Jammin thru the Global South

Cactus berries. Ferdi and Katie left a day before us and shared these next few photos with me.


Kayous was sitting up front and keeping an eye out for any wildlife, such as this...


...Dik-dik, a small antelope that lives in the shrubland of eastern and southern Africa.


An ostrich, standing tall over Kenyan savannah.


A cooking gas cylinder turned into a mailbox at the turnoff to Tuum.


A Secretary bird looking around for lunch. Unlike other birds of prey, it hunts for small prey on foot, rather than from the air. Its name derives from a French corruption of its Arabic name of saqr-et-tair meaning hunter bird.


A lone acacia tree in the sands of Turkana. Leaving Lake Turkana behind, the route went across some open dryland as it headed for that valley up ahead.


Riding the 50/50 Heidenau K60 tire over a variety of surfaces. I was used to the sand by now and was keeping up with Carlos, a more skilled offroad rider.


The vegetation picked up the further south we went with the sand keeping up.


Enjoying the Lake Turkana Route with sanDRina being lighter than normal.


Some cement pavement across a dry riverbed. I caught up with...


...Carlos who was taking some respite from the heat.


Carlos riding the Lake Turkana route.


His KTM 640 was setup much lighter than sanDRina, which is ideal for offroad touring, but I prefer hard boxes for safety and stickers!


Riding the sands of the Lake Turkana Route.


Blue and brown, two of my favorite colors, in abundance in Kenya's Big Sky country.


The trees got taller and the color of the ground changed as we rode past South Horr, getting greener and redder.


Passing a huge dried riverbed that...


...made for a nice stop for lunch.

These donkeys thought so, too, enjoying the shade from the thin leaves of this acacia canopy.


Children from a nearby Samburu village quickly ran over to see what was going on.


It was a beautiful day to be riding red earth through green acacias under a big blue sky.


Oopsie, another drop in the sand. I think that was some brain-fade after lunch and thanks to Peter for helping with the pick up.


The land rises up from Lake Turkana at 400 m (1,300 ft) to 1000 m (3,280 ft) at South Horr and gets close to 1,500 m (4,920 ft) near Baragoi with lots of steep climbs up rock faces along the way.


Peter and Jill's Defender motorhome slowly making it up the steep climbs. Their truck was suffering as that huge vehicle only had a 1.6 L diesel engine that overheated on long uphill pulls but they would make it to South Africa.


Taking breaks under any shade that I could find as I was enjoying the ride through this beautiful landscape.


As the route got closer to Baragoi, there were many hills and valleys to traverse with the troughs covered in sand.


Riding onto big open land in the great valleys of northern Kenya.


sanDRina catching some shade under this lone acacia tree as the route wound its way across this expansive valley.


Heavy clouds as the route started climbing up the side of this huge valley.


sanDRina, my companion on my journey across Africa.


Deep ruts in the road from the rainy season as the land got greener near Baragoi.

This kind of riding, through wide, open land is what I cherish the most. Cultural insights are interesting and meeting local people is enriching but it's being in wilderness that I crave the most and am glad I could relish the feeling for days on end on the Lake Turkana Route.

What I really like about crossing huge swathes of wilderness is seeing gradual changes in the land, like the slow change from the rocky deserts around Lake Turkana into the acacia-covered savannahs around Baragoi. This helps me understand how the environment functions on a different timescale than the fast-paced lives of its dominant species, us humans. Even though I was riding a motorcycle fast through this big land, its enchancement slows me down and lets me connect with nature.

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sanDRina is in the shop for some major servicing. I've become good friends with this Indian rider here in Nairobi who runs his own motorcycle repair business out of his father's car repair place, so Ive been given some space to tear down sanDRina.

Things to do in the next few days:
- Install new Galfer SS brake lines
- Install new Galfer rear wave rotor and pads (front already done)
- Replace brake calipers and master cylinders (with less used parts from a tear down)
- Replace fork fluid and install new SealSavers
- Install new RAD hub and spokes (rear)
- Replace bearings: both wheels, swingarm, lower shock mount, steering stem
- Repair Stebel Airhorn
- Install new Vapor (bought used on ADV)
- Inspect pannier frame for cracks (bolts rusted)
- Replace fuel line and fuel filters
- Replace sparkplug (only the outer one, not touching the banged up inner one)
- Fix leak near oil filter cap
- Mount new rear Tire (Kenda K270 been carrying since Bolivia, has to last only till South Africa)
- Oil change

Yay, time to get greasy

Kenya, Part 3: Camping in the Bush and Ride up to Maralal
August 4 - 5, 2011

The journey down from Lake Turkana continued across the beautiful savannahs of northern Kenya, ending in Maralal, up on an escarpment. Our convoy had bush-camped a few nights on this trip but most of them were hurried as we rode right up to sunset. Now, with the convoy smaller and no party in a hurry to get to Nairobi, we had ourselves a memorable night of camping in the bush, just past the town of Baragoi. From there, we had one final tough ride up the mountainside to finish the route in Maralal.

