The road to Aswan

The road to Aswan from Luxor was child's play compared to the five days from Cairo to Luxor. Of course this is partly due to the fact that I've now adapted to the heat and the pace but also because the milage was relatively light at 148 miles in two days. I still wouldn't describe the last two days as easy, on the last day in Luxor I ran 16km in less than hour on a treadmill and so my legs have been leaden partly as a result. Also we've been setting a relentless pace, today completing the 70 odd miles by lunch at an average of 17.5mph. Anyway far too factual, what about another Tuc Tuc escapade? I feel I'm due a rant on Egyptian driving having had my fair share of close shaves and one crash. It seems in Egypt that a driving license is not actually necessary or at least very easily obtained. That would certainly explain all the kids driving Tuc Tucs and motor bikes. On the leg from Luxor to Edfur yesterday, we were first pestered by not one but two drivers that teamed up to make a Tuc Tuc shaped wall which stopped abruptly in front of us prompting us to brake and curse and them to snigger and thankfully zoom off. This however only cleared the way for another Tuc Tuc driver intent it seemed on surpassing his comrades. Pulling along side me he beeped noisily in my ear, "money, money" I glowered at him, he beeped his horn in my ear again, this time pulling closer and sticking his hand out expectantly his jaw hanging low. I looked at him and said "la(no)," to which there came the accompaniment of more blasted beeps as he pulled in dangerously close, grazing my left pannier. At this point I cracked, and as if attempting some super human effort to thrust the blasted vehicle out of the road, as the ground sped along beneath my feet, I took my left hand off the bike, took a big fistful of Tuc Tuc and attempted to heave hoe it King Kong style into the middle of next week. It's easy to see now that this was not the best of ideas. In fact I only succeeded in losing control of the bike, rocking left and right as I swore profusely whilst attempting to gain control of it narrowly avoid a crash. The idiot, satisfied with his work sped off into the hot afternoon. Other than these such instances my biggest concern with Egyptian drivers is that they seem to easily confuse their brake for the accelerator with any decision they do make, noisily seconded with the car horn which they press relentlessly. Lastly they are rather liberal when it comes to choosing a side to drive on, with the optimum choice normally being the middle, while the right is only marginally preferred to the right.

Anyway we're in Aswan now, and it was interesting to note how the Nile valley has narrowed steadily to the extent that from the desert road on the east bank one can look across the Nile over the narrow swath of palms and cultivation to the western desert beyond. It is now this desert we hope to traverse so we can finish this journey at the end of the Egyptian Nile in Abu Simbel. This will pose a monumental challenge, with 280km of desert road that, if the police do let us undertake, we'll have to cross in one day since we'll have to be escorted the whole way by police and there's no stopping in the middle. The first foreign cyclist to gain permission to cycle this highly contentious stretch of road was in 2010 and we're unaware of anyone else attempting it since, so we're well up for the challenge. Tomorrow we're going to take it up with the Aswan tourist police. If we can't do it that it leaves us a bit stumped since it only leaves the option of turning around which we don't really fancy. Ok well until then take it easy though we won't be...