A Hot, Dry, Thirsty Bastard Rally?

Wouldja like to ride through Egypt, with the Sinai mountains in the background? Photo: Cross Egypt Challenge
Wouldja like to ride through Egypt, with the Sinai mountains in the background? Photo: Cross Egypt Challenge

What’s a rider to do, if you’ve mastered CMG’s Mad Bastard Rally?

Well, first off, ride east and take part in CMG’s Dawn ’til Dusk motorcycle rally next month. Then, get your passport ready for a trip to Egypt, to take part in the Cross Egypt Challenge.

Egypt makes a lot of money off tourism – according to the Challenge’s website, it accounts for 11.4 per cent of the country’s GDP. But you might have heard about some political upheaval over there recently, which has deterred tourism. After all, nothing puts a damper on your vacation more than an angry horde of rioters.

The Challenge organizers are hoping to change that, though, with their scooter rally. They ran it once before, in 2011, with 15 riders showing up from four countries, completing a 1,700-kilometre journey from the Mediterranean coast down to the temple of Abu Simbel in the country’s south.

Organizers are hoping this year’s rally, which covers 2,400 kilometres, will “promote tourism, alternative sports, and alternative means of transportations in Egypt.” They already have 20 riders signed up; the rally starts October 12 and runs for eight days.

This year’s rally will start in Cairo, then head to the ancient city of Alexandria, then Marsa Matrouh. From there, they’ll head to the Siwa, Bahareya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga oases, and end in Luxor, the world’s largest open air museum.

If this sounds like fun to you, and you just happen to have the time off in October, click on this link to their site, or visit them on Facebook.

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