Home » Egypt » Cycle to the Summit Part 10 - Aswan to Dongola

Waiting for the departure of our ferry. First contaact with the Sudanese buracracy. A three day crossing of the desert. Becoming well practised in the art of punture repair. Spending many nights at the greatest campsites along the Nile. Finally arriving in Dongola to stock up on supplies.

Cycle to the Summit Part 10 - Aswan to Dongola

Toby Hammond
2006-06-25 19:19:11

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pretending to be the real nomads that inhabit this harsh land, we passed the time sketching each other, reading and listening to our SW radio (thanks to Morphy Richards for that). Well we would have done all these things if we were not continually holding down our shelter, rearranging ropes, tying rocks and stopping bikes falling over. Get the impression things aren't that comfy under the desert shack? However, the desert provided the opportunity for some exploratory riding, usually ending in the explorer pushing their bike out of a foot of sand with the smug look totally removed from their face which had accompanied them at the beginning. This didn't stop each of us making our own route through the desert in the search for a piece of virgin sand, but as we found out on many occasions that unlike the grass being greener on the other side, the sand was usually softer and deeper. Then there were the involuntary lane changes, as a result of surprise attack by deep sand, throwing the rider left or right onto the other tyre channel and usually in the way of another struggling cyclist. "Sorry" and "never mind" replaced the unspoken expletives.
The first waterstop came at the end of the second day, and not a moment too soon. After drinking some tea and attempting some basic conversation we headed off again to find another perfect desert campspot. The last hour or so as the sun sets erases the hardships of the day as a crimson haze comes over the desert, turning sky and sand alike into a wonderful array of purple and pink pastels, the sun drooping like a lava lamp blob and finally biding us goodnight, making way for the brilliant desert night sky. We roll out our mats and watch the shooting stars. The first major village was Abri where we made straight for the market as our bodies were starved of vitamins and minerals from lack of fresh food. The tables of fruit and vegetables were somewhat likened to an oasis and we quickly gorged down oranges, bananas and tomatoes. ...