Adding a little moto to vacation: Riding dirt bikes in Egypt

The owner, Hossam, was quick to respond. Yes, he would be happy to accommodate two keen riders for two sessions of desert riding. Just give him two weeks notice before arriving. It was that easy. No down payment or any other formalities. It seemed very casual and I had a bit of concern, because I would feel responsible if anything went wrong. After all, we had to do major re-routing of our itinerary to include a detour to the Red Sea, a long way from the sites of ancient ruins of pyramids, tombs, and temples. WhatsApp turned out to be the easiest form of communication and I stayed in touch with Hossam, making sure our plan was still on track.

Moto Club Egypt's website outlines the different desert rides: ocean view, dunes, or canyon. Bikes and gear are included in the price. After some back and forth chats with Hossam, we discovered that motorcycle gear is expensive and difficult to source in Egypt, so both Peter and our friend Philip, who was joining Peter for this adventure, decided it was wise to bring their own boots along for the ride.

Motorcycling in Egypt is different from the touring we do at home in Canada. It's very uncommon to see a rider wearing a helmet, let alone any other gear. Traffic is chaotic. If there are rules of the road, they are not obvious to visitors. Speed limits are posted but ignored and lanes, even where they are painted, seem to be irrelevant. The roads between towns are long, straight, and boring, through miles of desolate desert. Roads through rural villages are pitted with potholes and rutted with numerous speed bumps. Despite the road conditions, motorcycles are everywhere and are an important means of transportation for the locals. Sometimes the entire family will climb on board for an outing. It's either that or a donkey cart.

Peter observed that most bikes are Chinese air-cooled 150 cc standards. The owners seem to take great pride in them. Often on our travels, in the shade of an ancient temple or beside a strip of dusty shops, we would see a rider washing his motorcycle. A losing battle in a country where sand, dust, and desert prevail.

And here, as everywhere we travel, the fellowship of motorcycle riders flourishes. One day, while our group visited an alabaster shop, Peter spent the time admiring an obviously new bike outside the store. The owner quickly appeared and after chatting for while, Peter was invited to take the bike for a spin. Being conscious that this was quite an honor, he only took a short turn around the parking lot. He was surprised to find that the gearing was reversed, five down from neutral. It was a new model. CMG Apollo, which the owner told him was the best brand and cost 20,000 Egyptian Pounds. Doing the math, Peter estimated it to be approximately US$650. A modest amount by North American standards, but considering the recent devaluation of the Egyptian currency, a tidy sum for someone in Egypt.

After two weeks of traipsing through temples, tombs, and museums, we split from our tour group and with private van transportation travelled from Luxor to El Gouna, a modern resort town on the Red Sea. The four-hour drive took us past fields of sugar cane and through vast expanses of desert to the sea. As we got closer to the coast, rugged mountains surrounded us. A complete contrast from where we had been travelling the past two weeks. No ancient ruins or congested roads or persistent street vendors, this area of Egypt, with modern hotels and busy marinas, is where Europeans flock for fun in the sun in the winter months and where Egyptians holiday in the summer. Watersports are the main attraction. Snorkeling, diving, kite surfing, and more. Moto Club Egypt is unique.

Hossam Fouad, the owner and entrepreneur behind the Moto Club, which he founded in 2015, is very proud that it is the first and, to date, only MX and ATV track in the country. Chatting with him, his passion shines through. It is about much more than creating a motocross track and opportunities to offer MX and Quad tours to visitors. In his words, he wants to create something that will make his children proud; that will give them good memories. His young son, Adam, is one of the top Egyptian motocross racers.

It all started when Hossam took a vacation in El Gouna from Cairo. He discovered a lifestyle away from the noise and chaos of the big city. He gave up a good job as a sound engineer in Cairo to build a business based on his love of motorcycles and particularly adventure riding. He was fortunate to get the attention of the wealthy owner and creator of the resort town El Gouna, who extended an invitation and a location for him to build the track. And now he is making history.

Always innovative and looking for ways to bring attention to the track, he creates special MX events. At the first Motocross Festival in 2016, there were six racers. The next year there were 30 and the following year 70 riders. 60% of participants were from Egypt. The remainder were teams from different countries around the world, including Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. At the event in 2017, Ali Abdo achieved the Guinness World Record for the greatest distance on a motocross bike (381.27 miles) in 24 hours at the Moto Club Egypt track. The 2023 El Gouna Motocross Competition will be held in July.

Another one of Hossam's innovations is retrofitting a motorcycle to ride on water. His aim is to try for the Guinness Book of World Records for longest distance ridden on water. So far he has done a Nile crossing in Cairo.

It was less than 10 minutes by tuk tuk from our hotel to the Moto Club. On the first day, Peter and Phil started with a few circuits on the MX track so that Karem, their guide for the day, could judge their riding ability. At 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) long, with jumps and banked corners, the track is modest by North American standards. Peter was on a 2013 KTM EXC 530 with enough power to tackle the dunes. Phil rode a 2016 Honda XR250, a workhorse of the Moto Club; easy to maintain and a good ride for most visitors. Having passed their test on the track, they headed out for the Ocean View trail, riding along desert tracks up to a view of El Gouna and the Red Sea in the distance.

"Amazing scenery, nice mix of terrain," Peter told me later, summarizing the experience. "Not too challenging for an intermediate dirt biker, but there were some opportunities to do sand hill climbs along the way."

Debriefing with Hossam back at the track, Peter mentioned that he was hoping there would be something a bit more challenging on the second day. "Don't worry," said Hossam. "I think I know what you are looking for. Tomorrow I will take you somewhere special. You should book a massage for when you get back to your hotel."

On the next day, Peter was surprised that Hossam was guiding them on an ATV. The reason, he explained, is that sometimes guests who are not used to desert riding need a break. Then they can take the ATV and Hossam will ride their bike. As it turned out, Phil, who is less experienced than Peter, was grateful to switch vehicles for a short while.

The second day offered a longer ride and Hossam showed them a bit of everything the area has to offer. There were more opportunities for hill climbs and descents and a lot more sand, especially in the canyon. The desert and its mountains stretch for seemingly endless miles and it would be easy to get lost without a guide. There is a checkpoint where you have to show a permit to ride on government-owned land in the desert beyond the town boundaries.

"The sand was challenging for us, but with Hossam's help, we definitely improved our skills," Peter reported. "He showed us how it's done, carving a beautiful arc at least 300 feet up on a steep dune on the side of the canyon."

Dusty, tired, but exhilarated they returned to the track, Phil heading for his pre-booked massage.

Though Hossam and Karem did not wear gear, Moto Club Egypt provides gear for visitors and is always looking for ways to replenish the stock. Peter's advice is to bring some of your own gear, even better if it's used stuff you're prepared to leave behind in support of a good cause. Before leaving, Peter handed over his used boots for the Moto Club closet.

If Egypt is on your bucket list, and you'd like to inject some motorcycling into your vacation, this is a great way to end your sightseeing tour. To ride at Moto Club Egypt you should stay in the town of El Gouna. It is an hour's flight from Cairo to the nearest airport in Hurghada. Alternatively, it is a four-hour drive by taxi from Luxor, which is one of the best areas for exploring Ancient Egyptian sites. There are plenty of good hotels in El Gouna, some of which offer all-inclusive packages and plenty of activities for the non-riders in your family.

Back home in Canada, the lake was still nicely frozen, so Peter took his Yamaha YZ250FX with the spiked tires and a new Moto Club Egypt sticker out for a few laps. From desert to ice riding in 24 hours.

Hossam's comment on seeing the photos: "Super awesome!"