djothefu stories

I got lost in Central Kenya. Yes, again. We got lost riding our bikes in Central Kenya. And we spent about five minutes laughing about it. We drove around in a circle, literally! That’s not a figure of speech, and I will tell you about it just now. I previously wrote about my experience getting...

I wake up in my tent to birds chirping. I open the zip to soak in the views towards Lake Turkana from the hilltop at the Catholic Mission. It’s taking my breath. Time stands still in this place. It’s as if the soul synchronizes with the ancestors who strolled around this place a million years...

My bike, tent, a book and me. I plan to fall off the grid completely for my January leave. A TZ roadtrip to Lake Tanganyika sounds amazing until I read up on our neighbor’s rain seasons. Maybe explore Western Kenya’s greenery instead?  That’s when my pal talks about riding to some remote places up North. This...

Trouble checks in! There’s a long stretch of road that is just a sand basin, pure deep sand. There are very few car tracks and absolutely no motorcycle tracks. Motorcycles don’t pass here. Riding slows down to a crawl. Looks smooth in the photos, but believe me, it’s a sandpit! We are about 100 kilometres...

I come around a bush, and there is the pool… Except there’s a naked local woman in it, bathing, waist-deep in the water. She pauses scrubbing herself and glowers at me. Our eyes lock for a moment, both of us caught by surprise. I hastily turn around and walk back up. So, once again, I...

He sorts out Akoth’s footpeg issue and makes me a pair of tyre levers. I don’t like the tyre levers. They are a far cry from my Buzettis, and will be really difficult to use in case of a puncture. I don’t like them so much that I never even take a single photo of...

It is said that the Turkana people don’t bury casualties of war. They leave them in the open fields, to be devoured by animals and birds. In May 2011, bandits from Ethiopia, armed with AK 47 assault rifles assaulted a group of Kenyan traders who had gone into Ethiopia to buy food. This happened at...

I started cycling about three months ago. The other day, a female friend asked me if cycling “adds stamina.” I remained tight-lipped about that. This adventure ride I had, that I’m about to narrate to you, might just be the proverbial brew that lets loose secrets held behind these tight lips. The title of this...

She is fatigued. Her head hangs limp to one side as she wearily walks through the mall’s hallway. She carries her helmet as if it weighs ten kilos. The moment we see each other, smiles break out on our faces. I go in to give her a hug, but she doesn’t just hug me, she...

Choppy lake. On a boat! My bike onboard. A coxswain with questionable sobriety, keen to show off. My bike being thrown about. Me waiting for a rope to snap at any moment, and for the bike to flip overboard into the crocodile infested waters. Praying that the rope would snap clean off, so the bike...

And that’s it! I have shown you the whole of Lorengippi. Unless there’s a big market place hidden somewhere, you have seen everything. I stop. I want to see if I can find a place to eat lunch here… Yeah, I know, I know… A curious group gathers around me. As usual, they are hesitant...

This boat ride puts a huge unexpected dent in my wallet. I have to cut my trip short. I had hoped to cross the lake and venture my way north towards Sibiloi, but now I have to start making my way south, towards home. Besides, the KWS officer informed me that Sibiloi is not safe...