Up before dawn, everyone's preparing for the rally start. The ORG want everybody in a single line setting off at the same time for a photo opportunity. Apparently it's dangerous and there are murmurs of discontent. I just hung back and let the young, the fast and the daft off first. Amazing sunrise over the dunes this morning.
Below, the race start.
Below, Julien and his Tenere from Team Raid Assist,in the Adventure Category. The adventure category allows you to do the same route as the competitors, but you are not against the clock and can deviate as you see fit. That's why i have so much freedom.
I ride with Duncan for a while, (a new friend, i hope our paths cross again), but lose him in the bush. My planned route avoids the biggest dunes and I just crack on. I find I ride best by myself, unhindered by watching out for others. I get into a flow state and everything comes easily and it feels safe. I'm older and wiser than my last time with this rally in 2020. I am acutely aware of the dangers and can almost hear the titanium plate in my collar bone whispering ' take it easy '. One chap, Jack F, from our team, has been in a Moroccan hospital since the first day. Another flew home with head and all manner of other injuries. Its so easy to get lost in the moment. Below, Duncan on the open piste.
Todays stage has two 'specials', the name given to the off-road sections, and two 'liaisons', the connecting road sections. There's a one hour mandatory rest stop between specials. i cant decide if I'm a petulant teenager or focused adventurer, but I have no intention of following the competition route all day. I understand that in deviating i put myself at risk, the Rally ORG must be available, first and foremost, to the racing competitors.
Id examined the maps and found a route that peeled away from the rally and led towards Nouakchott (final destination today) i didn't expect to see green! I cannot readily explain why, but for mile after mile i followed 4x4 tracks through lush tundra. There was no river nor irrigation, but here i found myself surrounded by plant life, grazing camels and goats. The harsh desert though, ever present, looming in the background.
Below, still a harsh environment.
I join the road after 108miles and have 100 more to the destination. The unrelenting wind whips the sand over the endless road.
I pass tiny hamlets where people survive by methods i never fathomed. Just a quirk of fate separates me from these people, I'm aware of how lucky i am, i won the birthplace lottery.
Our destination today is the Sultan Beach Bar just north of Nouakchott. Although the showers are nothing but a dribble dribble and we use long drop squatting toilets, it idyllic compared to the Desert Camp the night before. The bar and setting is excellent, the owner has tripled or quadrupled the prices for the Rally. Its €2.40 for a coke and €15 for a burger. Reminds me of the Del Boy that sold me petrol for £5litre. I guess that makes him a good business man.
The proprietor is known to the rally and is wearing his Top Gun sunglasses and Intercontinental Rally jacket. He's a friendly chap and everybody likes him, I think he enjoys the attention. Life Mauritania is more about existing, than living for most people, the rallies must be a highlight for the proprietors. (If not a bane for the locals as the rich Europeans on exotic machines zoom past) Someone passes the proprietor a gift of a bottle of Jameson's whisky. Its quickly secreted away into the kitchen where the staff gather like excited teens to stare at the contraband.
a few shots from around the bivouac.
Its the same routine. The racers pile in, setup tents and rehydrate. Then everyone works on their machines. The rear mousse in the Tenere completely melted today and was just a sticky splodge in the tyre. There are two mechanics travelling with Raid Assist and tonight, like other nights, they are busy.
Amazingly, we're currently winning the rally!
Justin (or Gentleman Justin, as I refer to him in earlier posts from last year) has a 3hr lead and is currently 1st! Andy and Tom (from previous posts) are also doing really well. We might scoop up a trophy or two! I will note, the success has absolutely nothing to do with me, I'm loafing about meeting locals and taking photos
Here's and old friend from 2020, Peter, who now runs rallysupport.dk. And yes, that is a coke fridge in Mauritania. It couldn't be anything else as Mauritania is a dry country. Love that guy!
We're up at 5:45 tomorrow and will head towards the border for a land crossing into Senegal. Exciting.
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