Distance: 86.7 km
Ride time: 5:47:00
Average: 15.0 km/h
Max speed: 31.0 km/h
Total: 51089 km
I left Lokichar early in the morning to try to beat the heat. After a bit of shopping for biscuits and water I was heading into the remote Turkana country once again. I wasn’t expecting to see much civilization for 90 kilometers, and that expectation turned out to be true.
The road continued to be in a bad shape, and the 15 km/h average speed I managed would be pretty much the same you would be able to do in a car.
I spotted several camel mobs moving across the dry steppes of Turkana. Once in a while I would also spot a local tribe member walking or cycling next to the road, often carrying a riffle. The tribes have traditionally been fighting each other, but nowadays life is more peaceful. Luckily my presence didn’t seem to bother anyone.
In the beginning I thought it was because I didn’t drink enough water, but then things kept getting worse. In the middle of the day I realized I was peeing blood. “Houston, we have a problem” was what I was thinking as I looked around and realized I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere…
I still had a couple of hours to cycle before I would reach Lodwar, a small town of 20000 inhabitants in the Turkana desert. I could have asked a car for a lift, but since I felt OK, all things considered, I continued by bike.
After reaching Lodwar I went over to a very local hospital and explained my situation. Tribe people from the villages would arrive as I was waiting in line – I don’t think they see many foreigners out here. After having my blood and urine samples taken I went to pay the fees – 3 US$ all included.
I now called my insurance company and once again explained the situation. This is the first time in five years on the road that I’m using my health insurance. Luckily everything worked nice and professionally. The doctor seemed a tad more worried than I was, and suggested I would return to Nairobi for further tests.
Oh well, better safe than sorry – especially considering I will soon be riding into even more remote areas on the way towards Ethiopia.
That doesn’t sound too good! Obviously you lived to tell the tale. 🙂
I’m with your doctor on this one. Fix your pee-pee up. Blood doesn’t come out of there, or anywhere good.
Stephen and Jonathan… yes indeed, better to get those things checked up. I returned to Nairobi for the tests and everything turned out fine 🙂