Turkana with two mighty GS

Some stories are better told late than never. This is one of those.

My friend is moving to Germany. Wouldn’t it be great to take a swim at Eliye Springs before he leaves?

At our disposal: My wannabe dinosaur 2010 R1200GS and her great-grand-daughter, the R1300GS from the showroom.

You see, in October 2025, Inchcape Kenya is partnering with my adventure buddy Samuel Mbeche, an eyecare specialist, to engage Naivasha’s boda community about road safety and eye health and vision.

The pretty 1300 demo bike is likely to attract attention among the rider community and Mbeche secures the bike for the long weekend after the event for an extended test ride.

When riding to Lodwar, one has to pick a route:

• Tarmac-wise, there is the highway via Eldoret and Kitale, or the more scenic and less busy road through Baringo and Iten. We opt for twisties Iten which promise more fun. (another story about that route here)
• We also consider the off-road route from Lake Baringo to Marich Pass via Kolowa which I know as extremely scenic from previous rides in late 2020 solo and early 2022 with Djo Thefu. With the rains, I foresee a mud fest.
• From Kainuk to Lodwar, again one can take the A1, or as I did with djo, the sandy route through Turkwell Dam and Naipa. Djo told me of an even more adventurous road along the UG border which he accessed from Kacheliba and tests ones sand riding skills seriously from Lorengipi onwards.

Keeping the eyes on the prize, we park the off-road idea for the way back, depending on time, as I have to be back to my desk on Monday afternoon.

That Thursday in October 2025, it is drizzling.

After finishing some work that morning in Nairobi, I ride out. Sam had a successful awareness event. We meet up in Nakuru in the late afternoon and ride up towards Baringo County. We have a lot of kilometers ahead of us this weekend and can’t wait to leave the highway chaos behind and enjoy some fresh air and adventure!

Day 0 ends with a heavy downpour around sunset. We are completely drenched by the time we arrive at Mogotio where we look for accomodation and dinner.

Day 1: Mogotio to Eliye (600km)

Day 1 starts early. A quick 60 km to Marigat, then beautiful twisty 100 km through the escarpment, through Kabernet all the way to Iten, where we are planning to have breakfast.

From Iten we will to find our way to the A1 and then head north through Kapenguria to Kainuk and hopefully have lunch in Lodwar and then dinner at Lake Turkana after a sunset swim with the crocs.

Mbeche is damn excited to take the 1300 to the sand rivers and dunes of Turkana. Having had my fair share of sand riding with the 1200 (story link here), I am determined to park it in Lodwar and save my clutch the drama. I practise greetings in Turkana language and my plan is to sweet-talk a boda into borrowing a lighter bike towards the lake for the final 40km of this adventure quickie.

Great plan! We head out.

Kerio Valley: Always beautiful!

We stop for breakfast at Iten viewpoint. Great timing.

Google Maps on my headset and the BMW navigation software on the 1300, we head out: Next stop Kapenguria to fuel up because petrol stations get rare afterwards.

When you’ve ridden with someone many times, you know their riding styles. We like giving each other space, which makes a long trip more enjoyable.

I like riding gently. And I won’t blame the fact that the 1300 produces an extra 35 hp over my 110 hp (at 7,750 rpm anyways 🤷‍♀️).

And so I get lost alone.

Not lost. I take the long route.

Moiben to Kapcherop must be one of the best kept twisty secrets in Kenyan riding. This remote tarmac road goes up and down with endless, ridiculous corners through green farming landscape where the kids wave at you and you wonder if it’ll end in someone’s backyward or actually take you back to a highway.

I have taken this road before, with two good riding buddies during a mind-clearing Christmas roadtrip. That time we “got lost” on our way to Mt. Elgon. The two were chasing each other and we laughed our heads off at how I could barely keep up with their riding skill. Tragically, one of them passed a few months ago in a plane accident.

After noticing my error, I continue this long route for him – and enjoy every single corner on his behalf even if it means arriving at Lake Turkana after dark. I keep blinking to clear watery eyes.

Finally near Sibanga junction, Mbeche calls me laughing. He got lost, too, on a different route.

But we’re not far from each other and soon enter the A1.

11:52am. 268km to Lodwar. Doable!

I’m aware of the questionable state of the road up to Lokichar town, from where the smooth new LAPSSET tarmac starts up to the South Sudanese border.

But boy! The amount and magnitude of potholes has exponentially increased since I was here last.

The number of trucks, new factories and mining sites are overwhelming the road completely.

I have only used this road once: in the southern direction on my 125cc. Riding it towards the north is fantastic, the road gets less and less busy, as you leave civilization behind and twist your way through West Pokot scenery.

I remember the stretch between Marich Pass and Kainuk vividly because in 2022 we rode it back and forth after dark to find a dropped pair of glasses. The road was empty then. Beautiful termite hills along the road, welcoming you to the peaceful North.

Now it’s sand trucks and potholes. Where I remember shrubs and trees on the roadside, it’s dust from mining activity and trash.

I can’t recover my previous experience, my brain is not computing. Irritated and grieving the memory of a peaceful natural environment, I ride slower than I probably should. It’s also quite hot by now.

I’m happy when we approach Kainuk.

We have a short conversation with the officers manning the police stop on the bridge entering Kainuk. Yes, we’re coming from Nairobi. We’re planning to go to Lodwar. Yes, on these bikes.

