Jan 31 Dead camel Camp

The camel was here last year, exactly the same.   It sums up my idea of what life must be like here- brutal,unchanging and not for the uninitiated.

We left the already -fading novelty of Dongola for the 142kms ride.  The air had an element of freshness first thing, and all the racers seemed keen to try their hand. But the air temperature rises quickly. By the lunch stop at about 10am., it was already very hot;  some riders would get here much later when there would be about 40 degrees. The incentive to go hard is more about getting to camp and finding some shade.

The last 18 kms. today were awful. I dropped back from the little group I was with.  It felt like cycling into the mouth of a hairdryer.  This is flat, sandy desert with only occasional dwellings, although we are still not far from the Nile. Our camp is near a canal leading from the Nile. A no. of riders chose to bathe there. They claimed it was refreshing, despite what looked like turds floating along. Personally, I chose to give it a miss.

As we sat under the tarpaulin, enjoying James’s delicious pumpkin soup, we clapped in riders coming in later in 45 degrees of heat. Some will have stopped at the very occasional coke stops on the way, where, in a flimsy shack, a cold drink can be enjoyed- but you pay the price.

The TDA staff went for some crates of cold fizzy apple juice for us late afternoon. That was so appreciated.

Tomorrow onwards, we can leave when we want;  each of us has a little scanner which we wear around the neck.  We just have to touch a small unit at the back of the lorry when we start and finish.  So I am sure at lot of us will be away a bit earlier, as soon as breakfast allows us.

Distance 142 kms. Av.speed 29.8kph  Time cycling 4 hrs.53

Feb 1st.

I need to reassess. I was the first racer to leave camp this morning, determined to minimise the time in the sun.  By lunch, Eric Defour, who had left a few minutes after me, was in front.  He is riding alone so as to strengthen himself for the RAM (Race across America) in  which he is competing after this.  While at lunch, the four leaders came in and went quickly, to pull Eric in.  So I rode solo again. The last 30 kms. in particular were agonising.  There is no escape from the blistering heat.  I cannot think of anything humorous to say about it.  The energy drink is sickly sweet, but you need it….even though it is very warm.

When at last i arrived at camp, I could only lie down, keep sipping water and wait to come round. Franz, one of the leaders, kindly passed me a cup of tea.

The interesting thing is that some riders were saying that today was better than yesterday; big Dan, one of the four leaders today, thought it was awesome. But a no. of riders stopped at coke stops; they had cold drinks, cookies and even a sleep, to rest from the heat. They were the lucky ones, since a good tailwind got up after lunch.

The whole afternoon has been spent lying in the shade, first taking soup, then teas and coffees. Right by us there is a shelter with a big mat and clay pots of water. The clay pots keep the water cool and are available at no cost. These were empty but the extra shelter helped.  Mid-afternoon was 47 in the sun, 37 in the shade. The tents are unusable till after sundown and even then the heat rises up from the sand underneath for some hours. Nevertheless, the last two nights I have slept fantastically well.

It can be quite interesting moving around during the afternoon, chatting with different riders.  There are riders of all ages and backgrounds . To mention just a few, we have Adam, 18 year old self-confessed brat- but a really nice lad-  who cycled across Europe before this. Big, warm-hearted Martijn, who cycled from Amsterdam to Cairo prior to the TDA. Jethro, 27 year old actuary from S.Africa, who will go on to compete in the utterly mad Freedom Race from Durban to C.Town after this race.  Jeff and Diane from Aspen; Giselda from Germany and Juliana from Canada, the two neck and neck leaders among the ladies, really tough individuals.

So tomorrow we have 158 kms. in the penultimate day before entering Khartoum. I shall be looking out for coke stops, I shall be carrying my camelback.

Distance: 144 kms. Time cycling: 4 hrs. 22    Av. speed: 33.3 kph

Feb 2nd.

Breakfast was brought forward by 15 mins., so the added time and a bit of a tailwind produced some fast times. The fastest riders averaged 47 kph today. They went past the finishing line because the flag had not yet been put up.

We are still very much in desert, but today there have been thorny trees splattered around, with sometimes camels grazing on them. The only apparent activity  was the occasional water cart pulled by a donkey.

The 80 kms to lunch went fine. There would be a coke stop at 108 kms. so my 2 bottles would be sufficient. There was one at 105kms., he even had Vimto, but they were warm. So I decided to carry on.  At 108 I noticed a building, with some red paint, set back 100m. from the road. I plodded over through the sand; it was some sort of police post. They invited me to lie down, but I just filled a bottle with the warm water from their tap. The first coke stop I came to was only 1 km. from camp, but I stopped anyway, and then another rider, Patrick, stopped also. We guzzled a couple of soft drinks while the locals asked why we were doing this cycling.  Patrick explained that most riders were raising money for a charity. When we got ready to pay, one gentleman told us he wanted to pay for us.

