AF: S1 Ep 5: Naaba: My bike brought hope and a dream of a better tomorrow

Pedals & Purpose: Naaba’s Journey Through Ghana’s Cycling Scene

From the northern region of Ghana to the fast-paced streets of Accra, Naaba’s journey is fuelled by grit and heart. His path hasn’t been without setbacks - but every stumble only sharpened his resolve.

A trusted teammate of team Fast City Gears (FCG) and a respected rider, Naaba brings more than speed to the course - he brings soul, resilience, and a story that inspires.

This episode takes you through the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

Sit back and enjoy a powerful tale of passion, purpose, and perseverance.

Follow his journey on Instagram @originaldonmickyoc and Facebook @michael.naaba

Jingle - Mapa Travel

Transcript

INTRO

Hi, Guys, and Welcome to my podcast, The Cyclist Next Door. If you are enjoying these episodes, why not like, subscribe, or share with a loved one, a fellow cyclist, or somebody who might be interested? The time has come for today's episode. So grab your cup of tea, settle into your zone two momentum. Let's go rolling.

Rose

Welcome. Welcome, Naaba to the Cyclist Next Door podcast. Welcome. 

Naaba

Thank you. Hey.

Rose

So tell me, where are we? Tell me where we are at the moment. 

Naaba

We are in Ghana, Accra, at Legon Campus to be precise. Legon. Right? This is where a lot of us train, especially, both elite and amateur. We train when we want to do some interval training because there are less cars here.

Rose

And, does it get really busy down here in terms of groups coming down to train?

Naaba

No. Okay. 

Rose

Brilliant. You said interval training. So is there, like, a different terrains here, like hills?

Naaba

Yes. There are a lot of hills here, which are more difficult than the Peduase Climb, which is famous in Accra/ Eastern Region. So there are a lot of routes that you can train to better yourself if you want to be a professional cyclist. The best part to train is on Legon Campus.

Rose

So it's Legon Campus and we're going around the roundabout right now. And, it's quite a big roundabout.

How far would you say the whole circle is? 

Naaba

So here for instance you can use it for your intervals. 

So it's flat. Looking at the gradient, it's -1, and it goes up to +1.

It's  good for the intervals too - the speed work. Brilliant. 

Rose

Okay. we just got straight into that, but we're going to wind back a bit and get to know you.

I just got really excited because we're in Legon, and I feel like I'm training where the champions train. So Naaba, we know you're part of a team. Tell us tell about the team, what is the team called, and things like that. 

Naaba

So, the team that I'm currently riding for is team FCG (Fast City Gears).

and  it is owned by Fenton Curley. He's based in the UK. I joined the team three years ago, and we've achieved a lot together.

It was actually a new team, so we all came on board to make it a success. And as I said, it's a success team because last year, we were able to win the championship. Nice.

And this year (2024) too, we've been able to, maintain the jersey, which is a big achievement for the team. Excellent. 

Rose

Wow. And how many of you in the team?

Naaba

So far, we are six active cyclists in the team. 

Rose

So how did Naaba come into cycling? Talk to me about young Nabaa, how and when did he discover the two wheels? Okay.

Naaba

So I've been riding since I was a kid. Naaba means, a King. Comes from the North region.Excellent. A chief. Yes,so when you coming from the north,  you know how to either ride a bicycle or ride a motor and the bicycle has been, what I use for my daily activities: school, wherever I wanna go to, I use cycling. When I came to Accra, I saw a group called Cool Guys, they were heading towards, Peduase. Actually, it was m first time I had met them but I was in a car. I wanted to ride with them, but, I didn't have a contact so I just thought - I just told myself, let me go prepare the bike that I want to use for me see and one day, I will catch up with them. On my way to Peduase, I met them, we were doing the first climb. It was my first time doing the climb, and, looking at how I was doing it, they all saw that I'll be a good cyclist.

So they encouraged me to keep on riding.  So I joined them for two years riding with them. For two years before, I saw the professional cyclist, then I decided to be part of them. So I've been a professional cyclist since 2015. Wow. Excellent.

