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Day 22, Metema to Bush Camp, 57 of 91km cycling

Posted on February 7, 2013 by mev

First day of cycling through Ethiopia. Surprising how quickly things changed at the border. Ethiopia is much more populated with many villages. Even where there are no villages, still people most any place you might stop.

We cycled from Metema, the border town, across five or six villages today. Crowds of kids would stand watching. We were warned that some might have rocks or sticks so, the idea was to proactively engage with “hello” and other waves and gestures before they could get other ideas. Today this worked for me.

Also different is most of Ethiopia is built on a hill. Lots of rolling terrain to cross with grades ranging from 1-2% to short steep 10-12% pieces. Slowly as we climb to the highlands, it also seems to be getting cooler (hooray!). However, today it was still warm at lunch and so I decided to be cautious and ride the lunch truck on the way in and hence didn’t ride the last 34km.

These landscapes and extra trees definitely underscore a “we are cycling in Africa” sense and one that we’ve now left the desert – even if it is still dry here.

Tomorrow is a set of big climbs and so I’ll see what I ride on that day. However definitely enjoying the variety that Ethiopia brings.

Day 21, 100km Doku to Metema

Posted on February 6, 2013 by mev

Today I rode in the truck and played it safe. I felt a bit better in the morning, but still couldn’t quite tell if I was feeling sick or feeling hungry. I had brief hope of cycling some, so wore cycling gear.

Hence, after packing my gear I got on the dinner truck. This one stops briefly at lunch but otherwise continues on to camp. We were only 1km from the paved road, which was a relief for those riding today. The countryside had a little more topography and terrain around. It was still grassland areas.

We stopped briefly at lunch truck and then went to the border town: Gallabat (in Sudan) and Metema (in Ethiopia). Sudan had an exit form to complete and then we walked the bridge to Ethiopia where they checked our passports against large paper books. Mine passed the test, though this all took a while and both we and truck had cleared customs. After this we drove to camp on edge of town. I was slowly feeling stronger and even good enough to eat seconds.

Diesel costs 2 Sudanese pounds per liter here or approximately $1.30 per gallon.

Day 20, 78 of 86 km (heat exhaustion)

Posted on February 5, 2013 by mev

Today I ran to my limits and wasn’t able to complete the ride all the way. Already a slight precursor previous night as I didn’t quite have appetite for seconds for dinner. It has been a tough day, but figured a good rest and I would get back on the road.

Overnight we heard lots of sounds camped next to the village. The donkeys sounded like they were in serious distress. Still slept ok and was up packing everything and was on the road. This was our third day of unpaved cycling in a row. While the corrugations were slightly worse yesterday, we still had plenty today. Imagine taking a road through open fields during wet season and then having the earth dry and crack up. Those cracks form both ruts and then very ugly corrugations the other way.

We had a village at 17km and I went slightly off track to find a coke stop. It was already getting warm, so I repeated the exercise with another drink at 25km. After this we cycled to 30km and the main (unpaved) road – slightly better cycling but at 34km we turned again and headed across the fields. Another 10km and I was at lunch at 44km. It was hotter than the two days before.

I wasn’t feeling 100% and could eat one sandwich. I seriously contemplated taking the truck and mentioned it to one or two others. However, a bit of an extended break in the shade and a bit of watermelon and I felt good to go. I was also encouraged since there was a “refresco” stop at 63/64km spot so I would be able to refresh and look again.

It was hot cycling to the refresco and the corrugations were at least as bad as before. I was able to keep cycling and was pleased to see the refresco eventually. Another long pause here since it was still very hot (my cycle computer said 117F someone else had computer say 49.5C…not sure if it was as hot as that but my best guess is still in excess of 110F).

Note: In retrospect I downloaded data from cycle computer. Data after 78km isn’t valid as the bike was on top of vehicle and I forgot to turn it off. However, shows maximum temperature of 47C (117F) and several 10km segments with average temperatures in excess of 43C (110F).

I sat at the refresco for a while and thought of my options. It was 18km to next coke stop at 22km to camp. I decided to go for it. This was a mistake.

