Magic Clay Pots

Sudan= Desert, Heat, Amazing Sunsets, Sunrises and Moonrises… and Stars as far as you can see in the Desert. The temperatures have been Hot. 45C has been the highs in the afternoon. We are leaving camp by 7:15am and by 11am it is so hot you wished you could have left at 5am. My biking crew have been reaching the lunch stop by around 10am sometimes a little earlier, which makes “the afternoon” tolerable, but it is crazy hot.

Yesterday was one of my most difficult days thus far with two flat tires and a miserable sore throat and a 141 km day mixed with the fact I struggled to do more than 17km an hour for a lot of the day. Luckily I have made enough friends that I had an amazing “nascar pit stop tire change” where I was actually told to get out of the way so the tire could be changed faster… I guess it does pay to be a woman sometimes. Chivalry is definitely okay when you are in the middle of the hot desert.

The only savior from the heat are the “magic clay pots” that exist in small shelters along side the highway for emergency water stops in the hot Nubian desert. These are community pots for anyone to use, and the clay pots allow the water to evaporate out the sides, making the water left in the pot ice cold. It is the perfect temperature to cool an overheating biking body. I am hesitant to use the pots when locals are around as I fear they might lose their mind seeing us white folk roll in and pour this water over our bodies. I am still not sure how the water gets into these pots, but I am sure it is epic. I feel somewhat bad about the “misuse” of this water however I use it sparingly and at the time it feels like it is essential to keep me moving forward. Riders have quickly realized just how much water is required to keep from dehydrating. It is an insane amount. I am definitely upwards of 12 liters easily per day right now and I am lucky if I pee twice. It is a constant battle. So much for the Bikram yoga training!

It is the time of year that the “camel caravans” march their camels from Darfur to Egypt to sell them, which apparently takes 40 days. We have been lucky enough to see some of these camel caravans coming through the desert. It is also so hot here, that some of the camels don’t make it… We have seen several dead camels laying in the desert, and without any worms or vultures or predators, these corpses lay in the desert with their only decomposer being the hot sun.

The honeymoon of the trip is definitely over, as we hear about our upcoming schedule and our “mando days” . These are days that racers must use in the calculation of the overall time due to the difficulty of the rides. Our largest climb will be coming up on Feb 12 with a 2500 meter climb! And our longest riding day will be in Botswana with a 207km day! Yikes. Well hopefully by then that will seem like a drop in the hat. It is actually amazing how the body adapts to this day after day riding. Our bodies are very resilient. We are taking a new route through Sudan which everyone is getting very excited about. Once we leave Khartoum we will head south through Dinder National Park, which has been officially closed for 7 years. We have been invited to ride through this park which is a very big deal. It has meant a change in schedule, long riding days 160km, 160km, and then several days of gravel roads through the park, but well worth it in the end. The park is home to lions, and other large animals and since it is very seldom travelled, we may actually get to see these animals. Camping out in the park we will have “guards on camels?” to protect us from the lions at night, hmmm… don’t think it will be a smart idea for people to go to far alone at night…

We now live for “coke stops” and are told about them the night before our riding days in the rider meeting. Small shops on the side of the road that probably usually get three or four people a day, are now inundated with 70 riders all VERY thirsty and hot. We found out yesterday that if you don’t bike fast enough, these “coke stops” can be very disappointing when you arrive and they are “sold out” of all cold beverages. Just a motivator I guess to bike faster, and harder the next day. Hot drinks are still available in the morning and afternoon at camp so I get my fill of tea which breaks up drinking only water which I have never really been a fan of, and despite the heat, I still love my hot drinks.