st247
Registered user
A bit of background first, Mrs ST had booked us a week in Sharm El Sheik so that she could do the four dives she required to complete her PADI open water certificate. TBH I had no wish to go diving, so was looking for something two wheeled to do. There was an abundance of quad biking in the area, but not a huge amount of two wheeled fun to be found. After a good deal of hunting around I eventually stumbled upon http://egyda.com/en/
So off went an e-mail, quickly followed by a reply and further mails from me. The e-mails were all answered really quickly by Patrizia who deals with all the bookings. I paid my deposit by bank transfer, organised what kit I was taking and what I’d hire off them and arranged the transport for the first of two days riding. I have to say the arrangements made over the net were first class, all my questions were answered and I was given some good advice (some of which I chose to ignore, more of that later) .
Day One
The first day arrived and I waited in the arranged place and was met as arranged. There was only me and one other person picked up. Ten minutes through the mad local traffic and we were at the centre. The centre is very nice, has a kit room, workshop, bar, a small motocross track, and a long motocross track (reputedly 1.5 km’s).
After a quick chat to Patrizia, I was introduced to my guide for the day Mohamed, who sorted out everything else for me. After that it was off to the kit room to get sorted out. I chose to take my own body armour, gloves, goggles, and hydration pack. But all of that could be hired from Sahara Off road. In fact the wearing of full kit including Helmet, Motocross Jeans, Motocross Shirt, Knee Armour, Chest Armour, Elbow Armour, Motocross Boot, Goggles and Gloves is compulsory, as it should be.
It took the trying of a few helmets to find one that was a good fit, not a problem though as there was plenty of kit around. The kit had, as you would expect from an off road hire company, obviously been used before, but all the buckles and other fixings worked and there were no rips or tears that hadn’t been repaired.
It was around about now that I ignored the advice given to me and changed my mind. When I’d first inquired I’d decided to do a three hour day the first day to see if I was up to doing a six hour day on the second day which was what they advised. However after I was changed I was asked if I still wanted to do the three hours or whether I wanted to team up with the other gent there. So I enquired about his level of skill, not wanting to hold him up. I was told that Fabio was good, Fabio chimed in as well, with “come with us It’ll be Good”. So with the breaking strain of a Kit Kat I replied “Why not, it’s not as if I’ve got anything else to do today”.
Next stop was downstairs to sort out the bikes, which for today’s ride were KTM’s lovely 640 lc4’s. The bikes were in excellent order; they had the odd scar from being dropped but not much else. Then it was off to follow Mohamed round the motocross track for two laps to make sure that I could actually ride a bike. That completed it was off on our way.
We followed the road towards Ras Mohamed national park for about 15 minutes until we came across a check point. Passports were asked for and duly given to Mohamed for him to ease the way through. Just as well Mohamed was there really, as back at the airport a few days earlier I’d taken one look at the queue for visa’s and not bothered. Five minutes later and the deal is done were through the checkpoint and on our way. This is the Cairo road and it looks to be newly surfaced, apart from the odd hole the surface is pretty good, there’s next to no traffic and we cruise around the outskirts of the national park.
It takes about twenty minutes to reach our turn off, if that’s what you’d call it. Mohamed slows down and turns right over a large pile of loose stone at the side of the road and were off. It’ll be over four hours before we return or see another living thing! The going is pretty good; mostly fine gravel rather than soft sand, and we follow a well used trail north. The trail takes us deeper into the desert with the mountains on our right and in the distance on the left I can still see the Gulf of Suez. After a while it’s a quick left turn and we’re off piste. It’s about now that Fabio decides he’s had enough of looking at my arse and fly’s past. Once past he decides to power the bike into huge arcs with the back end well out of line. Hmmm appears to be a bit better than “good”.
After about an hour we follow a tiny gap between two rocky outcrops to reach our first stop. It’s now when slow speed control is needed that I realise my clutch has decided not to play and is dragging as I stall to a stop. Mohamed is on it like a rash, and after a blur of tools pronounce it fit, and it was. We have a ten minute fag break so I take a couple of snaps.
Looking back from were we’d come.
Looking forward to where were heading.