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Riding into the town of Baragoi, the biggest town between Loyangalani on the lake and Maralal.


We didn't expect to find petrol in Baragoi, but we topped up just in case. Fuel was slightly higher at KSh135/L ($5.49/gal) compared to the nationally-fixed price of KSh115/L ($4.68/gal).


Of course, we were the most interesting thing to happen in town that day or maybe even that week, and we quickly drew a big crowd, but everyone was pleasant.


Carlos loves little kids and he's inspecting a wire push-car. The kid in the foreground was yearning for some attention...


...so Carlos pulled him up to sit on the tank. The others said his name was Baracka, named after Obama, and we figured he would be the most popular kid in town for a few days after this.


We rode a few kilometers out of town and came across Africa! This was the most enigmatic landscape that I had ridden through - a huge valley with volcanoes dotting the landscape, the earth red and covered in acacias. We rode up this small dirt path to find a place to camp up on one side of the valley.


We had plenty of time to enjoy the closing moments of the day...


...and take in this huge landscape...


...with no signs of civilization around.


Carlos with his ride thru Africa, a KTM 640 and his shelter, a compact one-man tent. I enjoyed riding with Carlos. He was a kind soul and we shared many common interests.


Peter and Jill provided dinner that evening and here they're serving up rice with sausage and onion soup out the back of their Defender motorhome. After dinner, we watched the stars shining bright above us and I pointed out the Milky Way and the Southern Cross to my companions. Carlos, being a geek, pulled out his Android phone and launched his Google SkyMap app that when pointed at the night sky revealed star names and constellations.


Just before sunrise on the African savannah.


The area was covered in thorny acacias...


...but we found some open spaces to park our vehicles and tents.


Something bright is coming up over that hill...


...the sun! First rays touching all life in the valley and signaling a new day has begun.


Catching the reflection of the first rays off my top box with stickers of the two major continents that I'm riding through, South America and Africa and a sticker of my destination, India.

My license plate from Illinois, covered in dirt. I wondered if it would get stolen, but so far, nope. Mega zip ties and safety wire holding it on through all those vibrations.


The savannahs of northern Kenya, covered in acacias, bathed in early morning rays.


Feeling small and insignificant in this massive landscape. Truly humbling.


Magic light from the early morning sun lighting up the acacias.


Volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.


A thorny acacia, trying to defend what little leaves it has from all the herbivores in this land.


Enjoying a peaceful morning in the African bush and being thankful for getting the chance to ride on this journey and experiencing Mother Nature in all her beauty.


Looking south across the savannah and pondering about what lay ahead for us as we rode the last day on the Lake Turkana route.


Cactus next to my tent.


Carlos pulling out small thorns from his balding rear tire after we rode out of the bush. No worries on my Heidenaus.


From Baragoi, there are two routes to Maralal. Peter and Jill took the main route, which they said was pretty rough with many water crossings and Carlos and I took the secondary route through Barsaloi, which had a very steep climb up from the savannah to Maralal on the mountain top.


Enjoying the morning's ride across northern Kenya's bushland.


Beautiful light shining across the valleys and mountains of the wilderness in northern Kenya.


Camels grazing on whatever they can find in this parched valley.


A long line of cattle walking in our direction.


Uh oh, traffic jam in the bush. It felt like there were hundreds of cows and all were headed in our direction, so lots of honking ensued in trying to navigate through this sea of livestock.


After surviving a 3 km sea of cattle, we saw what they were all coming for - their tribal herdsmen were digging wells in this dry riverbed and fetching water for their animals.


The route was characteristic of the first part of the Lake Turkana route with its many dry riverbed crossings, but...


...these were bigger and set in deeper valleys with steeper climbs on both sides.

Carlos was waiting for me in Barsaloi and he had hit his fuel reserve again. Here he is getting a handout from sanDRina, the fuel tanker for KTMs, haha.


It was very entertaining for the local kids, who...


