Meet the female cycling addicts

Wearing stretchy Lycra pants, on bicycles and racing hundreds of kilometres a day, Kenyan women have found a new adventurous hobby; cycling.

Part of this cycling hobbyists is a team of five young women. I meet them at Nairobi Karen’s Green Park estate to talk about an adventure that has become their addiction.

“I do this for fun and adventure. Can you imagine that just three months into cycling I did a Namanga Ladies ride- 163 kilometres?” Wendy Sigei, one of the five, poses.

“We left Nairobi at 7.30am and arrived at Namanga around 5pm because of the many stops to refresh, have lunch, recharge and be on the road again,” says the 27-year-old.

The cyclists describe their bike riding adventure as a luxury.

“It’s luxurious in a way because we have chase cars that carry what we need. On a trip, I may offer to use my car to chase the team and someone else will do the same on the next one. It’s important to have a chase car. I mean these are long rides, should one get tired or their bike spoils, you know things happen,” she says.

Through social media, the team has created an online community of cyclists extending beyond the Kenyan borders.

“Like when we did the Arusha ride, we got a suggestion from a cyclist group from Arusha to visit. They hosted us and we bonded, it was fun. Beyond physical fitness, cycling helps us mentally and Susan [Susan Nyagoh, another cyclist], can attest to the social aspect. It is the biggest motivator of why we ride. Look at all these friends here.[she points to the team] I didn’t know any of them until I started cycling.”

In 2020, just right after the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Nyagoh realised she needed some activity to ease boredom.

“I used to work from home and the only time I felt safe away from the house was when I was cycling. Then a friend introduced me to a cycling group. I started with short distances [20, 30 kilometres] then realised it was something I enjoyed doing and I took it up. Now look at me doing 300km in two days,” she says.

The longest ride she has done was from Nairobi to Namanga.

“It’s not tiring, we are used to it (the long rides) because we are always exercising every other day, doing shorter rides during the week. For instance, if we are doing Nakuru which is 160km, during the week we ensure we have done between 60 to 80km of shorter rides to build our endurance,” she says.

Building endurance

The group ensures they cover 30km to 40 km maximum every Tuesday, with the top-up kilometres pegged on an individual’s determination.

But cycling was not their first fitness activity. Ms Nyagoh used to workout at the gym but found it too tedious.

“When I started cycling I weighed options and realised this was much more fun,” she says.

They all share the same adventure script. It is beautiful to listen to the discipline and what cycling has done for them- instilled in them time keeping discipline, and stoked an environmental conservation spirit, hence their preference of using bikes for mobility to minimise air pollution.

Growing cult

Of late, cycling has attracted a cult following as Kenyans seek outdoor hobbies, and most spare no expense when it comes to gear and bicycles.

“And how much does this bike and full gears cost you?” I ask.

“A good road bike will cost you roughly Sh60,000. For the gear, a full set will cost you about Sh20,000 while for a good helmet, we are looking at around Sh10,000,” Ms Nyagoh says.

Some bicycles cost up to Sh1.2 million.

Retiring to cycle

Another ardent cyclist is Cecilia Kariuki, a 30-year-old. She retired as a teacher and all she does now is ride for a living and adventure. She rides on a semi-pro entry-level road bike that costs Sh200,000.

“I work at the office of the First Lady (Rachel Ruto), the programme MaMa Cycling is under my department,” she says.

Ms Kariuki started cycling three years ago, joining a group of male cyclists.

“I was lucky to meet a community of cyclists next to where I live, but all of them were men. I would cycle alone but once in a while, join the men in their tours. The blessing in that was that I had to keep up with them but progressively I started meeting women in this community. Then I found out about MaMa Cycling and joined the team,” she says.

Winning competitions

Her biggest adventure on the bicycle was a competition in which she emerged first runners up.

“I am also a triathlete. My biggest adventure on the bike was the last half iron man competition. It was a one-kilometre swim, 90km bike ride and a half marathon run, all in one event. But I have accompanied friends who have cycled from Nairobi to Namanga and back,” she says.

On prices of bicycles, she says it depends on materials and purpose.

“ With Sh50,000 to Sh65,000 you can get a good road mountain bike. My road bike has obviously depreciated with time because it’s a 2020 model. I got it for Sh200,000. It’s an entry-level racing bike, that’s why it goes for that kind of price,” she says.

Cycling comes with many physical benefits including toning arms and legs and it’s a perfect cardio workout.

Cycling benefits

Ms Nyagoh says, “ With cycling I have added weight. I weigh 65kg, before I started I was around 58kg. The beauty about it is that even with the added weight my body is well-toned. With the rides we do, your body will always demand lots of fuel (glucose) and that means increase in calories intake but while at it you get toned,” says Ms Nyagoh.

Ms Kariuki too owes her toned body to cycling. “ Cycling works the entire body at the end of the day you are evenly toned.”

Ms Sigei has never felt more fit. “I feel stronger and look at us with the flat tummies, those long rides are no joke. You burn fat.

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