A solution to the challenge of training for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro?

One of the major challenges I face is how to motivate myself to get off my chair (and bed) and train for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. It requires an exercise regimen of three months to adequately physically prepare the body to confront Mt. Kilimanjaro.

It is true that any reasonably fit person can climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and reach the summit, but if one wants to enjoy the mountain rather than struggle up to the summit then it is best to prepare the body well. The better prepared you are the less demanding the climb and the more you will be able to stop and admire the beauty of this mountain.

I have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro under most conditions. On some climbs, I have logged enough time in training and with other climbs I have done no training at all. And that is the problem. I am aware that it is possible to reach the summit without any serious training and so I have little motivation to train.

Now I think I might have the perfect motivation to put in several days of training.

Ross Methven is passing through Butiama, where I live, on his Edinburgh to Cape Town cycling trip in which he is raising funds for UNICEF and I am tempted to take several days off and accompany him for some of the way as he pedals his way through central Tanzania on his way to Tanzania's border with Malawi. It might also provide me with a brief holiday away from work given my penchant to forget to program holidays in my work schedule.

A bicycle with a name: Mugendi.

I cannot go as far as the border, but if I put in several days of cycling it should provide me some valuable preparation for my upcoming climb from 23 - 30 September, 2013.

If I eventually go, Mugendi will be accompanying me. Ross says a bicycle has to have a name. His is called Eleanor; mine is called Mugendi - the traveler, in the Zanaki dialect.

Related post:
http://blogkili.blogspot.com/2013/07/riding-with-ross-methven-day-1.html