Stage 7: from Luxor to Edfu
KM: 112.6
HM: 103 m
Time: 4:21 minutes
Flat tires: 2
Liter of water: 2.5 + 1 Tea
Strava link
Stage 8: from Edfu to Aswan
KM: 109.93
HM: 373 m
Time: 4:20 minutes
Flat tires: 0
Liter of water: 2.5 + 1 Fanta
Strava link
After a fantastic rest day dedicated to discovering the beauty of Luxor, ( new gallery here) we were all more or less eager to sit on the saddle and hit the road again. Unfortunately, I started the day again with a flat, this time due to a small piece of metal in my tyre…After fixing it, thanks to Mats and Sam for the help, we could finally start to ride and the first part of the day has been fantastic. Riding in the greenery of the Nile valley, enjoying many friendly smiles, hellos and Salam it was a pure pleasure. Unfortunately, after lunch we passed through bigger villages where the atmosphere turned slightly less friendly with many kids being a bit naughty, trying to slap some of us with wooden sticks or throwing some stones… As we arrived in our “very basic” camp early enough, I got the chance to go to Edfu to see one of the best-preserved Egyptian temples.
Oh and just after finishing building my tent, I heard a lovely noise coming from one of the bike and guess what..this time my front tyre was having a puncture.
The next day was extremely similar to the previous one, lot of people around, lot of smiles as well as silly kids throwing stuff and at least 1000 speed bumpers..The most interesting part of the day was the location of our camping, right on the Nile and the visit of Aswan. Ashley and I climbed the steep “Noble tombs” hill to enjoy an amazing view over the Nile and Aswan. After that we crossed the Nile to see the unfinished Obelisk and almost get robbed by a not very trustworthy taxi rider. Living the true Egyptian experience;-)
Stage 9: from Aswan to Desert Camp
KM: 133.2
HM: 462 m
Time: 4:40 minutes
Flat tires: 0
Liter of water: 4
Strava link
Stage 10: from Desert Camp to Abu Simbel
KM: 151.
HM: 346 m
Time: 4:54 minutes
Flat tires: 1
Liter of water: 4 + 1 Sprite
Strava link
And here we are, our first day in the desert. After a very steep climb with cold legs to start the day, we cruised for kilometres through a very plain landscape of stones and sand without signs of life. My main event of the day was that the Coke Stop I was highly awaiting at km 113 has been transformed in a police station and as the policeman were reluctant to sell any Coke, I had to keep on going till our desert camp 20 km later on, these 20 km were so looooong.
In the desert camp we had the chance to meet for the first time the lovely and amazingly annoying desert flies and got our first “no cleaning water” camp.
Our second day in the desert and last day of this section went smoothly till km 66. At that point, the situation changed drastically as we faced a strong cross/headwind for the next 30 km. Luckily enough, as of km 100 we get the wind in our back again and could reach Abu Simbel with some unexpected speeds despite the sandstorm. And I got a flat again, I’m therefore so far the proud owner of the record of punctures within the tour, lucky me!!
Safety in Egypt
As I already mentioned it in a previous blog, Egypt was for us an extremely safe destination. The reason being that the Egyptian touristic industry is still suffering from the Arab spring and a few terrorist attack. Therefore the authorities are putting every possible resource to make our trip as safe as possible.
This means that we had the following persons supporting us during our time in Egypt
1: James Bond
2: The james bond boys (sorry no james bond girls in Egypt)
3: A few police cars
3: An ambulance or two
4: The very well known Fire truck
Let me tell me a bit more about them
1: James bond is our special agent, following us everywhere with his machine gun stuck on his hip, he is as well supporting us when it comes to the communication with the official and when bored he can cut cucumber and open tuna fish cans
2: That’s James bond team, they would most probably only get the roles of vilains in any movie but as they are on our side it’s all good.
3 +4: Nothing to mention, they are just following us almost everywhere while we bike
5: This is the biggest mystery, why do we have a Fire truck following us? We are mostly sleeping in desertic area, are they scared that we will put the desert in fire, do some glass with the silicate? This will stay a mystery for ever but the truck is following us.
And here we are, after 1210 km, 3904 hm and 42 hours and 15 minutes on the bike, the second section is over! My body is still doing well, while half of the group is coughing or fighting a cold I’m still feeling perfectly well.
And last but not least there is a new gallery here
Fred
Kevin
2 Feb 2019I’m enjoying your blog. Lots of information and great photos.
Fred
2 Feb 2019Thanks Kevin, happy to hear that
Tes parents
2 Feb 2019A choisir, mieux vaut des pneus crevés qu’un Frédéric ! Garde la forme et fais gaffe maintenant que vous n’avez plus James Bond!
Fred
2 Feb 2019La je suis bien d’accord mais si ça continue je vais me trouver en rupture de chambre à air..