7500 Miles

Day 6 was relatively easy. I was 15 minutes late out of camp, as my cheap rear hub had come loose and had to be adjusted. All these late starts and tire problems are really starting to add up in my overall race time (not that I’m counting). Since I was the last out of camp, I didn’t see any other riders until lunch. Navigating through the town of Qena was a bit confusing as there was no flagging tape for us to follow, but I found my way.

After Qena, things got more interesting. We were now in the lush green Nile valley instead of the endless sprawling desert. The road follows the Nile, which brings with it one new interesting feature: people.

There is traffic. People wave when we go by. Children were lining up to wave. They stand in a line and say “Heee-llooooo.” The closer
we got to Luxor, the more “hello” began to be used interchangeably with “moneymoneymoney.” Some kids wanted me give us high-fives. One group even threw flowers. Others threw sticks. One boy raced me for a few blocks. He gave me a run for my money on his ancient single-speed bike, primarily made of rust.

Our camp is in the courtyard of a hotel in Luxor. I opted for a room this time so I could reorganize my gear and enjoy a hot shower, outlets to charge my stuff, and of course, a clean toilet. It seems about half the group still stayed in tents, working toward their goal of ENT (Every Night in a Tent).

Day 7 was our first rest day. Aside from running errands, I used the time to explore the area. Emeco took a few of us to see the Valley of the Kings and a few other sites. I “visited” the Luxor and Karnak temples on my own–I walked around them but didn’t pay to go inside. Back at the hotel, everyone’s laundry had been washed together and was hanging randomly on the clothes lines. It took a lot of searching to find all my clothing. It’s hard enough to recognize my cycling clothes at home (since I don’t usually wear cycling clothes), but with 50 other riders’ clothes in the mix it’s quite a challenge. Lesson learned: write your name on your laundry before giving it to hotel staff to wash.

In the evening, $14 bought us a buffet dinner with a belly dancing show. After the show, we were surprised when one of the men pulled a couple of cobras out of his bag and let them slither into the crowd. We took turns posing with the snakes, sometimes in quite compromising positions. One more shower to wash off the “ick” factor, and we were ready for some sleep before our next riding day.

The morning of the 5th day began with the slow, gentle climb over the mountain pass between the Red Sea and the Nile. The wind was in a rush to get to the Sea, however, and mistakenly under the belief that it had to follow the roads to get there. The local drivers don’t follow the roads as thoroughly as the wind did. No matter which way we turned, we were like little salmon swimming upstream. 130km.

Fortunately, I found some help riding loosely in groups in the morning. After lunch, I had formed a peleton with three other riders and we helped each other to the finish. If I had been able to do that on the second day, I might still be EFI.

We got into camp to another surprise. The staff had found both my headlamp and my tent bag. They were being auctioned off along with other lost items from other riders. I had to buy them back for 7 beers (not cheap in Egypt). Poor Paddy had to buy back his eyeglasses for 14 beers. Meanwhile, my missing tubes had reappeared in my bag just as mysteriously as they had disappeared. Finally, all my possessions seem to be accounted for. Camp was at another police checkpoint, where we formed our usual tent city and became the spectacle for the boisterous guards for the night.

The morning after the storm, things had pretty much cleared up. I changed my tire in the morning and rolled out of camp to find my new tube flat in the first km. Doh!

I couldn’t find the leak, so I decided to put the old tube back in since it had a much slower leak. I did find a hole in it and patched it. Then when I installed it, the pump broke another valve stem off. This put me dead last for the day, and the sweeps (Sharita and Michelle) soon came up to assist. I ended up with Michelle’s spare tube in my tire, as the police (we still have somewhat of an escort through Egypt) found a hole in my other tube, which we patched.

That got me through the day. Once I got into camp and tried to return a tube to Michelle, I couldn’t find my bag of narrow tubes. I could switch tires and use a different size, but my tires are on the roof of the truck and inaccessible until our next rest day.

The scenery is very gentle rolling hills, with not a single living thing to be seen anywhere. Oil rigs and stinky gas flares periodically break up the emptiness. The roads are clear, with tons of debris scattered along the sides from traffic mishaps that were never cleaned up. New hotels under construction stretch for miles, begging the question whether news of the global economy has reached Egypt yet.

