03/23/10
Cycling from Khartoum to Addis
Georgina Ayre and Marc Cashmore cycled from Khartoum in Sudan to Addis Abeba in Ethiopa, to help raise money for The Right to Play, an organisation that works to improve the lives of children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport and play for development, health and peace. They got engaged along the way too. Here's their story:
Category: Training
Posted by: editor
First of all; A big HELLO and we hope you're all happy and well?
Secondly; We made it - sort of - just about..... After the fears of getting back on my bike we're very happy to report that we rode the entire way (OK maybe a couple of km's missed) from Khartoum to Addis, but only just. The ride was one of the most inspiring experiences of our lives and, of course, will remain with us forever, not least because we've decided to spend the rest of our cycling (and our non-cycling) days together. It's just fab.
Thirdly and most importantly; A huge thanks to those of you who sponsored our ride from Khartoum to Addis. We spent a day with The Right to Play on February 25. It was inspirational. Their work in using sport and play to empower young people and to educate children about development, peace and environmental management issues is just amazing. They're also working with schools to enable the inclusion of disabled children and young adults in formal education. More info on www.righttoplay.com.
If you’d like to sponsor us please go to http://www.justgiving.co.uk/Georgina-Ayre (huge thank you).
We will be posting a blog and photos of the journey on http://tri4development.blogspot.com/ once we get a spare moment (or week!). In the meantime, here is just a little snippet of our ride and every day life on the Tour d'Afrique. Oh, and a little pic of our engagement: yes I know--we didn't even take our cycle helmets off. What else do you expect?!
On February 5th we rode out of Khartoum with the rising sun on our faces and the wind on our backs. Over the next 17 days we:
- Cycled across Sudan and Ethiopia on our sturdy (read heavy) mountain bikes;
- Rode 1700km: longest days were 164km, shortest days were 87km. Some days we spent 5 ½ hours in the saddle, others we rode (loose use of the term) for 13 ½ hours;
- Climbed 15,000m in 7 days of riding (we reached a peak of 3182m);
- Spent 3 days off-road in Sudan, one of which was spent riding through the now infamous Dinder National Park (‘affectionately’ named the f****ing Dinder National Park of S***e) and;
- Descended and then ascended the Blue Nile Gorge (20km down and 20km straight up again), getting engaged along the way!! Yeah....
On February 21st with the wind very much in our smiling faces and the falling sun on our backs we rode into Addis.
It was truly the most amazing trip, with more experiences than your senses can take in or that words or pictures can convey.
I found the first 7 days of the ride the most challenging; physically and mentally, experiences of my life. There were days when I literally sat on the edge of the track and hung my head in desperation at the distances I still had to cover that day. Then, I'd see a women walking bare foot with her load of firewood that almost matched her body weight and realise that no matter how hard I was finding the day, her day was so much tougher, and I got back on my bike.
The day in the life of the Tour d'Afrique (TDA) rider follows something like this:
- Alarm goes of at around 5.30am
- Awaking from your sort of slumber (you never really sleep) you don the cycling clothes you've had on for the last 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days (who's counting?)
- By 6.30am you've packed up your bedding and your tent and put everything--bar your bowls and spoons--into the support vehicle
- By 7.15am you've eaten your body weight in porridge, cream of wheat or some other breakfast delicacy and drunk at least two cups of coffee (at least)
- By 7.30am you've filled your water bottles, changed the flat tyres that you didn't realise you had (got to love those thorns that can get through anything, including my armadillos) and are on your merry way to wherever it is that you're going
- Depending on the day, you're usually at your first Coke stop by about 10am. I'm ashamed to admit that never in my life have I been happier that even in the remotest village in the middle of the Sudanese desert where you have to pump water from the well, they sell Coke.
- By 12am you're usually at the 'lunch stop', which involves arriving at one of the support vehicles from the TDA and filling your tummy with bread and some sort of strange cheese-like thing, as well as of course filling your 4 litres of water (you need to drink about 12 litres a day, depending on the day)
- By 4pm you're usually in camp, which is invariably in the middle of a field by the side of the road somewhere along the way
- After eating your post-ride soup there are just enough hours left in the day to put your tent up, attempt to get yourself clean with the aid of a baby-wipe, change into something vaguely respectable, dress your saddle sores, get briefed on where you'll be riding tomorrow, eat your body weight in pasta, rice or potatoes depending on what's been found in the markets for supper, have one last trip to the loo--shovel in hand, and head to foam mat (aka bed) by about 7pm, unless there is a fire going and then it's pushed out to 7.30pm!!
The majority of our riding was done on road. (We love the Chinese and Japanese for their investment in African infrastructure--Bertie would have loved the pancake-flat surfaces!!) We covered distances from 87km to 164km a day. The distances sort of shortened once we crossed into Ethiopia and started climbing in the mountains--sadly the duration of the rides stayed the same!
Some of our riding was done off-road. In Eastern Sudan, we were invited to spend a day riding through Dinder National Park. I've done some stupid things in my life and some very hard things but nothing even comes close to our day in Dinder. (I'm sure it's a great national park as long as you're not on a bike!!!!)
