I had a good long sleep which made it hard to get up although I did wake up confused. I remembered a lot of birds causing a right racket and squawking and then remember me shouting out at them but I'm still not certain whether that actually happened or whether I dreamt it. It didn't matter anyway as I woke up at half 8 and really did not want leave my bed.
I had a diabetic breakfast of 3 chocolate biscuits and a cake and got back on the road. Riding was good, had a section of annoying asphalt chippings again but for the most part the road was good and so was the weather. I received lots of big smiles and thumbs up and everyone seemed so happy to see me.
An hour or so into the ride, a car with two girls in pulled up by my side. We had a quick chat and then they decided to pull over. One was from America and the other from Nairobi and they were going to be in Mombasa till Tuesday in the same area as I've intended to stop. I doubt I will be able to meet them as I'm not going to get there till Tuesday but I took their info just incase.
It was nice of them to stop and have a chat anyway and it seemed like I was having one of those days where everything was flowing nicely. I had woken up late so I was worried about the eventual heat but even the weather was staying cool by Africa's standards. During my interesting conversation i had in Nairobi with "vegas" Christian, he was shocked that I only wore shorts and t-shirt, "what about the chill that causes illness?" He cryptically questioned. It's funny that all the locals are wrapped up in coats and hats and if we had this weather in England then we would have a traffic jammed route to Bournemouth and a hosepipe ban!
The scenery was much the same as yesterday although the huge red termite mounds were new and pretty cool. Having the same scenery does make you think, "could do this in a car and it wouldn't really matter" it is tempting sometimes especially when I google mapped my route and I can drive it in 3 days!! Instead its going to take me around 2 months but I did get one of the funniest offers today that I may not of got if I wasn't open to the elements.
There are always a lot of Kenyans at speed bumps selling mangos or corn on the cob to anybody when they slow down. They offer them to me also but today I was offered something that I found hilarious...a live rabbit. The guy just stood there holding it with what looked like his son at the speed bump and said..."rabbit?" I laughed and then made up a whole story in my head that the guys needed money for the weekend beers and while the daughter/sister slept, she was blissfully unaware that her beloved Flopsy was en route to another home. Cruel story I know but I had to chuckle to myself.
Further down the road I was stopped by the police for a standard chat. It was a welcome stop as my legs were killing me and I was getting hungry so I pulled out the chocolate biscuits. The officer's asked me the same old questions, where am I from? Where am I going? Why am I cycling? What team do i support? They seemed pretty sound so I asked them what they were doing. They were checking vehicle upkeep, insurance and drivers licenses. I told them that didn't think there was one lorry that would pass an MOT in England. I asked them what they did if they spotted a broken headlight for example (which they would have trouble with in broad daylight!) one of them said they get fined on the spot and have to pay the government. I casually asked him if they ever took bribes, he said no but he was knocking down my biscuits pretty sharpish so I couldn't be sure. (and he was spitting them everywhere when he spoke!)
We said our goodbyes and I soldiered on. My legs were still burning and I was still hungry but I put a good shift in till around half 12 when I could feel myself dying. I stopped at a nice looking restaurant on the outside but the inside was filled with mutes and alcoholics wielding quarter litre bottles of vodka so I decided to move on to the next restaurant. I had a nice meal and it took me a while to realise the name of the restaurant and what day it was. On February the 14th I had lunch in "Valentines Restaurant" I was the only one there so it was a typical valentines day for me!
Nigel had been wobbling quite ferociously in the last few miles before lunch so I checked him out. Along with a lot of loose spokes I spotted a broken one but it looked like it would be ok if I adjusted all the others. I adjusted all the others but a mile or so down the road the wobbling came back and I couldn't risk going any further. This resulted in me changing a broken spoke with no shade in the hottest part of the day. The sun had arrived since this morning and boy was it hot. We are talking sauna hot, at altitude, with clothes on!
It didn't take long for me to attract an audience of 6 kids and 2 old guys. It took me an hour to change 2 spokes (i spotted one not put in correctly) and adjust etc which isn't my best but I did have distractions. I set off again happy, there's something very satisfying about fixing problems but it is an added pain in my already sore behind when things do go wrong.
The happiness lasted just over an hour when I rode over a bump, heard an ominous noise and looked down to see the back wheel wobbling again. REALLY? I had 5 miles to go until I was going to stop anyway (I was initially considering stopping but the broken spoke finalised it)
I stopped at a town called Mtitu Andei and entered hesitantly into a Motel that looked like a bomb site on the outside but I could see through to the garden where the rooms were, and that looked ok. Hardly anybody spoke English but I got the price and the room was not only big and clean but written on the tiles were dates from when they were placed and the front step was placed on my birthday 4 years ago so I took that as a welcome sign.
I was a good boy and cooked noodles indoors after I successfully changed another spoke, sweated my last drop of water and had a handheld shower from a bucket. After dinner I settled down under my four poster mozzy net. The heat was absolutely ridiculous so I layed naked and taunted the Mosquitos as they tried to get through the roof of the net. Just as The Verve were calming me into submission with their soothing tones I heard a big pop and looked over to see Nigel's back wheel spinning around as he lay on his back.
The heat must've built the pressure up so high that the valve completely burst and there I was again having to take off and repair that same wheel for the third time today and I don't know how many times this ride! Months ago I would've just left it till tomorrow but today I decided to run the gauntlet with the mosquitos and change the tube whilst completely starkers.
I'm down to the bare bones of inner tubes now as I can't fix that one so will have to get some in Kilifi or Mombasa. I put one on which I had a lot of issues with in Turkey as it had a slow puncture which I had trouble finding and repairing. I pumped it up half way and will see if there's any pressure difference tomorrow.
After that I was due a rest. What a day?!!! After starting so well it turned into a bit of a disaster but a bike fixers dream. I surprised myself in the end with how I maintained my high spirits. After replacing the second spoke I tightened all the spokes and the wheel wobbled like a beast al-a that time in Italy where I was in a park for 4 hours. Back then I ended up taking Nigel to a shop and admitting defeat, today I fixed it myself and then getting up again to change the tube was something I would never of done previously. For me personally with regards to mental strength and physical ability, this really does show how far I've come. Geographically I'm doing alright too!
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