CEC Day 10

The final day has arrived.

6:30
Due to arriving at the hotel so late last night, we moved the farewell meeting to this morning. I'm sure it will be another hour before we get on the road.

9:00
We hit the road around 7:30 and the first 100 km were quick. We pulled over for a fuel stop, had some snacks and took group photos. I had a chance to chat with the Houser's and check out "The Beast". They have been driving the G wagon around Europe for over two years. Now that's an adventure.

13:00
We made it into Cairo and to the pyramids! I have officially crossed the finish line. Now to return the bike and assess the damage from my crash on day three.

14:00

A short ride over to the hotel. After an assessment, the damage cost me $150 USD. Not to bad considering I put it on it's side. Now I'm just waiting for the shuttle to take me to my hotel so I can get some rest before my flight tomorrow.

I say goodbye to my scooter. She's a little worse for wear, but I am better for having had the chance to take it around Egypt. This has been an epic adventure and I am glad I was able to take part.

Sure there were struggles, but over all I had a great time and made a lot of new friends.

#CallangeComplete

Michael 

CEC Day 7

6:30
After a good night's rest, we had breakfast and fueled the bikes. Before leaving we did some stretching exercise. I think we were stalling for time.

9:00
Our fist fuel stop of the day. Monty, who was riding directly in front of me hit a dog. Or more precisely, a dig hit him. It ran out into the road at max speed and hit the front tire of Monty's scooter. There was no time to react. The dog did get up and run away.

11:00
We are riding through some gorgeous mountains. They just keep getting better and better. The road is a bit choppy in places. There are some good corners through the mountains, but we are moving slow due to the road conditions. Better to be safe than sorry.

And of course, more fuel.

13:00
Lunch stop for us and the bikes. We are getting closer to the cost, but it's still hot. I know people are getting cranky due to the low speeds. I can understand since we are in a beautiful place, but the roads are in bad shape.

15:00
One last fuel stop before we get to the hotel. This last leg has been tough. The road is bad. It looks like they are about to put down new payment and have already ripped up the old stuff. The difference is there is no pattern. The groves are sporadic, and the potholes are large.

16:00
We made it to the hotel as the rain started. Tonight we are camping on the Red Sea. Of course, these tents have lights and power.

CEC Day 9

7:30
Today is off to a slow start. We were scheduled to leave at 6:30, but have found out the road ahead is damaged due to the rain water coming down from the mountains.

We were told to gather again in two hours.  At least this gives me a chance to catch up on the blog and review some of the videos I've taken.

Of course, there are worse placed to be stuck.

13:00

I spent the morning walking around the town and relaxing in the hotel. We received word that the road ahead is now open and we are moving out. With the late start, I don't expect to get there anytime soon.

18:00

We are stuck in traffic. I have no idea how long this will last. But at least we're not driving through mud. 

The last two hours have been patches of mud and water that we've had to drive through, and it has slowed us down.

20:00

After a fuel stop in the dark, we finally made it to the hotel. All I can say is mud sucks. I do not recommend taking a scooter through a street filled with mud.

CEC Day 8

6:00
Today is a somber day for the group. Last night we learned one of the motorcycle riders, Bruce, was killed in an accident while driving the last leg of the ride yesterday. 

There is also rain moving in so we are starting about an hour late.

13:00
We had one fuel stop this morning and now we are at the Westin hotel for lunch. It was nice of the Westin to provide lunch for the CEC group. When we are finished with lunch, it's fuel time and then the last 80 km to the hotel.

13:30 

We have received word that the road is flooded ahead so it sounds like we will be at the Westin for at least two hours.

15:00
We got word the road is open so we can get underway. Of course by the time we made it outside to fuel it started raining.

18:00

We had finally made it to the hotel. It was raining most of the way and we drove through some serious water logged streets. I would guess the water was at least a foot deep.

CEC Day 6

6:00
Today's ride will be 300 kilometers back Noth to Aswan. Before leaving the hotel, we fueled the bikes, so we're good for the first 100 km.

It's now day six of ten; the group seems in good spirits. The support crew does a great job of keeping everyone laughing and having fun.

9:00
Our fist fuel stop of the day. I asked for my rear break to be adjusted last night because it was a bit soft. For the first 100 km, it seemed like it was locked on. During this stop I had them make an adjustment and now it's all good.

10:30
Our second fuel stop for the day and lunch. Seems early, but we only have 70 km to go before we get to Aswan. I think we're killing some time.

