Life in the desert

The other morning I decided I'd be a little late to work and try to squeeze a run in the Wadi first. Sunrise is at 6am these days but it has been very light out at 5:30am. I got a little later start than I would have liked (had to convince myself to get out of bed) but I was running by 5:45 am.

Totally worth it. The dawn was cool and it was very interesting to see that sunrise takes about 2 minutes from just peaking out, to total sun.

Meg and I have commented many times about how the entry ticket we get shows all sorts of wildlife but we've never seen any indication of life in the rocky landscape. Well, this morning I saw a desert fox run across my path and up a ridge line before ducking out of sight. VERY COOL and it really made my day.

We'll see if I can make this a regular event.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Al-Azhar Mosque

A friend and I made a trip down to the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar this morning to buy gifts for our upcoming trips back to the U.S. and visited the Al-Azhar Mosque afterward. The mosque was built in two years beginning in 971 AD and is one of the oldest mosques in Cairo. Its sheikh is considered the highest theological authority for Egyptian Muslims. In 988 AD a university grew in connection with this mosque and became the world's second oldest educational institution.





The academic focus of Al-Azhar has remained much the same for over a millenium: its students study the Qur'an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the lunar phases of the moon. Most of this learning is done by listening in a circle at the feet of a sheikh and rote memorization. Al-Azhar is considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic law, and its scholars are seen as the highest scholars in the Muslim world.

The entrance to the mosque is through the 15th-century Barber's Gate, where students traditionally had their heads shaved. The photo above was taken just inside this gate. Once through the gate you turn in your shoes (be sure to wear socks) and women must cover their hair with a scarf. You then proceed into a great courtyard, which dates from the 10th century and is overlooked by three minarets. These tall needle-like towers are where the call to prayer is sung from. The courtyard's white facade is accented by rosettes and keel-arched panels.

Students studying at the university live within this mosque in the latticework-screened residential quarters. These are not open to visitors, but we were fortunate to meet a teacher from the school who showed us the prayer hall, which is carpeted and supported by alabaster pillars (photos below).

Notice the individual prayer spaces marked in the carpet pattern. Each points toward Mecca.

My friend and I had a guide take us up the spiral stone stair case of one of the minarets for a spectacular view of Cairo. From the top we could see the alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali which lies within the walls of the Citadel (first photo below).

Skiing in Cervinia, Italy

In April we reunited with our friends from the Telemark Ski Co. for a week of spring skiing in the shadow of the Matterhorn. As has been the case for each trip we have taken with this company the group of skiers we meet on these trips are an absolute blast to be with and we remain friends after the trip has ended.



The village of Cervinia (pronounced: Chervinia) is down in the valley with a winding road climbing up to our small hotel on the mountain side. The road was just long enough and steep enough to keep us from walking down into town each night for a beer. This was for the best as ski instruction had everyone up bright and early for breakfast in order to be on the slopes for the first lift of the day.



Meg did not take lessons on this trip as she was working on her online course work for half of each day and simply skiing for fun the other half. Seth did take lessons and his skiing showed it. He improved significantly from earlier this year and had a great time jumping off piste and playing in the crusty powder.



It was snowing like Christmas morning when we arrived in Cervinia, big, fat, fluffy flakes. Unfortunately it did not snow again while we were there. The lack of fresh snow coupled with balmy spring temperatures meant that the snow melted a bit each day and then froze over night covering the off piste with a layer of crust that would break through to softer snow underneath. The gang made the best of it and had a great time none the less.



We learned that there was to be a Telemark Ski Festival during the week we were in Cervinia. The festival consisted of a "race" in which strangers, many of whom are dressed in classic ski attire, were partnered up together and had to navigate a slalom course followed by clearing a low snow wall and finally ducking under a wooden arch and ringing a cow bell the size 0f your head. During the race competitors were required to duck off the course periodically for a drink of wine, champagne, Gienepy or any other alcoholic beverage of your choice. Needless to say everyone in our group asked, "Where do I sign up?"

Meg was partnered up with a local known as "The Flying Pineapple" because of his blonde dreadlocks and his speed on skis.



Fortunately for Meg he had a flask of "magic potion" in his pack that he offered at every stop. After the race everyone gathered at a slope side restaurant for endless wine, pasta, meats and cheeses and an awards ceremony. We were serenaded by a local band throughout the festivities.