Day four has been a fantastic day. I got a bit of a late start out of camp since I had completely unpacked my locker looking for the tubes. Even so, it was a short day. Only 90km. Easy rolling through the same scenery as before. I finished by 12:30. We have a few communal hotel rooms we can use for the showers. Some riders have opted for their own rooms. The rest of us are camped on the beach. I went for a swim and it was lovely. The extra time also meant we could maintain our bikes and do our Internet business.

Today was a long day. 160km is long under any conditions. Today was especially long. I rolled out of camp this morning to the tune of a low tire. I managed to pump it up and keep it going throughout the day with periodic top-ups. The first half of the day went pretty well. I stopped for a Mountain Dew after lunch, and my stomach returned pretty much to normal (coincidence?).

Not much further down the road, the winds began to change. Soon, we were pushing ourselves into a horrendous headwind. At least 40MPH. Probably faster. Our speed dropped accordingly. My speedometer showed 4MPH at one point. Even the downhills felt like steep uphills. I did some mental calculations and realized I wasn’t going to make it to the finish line by the end of the day, so I decided to grit my teeth and give it all I had. This amounted to a near full-out sprint for about four hours. The SAG wagon came by. They let me keep riding. Just a few km past the rest stop, however, it came by again. I heard the words I didn’t want to hear from Shanny: “We’re here to pick you up.”

Second day. Out of EFI. That was my biggest goal for the trip, and it was too soon to have it shattered. 15km to go. I was depressed, to say the least. No, try devastated. But I tried not to let it show too much. About a dozen other riders ran out of time today as well.

It was dark in camp when we arrived. It was also extremely windy and raining. These aren’t the best conditions for setting up new tents, but we all managed. My tent survived the night (except for its bag that blew away), and so did I. My head lamp seems to have disappeared, also.

After a big buffet breakfast at our hotel, we began our long, slow journey from Cairo. Our first stop was at the Giza Pyramids for a departure “ceremony” that consisted of a few photos and some catered refreshments. After this, we had a slow-moving police escort out of the city. The police presence was overwhelming, as all the officers seemed to want to take part, showing off their sirens in a continual game of one-upsmanship, while others barked through their loudspeakers something to the effect of “stay away from the white people,” apparently.

As we waved goodbye to our escorts at the edge of the city, we began a long slow climb to lunch, rising above the smog layer, and leaving the cacophony of traffic behind. The roads are wide, well-paved, and are filled with surprisingly light loads of traffic.

For me, lunch consisted of a peanut butter and tomato sandwich and a couple bananas. My stomach had been slightly upset all day, and after lunch it took a turn for the worse, culminating in a series of spectacular purging events that I won’t discuss any further.

It turns out that during our convoy from the city, one rider had three flat tires and eventually had to get on the truck. Already one person out of EFI status. I’m beginning to understand why EFI is so difficult to achieve, if a bike malfunction during a convoy can kick you out of the club.

Wait. Race?

I know I said I was planning on doing the tour as an expedition instead of a race, but decided yesterday to sign up as a racer. No, my mentality hasn’t changed. I still plan to take my time through most of the continent. There just doesn’t seem to be any downside to officially being registered as a racer. The perks: more accurate time-keeping and the opportunity to win stages or sections. My goal for the journey is still EFI.

Yesterday we had a test ride out to the Saqqara pyramids. My bike performed well. I had a mishap with the tire pump in the morning and ended up tearing out a valve stem, though, as well as breaking both a steel tire lever and my nifty cantilever tire tool. The Schwalbe tires everyone on the tour bought are really tight.

I’ll add pictures when I can. Meanwhile, the Internet is in short supply and it’s bed time. Breakfast is at 4:30!

Getting there is half the battle. Or so I’ve heard. I probably won’t be saying that at the end of the tour. Well I’m finally in Egypt, and am wandering the streets of Cairo with a handful of other riders I’ve just met.

Everyone has their own story of getting here. Here is mine:
My flight left from San Francisco, where–aside from trying to charge me more for carrying a bike–there were no problems. My connection in London was delayed a couple of hours, however, when our original plane broke down (they had to find a spare), two people didn’t show up (their luggage had to be removed), and the little truck that pushes the plane back from the gate caught fire (they had to extinguish the fire and find a spare truck).

