First 500km in the bag

27th December - Middle Of Syrian Desert to Palmyra - distance 84km - descent 350m - av speed 25km/hr

Our first night in the new tent was met with a frost in the middle of the Syrian desert. An early morning brew at just gone 6.30am meant that life returned to the limbs and inner warmth returned. Whilst Rowena captured the morning scene by artwork (puts our photos to shame) the others set about causing as much havoc as possible trying to pack the tent away. After a quite abysmal attempt, Dickie and Rowena sent the cyclists on their way whilst re-packing the tent – where would we be without them?!

With the evening weigh in ahead, people were determined to shed more pounds so that their stats looked good. This was all very well, but caused our intrepid leader Dom to experience his first bike incident. He puts it down to putting in extra effort compared to the rest of us, whilst we have our own opinions.. Luckily roadside bike maintenance soon got him on his way (see Rowena’s sketch) with crank back fully working and no possible reason for anymore heroic struggling on in the face of adversity (so he tells us!).

Whilst Sarah and Pauline caught up on the news that girls catch up on (they are convinced that they will never run out of things to talk about, unlike us boys who talk about bike things, and other things boys talk about!), Jamie, Dom and Nic re-enacted the Team Discovery team time trial from the last Tour de France. They ate up the road and were a sight for any passing motorist. It is this type of poetry in motion which has to be seen to be believed.

Finally Palmyra was reached and all that remained was to find the hotel at £2 per night which Dickie had given us directions to. With Sarah needing food fast, the hotel was found and a hasty trip to the Pancake House for pancakes and beer (just the one!) sufficed even her hunger pains. The day was finished with a trip to the ruins of Palmyra as the sun set, with weekly weigh in and profile photo fast approaching.

Posted by Nic

It beats Wincanton races

26th December - Abu Al Ashamat to middle of the desert - distance 105km- ascent 120m - av speed 23km/hr

I must get used to these early starts. Nic lit the stove at just after six and then, just like Bagpus, all the mice on the merry organ sprung into life. We were very lucky that our first night in the desert was in a disused building as it gave us room to spread out all the equipment and get organised. Rowena took charge of operations as only a lady can and found spaces and containers for everything sprawled across the floor. I was suitably impressed and went to humping mode and packed the van feeling very humbled.

The cyclists were away at around 8, a little later than advertised but hey it is Boxing Day after all. With Jamie leading the way they looked ready for action and charged into the distance. Rowena and I spent the next hour and a half clearing camp and getting Martha ready for the road. Martha is certainly getting easier to pack and we have the makings for a sound routine.

The desert road is impressive. Leaving Damascus was sad but the open road is wonderful. It is almost like being back at sea where all you can see is water. Here, the red and orange stones dominate the landscape broken by the long straight grey road stretching as far as the eye can see. We have also been blessed with some rugged mountains to complete the picture.

We caught up with the cyclists at around 11. Pauline always wins the prize for being the most cheerful on the road but I still cannot take her seriously with tinsel on the handlebars and a clown horn. I do enjoy the odd honk though. After discussion with the boys it was decided that 20km more were needed for lunch. We suitably obliged and found a great spot in the sun further down the road. We prepared a feast fit for a cyclist, of rolls, olives, salad, cheese, nuts, fruit salad, dates, figs, raisins and Christmas Cake (thanks Val, much appreciated by all). All washed down with a nice cup of Heineken (Dom's idea not mine mother before you think it).

40 Km later we drove off into the wilderness to put up the tent. Luckily the leading group of Nic and Jamie were quickly on hand to help put up the tent for the first time. In fact everyone soon had their part to play in trying to work out the puzzle. In the end the artistic eye of Rowena spotted that we had the poles the wrong way round and hey presto. An easy mistake to make I can assure you.

The good news is that everything seems to work. The Honda generator started easily and everything is on charge so we can remain in contact with you all. Life is good and we all enjoy your messages of support. In fact I have to sign off and drink to your health with a gin and tonic from Sarah and sample Rowena's cooking. Cheers...

Posted by Dickie

Merry Christmas from somewhere in Syria

25th December - Damascus to Abu Al Ashamat - distance 64km - descent 90m - av speed 24.3km/hr

Happy Christmas!! After an alternative Christmas dinner last night the team enjoyed the comfort of a good matress and had a lie in. Dom and Dickie were woken at 8ish by a rather excited Sarah who had just opened her stocking (thanks mum!) and the team proceeded to exchange secret santa gifts - kites, murder mystery, beat bob, pub quizzes, boggle....we won't be bored. We then set off in search of a decent breakfast, more specifically for the Four Seasons Hotel (thanks to Sarah Holmes!) which we'd heard had marble inlay in the bedrooms and therefore was bound to have a decent buffet breakfast. We were not disappointed. Jamie led the way by approaching different 'buffet stages', Rowena prefering to stay sitting and ask the waiters to bring it to the table. It really was rather good, and the freshly squeezed orange juice was excellent.