...gave me this scorpion, set against the Kevlar mesh of my Motoport riding suit. That's a pretty serious stinger on the tail. I'm not superstitious but after I received this scorpion gift, I experienced...


...my first real offroad crash. Don't worry, no injuries to me or the bike. I quickly got up and Carlos captured this picture of me conquering the fall, not giving it a chance to bring me down. Then we quickly picked up sanDRina and checked for any damage, which was limited to just a few scratches on the plastic hand guards and the tank. She's a tough girl.


I was riding really good all morning and was charging up this hillside in second gear, making all the right calls for which path to choose, but this smooth rock in the foreground caught me off guard and I hesitated just for a second on deciding whether to go to the right of it, which would've been the better call, but then at the last second, I decided to go to the left of it and its smooth face caught the torque from the rear wheel and spun me out. My strong Oxtar TCX Comp motocross boots did their job in preventing any injuries to my feet and my Kevlar Motoport riding suit prevented any injuries to my skin. Teknic gloves did their job in preventing any injuries to my hand and my Arai helmet didn't even touch the ground. After a lunch break of bananas and Ethiopian peanut butter sandwiches, we rode on.


As we climbed higher toward Maralal, the trees got bigger but the ground was still sandy.


More steep climbs out of dry riverbed crossings.


Carlos waiting for me as he took in the view of the mountaintops.


Summiting a path after a steep climb up a narrow road that was leaning away from the mountains with many rain ruts.


A Suzuki DR650 and a KTM 640 enjoying the offroad in the mountains of northern Kenya.


Almost done with all the serious offroading and just a few more kilometers to Maralal.

As we rode into Maralal, Carlos and I high-fived each other. We made it. We rode the infamous Lake Turkana route and not only survived it but thoroughly enjoyed it. All that sand and those sharp rocks definitely raised my tension at times but by the end of it, I was comfortable again riding in deep sand and don't fret sharp rocks anymore. I was glad to have Carlos for riding company and as bikers know, if you want to improve your riding ability, it's best to ride with someone who's more skilled than you because it will encourage you to push your envelope, which I certainly did on this ride. Pushing your limits means crossing your limits and my fall in the rocks brought me back into my comfort zone but that was now much further out than before this ride.

The Lake Turkana route is one of those epic rides that should feature in every adventure biker's dreams at night. The route went across deserts, featuring deep sand and sharp volcanic rocks, through savannah and finally up into mountains. The tough terrain ensures that this wilderness will remain as so for years to come and it truly captures what wilderness in Africa is all about, or at least what I dreamt it was all about and my dreams came true.

Hi Jay

I've been enjoying your RR since months - thank you so much for your detailled background reports, you're a great writer!

I think this picture says it all:

Keep up the good work!

Have any officials given you a hard time about your lapsed registration?
I can see why you would feel inspired by this beautiful land. I wish there was a way for your reports to include sounds and smells, at least outside of the settlements.
I suspect that if Africa ever comes to terms with its corruption and distribution of resources it will match Asia in rate of development. The faces of the children show great intelligence and curiosity.

Agreed!

Thanks again for keeping this updated, Jay! I hope I can experience even a little bit of what you've shared with us, but I'm glad that even if I can't, I at least got to see your take on it

Hi Sunny, thanks for following along and enjoying the trip. Cheers

What lapsed registration? That photo was taken in August 2011. I'm on top of the paperwork. I have to be, mainly for the carnet, which requires up to date bike registration. I pay for my sticker online and have a friend send it out in the next care package
I noted this tip from previous travelers who said that if you have all your ducks lined up (paperwork all in line), there's much less chance of being hassled by officials who are just looking for excuse to ask for a bribe

You said it. Riding through that kind of landscape sure makes you believe that vast portions of this planet are still beautiful and untamed. Haha, yeah, I wish you could lick the screen and taste my food pics. Sounds are totally doable but require so much more work and bandwidth. Yup, very true that Africa seems to have so much potential but is stymied by so many problems.

Thanks for following along. I really appreciate all you guys who you've been with me since the beginning.

Kenya, Part 4: Into Nairobi and End of Part 1 of my RTW Journey
August 6 - 10, 2011

Successfully riding the Lake Turkana route was a major accomplishment for me and it was an exciting end to the first half of my round-the-world journey. I was planning on taking a break in Nairobi for a few months and the drive from Maralal to the capital felt like a short hop compared to the rest of the journey.

