For once I didn't need to be anywhere, so I thought I would lie in for a bit but by 8 am it had got unbearable as the process of slowly covering yourself up in bed as the night temperatures dropped was quickly reversed.

The first thing to do was to find why Betty's fan was not coming on and this meant a bit of a bike strip down. Fortunately, I had done it many times before but the thought of breaking something now made me a little nervous. There weren’t any spares for an Aprilia Pegaso on this continent!

Everything came off easily enough and it was amazing to see how far the sand had penetrated. The air filter was quite caked up but it was good to see it totally clean on the engine side. A number of nuts screws and bolts had worked loose including an electrical connector that looked very much like it powered the fan. We will have to wait for another overheat situation before I can be sure but I think that has got it.

After numerous cups of tea, and cleaning out my top box where a pack of biscuits had exploded I headed into Erfoud. I took a pick of a restaurant and went in for some lunch. The menu had pictures which was so useful and I ordered a simple omlette and Cafe au Lait. Out came a hearty meal with plenty of bread, butter and olives. I usually hate olives, but I was in for the duration and grew to quite like them. The clientele were watching a football match, and after a while, I realised it was Manchester United against Everton. Everton were 2 goals up and most people did not seem happy. Man U certainly travels!

As I asked for the bill which was £1.90 the owner questioned if I was English, I told him yes, and I didn't live far from Manchester United. Half the cafe ended up laughing, as they had all suspected me of being an Everton fan because I had a blue shirt on!

I needed supplies, what I really needed was a supermarket, because I needed a long time to look at stuff and decide if it would work for me. Unfortunately, all I could find was the generic corner shop, with a very limited selection of goods. I bought bread, crisps and a few emergency chocolate bars and that was the best I could do.

I looked around the town a bit more and headed back to the campsite. I wrote a few letters, decided upon a few things to send home because I was not using them, along with a few gifts I had bought. It was also time for a shower and for a bit of washing. I had learnt from a wizened traveller on the horizons unlimited site that you could combine the two for your every day smalls laundry.

It goes like this. You get in the shower with your clothes on and work the normal soap into the clothes paying particular attention to those areas that see a lot of action. Once you've done your best Hotpoint job, you take you clothes off drop them on the floor and give them the treading cycle as you get on and was yourself. After this you hold them up to the shower for the final rise, then screw as much water out as possible. Dry using motorcycle clothes hanger or just put them back on if it’s hot. I used option one this time.

It’s a great system because you never are carrying around useless- dirty clothes. I should really have only brought 2 sets of clothes rather than 3 but I never like to be too far away from a 3 piece suit, just in case I am asked to the ambassadors party.

I cooked a pasta packet meal, of which I still have many and added a small tin of sweetcorn. Tomorrow we will go and have a look at Erg Chebbi, the dune sea, Sahara proper!