Arriving in Cairo, I was surprised to find a taxi to the hotel waiting for me and another rider, Sunil. I had inquired about a ride to the hotel in advance, but hadn’t heard back from the hotel. It was a pleasant surprise, as the hotel is a bit out of town and taxis are expensive. The driver tried to charge me $160US for the trip though, and we’re still working out the details. The pre-arranged cost was supposed to be $28.

At the hotel, more confusion arose as I didn’t have a reservation until the next night and the staff couldn’t find Sunil’s reservation at all. As it was already 4:00AM at this point, I eventually broke down and paid $40 for a half-night in the room, including breakfast.

The following morning, at the hotel restaurant, the waiter waited until I got my first plate of food to inform me that half-night stays don’t qualify for free breakfast. Another 55 pounds. Ouch.

By noon I had met several other riders from the hotel. Eight of us piled into a small taxi to and headed downtown to see the museum and wander the streets. The Internet at the hotel is down (and 75 pounds per hour even if it was working), so my posts may be few and far between for the time being.

Packing for this type of tour quickly becomes complicated. First, the airline has size and weight restrictions for each bag in addition to limiting what types of things can be carried. Then, the Tour d’Afrique imposes its own set of restrictions on weight and volume.

I’ve never tried to take a bike on a plane before, nor have I tried to carry all the spare parts necessary for this length of trip away from proper bike shop. The learning curve is quite steep.

All this together led to me spreading everything out on the living room floor and spending hours weighing and measuring different bag configurations, both for the plane and the tour locker. I think all my stuff will fit now, but I am hovering right at the maximum weight limit for the tour, so I might need to leave some stuff at the start.

I ended up leaving for San Francisco one day later than I had planned, but somehow managed to fit my bike into a box that appeared to be half its size, with everything else crammed into one oversize duffel bag and one carry-on backpack.

I had a big shopping excursion to REI and Scheels on Tuesday to get the rest of my camping-specific equipment for the trip. Needless to say I’m looking forward to my REI dividend this year. Today was spent going to more general stores, making travel arrangements, getting first aid supplies, finding the last few spare parts for my bike, tracking down my tires, etc.

After calling/emailing the company I bought my tires from every day this week trying to track them down, only to get a voicemail box each time, I finally gave up and called the tire manufacturer (Schwalbe). It turns out that while the company had promised same-day shipping, they didn’t actually pass along the order to Schwalbe this week (presumably after I started calling them). They did charge my credit card in mid-December, though. Lesson learned: never buy anything from Every Bicycle Tire. The people at Schwalbe were very helpful, though.

Meanwhile, at the pharmacy, a similar story was unfolding. Over the weekend I discovered that I needed more medication for my 4-month excursion. I went to the pharmacy on Monday. They told me I didn’t have any more refills and my doctor would have to fax a new prescription to them. I called my doctor and they said they would fax the prescription. On Wednesday, I went to pick up the meds. The pharmacy said they didn’t get the fax. The doctor said they sent it on Monday. This time I called the doctor from the pharmacy and waited until I could see the fax printing out. Fax in hand, they could now place an order since it wasn’t in stock. Today required two trips to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled, but it finally got done.

And, when I got home… The tires had arrived!!

Now I have everything major I need for the trip. Anything else missing I can improvise or do without. The trick is getting it all to fit into the appropriate sized bags and boxes for the plane and a different set of bags for the locker on the trip.

Today marks the official end of training. I use the word “training” loosely. I had no physical trainer or elaborate workout plans. I had high hopes of working out rigorously on a regimented schedule. I even got off to a good start when I signed up for the event two months ago. Then the weather turned bad. My rides have been fewer and shorter in the below-freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and occasional rain. Just getting to the gym or pool for some cross-training also requires an hour round-trip bike ride, so my motivation dropped and I missed even more workouts

But that’s all in the past now. I don’t think any last-minute cramming will help get me ready for this mega-test of endurance. I’ll just have to hope my preparation was adequate. Today I rode to the gym for a weight-lifting class and then again for a spinning class. My membership expired today. Good timing.

On the non-physical side, I have read tons of articles, watched countless YouTube videos, and read a handful of books on Africa and bicycle touring and maintenance. Some of my more dubious preparations have included watching relevant episodes of Man vs. Wild and Survivorman, and the movies Long Way Down and Running the Sahara. I’ve also tested out most of my gear, from setting up the tent in the living room to purifying the tap water.

Still no tires.