The document summarizes a 6-day mountain biking race through the Laikipia region of Kenya. Each day presented tough climbs and long distances in the saddle. Day 5 was particularly grueling with 90km and 2,200m of continuous climbing through forests and moorlands over 3,000m altitude. Despite the challenges, the writer found the rewards of riding through wildlife plains and the scenery of Mount Kenya to be worth it. The final day's 40km route concluded the 375km, 8,000m of climbing experience.

1. saddle safari | MTB | 9392 | MTB | saddle safari
Race review | kenya
kenya
riding high in
laikipia XC
n e x t r a c e
12-17 July
2016
There were tough days in the saddle and some challenging climbs as the 2015 Laikipia XC
explored the foothills of Africa’s second highest peak and the high rangelands of Laikipia.
But, says Stephen Strong, the rewards were many: riding through plains of game, falling
asleep under starlit skies to the sounds of the Kenyan wilderness – and the ever-present
spectacle of Mount Kenya dominating the landscape. Photographs by Mid-Ego Fotography

2. saddle safari | MTB | 9594 | MTB | saddle safari
am Sunday 12 July
2015. Day 6. Final
wake-up call in an
hour. The air is crisp
and cold, the sky
clear, ablaze with stars. Mount
Kenya is a dark shape looming
against the star-lit sky, a lot
closer than it was yesterday.
Yesterday! Yesterday was
particularly brutal: 90km,
2 200m of climbing back
up the mountain, eight and
a half hours in the saddle.
Welcome to the Laikipia
Extreme Challenge, a Kenyan
wilderness MTB adventure!
We started out six days
ago, on Tuesday 7 July, from
Naro Moru River Lodge on
the western slopes of Mount
Kenya – fresh and enthusiastic
with little technical skill (in
my case) but a pleasing level
of fitness after four months
of hard training. Little did
we realise then quite how
sausages; not much protein
for breakfast for the riders
that day! Tired legs quickly
woken up by the adrenaline of
anticipation of another day of
riding in the wild.
Day 3 was my personal
crash day. 75km with 1 500m
of climbing and a long,
seemingly never-ending,
undulating 30km to the finish,
during which I forgot to feed
properly. Result: a blood sugar
crash on the finish line. “You
sounded as if you were giving
breech birth to a cow” was the
encouraging comment of an
earlier finisher! Not a pleasant
place to go, but remarkably
easy to come back from – a
bottle of sweet drink with a
pinch of salt and almost right
as rain again.
Day 4 saw us descending
1 000m over 8km down
the most stunning, free-
fall, slippery, sandy, rocky
extreme this challenge was
going to be, for both riders
and organisers alike.
Day 1 was a 50km climb up
1 000m through the wonderful
forests of the mountain to
where we are now, on the
northern slopes of Mount
Kenya near Fairmont Mount
Kenya Safari Club; a shortish
but slow and interesting first
day in the saddle. Some route
deviations took us through
thick undergrowth and over
boulder-strewn lava fields,
which broke the derailleur of
one of the rider’s bikes. In this
challenge you either fix it or
get to the end as best as you
can; he got to the end, broken
derailleur and all.
Day 2 was a stunning 65km
slide down the mountain,
north through the Lolldaiga
Hills, teeming with wildlife,
to the wide open plains of
Borana Ranch on the plains
of Laikipia, our home for
singletrack I have ever
ridden. My lack of technical
skill meant hanging onto the
brakes all the way down.
Result: boiled away all the
brake fluid in the back brakes
by the time I got to the
bottom. Luckily the only way
home was a torturous climb
back up the other side of
the incredible valley, having
crossed the valley floor in
upwards of 35°C through
thorn country and glue-like
sand riverbeds, where there
was not much use for brakes.
Another 55km done.
So, back to day 5, yesterday.
90km, 2 200m of steady
continuous climbing. The
climb started from Borana
Ranch, up through the Ngare
Ndare Forest in the northern
foothills of the mountain, and
on up through the wheatfields
of Wangu Embori farm, and
on up through the hagenia
the next three nights. The
ride was easy, flowing and
fast, mostly downhill (but
still recording 950m of
climbing) with the vista of
northern Kenya always ahead,
making it hard to concentrate
on the road sometimes.
Riding through herds of
elephant, zebra and giraffe
is an experience not to be
forgotten. Luckily the buffalo
were far from the track and
contentedly chewing the cud
under spreading acacia trees.
The nights at the Borana
campsite were gorgeous – no
light pollution here, falling
asleep after hard days in the
saddle to the sounds of the
Kenyan wilderness: hyenas
singing in the distance, lions
roaring close by, elephants
feeding on the acacia trees on
the other side of the valley.
Hyenas also breaking into
the kitchen tent and stealing
tomorrow’s bacon and
Race review | kenya
“day 5, 90km, 2200m of steady, continuous climbing to the moorlands above 3000m altitude, taken one pedal stroke at a time. Brutal”

3. 96 | MTB | saddle safari
Race review | kenya
forest to the moorlands above
3 000m altitude. A long, hard
climb – taken one pedal stroke
at a time. No other way to do
it: you cannot multiply those
pedal strokes. An exhilarating
free fall (mostly) back down
to Fairmont Mount Kenya
Safari Club at 2 300m altitude.
Brutal.
The wake up call comes.
Today, Sunday 12 July. The
last day. A short ,“easy” 40km
(with 700m of climbing)
double loop through the
forests of Mount Kenya. A
last push for tired legs, a last
chance to climb hard, and
descend fast. Finally crossing
the finish line at the Fairmont
Mount Kenya Safari Club
after riding a total of 375km,
climbing nearly 8 000m
in a gruelling, exhilarating,
wonderful Kenyan wilderness
mountain biking adventure.
Thank you Team Laikipia XC
… see you next year!
Stephen Strong
Day job: Administration director for
a Kenyan-based agribusiness
Based: Nairobi
Mostly rides: Nairobi and environs
Favourite riding spots:
Limuru area north of Nairobi, Laikipia
(of course!) and Brisbane, Australia
Years riding a MTB: 5
Age: 53
FAST FACTS
WHAT: The Laikipia XC is a
six-day mountain bike stage
race that takes place in the
vast wilderness of central
Kenya every July. There’s
also a two-day option that
joins the race for just stages
5 and 6. It’s open to teams of
two (male, female or mixed).
WHERE: The route covers
450km over six days and
about 10 000m of climbing.
It runs through the foothills
of Mount Kenya (Africa’s
second highest mountain),
up into the stunning scenery
of Laikipia and finally into
and around Mukogodo
Forest, all straddling the East
African Rift Valley. Famed
for its spectacular views
and diverse terrain, the
race snakes its way through
steep, rocky singletrack,
open savannah and virgin
forests that border the
legendary Ewaso Nyiro river.
The two-day route is 120km
and features about 2 900m
of climbing.
WHEN: 12-17 July 2016 (6
day route) and 16-17 July
2016 (2 day route)
WHY: Riders will have the
opportunity to witness some
of the most spectacular
landscape that Kenya has
to offer and dominate some
world-class mountain biking
trails. You ride through
a number of different
conservancies and have
the chance to experience
seeing game while riding a
challenging route.
HOW: Register on
www.laikipiaxc.com