A quick 5 minute walk back to our hotel, we packed everything up, scrubbed some of the mud off the bikes from yesterday and set off. City cycling in Damascus....interesting. Nic did a superb job of navigating through the maze of streets, getting directions from locals and weaving through the traffic. Once out of the city it was simpler, though the lack of hard shoulder made for some closer encounters with vehicles than we've had previously. We had the third puncture of the trip - glass in Sarah's tyre, but happily there were lots of willing local men on hand to help.

The cyclists, aware of the gathering gloom, found some abandoned buildings off the main road and took shelter to wait for Ro and Dickie who were buying final camping supplies. It got increasingly cold but Pauline had some awesome dance moves to keep us all warm. At last we saw Martha's headlights coming down the road towards us.

We're all now a lot warmer, the kettles on, and we're starting to make dinner. So in summary, we left the inn in favour of an abandoned building.....sound familiar? Merry Christmas.

Posted by Sarah

Still wet and still fun

24th December - Derra to Damascus - distance 107km - ascent 170m- av speed 25.3km/hr

An early rise initiated by Dom (who i'm sure only got up first because he wanted some breakfast) meant we could crack on with the 100km to Damascus and enjoy a relaxing Christmas Eve in a nice hotel. However, it took us so long to get Dickie out of bed that we ended up leaving slightly later then scheduled! During the first couple of hours the cyclists set an average speed of about 20mph as the road was long and flat and we had a welcomed tail wind. This however only lasted until we were offered tea by a group of locals. While we were enjoying a warm brew by a heater, the local children thought it would be funny to reset Jamie's speedo - maybe this was because it had the highest figures! Back on the bikes the heavens opened and even full waterproof gear couldn't keep us dry. Rowena and Dickie provided the cyclists with a slap up lunch which was devoured under the shelter of a garage. Sarah took advantage of this well selected spot by using it as a toilet that was hidden from interested children and rabid dogs! Cold and wet extremities didn't stop the EVERESTMAX team from reaching their goal and they hit the road for one last push to the Syrian capital. By this point we were covered head to toe in mud so it didn't really matter that the road into Damascus was half flooded. As Nic tried to dodge the city traffic, Pauline got puncture number 2 but a swift team effort got her back on the road in no time at all. We found a hotel that had enough radiators to dry all our wet gear and now we are all washed and about to go out and enjoy a slap up meal, celebrate Christmas and feel festive! Happy Christmas.

Posted by Jamie

Fun and wet from Jordan to Syria

23rd December - Amman to Derra - distance 106km - descent 170m - av speed 20.3km/hr

Day 2 for the cyclists and day 2 for Martha (a democratically chosen name for the van chosen to soften an otherwise 'hard' image and possibly more in keeping with reality). Up by 6am so we could cycle the 81km to the border in time to get across with Ro and Dickie and of course, Martha. We cycled off before rush hour and on a holiday so no real fun negotiating the Amman 'traffic system' (possible misnomer for chaos). We all stopped for a break and navigational excercise at a road junction and somehow managed to have a discussion about whether to go in the direction of Iraq or Syria. Dom as our chief and leader opted for Syria. We tend to cycle within a close range of each other sometimes alone sometimes in groups and I was lucky enough to be with Nic for his first 'wipe out'. Poetic license could kick in here but I need to spend another 6 months with him so I will just say it was a dynamic recovery from a dramatic slide where all his quick releases kicked in and proved to be in full working order. Shoes, hands and camera bag...phew! So moving swiftly on (very swiftly so I don't take the mick).

