Day 86: Cairo to Hurghada 480km 6.5hours 28°C

We are counting our blessings today.

We are now very thankful that Orlanda wasn't returned to us on Thursday. 

If we had set off on Friday we would have been caught in the extensive flooding on the highway past Ras Gharib to Hurghada.

We readily found our riding rhythm.

We were packed and ready to ride by 7am.

Three cheers for our Garmin. She was working well today as we rode the streets of heliopolis and East Cairo. 

Dick managed the Orlanda very well in the patches of massed  traffic.

There are few traffic lights and no roundabouts. 

Intersection design involves a series of switch backs. Akin to riding the Stelvio pass on flat ground.

Eventually we saw the road sign Hurghada and we enjoyed the ride along the three lane highway through the desert to Ain Sokhna past the sign for the first Chinese city in Egypt to the Red Sea coast. 

Clear air, turquoise sea and too many coastal resorts to count. 

Some bends in the road, a cup of tea, and then many km of straight roads.

Incongruous in the desert we encountered some surface water and some with recently cleared mud. 

Dick had prebooked a hotel south of Hurghada. 

The security guard came out of his office with the mirror used to examine the underside of vehicles. 

A good start to our ride south.