It is a story in itself, but the short version is; imagine a ploughed field, hard-bake it so it's corrugated on top. Best analogy for corrugation is like riding across the surface of a hardened brain--the ruts are relentless and shake you to your core. Chuck about 4 inches of sand on top (in parts). Crack it so you could lose a small car down some of the crevices and then ride across it in about 45 degrees (without any shade) for 140km.
I won’t go into the details but at about 7.30pm at night after being on my bike for 13 ½ hours, I was picked up by the Sudanese police. It was dark, I was in the middle of a national park and I was alone (as was Marc when they found him) without any lights. I tried to argue my case that I was fine to ride to camp, but they had very large guns so I gave in peacefully. They did of course have my wellbeing at heart and that day 75% of riders were picked up and driven the last 20km to camp. This was just one of three days we spent riding 140k off road. It almost broke me!
But, no matter how tough it was, it never stopped us from smiling and relishing every single moment of the journey. It is such a privilege to ride through Africa. And, what doesn't break us makes us stronger. Our off-road days taught us more about ourselves and others than any other day. It's easy to look back with rose-tinted glasses but it is getting through the difficult times that make you feel most alive.
Sudan is beautiful. The people we met were the friendliest I've ever come across. So welcoming and so unassuming. The receptions we received, particularly once we were riding through some of the more remote parts, puts the Tour de France to shame. It was extremely humbling. The lasting image in my mind is of a cyclist disappearing into the mirages burning off the black, sun-baked earth.
Ethiopia was simply stunning. With every day and every corner turned we were greeted by yet another awe-inspiring landscape. It is as if a hundred countries are rolled into one; from the baking dry-lands to the lush forests and from the high mountains to the deep gorges. The mountains in Ethiopia provide some of the most stunning and the most challenging riding. I'm now convinced that in every Ethiopian child there is a world-class marathon runner in the making (5-year-old children would trot along beside us while we rode up hill at 18km an hour) and that Ethiopia has a cricket team waiting to be discovered (the force and accuracy by which some of the kids hurled rocks as us was really quite impressive!)
As I'm sure you can imagine, we've left the Tour with a great deal of sadness. There are 60 riders completing the full TDA this year (Cairo to Cape Town in 120 days), all of whom have an amazing story to tell as to why they're there. They of course are still riding and have just come through one of the tougher sections of the TDA in Northern Kenya. You can follow their progress at http://www.tourdafrique.com/epictours/tourdafrique/blog
We're really looking forward to catching up with you all very soon and promise to pop the pics up as soon as we've got them down from 2000 to something a little bit more manageable!
Thanks again for all of your lovely support,
Lots of hugs,
Georgie and Marc xxxxx
Secondly; We made it - sort of - just about..... After the fears of getting back on my bike we're very happy to report that we rode the entire way (OK maybe a couple of km's missed) from Khartoum to Addis, but only just. The ride was one of the most inspiring experiences of our lives and, of course, will remain with us forever, not least because we've decided to spend the rest of our cycling (and our non-cycling) days together. It's just fab.
Thirdly and most importantly; A huge thanks to those of you who sponsored our ride from Khartoum to Addis. We spent a day with The Right to Play on February 25. It was inspirational. Their work in using sport and play to empower young people and to educate children about development, peace and environmental management issues is just amazing. They're also working with schools to enable the inclusion of disabled children and young adults in formal education. More info on www.righttoplay.com.
If you’d like to sponsor us please go to http://www.justgiving.co.uk/Georgina-Ayre (huge thank you).
We will be posting a blog and photos of the journey on http://tri4development.blogspot.com/ once we get a spare moment (or week!). In the meantime, here is just a little snippet of our ride and every day life on the Tour d'Afrique. Oh, and a little pic of our engagement: yes I know--we didn't even take our cycle helmets off. What else do you expect?!
On February 5th we rode out of Khartoum with the rising sun on our faces and the wind on our backs. Over the next 17 days we:
- Cycled across Sudan and Ethiopia on our sturdy (read heavy) mountain bikes;
- Rode 1700km: longest days were 164km, shortest days were 87km. Some days we spent 5 ½ hours in the saddle, others we rode (loose use of the term) for 13 ½ hours;
- Climbed 15,000m in 7 days of riding (we reached a peak of 3182m);
- Spent 3 days off-road in Sudan, one of which was spent riding through the now infamous Dinder National Park (‘affectionately’ named the f****ing Dinder National Park of S***e) and;
- Descended and then ascended the Blue Nile Gorge (20km down and 20km straight up again), getting engaged along the way!! Yeah....
On February 21st with the wind very much in our smiling faces and the falling sun on our backs we rode into Addis.
It was truly the most amazing trip, with more experiences than your senses can take in or that words or pictures can convey.
I found the first 7 days of the ride the most challenging; physically and mentally, experiences of my life. There were days when I literally sat on the edge of the track and hung my head in desperation at the distances I still had to cover that day. Then, I'd see a women walking bare foot with her load of firewood that almost matched her body weight and realise that no matter how hard I was finding the day, her day was so much tougher, and I got back on my bike.
