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After our sight-seeing moment near the lake, it was off to Nguruman for fuel and a much needed beer or two… plus 12 takeaways for the riverbed! The Stop Over hotel is our usual spot to grab the medicine, the mama there allowing us to take the bottles with us if we drop them off at Kirimatian...

Out of the riverbed, back to the little tracks through the wait-a-bit bushes. It’s twisty, tight, open, fast, sandy, rocky, pebbly, slippy… everything you want in a desert ride. Before long we were spread out on the trail missing turnoffs here and there, one of which sent me up to a boma...

Up with the birds and farts echoing around the crater. Still air, no car noise, no churches, pristine. Then Jimbob got the kettle on and started singing “Munguuuuu Muuunguuuu!” Which is very on brand and pretty much ruined the scene. Resigned to getting out of my tent, but unable to function...

It’s been busy! Work. Family. Household stuff. So, when at last a gap opened up for Madaraka Day, we had to take it and rip it up. Panic and I on our XR650Rs and our lonesome, woebegone friend Jimbob on his displacement-lacking KTM 350EXC hit the dirt on Tuesday afternoon for a place we’ve been...

Too long! Way too long. It’s been too long since the last ride! So Saturday morning I saddled up and took off at 6AM for the top of Mt. Suswa where Panic and another mate from school had gone the night before camping. It had been raining a lot the previous week and mud was everywhere, but it was...

A few weeks have passed without riding and it’s just too much to bear. So when Wry tells me there’s a plan afoot to ride to Suswa after work on Friday for a perennial get-out-of-Nairobi overnighter to celebrate Holesaw’s imminent departure from Kenya (wait… celebrate’s not the word… what is it…...

High-brow musings here folks. Serious philosophy. Probably over most of your heads if I'm honest. Ready? Here goes: Biking is never bad, but some days are much, MUCH better than others.  Very profound, no? This brief tale illuminates both ends of the spectrum. Last week was on the...

Well, a couple weeks later and I got around to "fixing" my broken headlight and doing something about the perennial issue of burned bags... I can't lose another banana hammock... I just couldn't bear it! Above: Perspex rock deflector on the headlight (temporary until I can get a replacement)...

No massive rush to get out of bed, I nevertheless was eager because Kili would be out. Unzipping the floor to ceiling fly on the tent, I poke my head out and there she is. It’s astonishing how big that mountain is, and you only notice it when the clouds are off which is mainly first thing in the...

Up in the dark, Wry proves his worth at last by producing a fancy-schmancy coffee press thingy AND by figuring out how to start another one of those useless matches. By the time I was out of my tent he had the kettle on. Of course, the muppet turned off the stove and we couldn’t have a second...

Ok, we gotta get out of Nairobi! Wry says: get over to my place for toast and eggs and we’ll head out at 8. So, like an idiot, I showed up at 7:30 and we were on the road by 9. To be fair, we did have our toast and eggs and even a very nice Earl Grey tea. I was attacked by his vicious dog...

Welcome to 2022, Pig fans! We're back with our seventh consecutive year of Honda XR650R domination in Kenya! Strap up your boots and clean your visors, cause we're ready to roll! We've already been on our first of what I hope shall be many rides this year, and this thread will be where I...

Warning, the following images may not be suitable for all viewers: Evans! Look what you did to my shock! How could you? No, seriously, how could you? Did you bring a special acid to attack the metal and make it fatigue as if it had been ridden hard for over a decade? How did you manage to apply...

Morning. Fuzzy headed. I crawled out of my bed to the sound of a million birds down in the crater talking smack to one another. Wry and Joey were heating water for coffee. Was Joey’s greeting just a bit too friendly? Did I catch a mischievous glimmer in his eye? Shaking it off, I wandered over...

As soon as Wry had his helmet off and received his abuse from me about his crappy group management, he told me he was leaking fuel from the tank somewhere. Sure enough, little drips were plopping onto the dirt in a most un-eco-friendly way. For the time being, we put a beer can under the drip...

Friday was a drizzly, miserable day in Nairobi. The hours were crawling by. I wouldn’t start for Suswa until 4pm, after picking the kids from school. The plan was for me to meet up with Wry, Aladin and Joey on the SGR road so we could ride together down the Great Rift Valley. I took off on...

Wry was ready for his monthly get-out-to-Mt Suswa overnighter and I was in need of a break from Nairobi myself. The day before departure, he called with a surprise. He tells me Joey Evans is passing through on his way to do some speaking engagements and would be keen to join us. We were chuffed...

After a year marooned in South Africa, our mate Kolobus returned to Kenya for work and a crew of happy folks organized a ride/camping trip to celebrate. I got my two XR650Rs ready… oil changes, tyre changes, etc… and handed him the key to my beloved Desert Pig. Our Groundhog-Days-Covid-Lockdown...

Hmmm... I'm pretty sure there's an old motorcycle adage that says if something is wrong, just ignore it and it'll go away... right? Above: XRR rear linkage gone the way of my hub a year ago... no bearings makes things go pear shaped... literally! Damned if I hadn't been hearing a squeak for...

Slept great. Nothing like a proper bed and some AC in the heat. With a good breakfast in our guts, we packed up, bid farewell to the Bogoria Spa and a big Monitor Lizzard that had the hots for JimBob’s KTM, and hit the road. We went over the north end of Lake Bogoria on back roads as the usual...