[ ]
From:
Date: 22 Jan 2006
Time: 20:32:44 +0100
Remote Name: 217.139.151.235
The last couple of days were the final days in Egypt. The ride from Luxor to Idfu was through beautiful scenery, relatively small peaceful towns and alongside the Nile for much of the way. Even though it was a relatively straightforward day, about 125k, it ended up being a long one, at a leisurely pace. Muslim's front wheel got caught in the train tracks when crossing a level-crossing, and the wheel was folded in half (like a taco). Todd (our mechanic who rides as the sweeper) worked a miracle and managed to smash the wheel back into something rideable, and they could make it to the lunch truck where the substitute bike was switched in. Huberte and I had rode with Ayesha (Muslim and Ayesha are father and daughter team) for the morning, not quite sure whether the front wheel was fixable or there had been any small injury in the fall, and we decided to wait at the lunch truck for an hour or so when we knew Muslim was on his way. There was plenty time to get into camp, and the ride was at a leisurely pace, so with all the delays we arrived in at four as opposed to two-ish. But it was such a nice day that it was a pleasure to be out on the bike. The campsite was a football pitch - or rather a bit of grass surrounded by four crumbling walls - and an interesting toilet. The campsite was also surrounded by mosques, and the loudspeakers at prayer times were capable of drowning out most conversation. The 5.20am prayer foghorn was the best advertisement for the benefits of earplugs that I can think of. Today was a 115k ride to Aswan, everyone was in camp by around 1.30 and there were showers, cold but better than a wash out of a cup. The legs are getting stronger - they should be after around 850k in 6 days. Cough seems to be on the mend, derriere is also on the mend, which makes for an altogher more pleasurable riding experience. Tomorrow we go through the Egyptian exit formalities and get on the boat at Lake Nasser which will take us to Wadi Halfa in the Sudan. The road conditions should be considerably different to Egypt, and most people expect some long days on rough roads until Khartoum. Sudan is a booze-free zone, and many people are tanking up tonight to make up for the deficit in the next three weeks.