Day 3 – 136 km
Start – Desert by the pipeline
Finish – Desert between mountains and the Red Sea
After using the shovel and having some milk, honey and porridge for breakfast, it was back on the road. Yesterday’s tailwind had picked it up a notch. We now had a very strong tail wind. Nobody complained.
Lunch is usually about half way along the day’s route. The food truck heads out early and sets up somewhere convenient on the side of the road. We got to the 71km mark and lunch about 9:30 – or about breakfast time for many people. But we eat and then we eat some more, no matter what time it is. I finished the day’s riding by 11:40 after about 4 hours of riding.
But the wind that made the riding fast made camp chaotic. Tents were flying all over the place. It took me over an hour and three attempts to get mine up and secure. But once up it held its spot. John Chevis lost his completely and now has to find a new tent somewhere. JJ gave up on the tent, dug a hole in the sand and slept in the open.
I don’t know if anyone remembers an old television show called ‘Desert Rats’ about a bunch of 2nd WW soldiers fighting in the desert but it kind of felt like that. Vince, a Kiwi who in real life is an engineer on the inter-island ferry in New Zealand, was typical: kaki shorts, hiking boots, no shirt, his race button on a lanyard around his neck like dog tags, a hat with one of those handkerchief-like things trailing out the back. People wore sand goggles. Sand was in everything. The police were in their pickups around the perimeter of the camp. They had the guns.
Don’t forget to donate to the Sickle Cell Foundation of Tanzania.
sounds like you’re having fun. Certainly making much better time than we did in France 10 years ago. But the accommodations aren’t as good, eh?
Not carrying panniers. And lots of friendly wind. Also lots of riders to share the pace with.