Before we set off again Mohamed says that there’s no one else here, no Bedouin no-one just us and god. He may well have been right; the only other things I saw all day were a half skeletonised camel and a dead lizard. Back on the bikes and off again, the mix of piste and off piste is great, this is interspersed with crossing dry river beds (wadi’s?) were the sand is much softer, I have a couple of floaty feet off the pegs moments, though don’t actually bin it. Coming up in the distance I see a huge drift of obviously soft sand against the side of a rocky outcrop and we’re heading straight for it. When we arrive Mohamed leads us on a quick circumnavigation of the sand before stopping so Fabio and I can have a play. I leave the camera with Mohamed and he takes some of the following shots. I watch as Fabio goes straight up the hill, getting pretty close to the top before descending again. I have a go but my run up speed isn’t as good so don’t get quite as far before deciding to come back down. At the bottom I have to avoid two rather large holes in the sand, they look like round swimming pools with very steep sides and I don’t fancy dragging the bike out of one off them. After missing them I slow down, at which point the front sinks and I fall off, not for the last time.
Fabio has a run up.
Fabio with his bike having a lie down
Turning round at the bottom
We stop here for a good half an hour to rest and have a snack. There’s no café, so no mint tea or coke for us. Its about then that I realise how “Good” Fabio actually is he’s talking to Mohamed in Italian and I pick up the odd word “roadbook”, “gps not allowed” slowly it dawns on me so I ask Fabio if he rides Rallye Raids, “Yes but only as an amateur”, That explains a fair bit, like how he manages to overtake me like I’m stood still. Why he’s wearing a jacket that I expected him to boil in, and why, now that I look, he has his name and blood group on his helmet. Normally I’m fairly competitive, a number of times Mrs ST has cringed whilst I’ve pulled a dodgy overtake whilst racing a foreigner on the go karts, but today I’m not even trying, I’m fairly obviously outclassed. How much by becomes more apparent when he explains that this is his first time back on a bike after breaking his shoulder at the back end of last year. A bit of digging on the net when I got back and it looks like he did it on last years Pharaoh’s Rally
Suitably rested it’s time for the off again, shortly after we start we come across a knife edge dune that Mohamed leads us over. Not huge by anyone’s standard but having no experience it’s big enough for me! So up one side, down the other. Then another climb on soft sand before returning back over the knife edge. As I get to the top Mohamed appears waving his arms like a nutter so I don’t run him over. I stop at the top and wait for him to sort himself out. Fabio drops his at the top so I help him get it back upright as it looks like he’s struggling to lift the bike a bit with his dodgy shoulder.
We circumnavigate a large rocky outcrop and now were heading south. Back on the mix of trails and off piste, but now it’s a fair bit softer and the bikes beginning to feel heavy. We continue for what seems like hours but is probably not much more than forty minutes. Mohammed pulls up and I stop behind him. Getting off the bike I feel like I’ve hit an invisible Double Decker bus! I just manage to haul the bike up onto the stand before my arse hits the floor. It takes a good fifteen minutes before I’m ready to ride again. During that time both Mohamed and Fabio are top blokes. Mohamed checked my hydration unit to see how much I had left and told me to drink the remainder. Fabio took my daysack and gave me his camelback for the remainder of the ride. The drink and the rest seemed to do the trick, although I felt like a complete arse at the time. Apparently my sin was not drinking small amounts of water often enough, instead I was drinking larger amounts at longer intervals. Something I will definitely remember. Feeling like shit when you’re an hour away from the nearest road is not really recommended.
Back on the bike I follow at a bit more of a distance, now I’m sitting on the flat bits to conserve a bit of energy and standing up when I see Mohamed or Fabio’s bike getting out of shape. By the time we reach the road I’m feeling more like myself and try to return Fabio’s camelback. He’s having none of it though and insists I keep it until the end. Fabio’s bike had gone onto reserve a while ago so Mohamed siphons a couple of litre out of my larger fuel tank. I give Mohamed 50 Egyptian pounds to settle the score at the checkpoint were coming back to, and we set off again. The traffic is still light, there’s the odd broken down truck who’s driver has used rocks to simulate cones on the road and a couple of maniac buses.
At the checkpoint Mohamed goes off to give the official his gift for my lack of a visa. The official then kindly gives Mohamed his telephone number telling him to phone if he has any other checkpoint problems that need solving. Mohamed returns with a couple of litres of water, I drink a fair amount and the others just seem to rinse there mouths. Mohamed must have the water retention system of a camel as he’s only drank 500ml of the clear stuff all day! Fabio hasn’t drank much more either.
From here we take a slightly different way back, instead of using the road we straight line it across the sand. There are a few more ups and downs here, and it’s just before a steep climb on soft sand that I do my impression of superman. Some kind person has dug a non N.A.T.O standard slit trench and I find it. By the time I see it it’s too late, so the only option is to try and clear it. No chance, the front wheel hits the far vertical face and over the bars I go!!