The offroad that started in southern Ethiopia continued past Maralal and touched tarmac in Rumurutri. The convoy was now reduced to just Peter and Jill's Defender and sanDRina and after spending the night in Nyahururu, we crossed the Equator and entered the Southern Hemisphere. Hitting the highway at Nakuru was a bit of a development shock after being in wilderness for the past week and we celebrated our completion of the Turkana Route in proper Kenyan style - having Nyama Choma (barbequed meat).

After taking refuge in the overland traveler asylum of Junction Jungle in Nairobi, we all got properly stamped in at immigration and that signaled a break in my travels for the next few months.

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We stayed at the Yare Camel Club and Camp in Maralal and captured these athletes in preparation for the International Camel Derby that was being hosted in a week's time. These dromedary camels originated in East Africa and have been used as pack animals through the drylands in the region, but during the derby, it's all about speed and strength. The competition is serious but amateurs can also enter and race these beasts through the streets of Maralal.


A signboard south of Maralal indicating the way to Isiolo, east of here. As Maralal is the gateway to the Lake Turkana crossing into Ethiopia, Isiolo acts as the gateway to the primary crossing at Moyale.


Carlos split off and wanted to ride a bit more offroad in the west and would meet up with us in Nairobi. It was great to ride with him.


sanDRina was back to her usual configuration with both side panniers back on. I thanked my overland companions for taking turns and carrying my heavy panniers. Riding without them definitely made the Turkana Route more enjoyable.


Peter and Jill spotted something exciting as we rode past the Mugie Wildlife Conservancy...


...a giraffe and some zebra. I had seen giraffes when I was a kid in Zambia, but seeing them again in the wild was a wonderful experience.


This giraffe was trying to bend down to drink some water but was very nervous and kept looking around and hesitating.


When he felt comfortable enough, this tall animal slowly bent its front legs in a coordinated movement to get its tall neck closer to the ground and...


...finally managed to bring its tongue in contact with water on the ground. It looked very graceful and probably required a lot of strength to keep that pose just to get a drink.


Back on the road and enjoying the last offroading for a while to come.


The scenery changed the further south we went and it became greener and greener, until...


...we hit the tarmac at Rumurutri. That was about 900 kms (560 mi) of offroad from southern Ethiopia to here; the longest stretch that I've done. We aired up our tires and...


...enjoyed the sensation of smooth roads. That looks like rain clouds, but it stayed away.

I spent the night in Nyahururu at the Olive Shade Lodge and for Ksh600 ($6.45) got secured parking for sanDRina and a hot shower.


The next morning, we crossed the Equator on the way to Nakuru.


My GPS told me we were crossing into the southern hemisphere, once more, after being in the north since my Atlantic crossing with Grimaldi.


Peter and Jill wanted to see the Coriolis Effect demonstration and I was up for it since I hadn't seen it when I crossed the equator in Ecuador.


When the water is drained from this green tub south of the equator, the floating wood strip shows that the water spins in a counter-clockwise direction. Then we walked about 10 m (33 ft) north of the equator and saw that the wood strip rotated in a clockwise direction and then right on the equator, there is no rotation and the water just drains straight down. It was pretty cool to see the Coriolis Effect in person and to realize that yes, you are standing on the exact position of the equator of this massive planet. The effect comes about due to the rotation of the Earth and can be seen on the large scale in weather systems; hurricanes spin clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the south. What I didn't know was that the exact position of the equator moves throughout the day by about 15 m (49 ft), which I think is due to the wobble in the Earth's axis.


Riding in the southern hemisphere and enjoying big trees once again.


At Nakuru, we hit the major highway through Kenya, which takes cargo from the port in Mombasa through Nairobi to Kampala in Uganda and onwards to Rwanda and Burundi. But that was for later. Right now, I was turning left and heading for the capital.


It was a shock to be on a highway after all these kilometers in wilderness and not to mention riding on the opposite side of the road for the first time on this trip. From Kenya into Southern Africa, they drive on the left side of the road, a vestige of British influence. But being a bike makes it easy to switch sides except that now right turns are longer than left turns.


Riding the escarpment of the Eastern Rift in Kenya and passing Lake Elmenteita, a shallow soda lake. It is one of many Rift Valley lakes in Kenya.


We stopped for lunch at a roadside stop that was chock full of barbeque houses, with waiters from every restaurant accosting arriving customers to eat at their place. We settled for the Pink Rose Butchery, as it was at the end of the line and offered a bit more peace than the others.


The butcher at Pink Rose holding up a leg of mutton, the most typical meat for Nyama Choma (grilled meat).


A huge rack of goat ribs and African Sausage on the smokey grill.


