Cataract Pyramids

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I have arrived at our departure hotel, the Cataract Pyramids Resort. Last night I met up with many of the riders. Still not learning everyones names (keep asking a few times), but nice to meet up. As it has been described, “not just a ride, but also a social experiment”, part of the fun is traveling with many others who have all come together for this adventure.

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The song says, “It never rains in Southern California”. However, the impression is it also doesn’t rain much in Cairo. We had just some occasional rain overnight as well as slight rain shower during the morning. Rain itself isn’t much, but it seems to make the formerly dusty roads a muddy mess. This morning I brought down my bike and rode for a brief 1km along the road before deciding against getting myself completely splattered to start…at least wait until day #1.

Otherwise as first photo above shows, riders have been busy assembling and testing out their bikes. In the afternoon we had our the first official rider meeting, mostly working through so everyone understood how logistics work as well as expectations for the trip.

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Alexandria

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My brother Bert and I made a day trip up to Alexandria. Below are some photos:

We took the subway after finally getting my Sudan visa. The subway goes directly to the railway station, though the old name (Mubarak) is being replaced with Al Shohadaa.

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Basic 2nd class seat in the Egyptian train. We actually took two slightly different trains. Going up we took the more basic model that made several stops and took 3.5 hours. Coming back, we had a nicer train and fewer stops and did it in 2.5 hours.

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Alexandria is along the coast. Walking along the “Cornish”, one had to be careful since wind was blowing waves that would crash against the rocks and get you wet. While in Alexandria we also had wet from rain as well. Nothing too bad, but rare for the area.

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This is outside of the library building. A rather interesting architecture with six floors overlapping with a sloping roof. Unfortunately, with Coptic Christmas day, the inside of library was closed, but we did get chance to look around outside. Alexandria was where ancients estimated the size of the earth amont other things. There were sundials and other pieces outside.

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The nearby Alexandria Museum was open. It was well organized and had just enough things to walk you through a history of Alexandria including the Pharaohs (old kingdom, middle kingdom, new kingdom), the Romans and Greeks, Byzantines, Copts, Arabs, Islamists, Ottomans, French, British and others who had come through and/or ruled in the region. Definitely a crossroads with long history.

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We took a little minibus (0.50 Egypt Pound) that kept picking people up and dropping them off along the Cornish. This brought us closer to tip of the harbor, as some of the boats show.

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Beautiful tile mural along the way.

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As it started getting dark, we wandered through some of the Souk (markets) in search of a recommended restaurant.

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We found it, and ordered fish. However this required several steps: (1) pick out the fish you are going to eat

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(2) Get it weighed so it is priced

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(3) Start with the appetizers while fish is being prepared

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(4) Ready to eat the grilled fish

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(5) Mmm, delicious

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Overall, an excellent meal (and very reasonable price) for all that went into it. After dinner found a taxi to bring us back to the train station for ride back to Cairo.

Sudan Visa

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I have a visa to visit Sudan. After all the previous steps, the last was surprisingly easy. We left a little past 7am and took the metro to Sudan Embassy. Traffic on metro was lighter than normal and this was especially noticable walking to the Embassy. Today is Coptic Christmas and apparently a holiday for many and perhaps also holiday where official government offices are closed.

Sudan is an Islamic Republic and we were there 30 minutes before normal visa processing. However it looked like the office might be closed today as well. Fortunately the three armed guards standing outside took up our cause and kept knocking until someone came out. We explained the situation and embassy official found stack of completed passports, looked to find mine and handed it back. Most importantly it has new visa attached. Yeah!

This errand completed left us plenty of time for a day trip to Alexandria. I’ll describe in separate post.

Cairo, in pursuit of a visa for Sudan

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After two and a half hours at the Sudan Embassy, I think I am a little closer to a visa to Sudan.

We started early and walked over to the main road near the Nile River. The idea was to see what early morning traffic might be like for bicycle riding. After that a trip on the Metro and then we found the Sudan Embassy (recently moved to new temporary quarters: 8 Ahmed El Shattoury St, Al Dokki). From here it was a somewhat interesting multi-step process:

