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April 12th Day 9 - Beni Suef a town by the Nile 120 km south of Cairo

Chris's Story

Today I finally figured out how to keep pace with Frank!! Firstly take out 10 pounds of weight from my panniers and leave them behind in the Hotel Bin, then give my eight pound tent to Frank and as I am sure he will accuse me of it; tinker with his brakes and luggage rack. It all worked a treat as I kept right with him for the whole of today's trip, with the exception of when I stupidly forgot the cameras battery charger in the  plug at the hotel!! 

We left Giza via a minor road that headed through the smaller villages, and followed the border of the desert with the cultivated Nile river valley which is only three to four miles wide in places. We passed a collection of minor pyramids on our route but were too pressed for time to view them properly. The poverty and hardship we saw on the way was in stark contrast to the tourist hotels that we have stayed in to date and one really felt that one was seeing the other  side of life. Despite the poverty, the fellahin or country people, still have that warm welcome for us as we pass through their villages. I did however experience one child about 7-8 years old who tried to throw a tin of some rather foul looking liquid over me. he received a suitable glare of indignation and a rather vocal reprimand from me, before I continued on my trip! In another village a child tried to steal my shoes, but had his scheme spoiled by a villager that was standing near by. These were minor annoyances which did not, however, spoil my journey today but made me appreciate the value of living in a country where poverty is nowhere near the level it is here, and made me thankful that my daughter would not be growing up with the hardships that I saw some of the children endure today. We are now in Beni Suef which is a small town on the nile valley road. It's main function is that it serves as a junction to the Red Sea Coast. Tomorrow we head further south and will hopefully cover the same distance we did today, that is if Sheik Frank can get up in the morning!! He should carry a government health warning around his  neck warning people not to talk to him before he has time to wake up. 

Frank's Story

A special welcome to C, Greetings to all, Mum & Dad, Family, Friends, and all newcomers.

Today was tough, as you know Chris passed all the weight to me and then as we we were about 5 miles out my front rack bent in a hole and damaged the front brake. I spent the next six hours with the front brake locked on ! I think Mr. Shortie as been tinkering with my bike !! I forget, even before that he realises that he as left the battery charger for the camera in the hotel so we lost an hour in the morning returning for that. As we moved further south it was amazing that you could see desert either side. It is only about 3-4 miles wide at this point, we cycled through many poverty stricken villages and it was unreal to see children as young as 4yrs riding donkeys from the fields with supplies. As we cycled through one remote village a young boy nearly pulled Chris from his bike trying to steal his Teva shoes, fortunately an older gentleman stopped the child and the shoes were returned. I also had major problems with my seat, I believe Mr. Shortie removed it and replaced it with a hot poker because I was in pain all day. At one point I decided to wear two pairs of cycle shorts but to no avail. About 30 miles from our destination we were stopped at a roadblock, after some consultation by Chris and a couple of R.C.I.P. patches we were escorted to our hotel by a patrol car and three officers, apparently due to the threats from Islamic Fundamentalists.

We are not in a touristy town and I am very concerned about Deli-Belly, so tonight we ordered bread, canned tuna fish, cheese triangles and some crisps. It might not sound great but after six hours on that bike it was delicious. We then spent an hour doing maintenance on the bikes, we have different problems but nothing that a good hammering didn't cure.. We have another five consecutive days before a days break in Luxor. We got the suite tonight as it had a/c and cost $28.00 us. It is not the best place I have stayed in but as long as we can have a hot shower and a bed, it will do. We are off to El Minya tomorrow, another local village. No more tourist sites until we get to Luxor. The road we cycled today was a two lane highway, about the width of South Sound Road, unfortunately the drivers here think it is a 4 or 5 lane highway and everybody as the right of way. That is the most dangerous part of our journey so far although most drivers have given us plenty of room. It appears that the most important part of a vehicle is the HORN, you don't need lights or tyres, just a very loud HORN.

I have been sitting here for ten minutes trying to think of the right words but all I can say is that what I have seen so far as made me realise how fortunate I am to be living in a beautiful country in the Caribbean. Their is nothing quite like a dose of reality.

It is 9.30 pm and I believe it is time to get my beauty sleep as we have an early start tomorrow, until then be safe ....

April 13th Day 10 - Al Minya

Frank's Story

Greetings " C " ( my girlfriend Sylvie for those who keep e-mailing ) Mum & Dad, Family, Friends and all who are following the journey.

