28 January - Desert experiences!

It has been another crazy day. I am struggling to remember this morning. We started cycling a little later than planned – I was having issues with my cleats and there was a general fatigue within the camp. However, after a very relaxed 7 kilometers, Niall and I were cycling along with the Nile on our right, picking the easiest line of road as best we could. Niall was on Bob-duty – meaning that he was towing a 25 kg bike trailer behind his bike which already carries 40 kg of personal kit… As the token girl, I am gratefully left out of this rotation, but life is very challenging for the man who takes Bob. We had lost sight of Gareth and Den, and commented on what the best course of action would be if the group got split for some reason. The consensus was that we would cycle on to the next town.

It was at this point that one of the many Sudanese Landcruisers pulled up alongside us, and two Chinese men hopped out the car to take photographs of each other, posing with me! I was in hysterics as Niall tried to photograph the bizarre situation of Chinese taking pictures of me in the middle of the Sudanese desert. It was priceless. The Chinese are building massive roads the length of Sudan in order to access Sudanese oil. The little town of Sabu, which is too small to feature on our map, holds 85 Chinese gentlemen!

We stopped for a break shortly after and an old man named Farah arrived with a tray of tea and biscuits – Sudanese styled silver service. It was so welcome. However, more was to come. The next thing I knew, I was seated on a tarpaulin mat underneath the hot sun, digging in to a breakfast of pancakes, beans (ful), and date syrup. Next to me sat our Chinese friend, Farah, Farah’s son Mohammed, Gareth, Niall and Den and a few random villagers that had gathered around. I had a moment, sitting on the floor next to clay water pots when I believed that the problems of the world could be solved on that mat. East meets West meets Africa, in Sudan. I am truly humbled by the generosity of these people who have such simple means. My life gains clarity in these moments.

Eventually we left and continued on our way, but the long delay for breakfast and a few pannier issues en route, saw us stopping for lunch at only 30 km at 2:15. The last two kilometres before lunch comprised of pushing our bikes in foot deep sand, uphill – tough going!

At this stage I was starting to take a bit of strain. I have been fighting a cold for a couple of days now and my head was banging around with every corrugation in the road that my wheels hit. Lunch comprised of a stop in the dust next to a road that stretched out 2 km wide across the horizon.

We set off at 3pm. Gareth bombed off into the distance, and I followed suit behind him. After 20 minutes I stopped to look behind me and couldn’t see Den or Niall. I couldn’t see Gareth ahead either! I wasn’t even sure that I had taken the right line. We were cycling along a wide section of flat desert, the options of tracks being endless. I turned around and started retracing my footsteps, but quickly realised that to find such a random lunch spot in the middle of nowhere would be both difficult to find and somewhat pointless. Remembering our conversation from earlier regarding cycling onwards if we got lost, I continued onwards, stopping to look behind every 5 minutes.

I wondered whether the dudes would back me to find the next town – “Kerma” was becoming a mantra to me. I was now pushing on at pace. A sense of urgency was growing as the sun started sinking. I was aching to see a vehicle or some form of life – Nothing. I had a moment of sheer panic: It was now coming on for 2 hours since I had seen any form of life.; In every direction I looked I saw nothing but sand against the clear blue sky; I was pushing my bike because the sand was too thick; and I had no idea what direction I should be moving in! I was starting to work my mind around the idea that I might be spending the night in the desert on my own and I was doing careful calculations on how much food and water reserves I was carrying.

It was at this point that I started both praying and cycling towards the sunset. I had figured that the sun sets in the west, over the Nile, and if I found the Nile then I would find the next town. Head west, find the Nile. Follow the sun, find the Nile. The Nile is the life-source of this vast country. There is little or no form of life more than a kilometre from the river banks, but all along her banks, villages thrive.

I saw a truck pass across my path 500 meters South West of me. I headed towards what I could only guess must be a main road. A truck then started heading directly for me with a familiar orange in the passenger’s seat. I have never been happier to see Gareth – my knight in shining armour in a blinged-up white pickup truck!

In the chaos he had gone back and forth cycling so hard that he had hit a sandbank at enough force to fling him over the front handlebars and buckle his front wheel. Thankfully he was fine and had the good fortune to have a truck en route to Kerma pass him at this point. He had found the others.

What an incredible relief it was to arrive at the basic lodgings in Kerma and relax over some beans and bread at dinner. It has been a very long time since I felt that helpless and scared.