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1-31-08

We are somewhere about 100 km north of Khartoum. Will arrive there tomorrow for a two day rest. Had a good tailwind most of the way today, paved roads, but the last 30 km was hard as we turned and lost the tailwind. Still I was finished by 1 PM. I’m more in shape than the beginning, not pushing, just pacing myself.

Because of the north wind, it’s been unusually cold FOR HERE (60’s and 70’s) and the wind is very strong making it more so. Not the expected 110 degrees normally encountered this time of year. Involuntary exfoliation is what’s happening to our skin from the sand.

There’s not much to do in camp, which is near a shop selling Pepsi and a camel market. I have been enjoying War and Peace. I think once we are out of the desert, the trip will be more interesting and enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the break in Khartoum, a hotel, a hot shower to wash off some of the grit.

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1-30-08

I’m in the middle of the desert, in a sandstorm, on the way to Khartoum. Yesterday, the first day out of Dongola, we followed the Nile. Nice tailwind, we’ve been making up time. Today we rode about 140 km, the first 50 along then Nile, then 90 heading south across the desert, a short cut to Khartoum. We expect to reach it Friday night, a day early, because of the tailwind.

The good part—the tailwind has helped us ride (30-40 mph) and it is from the north, which has kept the temperatures cooler than normal. The bad part, it is a sandstorm. I think it is taking the enamel off my teeth. When you pass a truck going the other direction, the sand hurts. Also, the wind snapped one of my tent poles. A guy leaving the tour in Addis, offered to sell me his tent, if necessary.

 
Tour organizers are talking about avoiding Kenya. One option might be letting us ride to the end of Ethiopia and then flying us to somewhere in Tanzania, maybe Zanzibar.

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1-28-08

Rest day in Dongola. Dongola is a ferry crossing over the river. Mosques, a souk and that's about it. My fingers aren’t working too well on the computer after our difficult last few days of riding. Numb. You have to concentrate so much on the road—more accurately, non-road—you tighten your grip too much. When I think about it, I try to loosen up a bit. There is a lot of maintenance on the bike riding through sand. I had my first and second flats yesterday.

Reflections on the last few days:

If you get up early enough, you can see the Southern Cross at this latitude. I saw the Southern Cross in the south, the Big Dipper in the north, an almost full moon and Venus. Best part of the day.

Riding through sand: Downhills totally out of control. Uphills so slow the flies attach themselves to us. I feel like I'm auditioning for a bobble head doll.  There were lots of places where we had to walk through sand up to our ankles. One point where we were just told to head between 2 mountains.  I'm getting more skilled in riding off road, but not liking it any better. It takes total concentration on the road in front of you, and is exhausting. It just goes on without a break.

There aren’t as many kids here as in Egypt. They seem here to be in school. Stopped in a tiny village for a cold drink and met the village school teacher who spoke excellent English, in a world without roads.

This has been a real lesson in Freud's reality principle: the world isn’t set up with your desires in mind. You hope for a better road after the next curve. No. You hope to see the lunch truck after you top the next hill. No. It's relentless, and you do it or you don’t. You don’t hurry, you don’t try to do anything but get through it.

On the last day before Dongola from a desert camp we started out as a group. Jos and Janet (the leaders) immediately told me I was riding through sand all wrong. I was spinning in the lowest gear, and you should get in a high gear and muscle through. That helped a lot. I'd been getting exhausted but my legs weren’t sore. Now they are.

I’m going to dinner tonight with the two 67 year old guys; one a retired doctor from South Africa, the other, retired air force from England. He’s lived in India and Ecuador. The choices are shwarma or Tandoori chicken for $9. High for here. Chicken is considered a delicacy.

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1-27-08

Tonight we made it to Dongola, Sudan, where we have a rest day tomorrow. The last couple of days have been hell. Once we left the pavement, it has been sand, sometimes loose, sometimes packed. Sometimes you have to walk. In places there are no roads at all. The last two days, 110 km each, were just horrible, very slow, 8-9 hrs on the bike, draining, relentless, seeming to go on forever. I fell off a lot, but was going slow and landing in sand, so I didn’t get hurt. You are going so slow the flies stay on your face. It has been 35-36 degrees Celsius (85 F) and the sun is very strong.

