Been there, cycled that.
Today is our last day in Egypt. We have cycled over 1100km in 12 days, including 2 rest days, and made it from Cairo to Abu Simbel.
It is a relief to have at least achieved one country however I think we all know that it is probably the easiest country we will face. I say this in relation to all aspects of the tour:
- To begin with we were in hotels, and so didn't have to worry about camping and packing the dreaded day bag every morning, or digging a hole to go to the toilet, or 'the wet wipe wash', or charging electronics.
- Then there are the road conditions. The quality of the Egyptian roads has far exceeded those in N.Z. In general the tarmac is smooth, there is a large hard shoulder, and they are generally flat.
- Tail wind for 8 out of the 10 cycle days meant that I actually only feel like I did a proper days cycling for 2 days. The others we were pushed along by the wind, and cycling took very little effort.
- Mental factor/monotony. Egypt is a country which from a very early age has inspired the imagination of many of us. At primary school we learn about the Pyramids, the Pharaohs, Tutankhamuhn (spelling?!), mummification, the Nile etc etc. Travelling from the top to the bottom of the country has realised all that I had imagined. This has made riding on the long desert roads less monotonous as it is interspersed with the romanticism of cycling through such a country full of well pressured Ancient History.
The last 2 days have been quite long cycle days, and mainly through the desert. We left the Nile at Aswan and encountered our first bit of off road cycling. By off road I mean there were about 4kof roadworks, and so we were cycling on unsealed roads, and some deep gravel. I enjoyed it but was very glad it wasn’t for 87km or so. After the roadworks the road doubled back and we were back on the highway. Having started out in a group of 5 - Aedo, Alistair, Jenna, David and I, the unsealed section threw us apart. Alistair and I were still continuning at about the same pace, until stomach issues called him away. Lunch was at about 77km, and I had calculated the night before that at 55km would be our 1000km mark. At 40km I split up the journey with a celebratory half way yo lunch bite of my power bar (power bars are provided by the tour company, one a day, of various flavours. The y are very chewy, and AListiar managed to remove a filling eating his a few days ago.). From 40-60km was a bit if a slog with a strong cross wind. I entertained myself by doing a little dance at 1000km, counting power pylons (the only thing that accompanies the road) and calculating the distance between them - about 330m between them, and three every kilometre. Finally the road made a 90 degree bend and with 10km to lunch I treated myself to spottily, and raced along at about 30km for the last 20mins.
Lunch was parked up by the highway, in the middle of the desert. Alistair and Allain pulled in about 60 seconds behind me, and David had been there for a little while. David is a bit of a machine, he started with us and both him and Aedo caught and overtook the Steam Train, arriving at lunch before them,
After a bite to eat we had another 75km left, David Alistair and I set off again with a tail wind and enjoyed an easy 2.5hours to camp. There are intermitted very empty bus shelters along the desert road. And a few dead camels lining the way. There appears to be a camel trade between Egypt and Sudan, with lorries and camels on the back doing up from Sudan. We assumed that those dead at the side of the road were those that died in transit, and were pushed off the truck.
We made it to the Desert Camp at about 1.30. There was a truck, a shack with some warm beers and a few tents pitched. Tallis had warned us about the wind at camp - putting up the tent was slightly more challenging than normal, and hammers were cracked out for the pegs too. After the routine tent pitching, wet wipe wash and change of clothes there really was very little to do. Three hours until the rider meeting and dinner - filled with copious cups of tea, debrief of everyones ride, book reading and some stretching. As soon as rider meeting and dinner were done we were all in our sleeping bags, the temperature dropped pretty quick and there really was nothing much else to do!
A cold start the next day, and another 150km to Abu Simbel. This was our last day cycling in Egypt. It was probably the hardest day cycling as there was a headwind for some sections of it, and a cross wind for others. The last 10km before lunch Alistair and I team tackled. I was so relieved to have him there. I thought I was too slow or him - he would drop behind me for about 2mins, and then pull in front, and then drop behind. It ant on this way for about 5mins before I said, ‘If I’m too slow please just go.’ At which point he luahged and said informed my I was doing my share too - he had implemented a short drafting rotation It worked really well, we did quite a way pulling stints of about 500m and then dropping into the lee of the front rider. It was a big relief to have that short respite from the wind.
For the first time I felt I had earn my lunch - pita bread, turkey, cheese, and multiple spoons of nutella and peanut butter! The section after lunch was a lot easier, we dropped the head/cross wind and picked up a tailwind. David pulled us at about 33km/h for 5km or so, and then we settled back at about 27km/h. Arriving at Abu Simbel for about 2pm.
Both David and I had been planning on staying in the hotel, and it was potentially a motivator to push into the wind. On arrival there was only one room left, and it was 80euros a night, neither of us could justify the expense and I cracked out my camp bed for the first time the whole trip!
The need to get up and pack in the morning has meant I have been sleeping on the floor instead of the camp bed. Amazing how comfortable it is on the floor, when at home I wouldn’t choose it over the effort of putting up the camp bed!
Abu Simbel is a small town on the edge of Lake Nasser, close to the Sudanese border. It is a place of day trips, visiting the temple. The temple is well worth a visit, or even a search on youtube. It was deconstructed in the 60’s and metal poles put in it, and then relocated to the town and reconstructed.
This was to save it from the flooding of the valley during the creation of the reservoir. Such an amazing feat, and when you look at the temple you see very little evidence of the cutting of the rocks, and transportation.
Our rest day has been spent washing clothes, bikes and ourselves. Frequenting the falafel stalls, sipping tea and coffee, and preparing for Sudan. None of us really know what to expect from Sudan. From what we have heard it is a lot of desert, and very hot. I am expecting it tone quite hard cycling from a mental perspective as envisage it to be quite monotonous and there are some more long ays (150km). It is a bit of a relief that two of the days have been converted to a bus day so as to make up time due to the border being closed yesterday!
Tomorrow we catch the ferry, leaving camp at 6am…another day of hurry up and wait…hopefully a bit more efficiently that when we went for our visas!