Rose

 And you talked about, obviously, coming here, joining a group, and now you're part of a race group. Yes. So in terms of kind of riding in a group, do you think that brings encouragement? Do you like riding with others?

Naaba

Of course, it brings encouragement. When you're tired, there's your friend or there's another person to motivate you to keep it up. So riding in a group is way, way better than riding alone. 

Rose

And I guess you can watch each other's progression as well. Exactly.

And I was here for the national championships just a week ago, and obviously, your team, your teammate came across the finish line. 

Naaba

Before the championship there were some favourites, and I was one of the favourites and going in as a defending champion, it's difficult for you to win the jersey back. So a lot of them were marking me, and I was like, okay. So I spoke to my team, I spoke to my team captain. We should make the race hot because initially, the kilometres was supposed to be 167, if I'm correct and it was reduced to 100 or 98 kilometres. So anyone actually can win. It doesn't matter how fit you are. The distance is not long and the route is not difficult. There is not a lot of hills, climbs, and it is flat….so anyone can win

So what we had to do, just make the race hot, go for it.  They didn't want us to win, they didn't want me to win. I  had to use my teammates. And at long last, my teammate had a gap, and he crossed the line first. Oh, I don't know whether you saw him.

I was even jubilating at the back. Yeah. I was just about to say that. I mean, team FCG, you came in all together.

Exactly. And it was just beautiful, beautiful to watch. Like, and before you even came, we have coaches some are based in Holland, Switzerland, Italy. We are all in a group. So, they told us they don't want any podium. They only want the top step of the podium first.

Uh-huh. And they've been encouraging us, so always when we are going to race, we make sure that we aim for the best. 

We don't just want podium. We want the first step, the the first step of the podium. Nice. Yeah. Nice.

And, you know, like you said, you're all athletes, you know, in the team. So when one athlete wins, is it, I mean, because you all wanna win. Right? You all wanna win. Yeah.

So when your teammate wins, is it, like, that's one for the team? Is it just almost like you've won?  

Naaba

You see, when you win, ’it’s for the whole team but when you win people get to mention your name. Your name would go higher. Yeah, sometimes, you know, we are human being, we do sometimes get jealous but, you know, when we are about to start the race, we talk to ourselves. This is what we want! We should put, individual differences to aside and do what's best for the team. And that is what keeps us going. 

Rose

Oh, that's just beautiful, honestly. It really is.

Even as a a new cyclist, when you're part of a group and you feel that team bond. It even starts from the basic things like, if someone gets a puncture, everyone stops and stuff like that and everyone just helps out. So, like, in that team spirit.. that's a team spirit starts from an early stage.  

So talk to me about one of your greatest achievements, your greatest moments in cycling.

Can you put that into words, one date or a time. 

Naaba

Let me summarise it. There are a lot. Yes. When I joined cycling,…..became a professional in 2015.

In 2019, evening, I was on my way for training. I went to Peduase. Yeah. So I was descending and unfortunate for me, I had a nasty accident. Oh! 

A nasty accident. I mean, a nasty one, I went off. I was in a coma. I went to the hospital, and when they discharged me, I realised I couldn't move my left hand or the hand wasn't working. So I did a little bit of research, went to the hospital, the doctor to explain their part, and I read that it was a brachial plexus injury. The nerve, which connects the brain to my hand is having a problem.

So because of that, I couldn't move my hand. Oh, sorry. I wasn't even able to use it for anything. So I was just at home not doing anything.

And one day, I felt the fingers started working. Okay and I went to the hospital and explained to them that this is what I've experienced. They said it's a good news.

I should keep on doing whatever I'm doing. So I came back, sat down. I was like, hey, cycling is what I love. People are doing it, and now I'm sitting at home.What am I going to do? 

I told myself I'm gonna start cycling again with one hand. The hand wasn't working well. Yeah…as I’m speaking to you, it doesn't work well like the other. So I  just told myself, let me do what made me happy. I don't want this to stress me. I don't want to break down because of this.

