Egyptian Winds!!

Hello to family and friends,
I have arrived in Safaga the coastal town usually teeming with people who are here to dive and second time around it's just as beautiful as ever. Emerald green 'Red Sea' white caps from the wind and just enough sea breeze to remind you that you are on the coast. We rode fast and furious this morning...not only to race but also to make sure that I could get a hotel room...cute and cheap at $18 US a night..bargain after three nights in serious windy conditions which caused a layer of sand to be in everything!!! Great....NOT..so third to the finish and first to get a hot shower!!

We left Cairo with 62 riders on Saturday..most of them are expedition riders..53 to be exact and there are only 9 racers...6 guys and 3 girls. We started at the Pyramids and it was a brutal day! It took me 6 hours riding, 1.15min longer than 2007 due to the head winds which did not letup all day to finish the stage.I was first girl and third person so I was pleased with that. It was a tough ride and so most of the expedition riders got quite the shock. It was NASTY. The support trucks had to go and get about a 1/3 of the riders otherwise they would not have made it by dark. It was tough.

Day two the wind turned into a savage tail wind and so happy riders all over while on the road but not in camp. Camp was a dust cloud but it was better than another head wind day. Day three more tail wind and today a bit of both but mainly tail winds. Most of the group haven't got into a system yet and so they are a bit out of sorts but in a couple of days they will have got their red box routine sorted. I'm like the old pro..been there, done that and even got the t-shirt!

The racing is not like it was last year and so it's a little bit different. We can leave any time we like and the time we took to ride the stage is on an honesty system.I am racing with 5 guys who are all better than me and so I'm getting quite the work out. The other female racers are not the same standard and aren't really racing against us but that's ok..the boys are certainly making me work which is what I wanted! All the training Coach Maund made me do prior to coming back has come in handy with the boys. Jos is from Holland, Bernd is from Austria, Bent is from Denmark, Chris is from Canada and Clive is from England.

So..I have to now go and eat but promise to give you more stories when we get to Luxor in two days time. We have a rest day there and will be able to write more.
We're still not too sure if we are going through Kenya and may have to detour thorugh Uganda but I will keep you posted.
Love ya all.
Hope you are all well.
Janet in Safaga, Egypt