Luckily it wasn’t too deep so I drag the bike out and have another go at the hill. At the top I find Mohamed and Fabio and ride back to KTM’s centre. On arriving I park the bike, chuck off some of the kit and sit under an umbrella in the SHADE! A cold coke later and I’m on the phone to Pierre, the big boss who’s in Cairo. He rings to check and see how everyone has got on, as a way of controlling the quality and getting some feedback.
A while later and I’m changed waiting for my taxi back to the apartment wondering exactly how bad I’m going to feel the next day!
Day Two
I wake up not feeling too bad all things considered, a little stiff is all, so set off for the transport which was the same arrangement as he previous day. Somehow I manage to miss them so take a taxi to the centre. A quick explanation and they ring the taxi. I’ve missed it because it’s a different one to yesterday and I stood in a different place after dropping off Mrs ST at her diving transport.
The taxi arrives ten minutes later with another Italian carrying his gear! I’m not getting sucked in twice in a row, so decide on a quiet three hours regardless of what conspires. For today my guide is Karem as Mohamed is spending the morning instructing today’s Italian guest before going into the desert in the afternoon. Once kitted up we go to get the bikes, today my ride is a 200exc. After warming it up I follow Karem round the small motocross track at the front, and then do two laps of the much longer and softer motocross track at the back of the centre.
After a quick check to make sure everything’s ok were off. No road at all today. We cross the main road and follow a track towards the mountains. The sand is a lot softer today and I’m glad I’ve got the lighter more responsive exc which makes light work of it. We pass through some small less than salubrious areas in the first hour. A breeze block shanty town with rubbish blowing around being the worst. Karem is, as Mohamed did yesterday, looking back to check on me all the time so he knows as soon as something goes wrong. Today’s terrain is more difficult, up and down rocky outcrops, soft sand trails and narrower passes. I follow Karem’s trail quite closely as he has to change route to avoid big drops on a number of occasions.
After the first hour we stop at a small place with some shade and a couple of blankets on the floor. The guy who’s there looks older than my dad, but serves up three glasses of mint tea. Now I’ve had this before in Morocco, and thought it was foul. To my surprise this time I enjoyed it. A quick fag later and we left after I left the old guy £E 20 for the tea.
After a period of riding through the valleys the terrain changed again, and we crossed a large flat area that consisted of soft sand and rocks varying in size between fist and football. Hard going to say the least, we stopped for a couple of minutes and got a couple of snaps.
Looking Back
Karem with the bikes
Setting off again we shortly came to Camel Pass, a narrow rocky pass, not very long but difficult going (for me anyway). The track was only about a foot wide in places and had to be tackled slowly. This was mainly because of the steep angle we were traversing. The drop wasn’t very far but the sharp rocks at the bottom didn’t look very comfortable to say the least. Then it was more up and down rocky outcrops and touring the soft sand trails before the second stop at a café. This one sold good old Pepsi, so I dug deep and got them in.
View from the cafe.
Suitably refreshed we headed out again riding more outcrops some with large collections of soft sand in between to really test the stamina. We steadily made our way back, passing a large green plantation in the middle of nowhere, crossing the main road and return knackered to the centre to end the day.
Here's a short vid that someone else took, it gives a flavour of what i did on the second day. You can see the short motocross track and get a fleeting look at the centre.
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Two excellent days riding with top guides. Thanks to all at Egypt Desert Adventures for making it worthwhile especially Patrizia, Mohamed and Karem and not forgetting Fabio for being good about the hassle.
I guess I’d better talk a bit about the costs and other boring stuff. Three hours riding with a guide, the bike all the kit hire and transport to and from your hotel/apartment comes to 145 euros. A six hour day with the bike, gear hire, transport etc comes in at 195 euros. Obviously it’s cheaper if you take your own gear, or don’t need the transport. They can though sort out just about anything you need. Longer or shorter, in the centre or outside. Whilst I was there I saw little kids riding quads, the second days Italian getting some instruction, and the day after I’d finished Mohamed was taking a group of six for a full day.
Did I think it was worth it? Yes I did, I had a damn good time and was treated very well. Will I be back? Mrs ST passed her open water, and loved the diving, so yes I’ll be going back. I have though learnt a couple of lessons; don’t confuse your perceived ability with what you can actually achieve. Try spacing the days out a bit rather than doing two on the trot. Drink little and often. Take some energy bars with you for during the day. Get a bloody visa, even though the backhander was cheaper than the visa. Oh and don’t take any notice of average temp graph’s on the net, I did, they said April average 29 degrees, actual temp while I was there high 30’s low 40’s, damned hot, after leaving snow in the UK.
