Untitled
on Kenya VSO (Kenya), 10/Aug/2009 05:39, 34 days ago
People who know me are not surprised when I take a deep interest in pedal powered machines, in particular ones with three wheels. Cycling in the Nairobi traffic is not for the faint of heart, seeing bicycles in the centre of Nairobi is not common but you do see more outside the city centre even on busy highways and roundabouts, although I have yet to see a woman cycling . The bicycles vary from traditional old style roadsters with straight handlebars, well sprung saddles, a prop stand, rod brakes and no gears to the less common modern style mountain bikes, though frame suspension has yet to reach here. I suspect that beyond the traffic and poor roads the dust will cut the life span of exposed chains and gearing.As for three wheels in the city centre there are some hand cranked tricycles used by amputees as mobile stalls to sell any items small enough for them to carry. I do sometimes see them moving on the pavement or rarely on the street but they tend to have established pitches (the one in my picture seldom moves at all as it has no chain!).As I mentioned before many parts of Kenya are suffering from a drought, it is not too bad in Nairobi although we have seen little rain since I got here. There is water rationing in some parts of the city (not mine though). The biggest effect of the drought in the city so far has been the power cuts, because the hydro-electric power stations are short of water. For two days a week the power is off from half past six in the morning until half past six at night. At the moment this looks like continuing until October. It is not so bad if the cuts are during the week as we have a generator at work, if the day off happens to be at the weekend that makes more of a problem. Most folk here view the situation with resignation but there is a general feeling that mismanagement by the water and power companies has made the problems worse.In an effort to cut demand the government is promoting the use of energy saving light bulbs, a sensible move but noy a short term fix. I live quite a way from the centre of Nairobi and street lighting is thin on the ground so on a clear night I have a fairly good view of the stars, although I can not make much sense of the unfamiliar constellations. If I get some time on a reliable internet connection I will have to download a star chart generator.