Petter gave us a little show in the sand, and they brought out the drone to do some filming.

And since we are killing time, here's a nice picture of a road.

13:30

We made it to the hotel. It's definitely hotter down South and it will be nice to be on the Red Sea tomorrow. For now, this is the view from the hotel. I can handle it.

CEC Day 5

4:15
Walk up call and down to breakfast. I thought yesterday was early, but with the tour last night, today is worse. Now to get some food and get on the bike.

6:00

Leaving the hotel. Today's ride will be 500+ kilometers, and we will end up in Abu Simbel.

13:30
Today has been quick fuel stops, but I was able to grab a quick picture while I was getting topped off.

And now we are at lunch. Today's menu consisted of a bean and rice dish. It was served cold, but in the 95 F heat, I'm ok with that.

Since most of what we've been doing is riding, most of my pictures will come from my videos. I haven't had a chance to look at the film yet, so I'm hoping they turn out. The landscape is just amazing. Every few hundred kilometers it changes, and it's like being in an entirely different place.

And now Omar is giving the drone a show whole driving on the sand. They warned us about the crazy things that the heat would make us do...

16:00
We rode 515 kilometers to make it to the hotel which overlooks Lake Nubia. What a view! 

We are now at our Southern most destination; we start heading Northeast to the Red Sea.

I am not on any tours tonight, and the only thing I have to do is eat dinner. I might try the pool. :)

Michael 

CEC Day 4

4:15
Walk up call. It wasn't the best night sleep I've gotten on this trip, but I did get some. Now it's off to breakfast, the daily rider meeting, and to the road!

7:00
First fuel stop of the day. Due to parking issues last night, we couldn't fuel up when we got to the hotel. We stopped about 20 km outside of town.

8:30
More of the fuel stuff. But what a view. Today's stops will be fast do to the number of kilometers we need to cover (400+).

9:30 (ish)

Something official has us stopped for a few minutes.

10:00

Some more fuel at a rest stop. It's funny to see these places so far from any city.

11:45

Lunch. They did say there would be a "desert lunch" each day and they weren't kidding.

14:00
Fuel. We're almost to Luxor, but needed one quick stop to make it all the way. It's hot today (some place in the 90's F), but it's no big deal when we're moving.

16:00
Made it to the hotel. After parking all the bikes, we were reminded to fuel up... Damn... 

16:30
Bikes are fueled, and I'm in the room. Now for a quick change and off to the tours.

21:00

The tours were great! The temple is amazing, but since it was at night, I don't think many of the pictures turned out.

 

CEC Day 3

6:00
We started out of the hotel, and we had a little accident. Well, when I say "we" I mean me. There was a bit of water on the road, and I went down. I wasn't going very quickly, and I was wearing armor, so it's all good. The shirt took the worst of it.

11:45
We are at our lunch stop for the day. With all the activities of my fall, and everyone asking what happened (which I don't mind) I didn't have time to write updates at each stop.

We've had two stops today, and so far it's been the same at each. Fuel for the bike and water for me. And of course chatting with people. I also got to be interviewed for the news due to my fall. I'm not sure if that's a good thing. :)

I did manage to grab a photo with the team doctor. Thanks for fixing me up and keeping me on two wheels.

15:00

We finally made it to the hotel. On our way into to we had a press conference with the governor. 

There were a lot of people out to cheer for us and to say hello to the group. It was great to see so many people excited to see us. The CEC presented the governor with a document showing their appreciation.

Now that I'm in my room I get to relax for a bit. We'll see what the night brings.

17:00

Since there is a McDonald's right next to the hotel, I decided to give it a try. I got a cheese burger and a fry for about $1.70 USD. 

It wasn't bad. The meat was seasoned differently; I think it was a type of pepper. The fries were spot on.

Michael

CEC Day 2

Waking up next to the Mediterranean Sea is as great as it sounds. This was the view from my room.

6:30

But now it's time to start riding! However, that means we start on a bus...

From the hotel we are taking a bus to the garage were the bikes are stored. We picked up the bikes and road across town to the official start point.

8:00
We are now at the starting point fueling the bikes. Today's ride takes us 210 km into Cairo. Basically it's the same path we drive here in the bus. While we are at the starting point, we are fueling the bikes.

I had my fist ride through the city, which was interesting. Now at the starting point, it gives me a chance to meet the scooter. I'm ridding #17. 

