill. There were some stretches that were really deceptive, where your eyes were telling you it was level, or even slightly downhill, but your legs were convinced you were going up - a strange sensation that had a few of us checking our bikes and wondering why it seemed like such hard work!
There was no sign of Julian at the first stop, and it was only later that I found out he'd had trouble right from the start. Our bikes had been reassembled at the top of the hill, and soon after starting off, he had discovered that the stem had not been tightened down properly and was loose and giving off quite a lot of vibration. Not surprisingly he stopped and had to wait (no allen key!) for one of the mechanics from the ground crew to come and fix his bike before setting off down the hill. Consequently despite pushing the pace along the bottom of the valley he was about half an hour behind the main group at the first stop.
The climb up the Elgeyo Escarpment began in earnest soon after the first stop. Simon had warned us that the first part would be the toughest, and we would gain a kilometre in vertical height over the first 15 kms of the climb. He wasn't kidding! By this time it was also getting very hot. In fact it got up to about 35 degrees while we were on the Escarpment - the hottest day of the challenge so far. Five or six kilometres up the hill and we had the opportunity for another break. I'd just about had enough, but both Kate and Julian had been willing me on, so I got on the bike again, and started on the next section, which seemed even steeper than the last. I gave it a go, but really did not have the power in my legs anymore. I had to stop, tears running down my cheeks, while 'Dr Raph' put his arm round my shoulder and helped me onto the bus.
Last time I'd seen Julian at the break he seemed tired but still pretty strong, so it was a bit unexpected to come around a corner about 10 kms up the hill to see him off his bike and sitting on a rock by the roadside. Raphael got off the bus to see what was up, and next thing they were putting his bike on the bus and Julian was climbing on board. Apparently he'd suddenly started to feel quite strange and shivery - which he realised was more than a bit odd in the heat. Raphael immediately identified exhaustion - Julian's sugar levels had dropped so low that he was hypoglaecemic and couldn't continue. He reckoned that the early push to catch up with the group and the hurried break, when he'd eaten and drunk very little, had taken a greater toll than he'd realised. So there we both were on the bus and only half way up the hill. Not exactly what either of us had planned!
We stayed on the bus until the lunch stop, and Dr Raph said he'd check us out after lunch. The great news was that everyone else had made it up the hill - a fantastic effort by the team!
After lunch it was decided we were both back on the bus until the next stop. Becky was also to join us, suffering from mild exhaustion too. The worst of the climb was over, but there was still over 30 kms left to ride, and at least the general direction was mostly downhill now. In fact Becky and I rejoined the team before the next break and carrried on riding through to the end. Julian however still wasn't fit. His blood pressure had been high after lunch and he now had a tension headache, so Raphael decreed that was the end of his cycling for the day.
We finally pulled into the town of Eldoret at about 6.00pm, but Kenya still had one stunt to pull on us. Despite having confirmed our booking that morning, our hotel - The Sirikwa - had double booked and so we had no accommodation! A rather fraught and increasingly frustrating two and half hours followed - slightly mitigated by a free drink and a not very good dinner at what was supposed to be 'our' hotel - until the head of our ground crew, William, got back with alternative accommodation. So it was that we found ourselves in an Inn on the edge of town, charging the equivalent of £5 per night(!!) for bizarrely decorated rooms and some very basic plumbing! Frankly, though by the time we got to our room we were pretty much past caring, and just fell into bed. Here endeth the longest day. Breakfast at the Sirikwa was pretty rubbish the next morning too. Best hotel in Eldoret? Maybe, but we certainly won't be going back!
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