Day 36: Khartoum – Tubing Hell....

A great night’s sleep in the tent in the Blue Nile Yacht Club. We’ve a plan in place, Rob is heading out on his bike to get stuff, hopefully some new inner tubes for me and a few bits he needs. Of pressing concern is the mileage I need to cover to make my appointment in Losaka. The average mileage required has steadily grown from 133 a day to 166 a day. We’ll have a sit down with Rob, discuss riding etiquette and how to get ahead of the mileage race....

But, Rob has had a disastrous day. He’s spent most of the morning getting lost trying to find inner tubes for me, oil for Rob Roy and a front tyre for his bike. And when he gets back, he’s lost his iPhone during the process, and hasn’t been able to get a front tyre. So now he’s off for more shopping whilst I get my bike fixed.

So, I fit the first, all is going very smoothly, happy days. Well, until I start pumping it up, the bastard has split! I thought it was a bit cheap for a tube, but no worries, I’ve got one more tube to try. It’s a lot harder than usual, mainly because it’s about 39c! Anyway, I throw the second tube in, sweating like a horse. It’s in, pump it up, it’s past where the last one burst, then boosh, the second wanker tube has blown. By the beard of Zeus this is shit. Lucky it’s in a city and not in the desert, and lucky Rob Roy also has a kit, we repair my original tube, fit it, all OK. I bust in to town and manage to find a repair kit and another tube. Back to the camp, test the kit, it’s all good and the tube looks better than the last two... And, all done just in time to grab a bite(after a shower...)!

Early to bed, we’re heading towards Ethiopia tomorrow!