Swimmers fall in love with  cycling

What started as a way of keeping fit during the Covid-19 lockdown in early 2020 created a cycling community that 10 Dolphins Swim Club members cannot wait to be part of every Sunday.
CykoTraib, as they call this community, is a closely-knitted group of three swimming families, albeit open to like-minded people.

“Our fathers started it,” Tebi Nyanzi, son of Paul Ssengooba, says of the group co-started by Swalleh Ssenteza, an auditor, and his sons Imran Mpanga, Hayyan Kisitu, and daughters Hannat Nakimuli and Hatima Nabaka.
Nyanzi is joined in this conversation by his brothers Ethani Ssengooba and Kristian Nsonzi, plus Mpanga with whom he rode from Bunga and Muyenga, respectively, to Biina, all Kampala suburbs.
The quartet and Paul did not only put in their first 12km of the weekend but are in Biina to honour their tradition of visiting a member’s home every Sunday. This time they are at latest Cykotraib entrant Emaad Kodet Tumusiime’s.

The experience
“We had the bikes that were just lying at home. Later we learnt that the Swallehs also rode within Muyenga and we decided to do it together,” Paul, an engineer, says.
“Initially, because we did not know the conditioning levels of the boys, we would ride for about 5km. Now we do about 30km.”
His wife Lillian Mpabulungi adds: “We tried out other sports; basketball, volleyball, chess, but we felt they were not enough. It became all about covering kilometres to keep fit.”

Initially, Mpanga adds, “this was harder than swimming because no one had upgraded their bikes yet and we were worried about other road users.”
With Tumusiime, alias TK, on board, the distance and subsequently confidence has grown. The weekdays and Saturdays are dedicated to school and Dolphins.
“Then on Saturday night, we plan the routes and where to meet then get on with cycling. Usually for safety, we’ve a parent behind us and another ahead,” Nyanzi says, although the group’s dare devil Mpanga cannot resist a trick or two on a clear road.

The benefits
The boys are convinced that their relaxed cycling environment has aided the more taxing swimming regimen while their parents see more interactive children with knowledge about their neighbourhoods and bicycles.
“I feel my legs are stronger. I used to struggle kicking all the way in the middle distance swims (200, 400 and 800m) but I am doing it consistently now,” Ethani says.
Dolphins coach Tonnie Kasujja agrees.

“Cycling has many functional benefits to swimmers and triathletes since both share level of leg movements and conditioning. Though swimmers need to involve the upper body and feel the water as well.”
The boys can repair bikes and have all enjoyed at least one cycling competition in Entebbe while Mpanga and Thailand-based Kisitu competed in a triathlon in Mukono last year.
“I came second behind Hayyan in swimming but that was just 250m. The rest of the guys caught up and passed us in cycling, which was about 12km and then running 3km was really challenging but I finished fourth,” Mpanga recalls.

He does not do much running beyond what he manages while training with the Aga Khan School basketball team and football with friends. His colleagues, especially TK, are inspired and believe “riding more will help me catch up.”
These ambitions call for more technical guidance and Ivan Leku, a friend to the families, who has been riding since March 2020 with another community, offers that.
“I share information from different forums with Paul about what they need. It has been tremendous watching the progress from when they could not climb Mutungo Hill,” Leku says.

Team goals
Last December, the group did an outreach programme with support from the Insurance Regulatory Authority and human rights defenders to donate foodstuffs to Home of Hope – a home for the disabled in Jinja – and now look forward to do more cycling and merchandising to aid such causes.
“It was humbling and helped us appreciate what our parents do for us because most of the kids in the home were abandoned by their parents,” TK shares.
Speaking parents, Ethani, perhaps would never have understood his parents’ pep talk to give his all in everything if it were not for cycling.

“Some weeks are hectic and all you want to do is rest on Sunday. But your parents will talk you into cycling or even push you do it. Now, with my improved kick, I can understand why,” the 13-year-old says.
The trick from the parents is to let them rest till at least 8am on a Sunday then start the cycling an hour later. Also the swimming cyclists have “food to look forward to” after pounding the miles on the road.
“Every good shift deserves a reward. But also in Africa, we appreciate that good conversations go with good meals,” Mpabulungi says.

TK’s mother, Hunter Kodet, also a masters’ swimmer, adds that; “it is not a feast but every family cooks differently and that’s what makes it interesting.
“TK appreciates food now. Before, he was even not seeing the need to hydrate when swimming but after 30km of cycling, you want the food. It is not a feast but food tailor-made to aid their activities because they have to ride back home after.”
Ethani belongs to a very competitive swimming age group, where he has to battle Akram Lubega, Ttyaba Kigundu, Kaumi Pendo, among others, but his and his Cykotraib teammates’ ability to qualify for the Cana Zone III Swimming Championships from the Uganda Swimming Federation (USF) National Championship, is testament to their improvement.

Their parents say, there was a lot of encouragement within the group to have everyone qualify for at least one race on the national team. They all did although the Ssentezas pulled out of the competition.
“At the nationals, I felt out of form because I had not trained much in the water but at Cana in Kampala, I was competitive,” Ethani says.
The benefits of the CykoTraib community are all clear, what remains is for its members to strike the right balance across all disciplines.

mmuziransa@ug. nationmedia.com