She's a little dusty but in good shape. We are joined at the start by several local bike groups that will be riding to Cairo with us. As for the challengers, there are 49 of us. The support crews bring the total to 75 (ish).

10:00
Fuel stop #1. They are working at fueling all the bikes, including the club riders (about 200 bikes total). Lucky I was at the front, so I'm full of fuel and waiting. I noticed that the highway has four lanes, each with its own speed limit. 70, 80, 100, 120 kph. Wonder how we can get that in the USA? :)

12:00
Fuel #2 and lunch. From what I can tell it was chicken and rice. There was an intensive dish of olives and some oil.

So far the riding had been uneventful. All highway. Our next leg takes us into Cairo and to the hotel.

14:00
Made it to the hotel, and fuel #3.  Always the fuel. The Hilton is a beautiful place. They have a golf course, which I was not expecting to see on this trip. We're just waiting to check-in.

The ride into the city was good. I thought it would be more of a challenge to ride into Cairo, but it was much easier than I expected. That's not to say it didn't get hairy at times, but it was easier than what I had in my head.

After we get checked in I, need to go through my bags and see if I can shift some stuff to my suitcase (so I don't need to carry it on my back.

Until tomorrow.

Michael

CEC Day 1

The official start of the rally is today. We departed the Cairo hotel at 7:00 am (ish) heading for Alexandria. As we weave through traffic, there's not much to report.

I have seen quite a few vintage Vespas around. Mostly P series. It looks like people have added two extra wheels to the back, so it's three wheels wide. I assume this is so they can carry more people or cargo.

After several hours in the van, we made it to Alexandria. We're in the drivers meeting waiting for it to start.

With the meeting over, we had lunch. A few of the local riders took me down the cost to Azza ice cream. From what I've been told, it is made from the milk of a water buffalo. (I need to fact check that.). While we sat and had our ice cream, we had a great view of the Mediterranean.

Of course, being next to the Mediterranean Sea, I had to try some of the local seafood for dinner. I went for the perch which was excellent!

With the day is winding down, I'm packing up and getting ready for tomorrow. We start at 6:00 to get the bikes and hit the road to Cairo at 8:00.

Until then.

Michael

CEC Day -1

Today is -1 since the rally doses not start until tomorrow. And tomorrow is all meet and greet stuff. Riding starts on Thursday.

Today's tour started at 9:00 am local time. Which is early for me since that's 2:00 am my time (CDT).

None the less I got up to grab some fruit and hit the road.

The Pyramids were amazing. I was the only person on this tour, so I ended up having a personal guide! I learned some amazing facts and even had the opportunity to go into Menkaure's  Pyramid, which made me feel tall. You enter and walk down a shaft about four to five feet tall.

After the pyramids, we headed to lunch where I tried a great local dish. I forgot the name, but it was an eight-inch bowl of noodles, rice, beans and tomato sauce. It was delicious, but I think I broke my "low carb diet."

My guide then took me to the Egyptian museum where the lecture continued.  What an amazing culture. I had a great day out seeing the sites and walking through the city.

It's now almost 4:00 pm, so I'm going to be heading for dinner in a few hours.

More to come later.

Michael

   

Flights to the CEC

Here's a quick recap of my flights to Egypt.

Air France does not observe TSA pre check. Despite that I was through security fairly quickly, after getting a bit of extra "love" from the K9 unit. I guess they liked my neck pillow.

We landed in Paris on time and I had no issues getting through security. I appreciated that they had a monitor telling you the average wait time.

They started boarding on time and we had a smooth flight.

The pickup at the Egyptian airport was smooth and quick. I met a fellow rider (Paul) at the airport and we got a ride to the hotel.  Now that took some time. The traffic here is bad. And from what we're told, it's always like this.

Tomorrow I'm off on my "fun day" before the CEC starts. Stay tuned for some (hopefully) great pics tomorrow.

Michael

CEC Planning

Tomorrow I leave for my first ever Cross Egypt Challenge  (CEC) so tonight is all about packing.

Unlike previous trips I do not need to take tools and repair supplies, so that saves room. I was able to squeeze all my gear into two bags, but I'm still going to have to check a bag due to airline rules.

None the less, I'm very excited to get there, I just hope my luggage makes it too. I will be posting along the way, so I hope you get a chance to follow along.

Michael

Cross Egypt Challenge - Registered!

It's finally official! I'm registered for the 2016 Cross Egypt Challenge. I know it's not until October, but I plan on getting the Vespa out just as soon as I can for some long rides to help prepare.

- Michael