Police escorts, Tuc tucs and the Arabian Sun: days 1 and two

Well, after two days toiling in the dust and heat and 169miles of cycling behind us we find ourselves in Minya. It's been interesting to say the least, on leaving the car infested streets of Cairo, with its severe military presence behind us we started to settle into a good pace, unperturbed by the barrage of car horns and shouts we received from each and every direction. We have attracted an incredible amount of curiosity from the people who live in the Nile Valley, choosing to gawp at us like we were animals in a zoo. But little do they know that we likewise share a mutual fascination for them. Indeed the first leg was less so, who came across simply as those neglected by Cairo, too inclined to harass us to incite our interest. But today the journey from Beni Suef to Minya has revealed a different sort of folk. These have been friendly, choosing to wave, not shout, and a world away from the metropolistic urban sprawl of Cairo. We passed humble farmers, horse and donkey drawn carts and small children leading cattle to market. Ironically therefore it is in this much more amiable part of the Nile valley where we had the pleasure of a Police escort. I say escort, they spent most of the time trying to catch us up and when they finally did, two hours later, I was exhausted from the sun and the relentless pace Luke was setting and we promptly stopped to eat in a rather scruffy little town. It was after the break that we had serious problems. First a certain Tuc Tuc driver, after pulling alongside us and beeping till we were half death started feigning to knock Luke off the side of the road, swerving from side to side and pushing Luke further and further towards the curb side. Luke started to teeter as the little sod nearly grazed his pannier. At that point I totally lost it, screaming insults as he pulled in. Now we were in a town and I stopped in front of him and swore vociferously, jabbing a recriminating finger in his direction. He still had that arrogant look in his eyes but now they betrayed a trace of fear, then I got started again to catch up with Luke. Next it was Luke's turn to lose his cool, as our police escort, unfortunately absent from the aforementioned incident miraculously reappeared to "help" us find a hotel. Only problem was Luke already had one in mind. So I found myself frantically pedalling to catch up Luke who had surged on ahead, as police klaxons sounded behind us in hot pursuit. Eventually we were cornered and Luke flustered, stopped, taking out the lonely planet and attempting to explain where he was going in a frantic mix of English and Arabic to the officer and a small crowd of curious locals who had gathered to see what all the fuss was about. It really made quite a picture and I was sorely tempted to take a photo but was worried it may undermine Luke's sincerity so refrained. Some how I felt oddly detached from the fiasco, perhaps because I had already let out all my frustration on the idiot driver. Suffice to say we eventually found somewhere. So it's been a great but difficult start. Tomorrow we undertake the 90mile trip to Asyut.