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  • I took a ride yesterday with a new group of Kenyan cyclists, with no idea what to expect. Three guys turned up, all looking fairly fast. One had a SS and another a Cervelo S5. They said "We're going to Kajiado." I had no idea where that was and said "Ok great".

    They were really nice guys, keen to get to know me and helping me to fit into their paceline. I thought we'd soon diverge onto smaller roads, but no, we just stuck on the highway. The pace was just obscene and we averaged around 40kph. This was fine for a bit, then it wasn't fine, then at Kitengela (35km) we hit a hill, creating a gap. Despite the best push I could muster, and an attempt at drafting a slippery 35kph tuk tuk, they'd properly dropped me by Kaputiei (40km) and I was feeling weak and had strange shivers. So I stopped chilled under a bush (it was midday and 25°C), ate biscuits and drank water.

    So there I was, 40km from Nairobi, sat alone by the highway and feeling a little dizzy. I bought some water from a kiosk shaped like a giant Coca Cola bottle, but had no more small change for food. Argh! How can the economy possibly grow if no shops have change for a Ksh 1000 (£7) note?

    I got home by drafting slow and steady Chinese trucks travelling at 25-45kph. I found a particularly good one, sat about 3m back and just pedalled at a nice cadence in the 50-14 gear, 43kph. It's quite safe because nobody is going to zoom into the back of a big, obvious truck.

    When almost home with aching neck, shoulders and knees, I groped my saddle rails to find that the saddle had slid all the way backwards. Tits. I need a new seatpost.

    Turns out the other guys did 176km to Kajiado and back in 4.5 hours making an average speed of 39 kph including a stop! I'll reach this form in a few months, hopefully….

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