Day 23 - Jan 31

Yesterday was the rest day in Khartoum.  I had grand plans for seeing the sites and the city but unfortunately it was not meant to be.  I thought I had beaten the illness and was ready to go.  But as soon as I ate, it was like feeding the beast.  I got deathly sick again.  Even up to last night.  I felt fairly good so I ate a big meal to prepare for the days ahead.  Bad choice... I got so sick, I sat on the toilet and held the waste can.  The medics advice to this point was... let your body get rid of it on its own.  At that point I said enough is enough.  I took a massive dose of antibiotics, anti nausea and anti diaharea medicine.   The diaharea medicine makes you drowsy so off to sleep I went.  By morning I felt much better.  So my rest day was spent around close proximity to the "facilities".

I felt so good this morning that I road 90 miles into a headwind all day and heat that reach 120 degrees!  Needless to say it was a long, tough, hot day.  I felt good and fairly strong.  So strong that I road cover for a couple of people who were in trouble with the wind and heat.  Most of the afternoon I rode point and let the draft pull the others along.  Hey, when you have it go with it!

This section of the tour is the toughest of the entire trip as per the head tour director.  It is an eight day stretch without a break.  It starts off with the 90 mile day today, followed by a 100 mile day tomorrow.  Then we have to change tires because we are are going off road for three days.  Then we are back on road and cross into Ethiopia.  The last two days of the eight start the climbing.  Day 7 is a 1,000 meter climbing day of 60 miles and day 8 is a 2,500 meter climb and 64 miles long.

To give you an idea of the climb over the next 15 riding days...  We will have a total of 14,940 meters of total climbing.  That equates to 9.3 miles of up or 49,015 feet or like climbing Mount Everest one and two thirds times in 15 days!  All this in 100+ degree heat...  Oh this is going to be fun!!!  And as everyone is saying, and we are paying to do this!  

Plastic is the demise of the African landscape.  Plastic bags are blowing around everywhere.  I call them the African Tumbleweed.

There is certainly no Department of Transportation enforcing any load codes on trucks.  So many are overloaded and dangerous like this truck.

The landscape and roads have changed since Khartoum.  The roads are so much worse, something akin to the chip seal roads of West Texas combined with the potholes of a post Chicago winter.  The vegetation has become more common and the sand is giving way to dirt and rock.

Well I need to get some rest to be able to tackle tomorrow's 100/100...  100 miles in 100 mile heat!