My first adventure from Nairobi to Mombasa on Bike

Riding is not for everyone and is not for the faint hearted. It has been an idea in me of riding for a long distance on two wheels until I grabbed a Kibo MotorBike and started to plan on how I will hit the roads and cover a long distance my destination. The first destination that came to me was Nairobi To Mombasa a distance of over 500kilometres.

I Packed my bike for the journey in the early in the morning expecting to hit the road by 6am on that day but due to one two here and there, I started the jpurney from Utawala Nairobi headed to Mombasa and the journey was very smooth and enjoyable. I felt its a dream come true since I had never done any long ride before. I was to cover a distance of 500 Kilometres on a road with many trailers and careless drivers delivering newly purchased vehicles from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi.

I enjoyed the ride from Utawala going to City Cabanas through Mlolongo Arthi river and Machakos Junction. I kept my eyes on the fuel gauge since I had not used the bike for a long trip and I had not known the filling points on mmy way to Mombasa. Every time i realised the gauge is moving down I could stop at the next filling station and refill my tank to full capacity to ensure am not stack by the roads.

I continued to enjoy the ride until I reached Makindu where there were demonstrations, and the road was crossed by demonstrators with stonnes and lit bonfires on the road. I moved out of the road to find an alternative way to cross through Makindu and thats when I realized my Bike is not moving at all. The crutch plates needed a replacement, I had to look for a nearby mechanic to fix the bike but it was not as easy as I had imagined. When the bike was diagnosed and indeed it required new clutchplates. That was the beginning of trouble. The mechanic tried to find one at the spare shops aroung but did not find any at all.

We decided to go to Kibwezi the nearest town to try our luck and see whether we can find the important spare part but we failed as well. My hopes for the journey had started to diminish since time was moving fast and I had thought of spending the night in Mombasa, After much consultations with the Mechanics atthe garage, the mechanic decided to board a Nairobi bound vehicle to find the spare part in Nairobi. It was at around 3pm when the mechanic left for Nairobi. By then I had made up my mind to spend the night at Makindu and proceed with the journey the following morning after fixing the issue. The mechanic was late for Nairobi therefore arrived late and the spare shops were already closed.

He spend the night in Nairobi while I spent the night in Makindu. The following day the mechanic started the search in Nairobi Town but it wasnt easy to find the spare part as well. After hours of search, he finally found it and started the journey back to Makindu and arrived at 2pm. He started fixing the bike and by 4pm the bike was ready. I put on my gear and left Makindu at 5pm headed to Mombasa but this time the bike was not as smooth as it was before I started from Nairobi, The gears were not as smooth and the bike was not swift on the road.

I continued the journey and in a few minutes I was in Mtito Andei where i refilled my tank before entering the famous Tsavo where I was not sure how many kilometres I will have to ride before my next petrol station. Darkness was already with me but I had to keep moving. This time I was riding but with much anxiety running on my mind. I had to keep moving while fighting three things in the mind. I was inside the Tsavo where am not sure the next filling station. My tank is 7.4litres and I had not carried any extra from the one in the tank.

Another thing I was fighting was the availability of many trailers on the road and poor visibility due to darkness. I was overtaking through the pavements which am not sure of their status and safety. This reduced my speed and I had to spend hours in the Tsavo. My greatest worry was, what will happen incase my fuel runs out while in the Tsavo and in total darkness. I had to reduce my speeds and tried to save fuel while moving.

When I arrived at sweet waters, I pulled out of the road to find somewhere to eat and inquire if I can get some fuel to top up before my next petrol station. I topped with two litres and decided to ride through to Voi where I spent the night. I arrived at Voi at around 11pm and booked a guest house where I had to spend the night for the second day in my trip before I wake up the following day to proceed with the journey.

In the morning I wake up, took a shower and geared up before proceeding with my journey to Mombasa. This time everything was just fine and I proceeded well with the journey to Mombasa. I arrived in Mombasa at 9am while it was raining heavily. I had to endure heavy rains with poor visibility but determined to accomplish what I wanted. I was finally happy having achieved my mission of riding from Nairobi to Mombasa on a motor bike. This made me to feel energized and having a sense of fulfillment of my dream of riding to Mombasa. On my next article on this site I will be giving you details of everything throughout the journey and back to Nairobi.

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