Celebrating the end of our journey down Lake Turkana with a feast of grilled mutton, liver and sausage. Oh yeah, there was other food too: the green stuff is mukimo - mashed potatoes with kale and onions; french fries are known as chips in Kenya, just like in the UK; and I was super happy to find out that chapati is a staple food in Kenya, a vestige of the long-standing Indian influence in Kenya (who were brought over by the British to work on the railway).

The last leg into Nairobi rides high up on this escarpment offering grand views across the vast Rift Valley.


Kenya's Rift Valley, blessed with great views and fertile soil.


My GPS directed me through Nairobi's streets straight to the overland meeting point of Jungle Jungle in Nairobi's Lavington suburb. My arrival into Nairobi signaled the end of the first part of my motorcycle trip that started in Chicago in March, 2010.


Chris, walking up to the motorcycle on the right, runs Jungle Junction and opened up this house in a large ground to overland travelers. He provides an excellent work shop where travelers can get their tired bikes and cars fixed. There's also WiFi and hot laundry - luxuries for travelers on the road. He's very helpful to travelers and has been a base for the overland traveling community in East Africa for many years.


His large front yard is open to camping and it was good to meet other travelers and feel at home.


Jungle Junction acts like an asylum for overland travelers, a place where you're not called crazy for wanting to give it all up to pursue wanderlust. This is Chris and Elayn's home-made buggy that they've been traveling with from Australia. Chris is a suspension engineer and it was good to talk about automotive dynamics.


Philip, from Germany, was another asylum seeker at Jungle Junction. He had traveled through West Africa before on a big 600cc motorcycle and was fed up with the weight of the heavy bike and so for his next trip, he decided to just fly in and buy locally-available small-engined bikes, like this Honda 150cc scooter. On this trip, he was going from Mombasa to Kinshasa, all the way across the DR Congo. He was so inspired by all the tubes that I had on sanDRina for storing parts and tools that he went out and bought some PVC tubing and made a few for himself.


Lu at Nyayo House, taking care of paperwork in Nairobi. I went with most of the travelers in my convoy to the immigration office where we got officially stamped into Kenya, which was a strange feeling after being in the country already for more than a week.


Riding with Guy and Lu in a matatu, Kenya's most preferred mode of public transport. They are usually decorated pretty wildly, although the government has tried to tame and regulate them.


Having dinner with Ferdi and Katie, whom I met at Tim and Kim's first and then traveled the Turkana Route with. They were continuing on further south and I told them to report back to me on routes and places to see when I get back on the road next.


And with that comes a conclusion to the first part of my journey that started in Chicago in March, 2010, criss-crossed Latin America, crossed the Atlantic and came down eastern Africa to Nairobi. I was going to be taking a break in Nairobi to do research for the distance masters that I'm studying for. It was going to be a change of pace from traveling to not moving for the next few months, but I'm highly adaptable and take change as it comes.

Did any particular style or size of bike seem to predominate among this bunch?
Glad you made it safely to this point and thank you again for bringing us along.

wow... what an amazing story! make an audio book i will buy it!

Jay - if this marks the conclusion of the first part of your journey, can you tell us again exactly how far you've gotten on the second leg? Or are you still in between in Nairobi? I'm trying to figure out how up to date this last segment is in relation to what you're doing currently. I apologize if you've already made it clear - if so, I missed it or the memories have faded from my mind. :huh

Thanks again for taking us on your travels.

- Dan

Oh! Your blog is so exciting!

Will you write a book? Have you found a publisher?

Have you decided how long you'll stay in Nairobi - or are you "resting" now from the tour?

Yup, BMW F650. There's only one or two in this photo but whenever I visited, I saw a few more. There were some Honda Africa Twins, some KTM 990s and a few 1200GSs. I had many riders come up to me and say that, yeah, the DR seems to be the perfect bike for this kind of riding

Welcome to the journey Yup, planning on an audio book when the book gets written. Nope, haven't found a publisher, yet, but working on it...

I've actually been "resting" for the past 11 months in Nairobi. I'm just really behind on this ride report but almost caught up! Planning to get going again in early August.

Hey Dan, I'm still in Nairobi and Part 2 begins in a few weeks Hoping to get rolling in the first week of August, depending on when I get my visas for Southern Africa sorted (got Tanzania so far, Rwanda in process).

Yeah, I've been really behind on the ride report, but check the dates at the start of each new segment to see when it happened. Now for a few segments on my past year in Kenya...

Oh no!!! You fell for the tourist scam!