Friday, February 1 we have completed the first section of the Tour d’Afrique, Pharao’s Delight. 1960 km. From Dongola we have traveled to Khartoum, teh capital of Sudan, in four days. The tarmac was brand new, the wind came from the right direction, so the riding went great with averages way above 30 km/h. All four days we have traveled through a boring but impressive landscape: vast desert-space, with nothing but sand and a few dry bushes. The occasional camel crossing the road is the only change of scenery that you run across.
Friday we have started with a time-trial (8-th position for me). After that we have cycled though Khartoum, in convoy, with police in front and in the rear. We rode an hour and a half through areas with an increasing number of people along the road, constantly with the police-alarms in your ear. Finally we arrived at a real camping site, resembling the average French camping municipal: the showers worked, toilets that can be flushed, the only things that are missing are the croissants and the cold white wine.
In Khartoum we have Saterday and Sunday to rest, Monday we’ll be leaving for the Ethiopian border. In that country the Tour will change: serious climbing will have to be done, and the story goes that the Ethiopian children have special ways of welcoming you when you enter their village (throwing rocks, trying to put sticks in you wheels, etc). But at the same time it seems to be the most beautiful stretch of the Tour, so … bring it on.