From errand boy to professional biker

Sule Kangangi, never imagined he would pursue cycling as a career. Born and bred in Eldoret, his mother, Teresia Njoki only recalls him using his black mamba bike to run errands for her. 

However, when he was 16 years old, one event made Sule realise there was more to the black mamba than just running around with it—a cycling event organised by Trust Condoms that brought the entire Eldoret town to a standstill. 

“It was the first time he saw people racing. He was amazed and stunned by the speed. Everybody was in the streets cheering for the people participating,” recalls his mother. After racing was over, Sule approached the organisers of the event. He got to know that the next event would be held in Bungoma, which was a month away. Since he had his black mamba, the organisers told him that he could participate in the black mamba category. 

“I watched him prepare himself every morning for the race. When he participated in the race in Bungoma, he came up fifth in his category. I still remember how he was excited and proud of his achievement when he came home with his trophy,” she says. 

While Teresia was happy about the win, she thought that this would just be a one-time event, but the events that followed shocked her. Sule quit his job as a shop attendant, cutting off money that was meant to assist the house in paying bills and food to concentrate on cycling. 

“I couldn’t believe that he quit his job to cycle. I was wondering where we would get the money to pay our house bills since he would chip in and add into the money that I made from my small business. He would wake up every morning to cycle the whole day and come back home without money and very hungry,” she narrates. 

It was one of the most difficult decisions Sule has ever made, but he pushed through it, determined to make it work. In 2010, a man called Nicholas Leong from Singapore, came to Kenya to train cyclists. He had a vision that if Kenyans could produce marathoners, why not cyclists? 

“The first time I heard of Leong, he was conducting recruitment in Iten where he would test one’s cycling endurance and how long it would take for one to cycle. There was this 25-kilometre climb where you would go up the valley and then descend down as fast as possible with the bike. He wanted one to do this within 65 minutes and the first time I did it, I took two hours since I had never experienced such a climb and it was just too much for me. But he kept on coming and recruiting and the second time, I dropped to an hour and 23 minutes. I kept improving on my time until it took me one hour eight minutes. When one attained the mark that he wanted, he would support them, but for me, I never got to attain this time,” recalls Sule. 

Giving back to society 

When he saw that he couldn’t make it to the mark, Sule opted out and headed to Lodwar to become a boda boda rider. 

“He stayed there for a few months, but Leong began looking for him to come back and continue cycling. He travelled all the way to Lodwar when he heard that Sule was there. It surprised me to see how determined he was to see my son cycling again,” says Teresia.  

With the support of Leong, he began cycling again in 2011 and Sule’s performance greatly improved thanks to the training he received.  He also received money to take care of the family expenses. His first international trip was in France where he, and 13 others, went to compete in Haute Route race.

“I was excited that cycling was now paying off. Sule told me that the climbs in Alps Mountains, France were tougher compared to Kenya. When they competed, the first Kenyan emerged position eight and second was position 13. Sule was the third one from Kenya at position 21,” she recalls.

Though he didn’t win, Sule says that the lessons he learnt in France were fundamental in enabling him reach higher heights. In 2015, the team travelled to Australia since the country held a lot of local races where they could practice weekly “We realised that to be good racers, we need to go to places where professional races are held weekly. We stayed there for three months just participating in the races and learning. In 2016, I joined Bike Aid, a German professional cycling team whose aim is to develop African cycling and athletes. They took me to Rwanda in 2017,” he continues.  

In Rwanda Sule came out third position in general classification. In 2017, he participated in a cycling event in Quiyan, China, where he took the first place. 

“Racing in China was much easier in terms of terrain. He told me that it was quite a good feeling winning the race. I was happy for him and supported him because I now began to understand his journey. In 2018 he participated in Commonwealth games in Australia and came out position 21,” narrates his mother.  

In early 2020, Sule participated in a cycling tour of Saudi Arabia. The Covid-19 pandemic hit him hard as he couldn’t race. But he managed to organise a charity ride. He cycled for 15 hours, from Nairobi to Mombasa and back to Nairobi and managed to raise Sh2.3 million for two children’s homes. 

“At first, I thought that he wouldn’t be able to make it, but knowing how determined he is when he sets his mind on something, I supported his idea to make a difference in the children’s lives. He is happy that he was able to put a smile on the children’s faces,” says his mother. 

This year, he participated in the Tropic Air 10to4 bike challenge, whose aim is to raise funds for the conservation of Mt Kenya ecosystem where he became the male winner of the race. 

“The race was amazing. I got to meet other cyclists and also participate in conservation. I wanted to see how I would fare in it and I’m glad I won,” says Sule. 

Sule is also a supportive son, who has managed to buy land and build his mother a home, changing her mind on that cycling can be a career too.