Egypt Cross Challenge- The rally that brings together bikes and scooters in Egypt

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Cross Egypt Challenge

Cross Egypt Challenge- The bikes and scooter rally in Egypt that enchants and surprises by the beautiful adventure route through the country.

Report: Claudia Terra #cmdterra Pictures: Cross Egypt Challenge and Mohamed Hassan Amin Cross Egypt Challenge is an adventure rally that brings together scooters and motorcycles on a multi-day trip through the beautiful landscapes of amazing Egypt.

The purpose of Cross Egypt Challenge is not the competition, but to complete the challenging route and to receive a certificate of participation. However, the biggest goal of the challenge which began to be held in 2011, is to promote tourism in Egypt.

According to the CEC's Advisory Board, the founder of the Cross Egypt Challenge is Ahmad Elzoghby, an entrepenaur who saw in motorcycle adventure sport the perfect union to spread the beauties of Egypt globally: he wanted to help the Egyptian tourism sector by creating a international cross-country rally that stood out and showed the best of Egypt. He later formed an organization called Cross World Challenges to manage the rally and soon began managing and offering other exotic adventure tours in other countries, such as the Cross Arabia Challenge and Cross India Challenge. We also plan to launch our tours in Africa in 2018. We currently offer two exotic tours in India, a Trans-Himalaya, visiting the highest road in the world and another cultural and

touristic tour of Rajasthan (the land of the Maharajas), "recalls the Cross Egypt Challenge founder.

Riders from more than 28 countries participated in the previous seasons of this super challenge: "The majority of CEC riders come from the USA, Australia and Canada. We already had riders from Brazil. We want to be better known in Brazil, I suppose there is a huge community of motorcyclists ready for adventure in this wonderful country, "says CEC founder. The route is the same for bikes and scooters, however, motorcycles and scooters form are two different formations that follow different schedules, each mode follows its rhythm. Both meet at the lunch stops, for fuel supply, stop and arrive at each destination together.

The 2017 edition took place from October 12 to 21 with a total distance of 2500 km.

The event brought together 28 scooters ranging from 150cc up to 600cc and 10 motorcycles starting from 400cc, main model were Honda CB 400, Kawasaki 1400GTR, Honda Goldwing FB6 1800 and BMW K1300GT. In the 2017 route the challenge passed through beautiful landscapes of the desert and made stops in famous tourist places of the country like the pyramids, in stretches with good roads, bad roads and, in few areas, he had until stretch without road.

Each new season of the rally a new route is introduced that is designed to include many of the famous sights in the the land of Cleopatra. Experienced motorcyclists or do not come together to participate in the Cross Egypt Challenge. In order to

participate in this adventure, you must have a minimum of 6 months of riding a motorcycle or scooter. The CEC brings together pilots with different technical levels and although they may have professional riders, generally the participants are motorcyclists who like to travel long adventure and fun, are not professional competition pilots. The event is not competition, as already mentioned. It brings together motorcyclists of various ages and genres: "We require a driving experience of at least 6 months to participate in the CEC. Some of those who have participated in the CEC in recent years are avid travelers from all over the world and explorers who ride on motorcycles. We also have had beginners to start the adventure on two wheels on long trips, "explains CEC.

There are many important attractions at this event, but perhaps what surprises, is the fact that it gives prominence to the participation of scooter. It is almost unlikely to imagine this small and agile two-wheeled vehicle, which is almost always used for short walks in urban areas, to be present in a long adventure of almost 3000 km passed by asphalt and dirt roads like the traditional motorcycles. It was precisely the scooters that kicked off the CEC and are the highlight of the event: "The idea was to create an adventure challenge with machines that are not designed to do that (like a small scooters), to cross the desert and make them perform just that. It's one of those thrilling adventures where you roll your machine to the limit. We added motorcycles later. It is much easier to do the Cross Egypt Challenge on a motorcycle, but the real adventure is to do it on a scooter, "reveals the Advisory Board of the CEC.

In fact imagine that making this trip in scooter will actually give you twice as much the adventure. As explained by the experienced Egyptian motorcyclist and crazy by Harley Davidson, Mohamed Hassan Amin, has in its history of motorcyclist another 30 thousand km shot in Harley Davidson by some countries of the Middle East: "It's challenging! Running 2500 km on a scooter one for a biker, this is challenging! But was funny. Part of the roads were under construction and not even compacted, so it was difficult to get past these areas, also parts of the road required a lot of attention, not allowing you to look around to enjoy the scenery. Cross is a challenge, so you always

have some difficulty involved. Being on a long trip on a scooter was a double challenge on a personal level since I never ride a scooter. But having participated in the cross allowed me to enjoy my own country and show that Egypt is safe and enjoyable for all my friends. In 2018 I want to participate with scooter again, but for this I depend on the availability of time in my work. I liked the organization and the participants, I liked the diversity of the itinerary's selection and the natural scenery with a mixture of local culture. I did not like the adventure to end, I wanted to continue for more days to run through a few more areas. " Mohamed attended the CEC with a SYM 150cc scooter.

