Kenya 400 DAY 2: Tuesday 26th August 2025 - The Taita Hills Challenge

Total distance cycled: 140+ km / 420 km

Today's adventure saw "gentle ride" become "like being in the gym" …

A Deceptive Start

Day 2 began at the beautiful Taita Hills Lodge in the heart of the Taita Sanctuary, and Chris promised us a "gentle ride" for the first eight kilometres. We should have known better - when Chris says "gentle," he's comparing it to Kilimanjaro!

Those first eight kilometres were indeed pleasant, lulling us into a false sense of security as we rolled through the sanctuary grounds. But then, as Charles would later reflect, "it was like being in the gym for the next hour" as we began our assault on the Taita Hills themselves.

The Great Climb

The Taita Hills rise an imposing 5,000 feet above the surrounding plains - ancient granite massifs formed over 100 million years ago. We were about to cycle straight up into their foothills, heading north up the mountain on what became a gruelling five-kilometre climb.

"It was actually quite tough going up that hill," Charles noted with typical British understatement, though the frequent stops for breathers told the real story. This wasn't just any climb - it was a proper 300-metre elevation gain that had everyone's legs screaming within the first kilometre.

But Chris was impressed with the whole team's determination. "We got five kilometres up that hill," he observed with genuine admiration. "A five-kilometre climb is a tough one, especially early in the morning."

The Rewarding Descent

The reward for our suffering came when we turned around for the descent. Suddenly, we could see exactly how high we'd climbed, and the views were spectacular. The five-kilometre descent was everything the climb wasn't - exhilarating, fast, and a reminder of why we'd endured the pain going up.

Rolling down through the town and continuing to a lovely dam a few kilometres later, all on dirt roads now, we reached our refreshment stop feeling like we'd already earned our medals for the day. The dam had created a couple of beautiful lakes that provided a perfect backdrop for catching our breath and preparing for what Chris ominously called "the challenge of the day."

The 360-Degree Challenge

If the climb had been like the gym, what came next was like a masterclass in persistence. We were about to cycle a complete 360-degree circuit around Mount Kasigau, traversing terrain that would test every ounce of our resolve.

The route took us through a fascinating sisal estate, where Chris educated us about these remarkable thorny, cactus-type plants. Originally grown extensively in Mexico for tequila production, the sisal here serves a different purpose. The leaves are cut and processed through a decorticator that removes all the green juice, leaving fibres that are woven into rope.

"It's used for tying ships to docks," Chris explained, "because unlike nylon, sisal rope doesn't stretch, and it doesn't suffer from UV exposure." The modern use in car dashboards, mixed with resin as a recyclable natural product, showed how this ancient plant continues to find new purposes.

The Headwind From Hell

But our agricultural education was about to be interrupted by nature's own curriculum in endurance. As we rounded the mountain, we hit a headwind that felt like cycling through treacle. For 12 to 15 kilometres, this relentless wind battered us, turning what should have been a pleasant circumnavigation into a proper battle.

"It was really, really tough going," Charles recalled. "It was heavy going for a while." The headwind was so strong that Chris himself admitted he was thinking, "Oh my goodness, this is really going to knock everybody on the head."

Age and Experience Triumph

But here's where our group showed their true mettle. Despite the brutal conditions, everyone came through in impressive times. Chris couldn't contain his admiration: "How do us old 70-year-olds compare with some of the youngsters? You're doing very well. Very, very well."

In fact, one of the guides had commented to Chris: "This is just amazing. These are older people and they're doing so much better than the 18, 19, 20-year-olds that we get on the trips." As Charles noted with evident satisfaction, "The old meat is actually working!"

Evening at Hildana

Our reward for conquering the Taita Hills and surviving the headwind of doom was arrival at Hildana Lodge, situated beautifully on one of the sisal farms. The lodge's waterhole provided the perfect end to a challenging day, as we watched elephants and buffalo come in to drink, along with zebra and impala.

Sitting by that waterhole after 60+ kilometres of climbing, descending, and battling headwinds, we felt like we'd earned our place among these magnificent animals. The lodge's peaceful setting was the perfect balm for legs that had been thoroughly tested by Kenya's demanding terrain.

Reflections on Day 2

Day 2 had delivered everything Chris hadn't quite warned us about - the "gentle start" that became a gym workout, the rewarding descent that reminded us why we climb, the educational journey through sisal country and the headwind that tested our resolve. But it has also shown us something important about ourselves.

We weren't just surviving Kenya's challenges; we were thriving. The 70-year-olds were outperforming teenagers, the headwinds were being conquered - and the African landscape was revealing its secrets one pedal stroke at a time.

Tomorrow brings Mount Kasigau and new adventures, but tonight we rest as cyclists who've proven that age, experience and determination can conquer any hill Kenya throws at us.

The 'old meat' is working very well indeed.