The weather made us feel so at home and warm memories came flooding back between bouts of rain and wind. Those of us that live in the north remembered to pack our rain jackets as part of a daily ritual even during heatwaves of summer. However, Sarah Jamie and Nic braved it in short sleeved tops and attracted lots of attention for being either hard or crazy. By the time we got to the border at Jabal, Dickie had been sending us cryptic text messages of their progress at getting Martha through the border control. As for us, the border police loved the boys bare legs (Sarah and I wear long all the time) and particularly like Jamie's name...'What is your name? Nice name! Welcome!' None of the rest of us seem to get the same enthusiastic reaction so he is a great decoy as us with boring names show our passports and cycle through. By the time we had cycled over 80km we were cold and wet and waiting for more cryptic messages from Dickie for his progress report on how much money he could give away to the border officials. We took residence in a great cafe with a viewing gallery to watch our precious bikes. We met Alison an English lady living in Holland working in Jordan and visiting Syria.. Perfect information office and what made it special is that Sarah could go public on her addiction to rocks as Alison was an archeologist. Hooray... She came out! While we happily ate, drank and warmed up, in came Ro to give us a verbal and visual update of the day by acting our her role as Dickie's gofa and wife role. Who needs TV... Just have a session with Ro, it is so much more entertaining. Once through the border, the boys got second wind and overtook Sarah and I innocently setting a steady pace... They were performing to camera - we knew there was a reason for such a display of bald headed energy ( yes Dom let Sarah lose with the hair clippers last night and he is now offically in the nearly bald club with Nic and Jamie.) Anyway, us girls driven merely by girl stuff did the same to the now smug unsuspecting boys, and Ro worked her magic by getting it on film..hooray! Anyway, frivolity turned to focus as the heavens opened after about 16km and no hotel or camp site in sight. Dickie and Ro did their stuff and we all have such faith in them that we just cycled and knew we would meet them in Dar'a (20km from the border) and bingo, they found the only hotel in town but with one snag...it was booked up with 22 German cyclists! Of all the bike stops in all the world, they had to choose this one! However, being a tad cold and wet we were suitably tenacious and went for a drink at their hotel while they went round town with the hotel manager in tow looking for a camp site. They didn't seem to believe that a floor in the restaurant would be great compared to putting up our huge tent with springy bits for the first time in the wet and dark. However as good fortune had it (probably helped by the fact we made camp in their restaurant area), one German did not turn up and we were given a room with 3 beds, a pull out for 2 and a portable matress....Heaven!! Happiness is a room in Der'a!

Posted by Pauline

...it's a girl!

22nd December - Amman - distance 0km - ascent 0m - av speed 0km/hr

We finally have a van. And we love her already. We know she's a girl as she had a full make over today...!

For the first few days we needed Dom's contact, Dickie's influence, Sarah's chit chat and Pauline's looks to weave our way through a tangle of endless legalities. Buying a van in Jordan is simple - if you are staying in Jordan. If you want to export then you need local contacts and legal advice. The answer was Hassan and the Zarqa Free Zone.

Hassan is a an excellent man who works for the RAC of Jordan and who has helped us tirelessly, accepting nothing in return. The Zarqa Free Zone is a bizzarre town just outside Amman entirely made up of car lots, all for export. On Hassan's recommendation Dickie and I met Jamal in the Free Zone and he had a van that seemed excellent. It's a clean, tidy, dark blue 3 litre Kia deisel van. We bought her on Wednesay and collected her today.

On the way back to Amman we stopped to have the oil changed, and the make over began.. She ended up having her oil changed, air filter replaced, oil filter changed, brake fluid topped up, cooling water filled, brake disks replaced, lights mended and then best bit.. a full valet service to die for. Five men spent an hour cleaning her inside and out, underneath and in the engine! All of it buffed and smelling beautiful... and all for two pounds and twenty pence!

We have a roof rack to fit and she is ready to take us to Nepal. We think she is called Martha!!!....Sagarmartha.

Posted by Ro

We're off!!

21st December - Dead Sea to Amman - distance 78km - ascent 1270m - av speed 11.2km/hr

At last we are off! After a 6 o'clock start and breakfast of pitta bread and cheese (not Dom's idea of an ideal breakfast!), we drove south with a taxi packed full of people and bikes. The journey was spectacular as we descended over 1000m from Amman down to the Dead Sea. After a few pictures we enjoyed a swim in the very salty water (Sarah dipped her tongue in to check - idiot!). Dickie and Ro headed off in search of a vehicle to purchase (more on this soon) leaving the rest of the team to face the climb back to Amman under beautiful blue skies.

A few km after starting we turned off the highway onto a quieter road which wound up through the mountains (we ended up doing just under 2000m of climbing today). The scenery was incredible and the road relatively traffic free. We climbed steadily for about 4 hours past Mount Nebo (where Moses looked out over the promised land) to the town of Madaba up on the plateau; Nic making mincemeat of even the steepest sections of the road. Lunch consisted of fizzy drinks and swiss rolls though perhaps not enough to satiate Jamie's appetite. Refuelled we headed on to Amman even enjoying a police escort through some of the trickier sections of Madaba.

We have been really impressed by the welcome of everyone we've met on route. However, we did experience the traditional practice of stone throwing at cyclists by Jordanian children - Pauline was hit on the foot but didn't suffer any injury thankfully.

Posted by Dom