FATHERHOOD!!

Isn't fatherhood grand! Parenthood in general. Jazzy has been in Abu Dhabi since Wednesday with her varsity girls basketball team so I have had the opportunity to spend the last 4 days with Anaka...just me and Anaka. I have my hands full but it is great. Living the ex-pat, overseas teacher life provides us with the opportunity to spend a lot of time together as a family. Way more than we used to at home. We spend a lot of time together, but usually the three of us. Sure I take Anaka out Sunday and Tuesday evenings while Jaz teaches yoga, but this is different. I have her from the time she wakes up in the morning until she goes to bed at night and it's different. Makes me realize what a great kid she is. Jaz comes home tonight, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy the rest of the evening with her!

TABA-SHARM RIDE

This past weekend I loaded my bike on the bus with 14 others from the Cairo Cycling Club and headed to Taba for an epic weekend of cycling. Thursday night we drove to the Taba Hilton which is on the Isreal-Egypt border in the Sinai (the hotel that was bombe two years ago). We spent the night there and after breakfast Friday morning headed for Dahab. Friday's ride was amazing along the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. It started with about 40 km of rolling hills with a few short but steep climbs. After a couple photo's (Salah El Din Castle) early on, three of broke away and it was steady peddaling for about 60 km. At the 60 KM mark we stopped at a Korean/Chineese/Japanese rest. to wait for the others and regroup before the big climb. The other two waited and I turned back to pick up some of the stragglers and help them in. After a short stop and re-fuel and re-water we headed off again for about 3km until we hit the base of the big climb. At the base the group broke up again and I managed to latch on the tim's wheel and draft him most of the way up. The climb was a killer, 12 km with 900m of elevation change and smoking hot. It took about 40min of hard pedalling. At the top we were treated to warm coke and melted chocolate at Bedoin bob's. After everyone arrived we headed off again for the remaining 70km to Dahab. 4 of us broke away early and as we picked up a headwind, worked together in a small pace line all the way in. In total my ride was 152 km of some steady, hard riding. After arriving at the Hilton in Dahab, I strapped the running shoes on and went for an easy 5km run.

On Saturday morning after breakfast we headed out of Dahab to start the day with a 30km steady but significant climb. After waiting at the top for everyoned we had a great 60km run in to Sharm, the first 40km of which were downhill with some significan decents (I hit 49 miles per hour on one decent). We arrived in Sharm at the Hilton by noon having covered 90km. After lunch at the hilton and a short swim and shower we boarded the bus and headed back to Cairo. In two days we covered 240km's down the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba and covered the whole length of the Sinai Penninsula. It was amazing riding with near perfect conditions and a great training ride for me.

Today is exactly 15 weeks to Ironman and I am starting to feel like it may happen!

Cheers for now.