Heat, Dust and Dirt Bikes in Egypt

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According to the Bible, the Israelites spent 40 years wandering the desert, before Moses presented the Ten Commandments atop Mount Sinai. Getting to the mountain would take more time than we had, but the desert was calling me. Egypt is the size of Texas and California combined, twice the size of Spain, big enough to accommodate the whole of Central America. Most of that is bone-dry desert. While the Hebrews discovered the world’s moral code amongst the sand and dust, I was just looking to have a little fun. The company’s name is Ciro and Felice, and they made me a great price to take an ATV, dune buggy and dirt bike for a triumvirate of motorized fun. Of course, this would all have to take place before 10am, when the sun might get hot enough to melt a helmet. I awake at 5am, freshen up, head out to their compound to find two dozen other ATV’s ready for their adventure. Besides eating, drinking, swimming and lazing by the beach, cranking an ATV in the desert is a must for visitors to Sharm. Our driver wrapped my green sarong around my head in the traditional Bedouin style, protecting me from the dust and heat. We split from the group to go it alone, and once again, the unique beauty of the desert opened her heart. Throttling the ATV, I pass Bedouin shepherds tending their camels, brown rocky outcrops littering the expanse of sand. If the Hebrews were riding ATV’s, they would have reached Mount Sinai in no time. Next up was a 4-seater dune buggy, a loud engine at the rear, a crash bar overhead. I had the chance to rock this mode of transport a few years back in Dubai, and it’s still the most fun driving I’ve ever had. The buggy growls and roars, it’s stick shift adding extra juice over hills and thick sand. I’m deliberately sliding all over the place, the whiff of the rally car driving thrill. With a low centre of gravity, flipping it impossible, and the only thing I have to worry about is stalling, but fortunately we have a mechanic on hand. When it was time to mount the dirt bike, he knew he was about to get busy.

I got my motorbike license a few months ago, and I can count the hours on one finger I’ve spent riding a motorbike. As for a dirt bike, crossing knee-high sand and slippery gravel, this would be a first. The chances of injury are high, but the last time I got injured on a bike, it led to my global adventure, so that at least was reassuring. With no helmet or padding, what’s the worse that could happen? I hopped on the dirt bike, steadied it into first gear, gave it a little gas, and in my crowning moment of television glory, stalled it 50m from the crew. How does James Bond know how to fly, drive or ride every vehicle ever imagined? Because he’s a fictional character, and I’m just a schmuck who likes to try things. As I found out earlier in the week with bellydancing, most of the time, I don’t try things very well either.
Catch a sunset boat ride, pack the bags, shuttle, road block, shuttle, security X 4, welcome back to Cairo, and a marvellous view over the River Nile. No time for Aswan, or Luxor, or a cruise down the Nile. I came, I saw, I biked, I bellydanced.

Nairobi Serena Hotel
Nairobi, Kenya
October 15, 2009

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