I don’t cycle to keep fit. I don’t do it for a trim body and chiseled thighs, or to sijui improve my stamina. God knows I have as much lung capacity as the eye of a needle.
In fact during the migwatos some positions deflate the hell out of me. (Do people still say migwatos or my age is showing?)
I don’t cycle to lose weight either. I have a girl who does that for me effortlessly.
The moment she says, “I just think it’s funny how…” I’m already down 5kg.
Anyway, like me, Cherie is a bag of scars. Her front end groans on sharp bends. A section of her saddle is torn. To switch the front gear you have to apply about 1 trillion kilojoules of hard muscle.
I swear. The energy I use to shift gears is enough to throw a javelin from Kitengela to Kapsoya.
Usually I take Cheriè to my fundi, Alfonso. You’ll almost always find Alfonso in a Lakers jersey labelled number 2 at the back, which is terribly ironic because Alfonso is the number 1 bicycle fundi this side of Kajiado.
I like the way he says, “Hii bike ni fiti sana,” as he goes about greasing and tightening the bolts. Alfonso and Cherie have a special bond that I dont dare question.
But Cherie and I also have an understanding that we’ve forged over countless kilometers of dirt road.
For a few months after the accident, I rode Cherie purely to prove to myself that –despite nerve damage– my right leg wasn’t completely useless.
One time I got carried away and found myself smack in the middle of Bisil. Do you know how far Bisil is?
(Calculate the time it would take for Mike to cycle from Bisil to Kitengela given that the speed of wind is 2km/h and one of his legs is faulty. Use only a calculator. 20mks)
These days, however, Cherie and I hit the tarmac simply to escape; to quiet the humdrum of daily life, to go headlong into the wind and hope to turn down the dingdong of doom that endlessly clangs from within.
We ride to to remind ourselves of those universal truths that make life worth living: love, honour, courage, compassion, pride, pity, and sacrifice.
Today we also ride to remind you to #ShareTheRoad.
Be mindful. Keep your distance. Dont drink & drive
Otherwise si mkue weekend poa?
*This story first ran on my Instagram page. Follow for this and more stories.
Pass The Mike 