On the positive side, we hear that there will be mostly paved roads from Dongola to Khartoum. Until today, a few miles from the Nile nothing was green. Today, in Dongola, it looks quite green in the area.

We all like Sudan better than Egypt. In Egypt we sometimes went for 50 km with kids lining the road trying to grab you or throwing stones at you, yelling, “Hello, money, money, money.” They didn’t seem to be in school. Here in Sudan that doesn’t happen.

There are some really good riders on the Tour. The leader has been a professional in the Tour d’France. I wind up riding alone most of the time, but did ride in the desert with a Dutch couple, Gwen and Hank. We are camped tonight in what remains of the Dongola zoo. It has one tortoise. Looks like it has been that way for quite some time.

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1-23-08

We're stuck in Wadi Halfa waiting for the trucks to get off the ferry from Egypt, so an extra rest day. Sudan is totally different from Egypt. You can walk around without kids trying to pull you into shops. We're again camped by a soccer field. We're on the sand next to the field. My tent is next to the camel shit. Gives me a little more space.

Wadi Halfa is the big port. It is a tiny town; we've exhausted it in a morning. Now back to camp to wait for the trucks, take a nap, read War and Peace. The border crossing was smooth, only 3 hours. I love having absolutely no idea what's going on. We'll see what customs steals from the trucks.  

I’m eager to get back on the bike, although I am pretty sure my butt is permanently sore since 2 days off hasn’t helped. Rumor is that more of Sudan is now paved, or at least packed sand instead of loose sand, so we can make up for the lost day. The Eskimos are supposed to have 100 words for snow; in Sudan there are 100 words for different kinds of sand.  

I'm adjusting to biking much slower than I'm used to, because of the bike and the roads. So a 70-80 mile ride is a full day and I'm tired afterward. Just time to put up the tent, clean the bike a little, write a diary, eat and sleep. Back to basics. Whether I will be able to do the whole thing is still in doubt.  

The group is, of course, sorted by speed on the roads, but in camp and town we're now segregated by age. I hang out with the old farts. They've lived everywhere, done all sorts of things, and are fun to talk with. Being with the young people is like being on a St. John's study abroad.

It never rains in Aswan (just like in Elat), so I had my clothes out to dry on top of the tent. It rained. They're still wet.

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1-20-08

We woke this morning at 5AM to a very loud call to prayer. I thought it was in my tent. Seventy-five miles today to Aswan.  Even an easy day is hard. We went through little villages where donkeys are the main means of transportation, but they have satellite dishes for TV. Some of us went to the Old Cataract Hotel for dinner. It was a spectacular place. The bad news: I washed my camera with my shirt (This is why I need Jane, who diligently checks all my pockets.) and ruined it (the camera). Retrieved the memory card and will send it home with someone whose leaving the tour in Khartoum, hoping it’s OK. I bought a new camera and card.  The internet cafes have been too slow to send pictures.

Tomorrow we spend the day in the complicated process of trying to board and travel by ferry across Lake Nasser, a twenty-two hour ride. The end of it is in Wadi Halfa, Sudan. I’m not sure I’ll be able to communicate again until Khartoum on February 3. I’m expecting sand and no paved roads for awhile. Feeding the 60+ of us will be a challenge for the crew. Apparently, they stock up as much as they can here, but have to buy in villages without wiping out the local food supply.

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1-19-08

Gene reports: On today’s ride from Luxor to Idfu, I’m feeling much better. I took it easy. The highlight of my day was riding 5k with the Egyptian Cycling Team. Of course, they weren’t really racing because of all the traffic, but it felt good to stay with them. I was on my mountain bike and they had road bikes. I’m learning that how I feel on the bike has a lot to do with hydration. It’s just hard to get enough and if you don’t, you lose your energy. Today we rode along the Nile or canals.  Very flat. Had time to walk around the local market and eat falafel. Our camp tonight is in a soccer field.

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1-18-08

Skype call from Gene:  Feel better after a rest day in Luxor. We visited the temples and tombs on the west bank of the Nile, 3000 yrs
old and well preserved. Last night I shared a hotel room with Claude from Switzerland for $20 apiece. Not worth it. The hot shower
was good but tonight I’m looking forward to the greater comfort and warmth of my tent and sleeping bag. Tomorrow we ride along
the Nile to Idfu.
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1-16-08