  • Waiting room is open, but tellers aren’t there yet. Wait 30 minutes.
  • The little windows open up for business, pick between “cashier”, “immigration”, “consul” and “medical” and stand in what is hopefully the right line. It was a toss-up between “immigration” and “consul” so I picked “immigration” which seemed to be the right one.
  • Eventually get to the head of the line. Present the paperwork I had which included a sponsor letter from TDA, a visa application downloaded from Washington DC embassy and completed, passport, pictures, etc. What seemed to be most interesting was the TDA letter. It was handed to someone who disappeared for a long long time. Eventually, it looks like they had a document with riders on the trip and cross-checked against my name. Hooray!
  • Hand me a Visa application and explain to me in Arabic some things I didn’t completely understand but guessed to mean: fill out the form, make a photocopy of form and passport, make sure to add the sponsor company address, etc.
  • Go back and have fill out the form as best I can, this takes a while.
  • Stand back in line before remembering I was supposed to add photocopies. So stand in the line for photocopier. Discover the copier is powered off. Someone might be investigating how to get power, but this seems to take a long time, so eventually myself and others leave.
  • Walk back to the street, find a small shop to make photocopies
  • Go back to immigration line and eventually when get to the head, present the documents to be processed. These are received and someone disappears to cross-check my answers. Little check marks and Arabic script is added to my document, but looks like I pass and am told to get in line for cashier.
  • Wait through the cashier line, eventually get up there. Right before I get there, the cashier puts away his calculator and goes on break. I wait 10 minutes and he comes back so I pay the fee. They staple a receipt to documentation, smile and say, “pick up tomorrow”.

Not sure why, but somehow this process took two and a half hours of standing in different lines, getting the next step done and then figuring out what comes next. I have a good feeling about this and am again optimistic there could be a visa attached tomorrow.

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After that trip, we rode the metro downtown to investigation train schedules and also walked along via Tahir Square. There is a lot of traffic downtown. There are also picture signs with horn and red slash through them, though compliance is spotty. Below are a few more photos along the way.
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Beautiful mosque downtown.
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Tahir Square has a bunch of tents in the middle. Reminds me a bit of “Occupy Portland” (and similar Occupy movements) where folks pitched tents in middle of public square to help spread their word. Other than tents, and slogans and banenrs, Tahir Square is pretty quiet.
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Though hanging from nearby street lamp.
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Mmmm schwarma
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Oranges plentiful and less expensive than bananas per pound.

Otherwise, my bike has been reassembled. Still need to pump up the tires, but looks like it made it fine on the flight.

Arrival in Cairo

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Made it to Cairo after a long three hop flight. The bike is still in the box, but tomorrow adventure will be taking it out and making sure all is ok. The bike box doesn’t look too beat up, though front wheel was off so need to check spokes in case anything leaned on them.

Thanks to family on both ends to make the travel just a bit easier. On departure side, my father dropped me off at the airport. We had loaded one large bike box and two duffel bags. Afterwards discovered I had accidentally left behind my toiletries bag. Most is replaceable e.g. toothpaste and some TP, but also need to see if my multitool or spoke wrench was in the bag.

It took a while to check everything in. The bike box was being reused and was large side airline box so a little flimsy. We reinforced from inside some extra more sturdy cardboard as well. In addition to the bike, I put four tires and an extra rim in the box. I was a little surprised to discover when weighed at the airport that it totaled 60 pounds in the bike box. The other area I had some extra stuff was in some spare parts. Two large duffels (minus toilet bag :)), were each 43 pounds. I expect I’ll be pretty close but still under the 100 lb weight limit for TDA. A little surprising to me since I remember leaving for Australia twelve years ago and bike + gear totaled 100 pounds total. I’ll make another good look at stuff over next few days, but should have most things packed well.

Flights were uneventful. First leg was to Newark and we were 40 minutes late departing. The pilot said something about delays still sorting out baggage, hopefully not mine!. However, once underway we made up some time and were only 20 minutes late into Newark. They were boarding the flight to Istanbul when I arrived, but made that connection as well. It was a nine hour overnight flight crossing the Atlantic. We added seven time zones so in the clock read 16 hours later on arrival than departure. Got some sleep but next few days will need to adjust to time. Istanbul was a huge airport that seemed to be a crossroads between flights heading both east and west, and also covering the middle east well. After a three hour layover, boarded the last short two hour flight to Cairo.

Looking from the sky, this area is very arid. Dry dusty desert areas. On arrival, bags arrived at least as quickly as I expected. My brother had arranged a minibus and this was also convenient to drive into the city. Along the way I was spotting the road and traffic behavior. We went along the main roads here. However, the traffic was almost 100% auto and truck with only an occasional bicycle, pedestrian or cart. I was surprised there weren’t more scooters. Lane markings seem to be more advisory than in the US, with everyone squeezing in where they can and passing both left and right. Despite this, still more orderly than some places such as India where I’ve cycled.

Nice to have arrived. Tomorrow time to reassemble and check out the bike. Also chance to go after the Sudan Embassy and see about a visa. Glad to be here, just one step closer to getting on the road.

