I’m the middle of the Sahara. So no – I don’t have internet connection. It is Sunday though so I thought I’d preset a small post for you to enjoy anyways.
Any guesses where I might be at? Well.
If you take glance on your North African map my hopes are that I’m mid desert somewhere just north of Dakhla, Western Sahara. And also that I’m in mental and physical shape good enough to pass it, rather than taking that way too long detour to reach town and the comforts of civilisation.
Who knows though?
The last thing I received before leaving Nouakchott was a comment from this Czech dude and one of the few people with personal experience of riding against the wind through the Sahara desert:
‘I will keep all my fingers crossed for you! Cycling from Nouakchott northbound is the worst stretch I have ever done. Every day is just such a pain with those terrible headwinds! I hope you have crossed at Diama, because that NP is the most interesting thing for a long time to come. After Nouakchott and especially after crossing into Western Sahara there is little worth cycling for. Be sure to take 15-20l of water and prepare to be averaging around 50km a day with 8km/h. It’s pure masochism! Good luck and let the winds be kind to you!’
Given that – my hopes of already having passed Dakhla seem about as feasible as having reached all the way back to Sweden. We’ll see though. In my experience boys tend to whine about headwinds the same way they do about colds anyways ;-)
And it really doesn’t matter. I’ve got a toothbrush to get the sand out from between my teeth every evening. And I’ve got time. One really doesn’t need more than that.
I realise now this is one weird post. From past me – without any idea of what present me is doing where.
Or well – cycling is quite an alright guess I suppose.
And of course, keeping the Saharan promise I’ve made to myself. That small promise that looks different every time and yet continues to make all the difference. The one which has kept this Swedish girl sane through insane times a million times before. And which is likely to turn even the ‘masochism of the Sahara’ into one helluva good time.
There are quite a few of them. But I’m expecting my main challenges to be headwind and monotony. Leading the sanity promise to this time look like this:
The Saharan Daily Promise 2017:
– every morning: Dance to one full Tove Lo song.
– every day: Sprint in tailwind. Smile the whole walk back.
– every evening: Journal 3 beautiful things you’ve never seen before.
– & don’t: Read your speed. Only time spent.
I won’t preset anything for next week. Let’s assume that I’ve made it to that first safe spot by then. And if you don’t hear anything let’s decide that it’s only because I lost track of time out there.
Smiling, dancing – and finding the beauty in hell.
Until next time,
Fredrika