London, it's goodbyes and confusing feelings of the enormity of the job ahead seem like only yesterday and yet one month, over three quarters of a million pedal turns and nearly 3000km later I find myself in Qina in Egypt.
France was tough, and I say tough because it was much harder than I expected it to be. I had purchased most of the right equipment and had done the necessary training to be ready for 100 kilometres a day for 24 days or so. The only problem being that research told me that this would take place in temperatures of between 10 and -2 degrees....
The first nights camping was at around -2. It got colder from there, as night time temperature sunk below -10 sleep whilst camping became impossible as I just lay shivering all night so I spent more money and tailored my schedule to stay in hostels and with friends of friends. I was put up by some really friendly people in Tournus, Avignon and near Lyon. This was all thanks to a kind friend called Michelle Pelly who got all her cousins to look after me!
Only one day did I stop unexpectedly, I was trapped in a snowstorm whilst on the bike and the temperature plummeted to below -10, the headwind was strong, slowing my pace and sapping my energy and the snow was thick obstructing my vision and that of the occasional traffic whizzing past me on the way to somewhere warmer. The kit I was wearing (all of it!) was just not up to the job. I got colder and colder, going through the pain stage before getting numb feet and hands, despite my waterproof jacket I was soaked all over and the cold was getting the better of me at a frightening pace. After half an hour of looking for anywhere I could stop to get warm I coasted to the side of the road and stopped. I just didn't think I could cycle for much longer. The stopping momentarily lessened the cold effect by removing the wind chill factor but then I began to feel the bite of the cold attacking me again. It was the closest I've been to panic for a long time. I was suffering and getting worse and didn't know what I was going to do about it, I was on a road going through woodland and didn't know the exact distance to the next town. I struggled on and luckily for me there was a hotel only another few kilometres down the road, I think I lay in that warm bath for about 90 minutes, even my limbs started to wrinkle but I didnt care!
After France came Monaco, one of the most incredible 24 hours of my life as I was incredibly well looked after by a friend of a friend called Gerry and his girlfriend Chloe. I even ended up driving his Porsche back from a night out along most of what becomes the formula one circuit! The next day he took me for a spin in his Le Mans spec Porsche 906, the noise of the flat six blaring through the tunnels of the Riviera will stay with me forever! After an incredible steak lunch I went back to smelly camping gear and my poor cooking!
Italy was a cyclists paradise, always changing and interesting terrain, some steep climbs, some long sweeping descents with the med rarely out of view. I reached Rome from London in 23 days and had one hectic day trying to navigate around the stunning centre trying to get the bike serviced and buy supplies. Truly an incredible city that I will have to do justice by revisiting for longer. I flew on the 26th to begin Africa!
The moment I stepped out of the plane the familiar deep smell of my favorite continent hit my nostrils. The chaos of the traffic was bad enough in the taxi from the airport let alone before I got on a bike! Egypt so far has been beautiful, the backdrop of sandstone mountains with the Nile and green arable fields in front framed by the ever blue sky makes for an incredible view. The locals are very friendly, I spend most of my time in the saddle shouting hello back and waving to the smiling faces that line the route.
My body is holding up well to the daily punishment of 5-7 hours in the saddle. I cant complain of any back, leg or neck pain (the common complaints of the cyclist) and I have no signs yet of saddle sores. My legs have grown stronger, leaner and fitter with every day and I can now cover great distance at speed if the need arises. The only serious health problem I can complain of is mosquitoes! During night 3 in Egypt I lay in a sleeping bag staying the night in a village mosque and they went completely to town on my face, I had over 100 bites on my right cheek alone! Due to this the right side of my face swole up to easily twice the size of the left and caused my right eye to close completely. My face has just about returned to its original dimensions but the surface of my right cheek will be a little scabby for a little while. I think the little blighters realized my purpose here wasn't to their advantage and decided on some revenge!
The bike has held up fairly well to the punishment I have put it through so far, all except the back wheel. Spokes have been snapping since day 4 and I have changed over a third of them by now, to make things worse the rear wheel rim has now started to break up and wont last a lot longer. Thanks to my local bike shop (Cycle Revolution in Ipswich) I will hopefully have some new parts sent out to Luxor in the next couple of days. This is essential due to what comes next:
The next month will see me finish Egypt at the southern town of Aswan before I take the ferry (the only allowed route) into Sudan. From the small town of Wadi Halfa it is a tough 1000km slog down to the capital Khartoum along dire roads through the baking dry heat of the Nubian desert. From Khartoum I head east into Ethiopia and will hopefully arrive into the Capital Addis Abeba around the end of the month from where I shall send my next update, wish me luck!
Thank you all for donating and/or spreading the word, so much has already been achieved. We are within a few percent of the preliminary fundraising target of 5000 pounds which is absolutely fantastic!! When this target is achieved the target will be set higher so please spread the word and lets see how much we can raise!
As always the website is www.wheresadam.net and the justgiving site is www.justgiving.com/adamwolley
Also my mobile number is 07590 840456 and I love receiving texts from home while im on the road and will respond where possible.
My dad recently said 'Africa is a harsh place yet you feel more alive there than anywhere else'. I couldn't agree more...
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