You get to ride trails nobody has ridden - James - St Kilda Victoria

TUESDAY MAR 31 / 2015 / by Andrew Talati
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Riding Trails nobody has riddenStart-Laikipia-XC-Ride-Kenya-Mountain-bike-challenge

From the 7th-12th July 2014 James took part in the Laikipia ride in Kenya. The inaugural race was a 6 day mountain bike stage race taking in 500kms of stunning African scenery. According to James, each day’s trail was greatly varied. Most of the race was undertaken at 2000ms altitude with the highest point reaching 2500ms. ‘Lots of climbing involved. Lots of really long descents. One in particular was a 15km descent. It was some of the best mountain bike riding I’ve ever done, possible the best I’ll ever do’.

James in Kenya on MTB Challenge ride next to Hut.Kenya on the Laikipia XC MTB with localsJames- while on the Laikipia in Kenya pushing his bike through the challenging sections

 

The descents were followed by some pretty tough, hot and rocky climbing and the wild animals around from the game parks make the ride an interesting one. James got to ride with the likes of elephants, buffalo and giraffes. Add in the Maasai people and you’ve got one hell of an interesting ride.

The Laikipia involved a small group of riders – only about 20 – and the ride was conducted in pairs. ‘Many times we found ourselves basically in the middle of nowhere. Hours and hours of riding on end where you wouldn’t see other people, just a few animals’.

‘We had to be completely self-sufficient so we had to carry a lot of spares – pumps, repair kits and obviously water for each day as there was usually only one water stop per day’.

The riders stayed in bush camps each day that were set up by a safari company. All the food was provided and by all accounts they ate really well. There was even hot showers – boil up the water, add it to a bucket with a watering can type head and there you have it. With a limit of 5 litres per day the riders would wash in their kit in order to get it washed and dried for the next leg.

‘It was a real adventure. The Maasai people were very friendly and quite interested in what we were doing. These trails have probably never been ridden before so that gave them a bit of a laugh. I think they thought we were quite funny – there guys in tight gear riding around’.

The route was marked out each day in chalk – ‘it was really well marked. We never had a great fear of getting lost’.

Any close encounters with the wildlife?

‘A Chilean rider and her partner had a close encounter. They ended up in the middle of a herd of elephants and the bull elephant was behind them in the bushes which they didn’t know. He reared up on his back legs which was a pretty scary experience. They got out of there as quick as they could.’

Tell us about some of the other riders

The Standard Charter Bank sponsored a team of riders and within that team was an inspirational partnership. ‘There was a tandem team – John and a guy who had been involved in the terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Kenya and lost his sight.’ They completed 5 days – with a lot of crashes and accidents along the way. On the 5th day of ride the pilot brought his collarbone but James found it ‘very inspiring to be riding with these guys. They consistently finished well. And they were very fast and slightly crazy on the descents.’

James and his dad after successfully completing the inaugural Laikipia

How did you get involved in the Laikipia

‘My Dad has lived out in Kenya, Nairobi for the past 6 years – he cycles with these guys on a regular basis and find out about all the local rides and race that are going on. He sent me and email one day just with a link to the race, asking ‘Are you game for this?’ Of course I said yes and that was that really. I went into TMF (The Freedom Machine Bike Shop) the next week and bought myself a brand new carbon fibre super-fly and the rest is history.’

The Future

Within the next 3-4 years James wants to tackle the Cape Epic in South Africa, billed as the toughest mountain bike race on the planet but for now will continue to travel and compete in multi-stage events on his mountain bike – ‘that’s what I like to do’.

James Dad with David Kinjah and Chris Froome in KenyaChris Froome Ngong Hills time trail Kenya

Pictured is James dad with Chris Froome and David Kinjah. "It was a chance encounter the day they met while on the Ngong hills time trial held each year in Kenya  which David kinjah and the safari simbaz team were attending,  my dad was also "racing" or so he claims :-), at this time Chris was back in Kenya as part of the Chris froome documentary he was shooting for sky TV, and had come out to catch up with kinjah and have a ride with his old crew kinjah also appears in the documentary".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxjGFuCiaoQ&sns=em

The Kenyan Riding Scene

The ride was supported by the Safari Simbaz Cycling Trust, the North Nairobi Cycling Club and the Kenyan Rider’s Cycling Club. Safari Simbaz is producing some up and coming, strong, young riders. Their mentor, David Kinjah, took in young lads and taught them how to do bike mechanics, how to ride road bikes and mountain bikes, ride as a team and now they actually enter races like this one with limited sponsorship. They now compete all over Africa with the Tour of Ghana being next up for them. ‘It’s a fantastic riding scene, very interesting guys and extremely strong riders. Very inspiring, to be honest’.

Learn more about Safari Simbaz at http://www.safarisimbaz.com/

‘They definitely have the potential to be great GC riders. They are very strong, have huge lungs, don’t seem to get tired, and they go up mountains like they’re not there. In Kenya, Nairobi is about 1800m altitude and these guys have grown up living there and cycling up to 2000-2500ms quite regularly. Their fitness levels are incredible as you traditionally see with their runners. I was lucky enough to witness the Maasai Marathon and they are amazing. They can definitely convert that to cycling with the right equipment and the right training. There’s no reason that Kenyan riders can’t emerge in the next 10-15 years as the top GC riders.’

Learn more about the Laikipia Ride at http://stageraces.com/event/laikipia-xc

 

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