penguinprint

Something about publicly announcing a goal on the internet and being held accountable with fellow denizens of the WWW makes one want to accomplish a goal. The last few days have been decent; I could spend the first 10 hours of a day internet free; am trying to cap daily use to 2 hours?

One step at a time.

With one month left before another major chapter of my life closes, I think it’s finally time to come to face this terrible addiction that is the internet. Ironically, I need to use it to post this entry.

At any rate, the challenge starts tomorrow, and we’ll see what happens! Perhaps a rainbow, perhaps a friend, perhaps just abject failure?

Summer 2006 (June-August)

My 5 friends and I packed our bags and flew to Egypt with our bicycles, with little idea of what will be in store for our grand expedition which would take us from Aswan to Cairo on two wheels. Over the next few weeks we battled with fatigue and extreme heat, conquered the distance, and miraculously returned home in one piece.

It was a trip of a lifetime, particularly because we were completely on our own (aside from the ever-present police escorts) and were doing this to help raise funds for cancer research. I recall the countless days of waking at 2am to start a 5 hour long cycle just so we could beat the heat of the Egyptian sun. By 10am it was already too hot to cycle and we would have to seek shelter in the nearest town. Sometimes, in order to reach the next destination we would push on to ride over 100 kilometres a day.

Was it tiring? Oh, yes. I also discovered in the process that a truck going the opposite as you on the highway has the ability to pick up any loose shards of glass on the road and whip it in your face. Quite the experience.

It’s the sort of thing that prompts one to say, “That was fun. Let’s never, ever do it again.”

Our experiences documented at our Cycle the Nile 2006 website