At first the cycling went ok. I had drunk at least 10 liters of water that day and had 5 liters with me. However, the corrugations were still bad and I think I still had energy deficit from not enough lunch. I started counting kilometers. At km 75 I walked some of the corrugations and then alternated a bit after that. Not much longer and I decided I would get on the next truck that came past. That happened at 78km. While I was only 4km from the coke stop, I knew it was done.

I was happy Sharita picked me up. We dumped water over my head and I had a cool bottle to drink. I was feeling nauseous however. The bumps on the road didn’t help. I opened the door and threw up a while. There was plenty of water/fluid there but perhaps not enough salt and/or it has gotten too hot to absorb. We paused briefly and when we got to Luke, I stayed with him in shade while Sharita went to go after others. On the way back we all went to camp.

I tried to cool down at camp, but it was still too hot. Tried to drink, but it didn’t stay down. Other riders were very helpful (much appreciated) and eventually I was in the heat exhaustion ward with half a dozen other riders (most of whom had gotten into camp but then been afflicted later). In the end, we put in an IV line and dripped in some saline water and sugar into my system – along with some anti-nausea medicine. This let me eventually get some salty fluids back in. I was still very weak, but evening eventually cooled down.

Much appreciated as other riders had helped set up my tent and saved some rice from dinner. I had met and probably exceeded the limits of how far I could go – particularly with the extra heat that day – on the third day of ugly corrugated roads. Feeling a bit helpless with an IV line in my arm had me think I would take it a bit easier the next few days until I was more certain I had rebuilt some appetite and strength. Didn’t want to repeat that one again.

[Postscript: Took the following day all day on the truck and the two days after that riding half days; now in Gondar and feel pretty well recovered but once bitten twice shy, so being just a bit cautious. I think particularly the extreme heat did me in this time].

Day 19, 99km to Stone Bridge (Abeyda)

Posted on February 4, 2013 by mev

Today was the toughest day yet. Long, hot and challenging – particularly because of road corrugations and because of afternoon heat.

The first 6km weren’t too bad as we left camp and followed a canal on a road without many corrugations. Unfortunately this changed as we crossed our first “teff” field. We essentially crossed a field on carved out trail. The dirt had dried, cracked and those cracks then became corrugations. I wasn’t quite sure how to approach it, so ended up going slow – pound, pound, pound. It wasn’t much quicker than walking but with a stop every now and then, I slowly got further. I think some others tried variations of going faster or standing up.

As we crossed these fields, we would occasionally come past a few huts grouped together and at 35km was an abandoned railway and place to get coke stop. After this back to the fields as it started getting warmer. It seemed like forever before we came to lunch at 56km.

Shortly thereafter another fun town to cross and then more heat, fields and corrugation. TDA had put a refresh stop at 76km under a big tree. This helped get a bit more energy before I pushed on to reach camp about 5pm. A long and most difficult day so far. I’m glad I was able to make it.

Day 18, 87km to Dinder

Posted on February 3, 2013 by mev

Off road and through back areas of Sennar province. Tires were changed yesterday. Some did better than others and the thorns along with new tires caused many flats. I had one but only when I pulled a thorn from my tire after arriving at camp. Two other cyclists each had eleven. Schwalbe Marathon plus tires in general did fairly well.

Our first 7km were still on paved roads. After this we crossed a 2km long Sennar Dam. Here was the official start of the race. It was also the start of the tough washboard route. I was slow here any many other cyclists passed me.\\

For the next 74km, the theme was “follow the railroad”. In particular, an abandoned rail line. Often the rails were still there, but not all connected. We also had to experiment with how close we tried to follow the rails itself vs. roads that came parallel to it. In the first 20km of railway we had a few instances where to rail went through marshy area. Got covered with mud, particularly the cycling shoes. After that I decided to err a little more away from the rails.

Unfortunately, this backfired on me for lunch. I looked back at one point and saw the lunch truck on other side of canal from myself. Oops, now time to find a bridge 1.6km away and get back to lunch. This accounted for an extra 3km myself instead of the more official 84km.

After lunch, crossed small towns of Suki and Dinder. Stopping through here you could definitely tell this was not a well-traveled tourist route. However, they had placed a big welcome banner so our local contacts in Sudan are trying to help promote the area and be hospitable.