The challenge always starts from the second largest city in Egypt, Alexandria, the venue of the event. This year, the route took the riders to the east of the Mediterranean city, to the small town of Port Said, one of Egypt's busiest port cities and the gateway to Africa, from there the challenge headed south on the Red Sea Rivera and passed through Ain Sokhna, Hurghada and Marsa Alam. After completing the coastal stages, the route took the riders to the desert part of this super adventure, crossoing the entire Egyptian eastern desert, one of the most difficult deserts on the planet due to its rock formations and mountain ranges to reach the Nile valley and to arrive to the ancient city of Luxor, the largest open air museum city in the world and the capital of ancient Egypt. The riders spent an extra day in Luxor to rest before completing the last two stages of the challenge.

From Luxor, the riders rode North to get to Minya, then the last stage of Cross Egypt Challenge 2017 took place to get everyone to Cairo, where the 2017 season ended

under the Great Pyramids of Giza where the riders received their certificates of completion in this beautiful scenery.

The 2017 season of the Cross Egypt Challenge included an endurance trail that traversed beautiful places in Egypt including modern cities, coastal resorts, beaches, historical sites, Egyptian Eastern Desert and Nile Valley. There were 10 days of travel, running an average of 270 km to 385 km per day, with the right to stop in beautiful places, performing extra activities for amusements. Lodging took place in 3 to 5 star luxury hotels and even camping (in this case the organization provides all camping equipment): "accommodation in each stage takes place in a different hotel, except for one destination where get everyone to camp under the stars either on the beach or in the desert. After arrivals to each destination, the riders have free time to explore the destination, enjoy the beach, or participate in an organized tour offered by our travel partners" says the Advisory Board of the CEC.

0 km DIA 1 / Reuniões de orientação e cerimônia de lançamento oficial 270 km DIA 2 / Alexandria – Port Said 290 km DIA 3 / Port Said – Ain Sokhna 260 km DIA 4 / Ain Sokhna – Hurghada 255 km DIA 5 / Hurghada – Marsa Alam 350 km DIA 6 / Marsa Alam – Luxor 0 km DIA 7 / Dia de descanso em Luxor 365 km DIA 8 / Luxor – Kharga Oasis 385 km DIA 9 / Khabi Oasis – Minya 315 km DIA 10 / Minya – Cairo 2.490 km DISTÂNCIA TOTAL

Cross Egypt Challenge has partnered with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the Egyptian Tourism Authority, the Automobile & Touring Club of Egypt and the Rotary Club of Alexandria Cosmopolitan to bring this challenge to the ground. The main sponsors for the 2017 season were the Cairo Marriott Hotel and Total (which operates in several countries, including Brazil, in the fuel sector), among other local sponsors.

The event has support in the cities where the route passes by, "many cities in our route offer official receptions to the riders. These receptions are always provided by the city's mayor or governor" explains CEC's Advisory. The event also has support from the country's motorcycle groups, especially the Alexandria groups, which participate annually in the first stage of the CEC in Alexandria.

In addition to the scooters another major highlight of the Cross Egypt Challenge is the safety and services provided by the organization during travel, such as mechanical services, medical services, food and beverages, photography, etc. It is a great structure to support the participants of the event. On average we have 6 support trucks and cargo vehicles with their specific functions: 1 fuel transport truck equipped with fuel supply tubes to fuel vehicles anywhere on the road; 1 giant cargo truck to transport supplies, spare parts, food and luggage of the participants; 1 truck to carry any broken vehicle, plus vehicles with photographic equipment, videos, etc.: "the number of vehicles increases or decreases based on the number of participants per season, but the average number is 6 vehicles. Riders are always accompanied during the trips by the support of the event. On average, around 20 people are involved in running the entire operation, "explains the CEC's Advisory Board. The organization also rents 150cc scooters and 600cc and 1000cc motorcycles for riders from other countries.

The inscription fees for the event includes: accommodation for the period of 8 nights in 3 to 5 stars in Triple rooms, 1 night camping in tents in the desert or on the beach; all meals during the event, including welcome and farewell dinners; personal accident insurance for riders during the challenge period; 3 branded long sleeve t-shirts and a branded polo shirt for each participant; 1 vest (only for motorcyclists); refueling throughout the challenge; oil change during the challenge; maintenance of motorcycles and scooters during the challenge; road tolls (where applicable); cost of military and special permits for the entire route; transfer from Cairo or Alexandria airport for international participants; all support services, including: mechanical support, medical, support trucks, photography, etc; transportation in air conditioned vans throughout the challenge for accompanying persons; transport of the rented vehicle to the starting point and pick-up at the finish line (for rental vehicles) and supply of basic spare parts in case of emergency (for rental vehicles).

Registration for the 2018 edition, which will be between 11 and 20 October, are open.

For the next edition of this event, the organization promises to create more exciting scripts and there is also the possibility of including 4x4 cars. The Cross Egypt Challenge

is a unique event for those who love adventure on two wheels with routes of surprising natural, cultural and historical landscapes in the millenarian country of the pharaohs.

Videos of Cross Egypt Challenge and others https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baZf0bT9hzc Cool Profiles!

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