I woke up at around 8 and wandered around to the cafe for breakfast. It was yet another beautiful day and I was ready to put in some good miles. I had an omelette with Beet and exchanged emails. Beet has cycled over 100,000 miles so he's not a bad contact to have! He is one year into a ride that will take around 3.5 years so he makes my ride look minuscule so we won't talk about him anymore!
I waited for Duncan before I left and he gave me a spare chain that he was going to throw away but it could come in handy if disaster strikes for me. I said my goodbyes and my see ya laters to the South Africans as they will probably pass me when they eventually get their Land Rover into the country.
My ride began with a soaring Desert Eagle overhead showing me the way to the main road and then it was this road for 900km. The road in Sudan is amazing, anything off the road is sandy and rocky but the black stuff is smooth with not a pothole in sight so I could cover some serious mileage with a nice tailwind. Surprisingly it isn't flat though, I had to put some effort in which i enjoyed and it felt great to be back in the desert. The surrounding mountains were treated to a few songs, Bob Marley's "One Love" went down particularly well and i had another moment in time that i could savour. I had a few situations where cars passed me then slowed down and stopped in front. You have to be wary when this happens and typically you think the worst. The first car stopped and 3 people got out and waved me to the side of the road, I was on a roll so I didn't stop, I just gave them the thumbs up and got the thumbs up back. The second car stopped and three guys got out again. This time, one by one they found a specific spot and squatted, it was like a waste disposal Mexican wave! I did have a little laugh and incidentally realised why the "hole" toilet is used as its easier for long gown wearers. Last night Duncan gave me a good tip when using the "hole" aswell but I'm still not a fan of the serious cramping and aching knee sensation. In my eyes, the toilet was invented so one can sit down and efficiently do other things like read the paper, check emails or eat a sandwich. This is almost impossible to do if you're struggling to keep balance and your knees feel like they're going to explode!
After about 50 miles my right leg had a slight strain which was slowing me down. I decided to stop at a roadside cafeteria. Duncan and Beet slept at these cafes every night. They are metal shacks with plastic chairs and tables for eating and camp beds for a midday nap or overnight sleep. I've been on about putting beds in restaurants for ages because after a good feed, the next best thing is a nap. It hasn't happened in England but thankfully the Sudanese have nailed it.
I bought some bread, had a tea made for me so I thought I may as well have that too and with some dairylea that I bought yesterday I began to make some sandwiches. As I cut into the bread that I bought yesterday as well, I learnt my first lesson with regards to food in Africa. Don't put it on the floor over night. Despite it being in my hotel room (where I also had a pet lizard about the size of a kingsize twix) it seemed I had an army of ants that had dug a colony in my bread. I had the fresh bread anyway and was tempted to eat the ant bread but decided on just chucking it away and carry on watching the Arabic dubbed Bollywood film that was on the TV.
Everybody that arrived at the cafe said hello to me and I immediately felt comfortable just hanging out there and not getting stared at, being asked for money or getting overcharged. I tried to have a little nap but the sugar in the tea kept me awake so I stayed for a couple of hours and then moved on.
About 5 minutes down the road a third car gave me a beep and stopped ahead of me. I initially rode past but then stopped ahead of them after another beep. They seemed like your average family and out of the kindness of their hearts they gave me two bottles of cold water and a doughnut. They asked me where I was going and then said good luck and goodbye and they were off! It makes you wonder how many times you've driven past a cyclist and not even thought about stopping for a second, let alone given him water and food!
It's a bit different in England I know but it was a lovely gesture and the doughnut was quality.
The rest of the day continued in the same way as before lunch. The chance of easily clearing the 100mile mark was getting more and more realistic, the last time I did that was in England! Nigel had a bit of a squeak which was starting to annoy me so ideally I should give him a clean and an oil so I needed to stop near some water. I was unsure where the cafes would be so i had planned to stop at the next one I saw or the next shelter that has clay pots of water (they are normally more frequent)
At 99.2 miles I found a perfect water shelter with its own camp bed. I was aiming for 100 again but this shelter was just perfect. I had emergency noodles so finding food wasn't an issue and I had loads of water for drinking and washing so I decided to stop what was a great day of cycling.
I hadn't used my stove in ages and I was fearing the worst when I took my mess tins out. Much to my surprise they were both spotless with not a hint of mould. I think I must've finished my last stove cooked meal off with bread and wiped them clean. A man walked up to me to say hello and gave me some nuts/prune things. They were lovely but you eat the exterior and not the hard nut inside which I thought was different. I haven't a clue what they are called but they taste like toffee so that was pudding sorted! Another man arrived after that to pray as the sunset and as usual the sunset was beautiful and by the end of this trip 50% of my photos will be of African sunsets! (the other 50 will be of Nigel)
As I expected the night sky was breathtaking. The warm breeze picked up slightly so I nestled into my sleeping bag and looked up at my favourite sight in the whole world. This one could even top Egypt!!
A great end to a great day. Sudan is most definitely living up to its expectation.
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