Kids would run out to see us in the small towns. We’re told this is nothing like Ethiopia.

It was hot at end of the day, but still not too bad and I was into camp by 3:30pm. Enough time to inspect my tires and find a small thorn and one to patch. Still a tough day but will see how it goes tomorrow. In evening we could see camels grazing from trees and also this little goat that acted like it lost its mother. I could “baa” and it would reply as well as follow. Photo above shows Catalin and the goat.

Day 17, 160km to Sennar

Posted on February 2, 2013 by mev

A longer and more varied day today. We started the day on smooth Chinese-built road. This is nice, though it also tends to bring us past rather than through the towns. Today changed a bit of that.

At 45km the road essentially became unpaved. There were tire tracks we could pick in the next 2km. As long as you picked the track, it worked well. We then crossed over the Nile River and in through middle of larger town. Here the fun began. The road became very rough pavement and through congested area. People and bustle everywhere. This all lasted until about 65km.

After this the road switched between crossing urban zones and countryside. I stopped once or twice as it was getting warmer. As we stopped, people were curious about us and we them. After this followed a canal for last 20km and a campsite in abandoned amusement park in Sennar.

Sennar had put out the red carpet for us cyclists. The local town dignitary came and gave an official welcome. The local karate and gymnastics teams put on exhibitions. The locals also gave us a cola drink and peanuts and banana. We also got a brochure about tourist highlights of Sennar province. I talked with local officials and they clearly wanted to get word out about tourist wonders here.

In afternoon people changed tires for off road sections ahead. Mine are probably fine and so I’ll be riding same tires for both. Will see how it goes.

Day 16, 140km to Rufaa Camp

Posted on February 1, 2013 by mev

This part of Sudan is more agricultural than what we’ve seen before. We passed many plowed fields, some irrigated fields and even some crops like corn and saw center pivot sprinkler. Also this area has more trees than more desert areas further north.

We left the hotel this morning. The group isn’t too fond of the “convoy” though it turned out that a large mob of us still cycled together somewhat slowly until we got past tricky directions out of town. After this point we passed through an area with much livestock: goats, camels, almost a livestock market or clearing place of sorts. I stopped here briefly at 15km.

After this the route became rural, though also through town and agricultural areas. At 30km we had one turn and 40km another. Winds were mostly from the north but as we turned eastwards we also got more crosswinds and tougher riding.

After lunch, warm again. The road traffic gradually became a bit less. Even more intriguing this was among first part with painted center stripe on the road. It was warm enough for coke stop at 112km and then pushed the last distance to camp.

Tonight we took extra care in locking bikes together in a big corral. Apparently, last year two bikes had been stolen at this camp, so wanted to be extra careful.

Khartoum rest day

Posted on January 31, 2013 by mev

I like Khartoum. It is an easy city to walk downtown. Both camp and hotel are in downtown business district at confluence of White Nile and Blue Nile, ideal locations. Today was a rest day, so both chance to get everything cleaned and prepared for next section – and a chance to explore.

Sudan is an Islamic Republic. Photo below is of the Grand Mosque in middle of city. While walking during midday prayer time, also saw plenty of prayer mats spread out and people taking break in middle of bustle to pray. I also had one occasion where someone called attention to my knees (I’m wearing basic travel shorts). Not sure if they thought it was the crazy foreigner (there aren’t too many tourists) or perhaps the knees myself but I did notice that locals weren’t in shorts.

Yet despite being capital of an Islamic State, I still found the Coptic Church in photo below.

In our part of town there are many ministries, e.g. Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Justice, etc. I am generally careful in photographing such official buildings, but the complaint department was just a little too good to pass up.

I found the very nice modern Al Waha Mall. It is rather fancy and new looking with shops selling high end goods. However, it is also somewhat empty. Fortunately, in basement was Sena Hypermarket, a surprisingly large grocery and excellent chance to pick up some foods for dinner.

Just a block or so from Al Waha is the Souk (market) with streets that look more like the photo below

and shops that look a bit like this

; colorful shop

Above the shops are places some live and you can see the multitude of satellite dishes for catch latest media.