Passport back, no visa, next step Cairo

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Today the visa expediter (VisaHQ.com) returned my passport via FedEX.  As seen below, there was no visa attached and no explanation of why this visa was not issued (I later was told that they were still waiting for approval from the Sudan foreign ministry).

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At least I have my passport back.  This lets me fly to Cairo where my next step will be to apply for a visa at the Sudan Embassy in Cairo.  Apparently, the embassy in Cairo is in new quarters, so will have to find the new location.

Rather frustrating to have sent away my passport nine weeks ago and then not yet have the visa.

Packing for the trip

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Time to get my gear organized and packed for the trip. I have most everything assembled, though will use next few days to finalize the list and pick a few missing items. Everything will get placed in ziplock bags and then placed further in some panniers or other bags. I’ve erred on side of bringing too much, so more likely to leave a few things behind than add much more. Below are a few photos of most of the gear I’m bringing.

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The first photo is medical and toiletries related. I’ve got my Yellow Fever certificate, malaria pills, Imodium, Cipro and Aleve. Also good sun screen including lip balm. A few different types of band-aids and neosporin might get narrowed down. There are a few rehydration salts and water purification tablets (not needed?). Some soap and antimicrobial towels for cleaning in the desert.

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This photo is bike related, except obviously the bike, helmet and a few spare tires. While riding an odometer, cycling gloves and Camelbak. Tools for immediate fixes include tire levers, multi-tool, pump, fiber spoke, patch kits and some spare tubes. Bringing along a few cleaning rags, a brush and lube/degreaser. I hope not to need them, but also added my lights. Spare parts are probably the area I’m still most trying to figure out. I’ve got extra pedals, chains, cassettes, cables, derailleur hangler, chainrings, bottom bracket and brake pads. My bike has hydraulic disc brakes which is nice for stopping power but have a mechanical disc brake as backup since bleeding/replacing fluids can be challenging. Also not in picture are some spokes and extra rim.

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A few toys to bring along including a laptop, kindle and cell phone. Adapters and solar charger to keep it running. Camera to catch the pictures of the trip. A notebook and pens to record things when electronics don’t work.

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Camping gear is pretty straighforward: sleeping bag, tent, pad, sleeping bag liner, inflatable pillow (a luxury!), flashlight and nylon line. Still need to pick up some clothes pins.

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Clothing is also pretty straightforward. I’ve got swim trunks, towel, socks, underwear. One pair of cycling tights and multiple pairs of cycling shorts. Some non-cycling shorts and a nice pair of pants to fly in along with a belt. A few cycling jerseys and mostly short-sleeved shirts along with a few long sleeves. A windbreaker, light fleece and rain jackets.

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This photo is a quick update once everything is packed. Most of my stuff fits in 4 panniers: one for most clothes, one for spare parts, one for rain gear/fleece and toiletry related, one for camping gear and electronics. Not in the panniers but extra is a tent and sleeping bag and pad. The two tubs in the photo are each 18 gallon tubs and total volume of our lockers is 60 gallons, so it should it fit but I’ll be pretty close to full.

The complete list is on my equipment page.

One, two, three weeks

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Three weeks prior to trip start and now in final stages of preparation.  Timeline for the last three weeks has been busy with a lot to happen in short time.

Today was my last day in the office.  I manage a small team and hence made certain to write all employee evaluations, discussed those evaluations and made sure tasks and people were transitioned as best I can.  Cleaned out the cubicle and packed everything up.  I enjoy my work and teams I work with – but will also be nice to take a long break, doing different things.

Over the next week is what I jokingly refer to is transition to becoming “homeless and unemployed”.  In addition to starting a vacation + leave of absence for until July 2013, everything from my Austin apartment needs to get packed into storage and I give up the apartment.  Monday morning I pick up a U-Haul truck and load everything (keeping the TDA items to the side).  Just to add fun, I also have a closing sale for a condominium I owned in Portland, OR.  Keys have been turned in and paperwork signed but assuming buyers financing completes, the official sale will be done by Thursday.  I also drive up to Colorado after that.

Also in next week, is day the Sudan Embassy gave as pickup date for my passport.  I hope it has a visa stamp attached.  This has been a somewhat frustrating saga.  I originally sent in my passport to a visa expediter on October 25th.  It went to the Sudan Embassy in Washington, but they returned it five weeks later and said they needed more information from TDA.  So we pass along info as best we can and resubmit.  I was given a pickup date of December 28th for resubmitted passport.  Still no indication if it will have a visa attached, but if not I need to get the passport back to try in Cairo.  A visa expediter is supposed to ease this process but they can’t tell me any more than I can do myself and only a level of indirection here.

