Raid Suez 2006

Les Moyen Orients (my team) before the first Suez dinner
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Day 1: waking up at 4:30 to catch the 7:45 flight to Paris was the most difficult part of today. Geraud, Jean Pierre, Karim and I all flew on the same flight. We landed in Paris around 12 and after a short layover we caught our second flight to Lisbon with two other team members that had moved back to France, Didier and Alain. Upon arrival at Lisbon airport, we rented a van and headed south for Vilamoura. It was a scenic drive down to the south but I think anything seems scenic after living in the Middle East. We checked into our hotel, the Rio, I believe it was called. We decided to grab some dinner and walk around the boardwalk. Vilamoura is a touristic port city that is busy all year because of its temperate climate. For dinner we ate a small seafood restaurant (common for Portugal). I had some of the best Paella that I have ever tasted in my life and I might add that the free Sangria wasn’t bad either.

Karim, Didier and Geraud preparing for the canoeing stage
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Day2: We met up with our final team member Stephane who flew in from Qatar. After registration the Degremont teams met up for a quick lunch at one of the boardwalk restaurants.

After taking plenty of advil the previous night, I woke up feeling pretty good considering the circumstances.

The first event was a 30km VTT section. The first section is always meant to break your spirits (or hopes of a walk in the park Raid). About halfway through this section I realized that I should have trained much more. The climbs were very difficult, especially for the level of training that I had coming into the race. I suffered but when it was all over our team had a fairly decent standing. That night I met up with the Spanish team. I recognized some of the guys from the prior year and we caught up on everything that had happened over the last year. As expected the food, wine, company, slide show and movie were amazing and it was clear that Suez didn’t spare any money when putting together this event.

Display of the trophy through the window of our van on the bridge back to Lisboa
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Day3: Today began with breakfast at 7:30 and the first event starting at 9. I sat out the first section, which was a 12km canoe section. The second section was a 10 km orienteering run which our team didn’t have any problems completing. The next two sections would test my training on the mountain bike. The first VTT section was a 15km with a decent climb but our team finished strong and I felt like I had make a lot of progress since yesterday. During the next 19km VTT section my legs would shut down after a series of climbs. Towards the peak of a 400 meter climb as I dismounted the bike both hamstrings and quadriceps tightened up and I had no control over my legs. A German man stopped to help me up and to stretch my legs. After walking for some time I was able to pedal on flat and downhill sections. My teammates literally pushed me along and gave me some help on the remaining 2 km of the race. At the finish line, once again my legs locked up. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. Luckily, there was a medical staff who helped treat me. Again, the night was filled with French, Spanish, good wine and good food. I don’t think I need to mention how easy it was to sleep during this night.

Jean Pierre, Geraud, Didier and Me on the way back to Lisboa
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Day4: After taking plenty of Advil the previous night, I woke up feeling pretty good considering the circumstances. Our final day consisted of a 5km run then a 20km VTT section, a 17km canoeing section and a 4km run to the finish. I competed in all events except the VTT. My legs didn’t give me too many problems during the day. The only difficulties were during the final 6km of the canoeing section. After not having prepared at all for the canoe, the repetitive action of rowing put a heavy strain on my muscles. We finished up on the Beach in Vilamoura, which was packed with Suez supporters and activities. Literally five minutes after we finished the race I had a cold beer in my hand – this was obviously not my beverage of choice after a long day but it worked just fine.

Iginacio from Degremont Spain during the awards ceremony
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We rushed back to our hotel to get ready for another Degremont party before the final Suez party. It was here that I met the big boss for international work in Degremont. Upon talking to him it turns out that he actually knew my name, furthermore, he invited me to work in France. This is an offer that I fully plan to exploit in a year or two. At the final Suez party we ate the traditional formal meal and drank Porto wine, which is a type of wine that comes from the Porto region in Portugal. It’s a very strong wine that, in my opinion, tastes more like whiskey than wine. Our team ended up 35^th in the mens open category. This was a vast improvement over last year’s head lowering 92^nd place.

Day5: The muscle soreness and sleep deprivation started to set in today. This was of course compounded by our travel in van and plane. Upon arrival in Paris I realized that we had a layover that I wasn’t expecting. To my excitement, I got to spend the night in Paris, Porte Maillot to be more specific. I was lucky to have one of my coworkers along with me. He took me around Paris to see the major landmarks and was patient while I was taking pictures. Finally we ended up in a section of the town called Quartier Latin. We ate at a small, quant 5 table Mexican restaurant. It was a great experience for me to sit with my coworker who is 68 and listen to him tell stories about his life experiences and travels.

Day6: Back to Amman……