There's life after this. So let me continue. So I went for my bike and I started training in 2022 there was a first time trial race that I hadn't done before. I have not even planned to do a time trial, but I went for the time trial and I came second. Isaac came first and I was second.

I was proud of myself. Oh, brilliant. Well, for someone who has been in the house and hasn't been training, doesn't even know what time trial looks like, I came and took second -  it's a good achievement for me. So I told him, okay. If that's the case, let me put in the work.

2013, we went for national championship, and we were only two. That's the funny part. We were more in our team -  more than seven, eight but  active now is six. But that day, the championship, we were only two- me and my captain against team with full squad, and yet we were able to win. I was able to win the jersey. Wow. For the team. Oh, look at that.

I like that. Oh, wow. What a story. 

Rose

Hearing how the bike was so powerful in getting you back on track is just  incredible. Yeah. 

And, you know, just talking about that, do you feel like some things that you learn on the bike, you know, like the hard work and everything, do you think you can use that in your everyday life?

Naaba

You mean learning something on the bike? Yes off I learn before I even came here, I had to go to YouTube, watch some cycling videos, some tapes, how to get fit on your bike before I came here. So we learn every day. 

Rose 

And, also, like, the determination, you know, all that stuff that you learn on the bike, when it gets hard, I guess, when you're I really like sports. 

Naaba

Cycling is like all sports , if you don't put in the work that 

determination, the zeal to do it, you can't.

Rose

Oh, lovely. Oh my gosh. I love that. Honestly, what you've just told us about your perseverance here, you know, keep an eye on the goal. It's just incredible.

Yeah. It's just so good to hear. You know, we love the community here. I mean, on Saturday, getting back to national championship, when the race was done, the fighting on the race course was finished you guys all sat down and just chilled. I love it. Thank you. What a vibe. And what's the community cycling community like here in Ghana?

Like, just generally, is it good fun? 

Naaba 

Yeah. It's a good one. Yeah. 

We do sometimes meet to have fun. We make sure that every week, every Sunday of the week, we eat and we ride together at stadium. So we do  get to see each other and do races among ourselves.

Brilliant. So the community in Ghana here is very good, very nice, very sociable. 

Oh, okay. 

Rose

So, Naaba, you said you did a ride in Burkina Faso. So how far is that from Ghana first - for people to get an idea? 

Naaba

Burkina Faso is just at the border we share border with Burkina Faso.

And from, Navrongo, you enter Burkina Faso. So you can either go by car or by airplane. Lovely. So you did some cycling out there?

When was that? What year? 

Naaba

It was last year, and it was Tour du Faso. 

Naaba

And it's a UCI race. UCI 2.1  

So was that one of the first races you've done outside Ghana? Yes. My first- first race outside Ghana.

Rose

 Describe it for us, what was the weather like on the race course? What was it like?

Naaba

The weather was very hot. It's not like what we are seeing in Ghana. Burkina Faso is hot. So far, the hottest part that I've  been here, I've been to Navrongo, Navrongo was hot, but not as compared to Burkina Faso.

They have good roads too. Okay.

Rose

 So the tour, how  many days was it? 

Naaba

Eight days. 

Rose

Okay. Riding every day?  Riding every day nonstop. Oh, wow.

Naaba

120, 150. Sometimes when it comes down, it should be 80 or 90 kilometres per hour. In the hot weather. 

Rose

And did you go with the teammates, or were you riding on your own. I went with the national team. Okay. Brilliant. Yeah.

Naaba

So I was selected to be part of the national team. We were six. How was that experience then for you?

It was new and it was very exciting. I got to learn a lot because that was my first time traveling outside Ghana. I learned a lot especially how they ride a bike, how they go and attack. Yeah. Their speed.

Their speed is top notch. It's not what we are doing here. So when I came back, my training changed. Well, for that part, when it's 30 kilometres or 22 kilometres to finish, you can't -that is you won't get any rest. That's why you are going to suffer.