The day in the life of the Tour d'Afrique (TDA) rider follows something like this:
- Alarm goes of at around 5.30am
- Awaking from your sort of slumber (you never really sleep) you don the cycling clothes you've had on for the last 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days (who's counting?)
- By 6.30am you've packed up your bedding and your tent and put everything--bar your bowls and spoons--into the support vehicle
- By 7.15am you've eaten your body weight in porridge, cream of wheat or some other breakfast delicacy and drunk at least two cups of coffee (at least)
- By 7.30am you've filled your water bottles, changed the flat tyres that you didn't realise you had (got to love those thorns that can get through anything, including my armadillos) and are on your merry way to wherever it is that you're going
- Depending on the day, you're usually at your first Coke stop by about 10am. I'm ashamed to admit that never in my life have I been happier that even in the remotest village in the middle of the Sudanese desert where you have to pump water from the well, they sell Coke.
- By 12am you're usually at the 'lunch stop', which involves arriving at one of the support vehicles from the TDA and filling your tummy with bread and some sort of strange cheese-like thing, as well as of course filling your 4 litres of water (you need to drink about 12 litres a day, depending on the day)
- By 4pm you're usually in camp, which is invariably in the middle of a field by the side of the road somewhere along the way
- After eating your post-ride soup there are just enough hours left in the day to put your tent up, attempt to get yourself clean with the aid of a baby-wipe, change into something vaguely respectable, dress your saddle sores, get briefed on where you'll be riding tomorrow, eat your body weight in pasta, rice or potatoes depending on what's been found in the markets for supper, have one last trip to the loo--shovel in hand, and head to foam mat (aka bed) by about 7pm, unless there is a fire going and then it's pushed out to 7.30pm!!
The majority of our riding was done on road. (We love the Chinese and Japanese for their investment in African infrastructure--Bertie would have loved the pancake-flat surfaces!!) We covered distances from 87km to 164km a day. The distances sort of shortened once we crossed into Ethiopia and started climbing in the mountains--sadly the duration of the rides stayed the same!
Some of our riding was done off-road. In Eastern Sudan, we were invited to spend a day riding through Dinder National Park. I've done some stupid things in my life and some very hard things but nothing even comes close to our day in Dinder. (I'm sure it's a great national park as long as you're not on a bike!!!!)
It is a story in itself, but the short version is; imagine a ploughed field, hard-bake it so it's corrugated on top. Best analogy for corrugation is like riding across the surface of a hardened brain--the ruts are relentless and shake you to your core. Chuck about 4 inches of sand on top (in parts). Crack it so you could lose a small car down some of the crevices and then ride across it in about 45 degrees (without any shade) for 140km.
I won’t go into the details but at about 7.30pm at night after being on my bike for 13 ½ hours, I was picked up by the Sudanese police. It was dark, I was in the middle of a national park and I was alone (as was Marc when they found him) without any lights. I tried to argue my case that I was fine to ride to camp, but they had very large guns so I gave in peacefully. They did of course have my wellbeing at heart and that day 75% of riders were picked up and driven the last 20km to camp. This was just one of three days we spent riding 140k off road. It almost broke me!
But, no matter how tough it was, it never stopped us from smiling and relishing every single moment of the journey. It is such a privilege to ride through Africa. And, what doesn't break us makes us stronger. Our off-road days taught us more about ourselves and others than any other day. It's easy to look back with rose-tinted glasses but it is getting through the difficult times that make you feel most alive.
Sudan is beautiful. The people we met were the friendliest I've ever come across. So welcoming and so unassuming. The receptions we received, particularly once we were riding through some of the more remote parts, puts the Tour de France to shame. It was extremely humbling. The lasting image in my mind is of a cyclist disappearing into the mirages burning off the black, sun-baked earth.
Ethiopia was simply stunning. With every day and every corner turned we were greeted by yet another awe-inspiring landscape. It is as if a hundred countries are rolled into one; from the baking dry-lands to the lush forests and from the high mountains to the deep gorges. The mountains in Ethiopia provide some of the most stunning and the most challenging riding. I'm now convinced that in every Ethiopian child there is a world-class marathon runner in the making (5-year-old children would trot along beside us while we rode up hill at 18km an hour) and that Ethiopia has a cricket team waiting to be discovered (the force and accuracy by which some of the kids hurled rocks as us was really quite impressive!)
As I'm sure you can imagine, we've left the Tour with a great deal of sadness. There are 60 riders completing the full TDA this year (Cairo to Cape Town in 120 days), all of whom have an amazing story to tell as to why they're there. They of course are still riding and have just come through one of the tougher sections of the TDA in Northern Kenya. You can follow their progress at http://www.tourdafrique.com/epictours/tourdafrique/blog
We're really looking forward to catching up with you all very soon and promise to pop the pics up as soon as we've got them down from 2000 to something a little bit more manageable!
Thanks again for all of your lovely support,
Lots of hugs,
Georgie and Marc xxxxx