We came away from this trip with one thing on our mind: "Spring skiing rocks!" and we will very likely be back next year for another go.

Cairo to Ain Sukhna via Bicycle

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Originally uploaded by SethTri

I've been riding with the Cairo Cycling Club on a pretty regular basis. There are several riders who are very strong and can drop me like a bag of rocks if I don't pay close attention. Even when I am, I'm frequently on the red line a lot more than I'd like to admit.

The normal Friday ride is usually a loop that is somewhere around 70-100km long. It generally takes me out for 2.5-3.5 hours depending on route and whether or not someone has a flat in the group I'm riding with.

On April 30, 14 of us rode from Cairo towards Ein Sukhna on the Red Sea coast. It's about 140km from start to finish with a few reasonably decent hills on it. The road was nice and smooth and the weather was just about perfect with temps in the low-70s and overcast skies keeping the sun at bay.

Eventually the pace broke the field into a couple groups and I stuck with the leaders. Teamwork was great and we managed to do a good job sharing the work and drafting off of each other in a good pace line of 5 riders. Four hours, 140km, 2200 ft later we pulled into the resort town of Ein Sukhna after averaging 22.5 mph. 

We saw a bunch of mountain bikers out there for a ride and got quite a bit of attention from the locals. Meg drove down with another rider's wife and took some shots of us. After a quick shower and a nice lunch with a bunch of other riders, we spent the rest of the day at the beach. We were planning on spending the night there, but unfortunately we couldn't get a room. So, with an hour or so left before sunset, we headed home to Cairo.

it was a great ride, a fast ride and finding options like this just barely over an hour from home was great.

Spring Blooms in Maadi

Spring has arrived in Egypt and our suburb, Maadi, is in full bloom. Seth and I have commented more than once on how surprised we are to see so much color around. We had not imagined our time in Egypt would include such rich spring time beauty but the gardeners are out early in the mornings and every hose seems to be gushing before the midday sun reaches its peak. I took these photos during a 45 minute walk around our neighborhood. Feast your eyes on what spring brings to Egypt.















This last photo is not as "spring-like" but I came across this tree in the middle of a road that was being dug up and under construction and it caught my eye.

Dropped in Cairo

This morning, I got up at 6am to go riding with the Cairo Cyclists. This was the second time I had decided to go out for a ride with them. Last week it was just me and one other guy. Apparently there was a large group doing a 2 day ride from Taba to Sharm el Sheik, so most people didn't show up. Last weekend it was about 35 miles over 2 hours on a reasonably paced ride -- I was able to hold a conversation the entire time and despite a mild head wind the entire ride, it was nice and pleasant. (Yes, a head wind in BOTH directions.) The roads we took are some of the more major roads in the area -- 4 lanes in each direction -- but riding at 7am on a Friday means no one is on them and there is plenty of room. It was a nice way to get back into the saddle after a long hiatus.

Today was different.

Very different.

When I showed up today, there were a dozen guys at the meetup point a couple were in full kits. I normally ride in my GW kits because they're some of the best riding gear I have, but the impression I give off is that I must be serious about my riding. So I was fairly impressed to see there were a couple guys who at least used to be serious about their riding.

That's because they still are serious about their riding.

Today we took the same route out of town and the pace was initially fairly chatty as we warmed up and kind of got acquainted with each other. At the first turn off we stopped and regrouped and maybe half the group had been gapped by some distance despite the chatty nature of the ride so far. So we continued on but the chattiness started to dissipate and a pace line started forming up. I really enjoyed this a lot. It's been at least 3 years since I've ridden in a pace line with people that knew what they were doing, and while there were a few surges in the pace line as some stronger riders hit the front, it was fairly smooth and was nice to be able to sit in, ride at a tempo, take a 60 second pull on the front then peel off and return to the wind break. As we were about 1-2km away from the police check point, the pace suddenly surged hard right after my pull and I was spat out the back, but I figured there was some sort of charge for a line up front before the regroup.

Nope.

As we waited for the rest to catch up, there was a discussion about whether or not they would go farther. Some guys decided to turn around, but a large group decided that they would ride out to "the Heineken sign" and turn around there. It would make for a 45km ride out -- 20km farther than where we were already. Getting dropped already had me a little concerned but more worrisome was whether or not my butt would be able to survive that long. Other than a 1/2 IM I did this summer as a total goof, I haven't ridden that far in at least 2 years, maybe 3. I haven't been in the saddle at all since August other than last Friday and I was a little tender. But I decided to go anyway. Gotta get that butt harder somehow, right?