In addition I am struck by how many passenger cars try to crowd these streets and how varied this is from rest of Sudan we’ve traveled where we barely saw buildings over one story tall.

In addition to being a tourist, I started the day off with a walk to the TDA camp. I tuned up my bicycle and shook out as much dirt as I could from my tent. Catalin also did a true on the wheel.

Also now starting to anticipate the road ahead, while reflecting on the past fifteen cycling days and ~1200 miles we’ve ridden:

TDA has broken this trip into eight “sections” and we just completed the first one. We’ve ridden ~1200 miles.
The next section, to Addis Adaba is also fifteen riding days and the one after to Nairobi is sixteen riding days. However, while the previous section was rated a “2” in difficulty, both of the upcoming sections are rated “5”.
I’ve found the riding so far to be fairly straightforward. We’ve been fortunate to have many more tailwinds than headwinds and that has made for not too difficult riding. What has added to the fun was more things like our sand storm and the insect plague and slightly warm temperatures. Will see how this compares with upcoming challenges including heat, off road cycling and some climbing – best to take it one day at a time.
I haven’t yet seen the next section board, but last year the next eight days entailed: two long days of cycling on good pavement followed by three days of challenging off-road including some ugly roads, crossing into Ethiopia and then three days on pavement but with a lot more climbing. We’re going into remote corners again, so expect fewer updates.
Otherwise, still having fun 🙂

Day 15, 89km to Khartoum

Posted on January 30, 2013 by mev

We made it to big capital city of Khartoum. The last 20km were very built up and sharp contrast from our desert cycling single Dongola. The camp last night was pleasant and much better than our sandstorm the night before.

This morning the schedule had an individual time trial starting at 5km past start. I cycled there waited until my turn and then set up. We had slight tailwinds and so riding was pretty easy. I covered the 25km in 45:09 minutes which got me 26th place on a 29 person men level. Not particularly fast for time trial, but also faster than I’d normally ride through. That got us a good step on way to lunch stop.

Gradually landscapes became busier with some commercial farms and also passed a prison and a group of soldiers out for a run with drill Sargent poking with stick to keep group together. Also stopped to get this bush. There is a general sense that things just get thrown away which means trash sometimes accumulates. Not too bad in vast expanses of desert but more noticeable with more people.

We gathered together for lunch and then once again a convoy cycling into big city. Saw multi-story buildings for first time in a while, also traffic lights. Ours was a procession complete with blaring sirens and even a TV truck recording our entry. As we got close we crossed the Nile into central business district. Wound our way through busy parts and then eventually to spot for the camp site.

I decided to splurge and get a hotel as it might offer a good hot shower, chance to catch up this blog on the internet and otherwise relax to get ready for next stages ahead. Eventually might even go be a tourist (once my bike is clean and tuned up), though also taking a bit of relaxation as well.

Day 14, 146km to desert camp

Posted on January 29, 2013 by mev

The wind died down briefly before midnight but then picked up again. I got a mixed few hours of sleep as I heard the tent go in the breeze. Before 6am, while still dark, I planned my next steps. How was I going to get the tent down, all my stuff packed and not have anything blow away?

I carefully staged things into panniers first. Was the thermarest too light to blow away? Just to be safe, decided to make trip to truck to store away thermarest and sleeping bag. Now with some carefully planning and a few large rocks, I was able to make the rest stage by stage and get the tent packed away! A big sense of accomplishment, though the tent did weigh a little more with some accumulated sand inside.

It all got easier after that. Breakfast and I was on the road. The official race had been canceled due to conditions. There was perhaps 300m visibility on the road and the sands would shift across, much as winter snows sometimes drift. The sun was up but pretty washed out and faintly visible. Still good to have that sand mostly coming from behind.

Gradually the day got better. Eventually the sun was able to cast shadows and while still hazy, the extra sand started lifting. I cycled mostly straight to lunch though shortly before several interesting watermelon sellers.

Tried stopping at coke stop at 115km but for first time, slightly uncomfortable as had many folks mostly standing around and making some comments. So pretty much quick ride from there and into camp for the day. Winds much lighter and I was even able to shake out some excess sand from that tent.