Just deserts... part 1

Ideally I would have updated this a couple of times by now, but the Red Sea coastal route has thrown us more than a couple of surprises (other than non-existent internet cafes) as you will see!

Having sorted ourselves out in Cairo, we finally headed off last Friday at 2.30pm local time on the road south-east towards Ein Sokhna. Happily this was a big wide road that allowed us to get used to our fully-loaded bikes whilst staying clear of the sometimes crazy traffic! We managed 56km before the sun started to get low and we found a big piece of concrete piping to pitch our tents behind and get some rest.



We set off the following day at 10am towards the coast and managed to make it all the way to the Red Sea, where we were hassled by some security staff... they did eventually let us sleep at the beginning of what we had been warned was our most dangerous stretch of road. Fortunately we were able to navigate this bit of the road early the following morning before the traffic really started, but it was obvious how dangerous it was when half way along we saw a coach which had had its front ripped off in a crash. Fast-moving trucks pulling out into the middle of the very narrow coastal road to overtake is basically the way it went for about 20km.

One gigantic windfarm and lots of tourist building along the coast... sadly not much of it was finished though so stopping points were rare. That Sunday we went on to cycle for 154km through one of the most barren areas I have ever seen, which probably caused us to have minor delusions of grandeur as to what we might be able to achieve... but we put our heads down that night feeling pretty good, having found a comfortable camping spot.