Legendary American author, Napoleon Hill, once stated that victory is always possible for a person who refuses to stop fighting.
The adage is true in the case of Otieno Wakake- a Kenyan cyclist who defied all odds by cycling from Malindi to Durban, South Africa.
Speaking to Chams Media, the daring cyclist entailed that his journey, albeit successful, was not without a few hiccups.
His trip began on August 26, 2021, as he travelled from Malindi to Diani. He stayed in the area for two days before proceeding with the journey on August 29, 2021.
With his sights set on Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, he arrived at the Lungalunga border and briefly paused at Tanga.
Wakake encountered his first hurdle in Dar es Salaam when his bicycle broke down. This, however, did not deter his spirit, as he requested for specific brake pads to be brought from Kenya. After waiting for a whole week, the brake pads were brought in, and Wakake's bicycle was fixed.
"After the bicycle was repaired, I proceeded with my journey to the Tanzania - Zambia border. It took about one week to arrive. Afterwards I went to Morogoro where I had my first accident. The following day I was also involved in another accident, which is when I decided to stop in Mbea," he stated.
The cyclist took a break in Mbea for two days before proceeding to the Tanzania- Zambia border. At this point, Wakake encountered another accident that set him back a further eight days.
"From Mbea, I had covered ten kilometers, I was heading down a slope in top speed and a bus was speedily approaching at the wrong side of traffic. I signaled at him to return to his lane but he didn't budge, forcing me to swerve off the road. I crashed on the side- landing on my knees, it took about eight days to heal," he detailed.
After recovering, Wakake hoped on his bicycle and proceeded to head all the way to Gaborone- a journey that took a total of two and a half months since he began in Malindi.
In Gaborone, he had brief interactions with Botswana ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Shidiye, with whom they became great friends. At the time, he was waiting for his VISA in order to proceed to South Africa.
Fortunately, a Kenyan, Tom Atonga, came to his aid and he was able to attain the VISA and continue with his journey.
"I arrived at Kgabalatsane, South Africa and stayed for two days. Afterwards, I proceeded to Pretoria, Johannesburg and finally Durban," he entailed.
Fancying himself as an artist, he embraced the African culture by performing traditional songs at South African festivals.
After finally achieving his mission, Wakake booked a plane and flew back to Kenya. He noted that he embarked on the journey to raise Ksh1.3 million for 18 orphans who lived in various children's homes.