I should not have been worried about my butt.

As we pulled out of the check point, it was quite clear this was not amateur hour anymore. We dropped right into a paceline and it was fun. I put in some solid efforts and for the most part was able to hang just fine. But I started to get concerned by some surges that I was going to have an issue on the way home, so I decided I was going to turn around at the next option. Turns out that was 5 km away, and it was the turn around point we were headed for.

I was right to be concerned.

After regrouping at the turnaround, the slight uphill turns into a slight downhill. We started flying down the hill. And it wasn't just because we were going downhill. Even with the hill, it felt like we were charging pretty hard. I saw my computer hit 37 mph despite a mild headwind.

Hrm.. that's a little alarming. We still have 40 km to go.

Then I heard someone say something about the sprint line is the top of the next hill. I looked up and saw the top of a slight grade about 2km off in the distance. "Ok," I thought, "I'll just sit in and when they sprint for the top I'll just let them go. It's still a ways off though, so no worries."

Then I saw 2 guys starting to charge past me on the left. Seriously? A 2 km long sprint?

Yes, a 2km long sprint. Most of the field chased on. I tried but couldn't close the gap. Dropped. Seriously dropped.

I watched them pull away from me and before I knew it, they were an impossible distance ahead of me. If they didn't stop long enough at the check point, I was going to call Meg there and tell her I was a long ways out on my own. Either be patient or come out and pick me up. But they waited, for everyone and I wasn't the last guy. So maybe they had had their fun and I'd be able to hang out for the last 10 miles.

Nope. The fun wasn't over yet. Within 5 km it was just me and one other guy chasing back on again.

After a total of 94 km (56 miles), 3.5 hours, and a little kiss of sun on my arms and face the hammerfest was over. It was a very fun first half, and once I get myself into some better form, it'll be a great group to ride with. But damn. It's going to be a rough ride to get there. Of all the things I knew I could do in Cairo, I had no idea hammerfest cycling would be an option. Whodathunkit?

Global Weirding Hits Egypt

In Digital Journal, Andrew Moran writes:

In Egypt, a strong hail storm has killed at least four people and injured approximately 50. The storm has caused extreme chaos on the streets of Egypt's capital. Friday, a hail storm in Cairo, Egypt has killed at least four people and more than 50 others. Severe weather conditions have caused chaos in the capital’s streets, while traffic accidents have increased and panic among citizens. Cairo’s storms saw slippery roads and lightning consistently striking the streets. In the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria, there have been reports of waves as high as two-story buildings. The General Authority for Red Sea Ports announced that a European luxury cruise ship smashed into a pier in the small town of Sharm el-Sheikh in the morning, which killed three sailors and injuring four tourists. Meteorologists are expecting the weather to continue into the weekend.

Our Personal Experience:

Thursday morning we were walking to the gym when I felt a drop on my head. "It's raining! Either that, or a bird just shat on my head," I said. "I'm sure it's a bird," Seth offered helpfully. Then he felt a drop. Nope, it was rain. This was only the beginning. Later that day the wind kicked up and the dark clouds rolled in. Marble-sized hail began to batter the windows and trees. I wouldn't say it was "raining" so much as "mudding." All the accumulated dust and grit on every leaf was washed down onto the roads and cars, covering them in sticky mud. From the apartment window the lightning lit up the wild scene outside, accented by occasional cracks of thunder. I was oblivious to the havoc the storm was wreaking with the city.

By 7:00 pm I hadn't heard from Seth yet to say he was on his way home, which is unusual. I picked up the phone to call him but there was no dial tone. Cell phones weren't working either. Clue #1. Thirty minutes later Seth got a text message through saying that he was on the subway platform waiting for a train. A half an hour after that he called to say he was stuck on a train that had lost power with some passengers choosing to abandon the train and walk. He stayed on and the train began to move again, slowly. Then it stopped again and this time he joined the crowd leaving for the streets. Once off the tracks and on the road he realized it was going to be one long 7 mile walk home on flooded roads as traffic was at a stand still and all cabs were full. Ugh.

The poor guy schlept himself along in soggy dress shoes for the next 2 hours. When he finally got close enough that the cars could get through I drove to meet him and bring him home.

*sigh* Rough night, but it was much worse form some others. Happily home safely.