Fridays in Egypt are like Sundays back home; not much is happening until the noon prayers are done at the mosques. It is the ideal time to drive around Cairo, as everybody is having a rest. We have our own Friday morning routine: get up early and prepare for the outdoors. Mary and the girls have their weekly horse ride in the desert or the fields and Piet attends his own mass: a mountain bike ride in Wadi Digla. After a long "career" as a football player Piet has slowly been converted to a passionate cyclist, and every week he rides at least twice: once on his racing bike, mounted on a stationary trainer, and once with his mates in the Wadi. There are two meeting points for this: "gate"; the entrance of the compound where we live, which is the starting point for the very fit. A 20 minute cycle ride further is the second point, "house", a visitor centre that never opened, where the less keen members assemble. Normally we make a loop around the Wadi, and then the "gate" boys split and cycle a bit further and back out again. Our usual companions are a couple of rabid dogs, helping us to test our lungs, the local inbred boy, waiting for his high five, and the sound of some agitated mullah from the mosques we cycle past. This is all nicely rounded off by an uphill sprint finish, arriving back home after a ride of 2 to 3 hours. Then lunch and often off to the next activity: the Hash. I will write another post about that religion soon!
Maarten is leading the pack on the climb to "The Tree"
Ruud is cycling up on one of the many little hills
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