In two weeks is day I fly to Egypt. My bags aren’t yet packed but I’ll go through checklist and assemble things at same time I pack the apartment for storage.  Once in Egypt, it will be one more week until we start.  The trip itself will be a pretty big change from living/working in Austin, TX particularly after flurry of activity to have all in place for departure.  Unfortunately, I’ll get in some bicycling but not as much as perhaps might want, however will look forward to changing all that in Cairo.

It will nice to finally be on the road and have a simpler life with lots of cycling…

Riding to College Station

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This Saturday I made a training ride to College Station. Austin and Cairo are both right at the 30th parallel of latitude and hence day lengths are similar. In past years, the second day of TDA is approximately 100 miles. Hence, one side objective of my ride was to cycle 100 miles at similar day length as we’ll have in Egypt. Overall, this took me nine hours including my breaks, so this was nice to know the margin I have.

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Prior to the ride, I stopped for a breakfast at nearby Jack in the Box. I actually left an hour before sunrise with my lights on since I needed to cross Austin from Southwest to Northeast and figured I’d have less traffic. Riding went well though I still had some stop lights. After crossing middle of Austin, I went outbound on Springdale and then met up with US 290. US 290 had wide shoulders at this point, but it was still nice to take the next westbound exit and the backroad (Old Manor Drive) in to the town of Manor.

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I had cycled 25 miles and the Manor grocery was nice place for a stop. Overcast skies, but temperatures still ranging from 60F to 80F today. July and August can be hot in Austin, but in return there is some nice cycling in December. After Manor some more back roads for 13 miles until I reached Elgin and US 290 again. Once again, decided to stop since I wasn’t certain how many places I’d have in next stretch.

After four miles, I had a left turn onto TX 696. This was small back road. There wasn’t much of a shoulder, though there also wasn’t much traffic. Austin is on edge of “hill country” but the hills are to the west, so this part of the route kept pretty flat. It was a nice gentle ride through ranching areas. At the 64 mile mark I came into the small town of Lexington. Lexington was big enough to have a main road (77) and a bypass (77 business) though both were still smaller roads. At the south end of town was a little restaurant that served an excellent burger. It was only 11:30am, but I’d already cycled two-thirds of the distance, so had a relaxing lunch.

After lunch, it was back to TX 696 and quiet country cycling. At almost 70 miles my cycle computer beeped and displayed “low power”. A little later it beeped again and turned off. Here was the overall Garmin Report. This same computer had lasted a full 100 mile ride before, so wasn’t quite certain why it wasn’t holding as much charge this time. However, the overall route was pretty easy to understand. At 79 miles I met up with TX 21.

TX 21 was a busy four lane highway, but fortunately it also had wide shoulder. I cycled nine miles into Caldwell and stopped for one more break here. After that rode the rest of the way to 7 Oaks Bed and Breakfast. As requested, I called them half an hour in advance to alert them to my arrival.

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I was the only guest at the Seven Oaks B&B and had a quiet restful stay. I read a cycle account and had an early nights rest after a long but good ride. The next morning after breakfast, I cycled another 14 miles to the airport for College Station and rented a car to drive back to Austin. Overall a good training ride and chance to get on the bike. I did drop off the bike on my return at Mellow Johnny’s bike shop to have some professional mechanics make a good once-over prior to the trip, though the bike has otherwise been riding well.

Ride distances projected from 2012

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TDA has let us know the rest days and locations for our trip.  They match exactly with locations for the 2012 trip.  I recorded a schedule and distances from that trip and hence expect riding distances will be similar this year:

  • 25 days – 0 km riding (with an extra rest day added in Aswam)
  • 2 days – <50km riding; both of these total 20km and are otherwise on the Aswan Ferry
  • 1 day – 50km to 69km riding
  • 10 days – 70km to 89km riding
  • 21 days – 90km to 109km riding
  • 22 days – 110km to 129km riding (median distance is 125km)
  • 19 days – 130km to 149km riding
  • 13 days – 150km to 169km riding
  • 7 days – >170km riding

Those keeping careful count will notice that I am missing 1 of the 121 days.  That is because TDA chose to take a bus for 185km across small part of Northern Kenya for security reasons.  I hope this year the situation is better and we are able to ride that stretch.

It is a little daunting, not because I haven’t done similar distances on extended basis but more because we need to keep this consistently day after day on rougher roads and also because I anticipate being a slower rider and hence need to make sure I keep enough speed/daylight to finish the very longest segments.

However, that is all part of the fun and adventure!