After suffering for 120 or 100 kilometres, you will now suffer more for 20 kilometres. So that's  where the hard work and the determination comes in. Wow. Yeah.

Rose

Okay. Cool. And, did you have team tactics - that you start the tour with or is it just get to the end? 

Naaba

It was just get to the end because my coaches that I went with  never spoke to me that today, that this is what we are going to do.

But I always tell the guys that we should stick together because the first day, all Ghanaian riders dropped, including other countries. So in order to get to the time cuts, I told them, let's forget about those behind us. Let's work together because if we don't meet the time cut, all of us will be out of the race. .

So I was the captain, so I told them they should work. I will feed them. So what I'll do is go back for water and come and give it to them. Then we'll continue the work till we cross the finish line.

Right? The first day one guy was out. He had a mechanical, and they couldn't do it for him. So he was out of the game. Okay.

And, so on the eighth stage, which is the last stage, we were only three. But unfortunate for me, about 20 kilometres to finish I also went down very hard. Yeah, very hard. And I had to quit the race but I was able to finish the race even though I  couldn't cross the finishing line, I got to the last the last day.

So the experience was  very good and very exciting and talking about team tactics, nothing like that happened. It was just get to the end.  Just get there

Rose

Oh, wow.  It's good to hear about tours, especially because eight days, like, one after another, get on the bike, get on the bike, get on the bike and, obviously, we've seen Tour de France and things like that. But yes. I mean, I can't imagine riding in that heat in the heart of Burkina Faso. Oh my gosh.

You come out a different person. Right? 

Naaba

Yes. You come out a different person. If you don't take time to eat, you get to Accra and you fall sick.

Because the speed has gone over your limits. Oh, wow. 

Rose

Now as a separate one, while I'm here. I'm sitting with a racing champion here,  so I want to ask some questions. Right?

So a couple of years ago, I decided to try a criterium. Right? Criterium. Don't look at me now. Well, okay.

Back in the day - In the days. I said I want to start racing. Right? So, you know, we got ready - we did our first crit. And I remember following this wheel, right, for, like, 45 minutes. And I tell you, there's, like, nothing in the world that mattered.  Someone could call me and say your house is burning - I didn't care.It was about that wheel. Just follow that wheel. Keep on that wheel. Right? Now, eventually, in the 45 minutes, I just couldn't hold on, so I dropped.

I dropped. As someone who's done this so many times, I remember that disappointment when the wheel was just …..I'm sure you even know what I'm talking about. It's just one, two, three, and then it was gone. And I remember that disappointment. And I said, well, what's the point?Let me just pack. Let me just stop. Like, 

What would you say to someone starting racing?…when that happens, when the wheel pulls away, would you just say just say for example and they get that feeling? 

Naaba

When somebody leaves you……when you start racing and somebody leaves you, you don't have to stop! 

Keep on riding. Go on your pace so you can use it to finish the race. If you are going to follow them, you won't be able to ride. It happens to me when I started riding. I'll come to stadium and they will leave me and I'll be like, what am I doing? Should I stop riding or should I continue? But I kept on training, and here I am. One of the best cyclists in Ghana.  So as a new rider, when you see that your other colleagues or those who have been in the game for a long time are leaving you, you don't have to complain.

Keep on training hard. Keep on training hard. And you too, your time will get there. Yeah. 

Rose

So even, like, the first criterium you go it’s 45 mins, you hang on for thirty, then thirty five, then you  just keep building? Yes. Just keep building. Just keep building.

Then one day you'll find yourself in front.  

Wow Naaba . Wow, that's it. That's it. 

Thank you. And thank you very much. 

OUTRO

Hi Guys thank you for joining me on this episode of Cyclist Next Door.  

I hope you have enjoyed this episode. If so please like subscribe and share let’s grow this community and join me back here again as we meet the next Cyclist Next Door as we unpack of everyday people unpack the journey every day people who have picked up a bike, experienced the joy of cycling and have been on their own personal adventure so until next time….Rolling!