'Stories from the Kenyan Counties' Baringo County (A Ride that tested everything) In this series of Stories from the Kenyan Counties, I begin with Baringo, a ride that kicked off with Nairobi’s notorious holiday traffic and took a wild turn into a midnight escape through rain, mud, and Aberdare Forest. I had wanted to ride to Baringo County for a long time, why? because of a woman named Ms. Ann Keter. I had seen her online, captured teaching tourists at the Mogotio Equator stop. Her grasp of geography, her eloquence, her confidence, she had me hooked. There was something magnetic about the way she explained the Coriolis effect. I remember thinking, ‘‘That’s the kind of woman who inspires nations.’’ I pinned Baringo on the map and told myself: my metal missy and me: we ride Fast forward to December 2024, I set the date of travel, 20th December. In hindsight, that was a terrible idea. The entire country heads upcountry, especially along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, which, of course, was my route. But I was excited and a little bit stubborn… maybe a lot more stubborn. On the 19th, I packed up the Kawasaki KLR 650, she is a warhorse - yes, she is a she. A tent, camping seat, cooking wear, drinking water, extra fuel cans, meds, first aid kit, toolbox. All are adventure riders’ essentials. Underwear? change of clothes? we adventure riders pack like survivalists. If you don’t have brake fluid, it’s the end of the road. And thank God for disposable underwear. I oiled the chain, double-checked the brakes, lights, tyre pressure, and prayed over the bike. God and I? I don’t move without Him. I went to bed, every rider knows the feeling, the night before a big ride, sleep is elusive. At one point, I slipped out of bed, walked out to the bike, ran my hands through her metallic curves, and whispered: ‘‘Girl, we ride at dawn.’’ She knows. She always knows. Sometimes I wonder if it is loneliness or freedom. Dawn came, I slapped on the Kenyan flag on the rear - my signature appearance, and because there are no better colors I would ride for, other than those of my country. I put on my riding gear and warmed the engine, and out I went. I barely made it five (5) kilometres - gridlock. This traffic jam was the kind that deflates a soul; not even lane filtering was possible. The bike began to overheat, as is characteristic of big bikes, especially riding at the pace I was riding at: low revs, low gear. I did the only sane thing to do: I turned around and headed home. Later on, I saw it all over social media that people had slept on the same road the previous night, some were even playing football to pass the time. Trust Kenyans to make traffic jam festive. I kept wondering where all those people were going to the bathroom! I digress. Anyway, I made a new plan. I would leave at midnight on the 21st in order to beat the traffic. Midnight came, I geared up and left. The minute I got out of the gate, rain. Torrential, midnight, test-your-spirit kind of rain. As if that was not enough, I ran into more traffic, AGAIN. I was soaked, no rain gear (don’t ask). Then out of the blue, a kind policeman walked over (you know the traffic is bad if there is a traffic policeman on a Kenyan road at midnight) and said, ‘‘Madam, hii jam inaenda mpaka flyover.’’ Translated to say ‘‘Madam, this jam stretches all the way to Flyover.’’ A spot eighty (80) kilometres ahead. Back home? Again? No way. At 2 am, I sat at Total Energies, Sigona, sipping tea to warm up and rethink my life. I made a bold call (you will call it insane, but I will call it bold, lol): to take the longer route through Thika town, Kamwangi, and the Aberdare Forest. Over 200 Kms longer, it was still raining, and I was solo. But if you know me .. once I decide, only wild horses can drag it out of me. So off I went. Through the puddles, through the fog, through the fog ( I regretted not carrying my hot water bottle inside my gear like I normally do). At Kamwangi, I stopped to stretch and thank God I did. What followed next was straight out of the movies. 47.2 kilometres of muddy off-road, pitch dark, and it’s still raining. Aberdare forest at 3 am. Let’s pick this up in Part 2. You do not want to miss what happened next. With grit, Kagwiria Murungi Female Adventure Rider, African Storyteller, Woman Becoming. If you’d like to follow this story across platforms and support this mission to elevate African voices from the roadside to the world stage, follow me on; www.linkedin.com/in/kagwiria-murungi-145635377 www.kagwiriamurungirides.africa https://youtube.com/@kagwiriamurungi?feature=shared