Our adventure begins after a few days of final preparation in Cairo, one of the worlds most ancient and fascinating cities. From the shadows of the Pyramids of Giza, with the entire African continent between us and our distant destination Cape Town,  our early morning departure will leave us overflowing with mixed emotions.

The sphinx may even give a wry smile.

From here we ride to the Red Sea and along the coastal highway to Safaga before turning inland as we 'climb' across the rugged Eastern desert of Upper Egypt where we rejoin the Nile River at Qena.

Next stop Luxor, the magnificent ancient center of  Upper Egyptian culture. We are both looking forward to returning after so long to experience anew the awesome architecture & history. The Temples of Karnak & Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and Queens, the Temple of Hatchepsut.

"I believe there is a hot air balloon ride over Luxor now Patrick".

We then continue along the banks of the Nile passing through villages that have not changed for hundreds of years, witnessing the lifestyle of these people and their cultures as we continue our ride to the oasis of Aswan and the Aswan Dam.

We will travel overnight by boat down Lake Nassur, past the engineering marvel that is Abu Simbel and into Waidi Haifa in one of the worlds most remote and least visited countries, Sudan.

Sudan, a country that elicits numerous conflicting images & emotions. This will be an amazing opportunity to see and experience what many consider to be the beginning of the 'real Africa'. Here we have the chance to pay witness as Sudans' past, present and future crash headlong together into the current century. Spinning past minarets, through palm grove villages and tracks of sandy Nubian desert, the soundtrack of the 'call to prayer' and new Chinese funded infrastructure, all backdrops of today's Sudan.

We will end this first section at the confluence of the both the Blue and White Nile with a convoy ride into the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum, a city of fascinating literary and historical imagery - part oasis, part  mirage.

To feel the desert wind on our faces and experience the romance of biking along one of the great rivers of the world through the land of the Pharaohs, the Nubians and the Cush could elicit feelings of being among the very first cyclists or travelers here or simply the feeling of very sore bums & sand filled orifices.