Even though last night was the last supper with Team Norway, we still had our plan to walk up Mount Longonot together.
Unfortunately for me, the plan meant that I had to wake up at 6:30am in order meet team Norway in Naivasha in good time to fit the hike in. Even more unfortunately for me, I couldn't sleep. The Mosquitos gave me a right good munching before I left and no matter how many times I got up and killed one, another would buzz around my head and bite me annoyingly on my elbow. I had around an hour sleep and a grouping of around 9 bites on the same elbow when my alarm went off.
The last four Mondays we have missed the bin man so today we had to make sure we got rid of our 5 weeks worth of rubbish. T-man woke up especially to help with the 9 or so black bin bags of party memories. I had a quick breakfast then set off again on Nigel for the first time in 5 weeks.
Just cycling out of the housing estate I felt surprisingly comfortable but then I got to the main road and the African senses hit me hard. The morning rush welcomed me with horn beeps, exhaust fumes, weaving cars, rushing people and the smell of goat. I had to keep really focused and ignore all the shouts from people on the street and just look at the road, keep my arms steady and turn the pedals.
After 20 minutes I was knackered. My lungs were burning, I was tired and my legs had had enough. Just do the first hour I said to myself. I didn't play any music because I wanted to keep focus and not get distracted. After the first hour the road widened, there were less cars and I felt a lot better, almost as if I've never had 5 weeks off!
I was unsure when Team Norway would catch up with me so I just kept my legs pumping and kept an eye out for them just incase they were overtaking a truck at the same time as I was on the road. 10 miles, then 20 miles, then 30 miles went by and I was hoping there was nothing wrong with them. My worries were distracted momentarily as I stopped about 6 ft from Zebras on the roadside. I had officially done it, I had cycled from my front door in England to where Zebras graze in the wild! I was so happy, Zebras have now made it into 4th position in my favourite animals list behind donkeys, tapirs and tigers. They would place higher if they didn't run away from the white man and didn't make such a feminine noise.
As I passed the Zebras and was just about to enter Naivasha town I heard a chorus of beeping that reminded me of Cairo. Thankfully I wasn't in Cairo, it was Team Norway (my support crew) that had eventually caught up with me after giving me a 2 hour head start. We put Nigel and the bags in the car and drove the few miles to Mount Longonot.
An ideal 35 miles riding for my first day. My shoulder felt good which was the most important thing, well, it was aching as much as every other muscle in my body so I'm taking it as normal. I hadn't finished the strenuous exercise though, if anything the ride was just a warm up.
We had a 3km uphill hike to the crater rim, 7km walk around the crater and then a 3km back down. It was the altitude that was going to get me though, going from 2200 to 2780. I can remember cycling to 2149 in the Alps but nothing much higher than that.
As soon as we walked through the gate towards the volcano we had our safari hats on (some of us i.e. me, quite literally) we were again walking into the wilderness and absolutely anything could be waiting for us in the long grass. I didn't really mind if I didn't see anything new but I thought it would be great if we could overlook a herd of buffalo at some point. Just a few hundred metres in and the usual suspects were spotted, Zebra, Water Bucks and some Giraffes that were sticking up like periscopes above all the bushes.
The hike up was pretty steep but well signposted and it didn't take us long to get to the crater rim. We stopped for some food and I have to say, the view was again well worth the effort. We were treated to an amazing panoramic view of the Rift Valley but we weren't quite at the top, the other side of the crater was a couple of hundred metres higher and the trail looked even steeper.
I don't ever quit at half time and thankfully nor do Team Norway despite T-man's worries of the ominous clouds coming in. We decided to do it but we needed to get a wriggle on as the terrain would've been a nightmare if it had got wet. We reached the summit in good time considering the pretty tricky terrain which needed arms and legs to get up. We did the standard "summit" thing and a couple of pictures, videos and screams later and we hit the descent running as the cloud was pretty much on top of us.
As the three of us skipped expertly down the crater rim we were engulfed by a sea of white. Thankfully it wasn't raining but for a few minutes visibility was minimal which only added to another great experience. As we continued down the volcano side the clouds cleared and the vast plains were revealed again. Unfortunately we couldn't see any buffalos but all three of us were very satisfied with what we had achieved for the day so there was only one way to celebrate, a cheeky final beer in the car before Team Norway went back to Nakuru.
After a couple of beers and a good chat it was time to say goodbye to two of the most influential people of my ride to date. I didn't really know what to say because its never goodbye as we will always stay in touch but I was a little choked up when they drove off. The second they drove out of sight and i was left alone with Nigel and Beirdre it seemed like 5 amazing weeks with two amazing people had been just seconds and I was back to being alone again. In a way I suppose that's a good thing but I hate how great times go so quickly. I can't say we didn't make the most of it though so now its time for me to push on to the next destination.
Normal routine was well and truly resumed when I put the noodles on the stove and looked out to the sun setting on the horizon. I was the only one camped in this little garden of a campsite and I had to move Nigel indoors and lock him to a table as the owner said the Giraffes may tread on him if he stayed underneath the tree. What about me? I was in a little camouflaged tent, are the Giraffes going to see me? Only time would tell it seemed but one thing was for sure, buffalos were going to be in the area so I just hoped they could see in the dark!
Today was a great way to end an amazing chapter of my ride. I layed down in the tent completely alone for the first time in 2014 and it felt like I could've been anywhere, could've been back in an orchard in Italy for all I knew. This fact is exactly what has got me this far and is what will get me through each day to the end.
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