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| Sunrise silhouette - A picture worth a thousand words ! |
Desert Camp to [another] Desert Camp (147 km)
Wednesday: Third day of 140km plus of riding...completed. With third night of desert camping to come...
Judith was very keen today and she was the first to leave after breakfast. We had a good ride, considering it was the third day in a row that we were cycling in excess of 140km.
Highlight of the day was when Mark (USA) found his own piece of petrified wood alongside the road (after attending a short course on how to recognize your own petrified wood specimen, by yours truly). Well done Mark. Unfortunately he had to leave it behind!
A portion of the ride was done with a favorable tail wind, however the majority of the day was spent cycling with a strong crosswind and an unfavorable desert dust/sand storm. (!!)
When we reached the Lunch Truck they were in the grips of a major sand storm, which made having lunch without sand in your food an impossibility. However it did give a new meaning to the word "sandwich"! :P
Cycled past a recently killed camel which had been involved in a head on collision with a motor vehicle, hopefully the occupants were not seriously injured. But stray animals and a lack of fencing are a major driving hazard especially at night.
We battled the last 15km against a terrible sand-bearing crosswind, made worse every time a speeding bus passed us, tossing us about in it's slipstream.
Stopped about 500m from the finish to have tea, kindly sponsored by Tom, and spent some quality time just relaxing. It was quite naughty of us, since it caused some of the TDA Management Team to come and look for us as they thought we had got lost! (Next time, finish the ride first, before enjoying the comforts of the local village).
Looking forward to our arrival in Khartoum tomorrow, and another well earned Rest Day on Friday. We will be riding to lunch, then regrouping, before riding in a convoy (escorted by the local Police) into the City Center.
Team orders are, that the slower riders ride at the front of the convoy, so tomorrow the Treloar's will be leading the Tour Group into Khartoum! Should be fun.
Cheers,
Mike T
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| Early morning sunrise silhouette |
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| Mark finding his first very own specimen of petrified wood |
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| Lunch time sand storm! |
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| Sheltering from the wind and sand at lunch |
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| Pooh Bear finds himself horizontal |
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| Brad slightly dust-covered after the sand storm |
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Sweep rider Brad explaining to Judith where we are in relation to camp
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| Michael building cairns down the length of Africa |
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| Dead Camel on side of road :( |
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| Damaged car on side of road |
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| Arriving at Coke Stop at Um Al Hassam |
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| Ordering tea & coffee at Coke Stop |
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Tom serving us our tea & coffee
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Desert Camp
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| Briefing board for tomorrow's ride into Khartoum |
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Bikes sheltering around the one and only tree
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Helen dishing up peas for Liz
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Tallis dishing up for some hungry riders
Crew Members Brad, Muli, Leo and Errol
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Racing Snakes (the faster riders) Charles, Mark (UK) & Julian resting at Coffee Shop in Um Al Hassam Village
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Goat skin water container
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A Sudanese water tanker
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Riders trawling the metropolis of Um Al Hassam
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Tallis explaining tomorrow's arrangements for entering Khartoum
and how to ride in a convoy
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| Very attentive briefing audience |
