The Red Sea to Luxor

Desert Camp Jan 14, 2009

Night falls early in the desert. It’s half past six and it’s been pitch dark for over an hour. Dinner was served early and nearly everyone of our traveling tribe has shuffled off to bed. Me included, the interior of my tent is illuminated by the glow of this computer screen.

Today was a touchstone day for a number of reasons. Most beyond the obvious – it was always set to be a challenging day. The route was to leave the seaside utopia of the Red Sea and climb into the mountains. Gone were the long straights, booming tailwinds and cooling breeze. Taking a sharp right and a westward turn, we climbed through the mountains on our way back to the Nile.

Without wasting time we were thrown into the first climb of the day – a challenging grind up some 650m of elevation, snaking through canyons that looks suspiciously like Tattooeen. The pace was ferocious – for the past few days I’ve been riding with the race group. Good folks, who enjoy to go fast, have a laugh and move with efficiency – my kind of crew. The pace this morning was fierce – nearly more then I could take, but I held on.

I’ve found that my training of Bikram Yoga, riding, running and other bits and pieces has served me well. Almost to my surprise I’ve found myself among the leaders on a daily basis and have garnered a reputation as one of the faster riders in the group. Humbling to say the least there are a stack of super fit people here of both genders, to be amongst the lead pack is a real honor.

Back to today – the hill seemed to be never ending and the pace only increased as the grade followed suit. Luckily there was a tail wind that did wonders in leveling the playing field. At the lunch stop I was feeling seriously spent – like the days of grinding away were finally starting to take their toll. The whole day I was feeling slightly off my game – so much so that I resorted to a cup of cowboy espresso (4 heaps of instant coffee, two heaps of sugar and half a cup of water) to start the day off. But the fog just wouldn’t lift. There was to be no stage win for me today – after lunch the leaders dropped the hammer and dropped me from the pack. It was a disappointment, in the last 2 days of racing I’ve managed a second and a third place – I was really hoping to continue the trend in the very casual race.

The rest of the afternoon was spent trading leads with Carola and Lone – the two ladies who are leading the women’s section of the race – great gals who know how to hammer along on a bike. It was great fun taking our turns at the front and having a good laugh. The tailwind was kind to us and average speeds were in the 40’s. The road as it’s always been in Egypt was impeccable – beyond perfect, pavement that seems a few minutes old with only the odd pot-hole to contend with and a shoulder you could drive a Coup-de-Ville without touching the sides.

139km dropped without too much trouble – while nearly everyone was overjoyed with the relative easy nature of the day (read: tailwinds) I was still feeling off the mark. My guess is the cumulative efforts of clocking up somewhere in the range of 700km in the last 5 days of riding – insane distance. The body just didn’t want to come to the party today – tomorrow I trust will be a different story. An even easier day is in the works – a mere 95km to the town of Luxor. There is no race (the race doesn’t go every day) tomorrow and there are sights to see along the way as we descend from the high desert to the Nile and follow along the river that will be our handrail for the next couple of weeks.

The landscape here is confronting – imposing in its vastness. Never have I seen such a place devoid of flora, habitation or even color. Like an enormous sandbox the golden sand stretches to every horizon and seems to spill over the edge of the world. It will be strange to get back to the Nile and see a fertile side of this country – for days all I’ve seen is arid unusable land and the sea.

The reality of this trip finishing for me is starting to hit home – my inbox is filled with work emails that threaten to hijack my sense of now. Never have I more wanted to stay on a trip – people have said that I should try and stay on, finish the ride all the way to Cape Town. Reality and the desire to follow this dream are miles apart. My part in this play is only but a guest staring roll. I’ll have to be content with following along with my new found comrades from home and have an unquenched flame of desire to follow this trip through to the natural end. Someday.

Luxor, Egypt – Jan 16, 2009

So much for a rest day. Though we didn’t ride today, the day turned into anything but a day of rest. Luxor is home to the Valley of Kings amongst other archeological sites that are the things of dreams for the history buffs amongst us. With my body clock adjusted to wake at near dawn the prospect of a sleep in was both a challenge and a far off dream. The call to prayer at 5am was a gentle reminder that we are living in the Muslim world – though it didn’t wake me fully, it was enough to stir me beyond the ability to drop back off into restful sleep.

At 7.30 I finally decided to get up and see the day. No sooner had I emerged from my tent was I told that there was a trip planned to the Valley of the Kings – I hadn’t planned on going out there for some reason. Not out of spite by the recommendation of other sites around town. I was soon convinced and before I knew it we were walking downtown to where we would catch the ferry over to the West Bank of the Nile.

1 Egyptian pound (about 20cents) was the fare and the ride was a paltry 5 minutes to cross the river. Soon a cab was arranged and we were off on the 10minute journey to the Valley of the Kings.

While the Pyramids of Giza are massive beyond description these tombs are more non-descript from the outside – more like stone openings into the sides of a steep canyon. Once inside the tombs are a catacomb of rooms all filled floor to ceiling with the most magnificent hieroglyphics I’ve ever seen. Like the stuff of history books, Indiana Jones and the films. Though a tourist trap on most accounts the hieroglyphics were worth the volume of tourists to be found around. We spent the rest of the morning exploring the tombs and trying to take it all as best we could. Like so much of this country, it was quite overwhelming.

After a break back at the hotel a few of us headed out to the Temple of Karnack – another monument just a few hundred meters from the hotel. This was the real highlight of the day. Amazing columns, towers and massive structures that all date back 3000years. Again the hieroglyphics were outstanding and the stone pillars were nothing short of enormous. Towering in the fading light they made for perfect silhouetted foreground highlights to photographs. Everywhere I turned there was something else to frame into a shot. One of the best places ever for photographs – and that’s saying a lot for me.

Tomorrow we head out of town and continue south. We say goodbye to Luxor and search for new horizons along the Nile. Though today is meant to be a rest day there was little rest to be found – my feet hurt from walking all day, much more so then a day on the bike, a 117km day on the bike is a welcome respite. Odd that that is what my life has become, the steady meditation of turning the pedals has become a strange comfort. The easiest part of the day, the most relaxing and the most cathartic – the cornerstone of this expedition – hours and miles of time on the bike. Time to turn in and wait for tomorrow.
~Scott