“Road iko aje mbele?” – Should their shoulder shrug inspire us? 🤔

Having crossed the river means we are now in Turkana County. Later than planned because of getting lost so we decide to have lunch here. I know a restaurant, so we order some delicious goat meat with pilau and gulp down big bottles of cold water.

Over lunch we have a conversation about the road ahead. Unfortunately, the area around Kainuk sometimes experiences bandit attacks. Cars and buses have been shot at and people have been injured and even killed. We agree that the next 83 km to Lokichar are not the best place to stop and take many photos, and that we will aim to get to Lokichar swiftly and safely.

I’m riding ahead as we leave town and soon enough I notice that the road has some really bad potholes, some of which are hardly seen. It’s tiring to scan the road, trying to distinguish potholes from shadows or sand and constantly adjusting the line.

I pass a particularly invisible yet deep and wide pothole and a voice tells me that if the 1300, which doesn’t have spoke wheels but cast rims, hits one of these, it could be trouble. I decide to call my co-rider but my headset doesn’t connect. Probably there’s no Airtel network here and I forgot to switch the SIM settings to the green option.

Don’t worry, he is a very skilled rider, I tell myself. I keep moving but slow down some more. The tarmac nearly completely disappears at some point, it’s sandy with some water puddles. I realize that the next 80 km are going to be quite slow riding. 🤦🏼‍♀️

That’s when my headset rings. It’s Mbeche and he sounds concerned. He tells me about a flat tyre and that he has stopped at a KRA facility on the roadside.

KRA?

I don’t think much. I stop the bike, take a photo (of course!), and turn right back to look for this place.

Indeed, I spot a KRA sign and enter the gate.

The mighty R1300GS is parked. The front tire is flat, the rim is bent. We stare at each other in disbelief.

A friendly team of Administrative Police are guarding the customs facility which is yet to launch its operations – and now us. If this was to happen, this was the best possible spot, considering the general security in the area lately.

How to fix a cast rim in Kainuk?

Time to brainstorm: Might we be able to run a tube on it? I consult my bush repair veteran friend Grace who tells me that even laundry barsoap has been used to seal a cracked rim before. 😂

First, a scavenger hunt begins for tools that can remove the tire from the axle. None in our toolbox. An AP offers to escort us to the nearby GSU camp that is well equipped.

My 1200 becomes the boda for the rest of the day.

The GSU team is willing to help, but no matching tool is found there either, so Samuel and his guide, the armed AP return empty-handed to the KRA facility. What next?

We inspect the rim more closely and notice the bent area has been re-painted.

Shocker!

A previous crack could explain the whole disaster. That is an equally relieving and unnerving revelation: Even if we didn’t cause the problem, we are now stuck with it!

I speak to the team at Inchcape who suggest we bring the bike to Nairobi to be fixed there. I explain where Kainuk is and ask how their insurance can help sort this. It turns out that this is not covered through the testbike agreement.

With less than two hours to sunset, Mbeche heads back to Kainuk to look for a fitting axle tool there: Allen key 22mm, anyone?

I chill with the KRA and AP team and learn that the potholes often cause accidents, particularly tire busts at night.

They are very hospitable, offering we could stay in the safe compound in case we can’t figure it out. This sounds reassuring and reminds me of another time I camped at an ECD school just about 200km further north.

But we don’t have tents this time.

The sun is slowly dropping over the Turkwel Dam hills in the distance.

Not Eliye Springs beach, but still pretty, right?

Meanwhile, Kainuk’s mechanics look through through their toolboxes and scrap stocks. One failed attempt after the next. People are genuinely trying to help but who has a collection of Allen keys? By miracle, a car tire nut is found that fits the 1200 front axle. It should then also fit the 1300!? A local welder adds a generous lever to it.

Mbeche returns to the KRA facility, the stranded bike and me and proudly presents the latest tool in town, erm, in Kenya.

Do you know the term Jugaad? I learned it in India about 15 years ago. In Kenya it loosely translates to “kutumia akili yako”. Clever unconventional problem solving using everyday resources.

Voilá! The tool fits. The tire comes off! PHEW!

We agree to leave the one-legged beast in the safe hands of the AP team and ride to Kainuk for the tire repair and the night. They recommend a guesthouse for the night, too. Wonderful people! 🤝

Once the rubber is off the rim, we can clearly see the previous rim crack, complete with a terrible repair job done on it.

It is unfathomable to me that the dealership gives out a 145hp testbike with a broken rim, considering a front tire could actually cost a life. 🤯

While there is no alumnium welding available, the bike must find its way back 530km, so the team carefully (!?) beats the rim back in shape and YES – the air holds.

We check into the guesthouse. Looks clean and they whip up a dinner for us. 🥘 Still, the mood is not great. Is it worth riding to Lodwar or Eliye tomorrow for a day trip sharing the 1200? 350km of pillioning? 🙃 Or is this a warning to just back off?

Day 2 – Will the tire hold?

Saturday morning: We pack up, climb the boda and ride back to the KRA facility.

We find the bike well protected. We thank the local security team and fix the tire back on the bike.

Seeing the bike do a short test round, slowly my heart rate returns to normal.

What now?

We decide to head back south slowly. What if the air doesn’t hold and we need another repair stop?

Breakfast at Marich Pass

Long story short: The tire makes it back to the showroom. I pray the dealership has found it in them to replace the rim since then.

That is adventure, too: You don’t get to your desired destination. You return half satisfied. I’m grateful to have experienced the ingenuity and hospitality of people in Kainuk.

With new insights. A different story from the anticipated one.

And a new cool axle tool for my bike. 😎