Lately I have been taking advantage of the bike taxis in town. They wait around the market area, near our house, which is about 2 km outside of Kapsabet. The ride is all downhill, and avoids the rider from spending about 20 minutes of their time walking on the side of the road. The ride costs 10 shillings (about 12 cents USD), so in my eyes, not a bad deal.
What is a bike taxi? Well, it's a single speed dutch looking black bike, with a pad behind the "driver" and a little set of min-handlebars attached to the back of his seatpost. I had avoided taking rides with these guys, for about 7 weeks. Mainly, because I didn't think they were particularly safe, and I enjoyed the walk into town, most days. I have begun to head into town around 7AM, a few days per week, to benefit from the only time when the internet connection is bearable. On those days, I usually postpone my run until maybe 10 AM or so.
Just like everyone else, I have rationalized why I am not being 100% lazy, by riding the bike taxi, or boda-boda as they are called here. I see it as a way to avoid breaking a sweat on my way into town, and usually walk back. The ride itself is not bad, but every bike I get on, the mini-handlebars are cocked a little bit off center. What does that matter? Well it matters a lot, because I can't see ahead of me and it makes for a sensation that I am about to careen off the shoulder of the road into some thorny brush. The riders are decked out in anything, as long as it would never be considered for a rigorous athletic job. My past two drivers, have been wearing sportcoats, and each seems to make light that I am far heavier than their average passenger. If I feel that is true, or the guy just plain weak, then I tip him an extra 10 shillings.
Training:
Training has been going smoothly, and I can see the improvement almost daily. On the hill routes, I climb without excising a portion of my lungs. During my recent track workouts, I have been able to finish strong and possibly hold a brief conversation, if absolutely necessary. I am doing double runs on my hard days, and usually only single runs when I run longer than 1hr 15 min.
With that said, I am looking forward to dropping out of the altitude, and getting my fair share of oxygen again.
Hope all is well in the States.
Neil
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2 comments:
The mental image of you on the back of the bike with the cocked handle bars and the driver in a sportcoat is hysterical. You are probably in the lowest 1% of bodyfat and 10% of weight of all American males so these drivers must get few American tourists.
Great job on the training! I want to be at your first race after you get home.
(finally beat the gobeters response.
Maybe you should stay a little longer to lose some weight and send more of these word snapshots of Kenya.That is a nice glimpse of life there.They are ahead of the green movement.
We look forward to reading these.thanks
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