I had a nice 10 hour sleep and we left the hotel at about 9.30 am this morning. We knew it was Friday 13th and boy did we get jinxed, well mainly Chris. After repairing my bike and making sure Mr. Shortie didn't tamper with it I set off at a good pace. We had several police escorts for the whole journey, a little over 80 miles today. Anyway, after about two hours I was taking a break when Chris's escort arrived, with him and his bike inside. It appears that Mr. Techno took a tumble. He was not seriously hurt but had a nice bit of road rash on hi leg, sprained his hand and may have broken two fingers ? Don't worry Angelique it sounds worse than it was. He had earlier woken up with the dreaded Deli - Belly so he wasn't having a good day ! I then off loaded my bags in the police truck with Chris and set off to complete the final 100 km for the day. For the rest of the journey we had three police escorts compromising of about 14 officers. With Chris out of commission for a while I decided to limit my stops and try and make good time. I had no problems for the rest of the journey except that I have suffered an abrasion to the delicate part of my skin that sits on the seat. I have no solution to the pain. Can anybody help ? ( [email protected])

As we move further south I can feel the weather getting hotter and there are still too many hills. We passed many villages but with our escort not many people approached us although I have heard several hundred times, Hello Mister, Welcome to Egypt. We arrived in Al Minya around 4.30 pm and finally reached our hotel at 5.00 pm. We escorted to the door and everybody was nice. With that many police around I don't wish to know what type of area we are in. As usual I am absolutely famished when I finish. I would really like my Mum's roast dinner, best in the world but tonight I settled for Kebab, Rice & Bread.

During one days ride I drink about 7-8 litres of water, have power bars, GNC protein drink and about three bags of crisps. We carry a Camelbak, it is a rehydration bag on our back and it carries 3 litres of water. That to me as been the most important item I  purchased. After covering almost 300 miles I still feel physically strong, mentally it is tougher. I spend over six hours a day in the saddle and it becomes very tedious. You can only sing so many songs and we are in a location now that the sights do not take your mind off the ride. The main thing that keeps me going is the whole reason I am here, The D.A.R.E. Program. And also all the good luck e-mails is enough encouragement to get me through. We have four straight riding days left before Luxor and an extra days rest.

I have just finished a second serving of Kebab & Rice and my supplies are full. I hope this reaches you today but Chris is fast asleep and I think I will leave him alone. We are at 7.00 pm and I will catch up with you all tomorrow, further south in Asyuit. Until then be safe and keep the e-mails coming. I promise to reply to you all.

I forgot to mention, as we entered Al Minya it was the first time I got to see the Nile for 300 miles !! We have a wonderful view from the hotel but at the moment the most important thing is sleep.. Goodnight to all.....

Chris's Story

I have always been slightly superstitious and Friday the 13th is not my  favourite date. So today began with the expectation that something was going to go wrong!! and boy was I not mistaken. It started as I woke up with stomach cramps after I thought I had taken every precaution to avoid dodgy food, a quick visit to the luxurious toilet soon confirmed that Pharaohs curse had struck! I quickly swallowed two Imodium pills and prayed that they would do the trick. We packed our panniers once more and left the hotel to see what would come of us today. We set off with two police escorts from Beni Suef and began our journey down the  nile road once more.

As we travel down the Nile road we pass numerous water pumps gushing water from the canal into the fields and the realisation that the nile is the life line of Egypt becomes apparent. The crops have now changed from the date palm plantations outside Giza to the large cotton fields that Egypt is so well known for. We pass several buildings left over from a bygone era that have obviously seen better times when the cotton industry flourished. I read later that these were built by the Italians and French cotton companies. As I contemplate whether life has changed much for the average Egyptian since then, I am jolted out of my trance by a rather large hole that swallowed my front wheel. I tried to correct myself but the weight of the bags either side of me accentuated the  wobbling and I experienced my first taste of Egyptian road rash. I ended up on the deck scraping my leg in two places and I thought for a while that I had broken two of my  fingers. I strapped my fingers up with packing tape and sprayed my wounds with rather painful 1st aid spray, and then made a quick repair to my bike and jumped back on. I gave my panniers to my police escort and we were off down the road again. After another 6 miles my fingers were throbbing so much I decided that rather  than risk being out of action for the rest of the trip, that I would give them a break and hope that they will be fit for tomorrow. I jumped in the back of the escort van and went to catch up with Frank.

The next part was spent trying to encourage Frank the rest of the way and conversing with three of the fifteen armed guards that were sent to escort us. We pass a small child brandishing a revolver and I begin to start being thankful that we have such a large contingent of police around us. I meet the vice sheriff for the area we are cycling through and have a pleasant conversation comparing musical groups, which he seemed quite up to date with. It seems from talking with a lot of the officers en route that they are sent down from Cairo to the provinces, and have to leave their families behind only being allowed to see them for five days every month. It does not sound like a life that I would like to lead! We near Al minya and we go directly to the hotel. We check in to the dismay of the receptionist who seems rather baffled why anyone would want to cycle from Alexandria to Aswan. Our room is comfortable and has a beautiful view over the Nile which we catch as the last rays of the sun illuminate the distant desert cliffs of the river valley. Food is ordered and wolfed down in a feeding frenzy, a shower is taken and once more we feel like normal human beings again. We then spend the evening answering emails and updating our journal.