Stage 15: Dongola to dead camel camp
KM: 143 km
HM: 151 m
Time: 4:58 minutes
Flat tires: 0
Liter of water: 4.5 + 1 sprite and 1 guava juice
Strava link
Stage 16: Dead camel camp to desert camp
KM: 144.2
HM: 309 m
Time: 6:17 minutes
Flat tires: 0
Liter of water: 6 + 2 tea and 5 sprite
Strava link
After enjoying two rest days in Dongola, seeing the beauty of Gebel Barkal and eating a lot of tasty chickens it was time to hit the road again. Due to the uncertain situation in Karthoum, our itinerary changed a bit and we will therefore bike 3 days instead of 4 but 3 times 145 km and that in a desert area.
The first day started with some nice temperature (15-17°) and no wind. I spent most of the day biking with Mats and there is not much more to say in regard to this day as we went through a rather plain landscape where the only fun was the appearance of a few camels along the road. We arrived at the dead camel camp around 12:30 and spent the rest of the day doing nothing…(well, there is not much to do in the desert ;-))
The second day started as the first one with some nice temperature in the morning and a nice small breeze. I decided to hit the road alone and started at a quite decent pace of 30km/h that I kept for the first 20-30 km. Unfortunately after this first part, a very strong headwind of 20-30 km hit us strongly and as the temperature were raising quickly (37°@10:00) the day started to be more and more challenging. As we reached our lunch stop, some riders decided already to give up as the effort and temperature were too challenging. As I did not wanted to give up, I joined Balder, Mats, Andrew, Stevie and Clement and we went together fighting against the wind, sand and crazy bus driver passing us at incredible speeds. @km 115 we finally reached a coke stop and as the temperature were reaching 42°, we decided to make a very long break (around 2 hours) and drunk more or less all what they had to offer. At around 15:00 we took off again and decided to do a break every 10 km to drink and cool down as the heat was staying on a very high level.
And after 6 hours and 20 minutes we reached the camp, exhausted but happy and ready for a good night of rest. This day has been very hard on the rider as only 17 of us finished it, the rest of the group decided to use the cars to reach the camp.
Stage 17: Desert camp to Abu Dolooa
KM: 146.2
HM: 224
Time: 6:20 minutes
Flat tires: 0
Liter of water: 7 + 2 sprites and a massive amount of Teas
Strava link
For the last day of this stretch the main question was how will the wind blow? As you can imagine, our body and mind were still impacted by the previous day and we were a bit scared of the 147 km ahead of us.
Luckily enough there was only still a slight headwind on that morning, nothing close to what we faced the day before. On that day I wind shielded Mike for most of the day (As people seems very happy to use me as a wind shield, I guess that I still need to lose some weight ;-)). This stage was rather flat and as said not so windy but the accumulation of effort and the hammering temperature made it highly challenging. During that day we reached 45° and as I let my Garmin outside during a coke stop, I could read 55° on the display… We adopted the same strategy as the day before, using each and every available Coke/Tea stop, doing a long break around 12:00 and afterwards a break every 10 kilometres under some tree shade as we are finally seeing some vegetation again.
And after a long and exhausting 6:20 minutes of biking in the heat, I finally reached the camp. Happy to have finished this very hot section!
Oh and i cannot close that part without mentioning the Sudanese bus drivers! These guys are absolutely mental, I strongly believe that every Sudanese bus driver is a former convict or that they are recruited on the basis of their unstable mental health! The reason is that they are driving at speeds of around 100-140 km on normal roads, and will never ever brake for a biker or any vehicle smaller than them. This means for us that we need to be extremely alert and ready to react at any time that a bus is coming in front of us or overtaking us. Their only sign of humanity is that they are usually honking before hitting us… This means that we must regularly jump out of the road to survive. Not the nicest thing to have to do during a bike tour.
hospitality
As we’ve now spent more than 3 weeks between Egypt and Sudan, I want to talk about the incredible generosity of a lot of people we met in Egypt and most of the one we met in Sudan so far.
As an example, on our rest day in Dongola, as I was simply walking around, the gentleman in white on the above picture just asked me if I wanted a coffee with him. As I’m always looking forward to discuss with locals, I happily accepted the invitation and sat with him. After 30 minutes of discussion (with our hands as his English was not even basic) I wanted to leave him to get some food, he forbid me to leave and offered me some local food that I was not allowed to refuse. And after spending 2 hours with him, his friends, brothers and eating at least 5 plates of a very nice local chicken soup and multiple tea and coffee I finally left without being allowed to pay one cent of what I eat or drank as I was his host.
And this is just one example, we have been invited for drinks at coke stops by locals just happy to see some foreign faces, some other riders have been invited for lunch or dinner. And as we were struggling in the heat of the last days, we have been asked several time if we were ok and if we would not like a ride or some support.
When considering the difference of wealth between the locals and us, I do find this welcoming culture amazing and I’m therefore even more wondering why even a simple smile from a foreigner is so hard to get in our countries?
And here we are, after 2131 km, 5946 hm and 75 hours and 55 minutes on the bike, the fourth section is over! And my body is still doing well, I can consider myself as quite lucky so far!
But now a big challenge is awaiting us, section 5 will consist of 6 days of biking back to back and the longest climbing day of the tour to reach Gonder in Ethiopia on the last one (2500 hm are awaiting us). Please wish me luck.
And last but not least there is a new gallery here
Fred
Oliver
8 Feb 2019Hi Fred,
Awesome to hear about this section of the trip.
Some serious challenges with the heat and wind(and bus drivers) so congratulations for pushing through and being able to finish the various stages.
it sounds like you guys have found a good strategy! Happy cycling and looking forward to the next update!
Fred
8 Feb 2019Thanks Oliver, indeed some serious challenges and the next section will most probably not be easier but let us see. More info in a few days
Axel
27 Feb 2019Hi Fred, this is Axel. Good to see that you are doing well !! Keep on going with the brave spirtit.