The Sudanese are so generous and warm-natured. Where we were camped last night, the shelter we were using was a tea stop. The locals had opened it up to us, despite the fact we were not buying their tea and that they had no customers to serve because of our presence.

There were some more coke stops near to our campsite.While soup was being prepared. most of us sauntered over, lounged on a mat and tried to quench the unquenchable.

There seems to be a more relaxed atmosphere about camp now.We are becoming more of a group, three fairly  hard days are behind us and we are just one day away from finishing our first section. Tomorrow will be diifferent, as we will start with a 20 kms time trial followed by another 46 kms to the lunch truck, all 66 kms. counting towards our overall time. Then we will cycle in convoy for the remaining 40 kms. to our campsite in Khartoum, where there will be showers and toilets and a rest day.

Distance 155 kms  Time cycling 4hrs 20   Av.speed: 34.5 kph

Sunil went to see a doctor in Aswan, his saddle sores were so bad. He was told not to cycle.  Yet the following day he cycled, but never once sitting down. Can you imagine that?  I did not know till yesterday- he was wearing three pairs of shorts in this heat- yet I have never seen him without a cheery smile.

Questions you might ask.

1 What is the food like?

Always plenty,and nutritious. Within the confines of availability, James varies the ingredients well. (We might have had goat meat last night as the men at the tea stop wanted to sell him a goat, but he already had enough beef).

2 Any regrets?

That I am 60.

3 Do you see yourself completing EFI (every fabulous inch)?

Yes

4 Is there anything that you really crave for right now?

More donations to Thamsanqa.

Today (3rd)

Dream ride.

With a light tailwind, we were all able to ride fast for the first 20 kms and then onto the lunch-stop at 66 kms. We will find out the results of the time trial tonight;  the overall time for the 66 kms is what counts for the Race classification.

Dist.: 66kms Av. speed: 35.9 kph  (Today’s winner, Adrian, averaged 47 kph.)

Those of us on daily malaria tablets, started yesterday.  So we now have to be extra careful putting on enough sun-cream.

You do see some strange sights. There were 2 camels, side-by-side in the back of a pick-up (bakkie) just fitting in with their heads staring over the front of the cab.  The battered vehicles that are caressed to continue, would never be seen on European roads (…or American, Aussie or S.African- sorry guys!)

At the lunch stop, we waited for the police to give us the go-ahead. With the wailing of sirens, we slowly wound our way for 40 kms. across Khartoum.  Franz got a puncture, but was quickly given a TDA bike so he could continue. Crossing the Nile – I do not know if it was the blue, white or the confluence -  it was so wide at this point that it looked majestic.

For the rest, it was sprawl. The general effect was of Roman ruins.   A lot of the houses looked unfinished, while roofs are out of sight, being usually made of a bit of timber, cardboard and plastic.

People came out of their dwellings to watch us pass. What a shame that they have no idea why we are here.  “Welcome” is still the commonest refrain, though this morning, some schoolkids threw a few stones in my direction, after waving to me!

About 1.30 we arrived at the National Camping ground.  After putting up our tents – I am a true artist at it now! – some have gone for a shower, reputedly good, others have started their washing.  I decided to get straight to the Internet Cafe before the rush. I hailed a Tuk Tuk; he told me it would be 2 Sudanese pounds.  No way, I said.  He drove off…He is supposed to haggle.  I looked up the long road leading to town  and started walking. Then a local bus stopped just in front to drop someone off and I hopped on.  All sullen faces. No response to my questions. Then a man in the rear shouted to me:  “Where do you want to go?”  “Internet cafe.”  “But where?”  “I don’t know.” “This local bus goes to the local market”.  So, for one S. pound, this is where I am.

After writing this, I am going to find something to eat and then…perhaps I will have to walk back.

I have photos to post, but it appears a virus is preventing me from doing it, so they may appear later.

After tomorrow, we head for the Dinder National Park. This will be our first off-road riding. The MTB enthusiasts are of course excited.  It will require different strengths and techniques. It is also the start of a new section and some riders will fancy their chances to win a section over different terrain.  There will be no easy parts, but it will be interesting;  and all the while, we are all getting stronger.

Thank you again for your comments. They provide the highlight of the rest day.

Best wishes,

Eric.