Intercontinental Rally - RWTD Day 05

I heard Andy saying 'its not about winning the rally, its not even about winning each day, its just about getting to the finish line. This is a war of attrition' He is right, for the competitors this can be brutal.

Above, Teammate Tom in a pickle! Below, same guy flying high!

Every morning the bivvy starts to wake around 5:30. You collapse your tent, don your kit and pack your stuff onto the trailer. Breakfast on bread and cheese or cereal whilst standing around the team area. During this time the support team, Barrie, Alan, Frank and Nathan, in our case, are busy loading trailers, packing away lights and generators and helping anyone that asks. The competitors leave and race all day. The support teams carrying on packing and then drive off to cover the 100's of kilometres to the next stop.

'dont be scared and dont be hero!' Words to live by....

The fastest competitors start to arrive at the new camp from 16:00.  Slower competitors arrive after dark.  When they arrive they rehydrate and rest whilst the support team fix up shade and get the tools ready. There's then a flurry of bike fixing activity until the sun sets.  It all runs like ant colony, all the workers have a part to play, everyone knows what they're about, and i guess that makes Barrie our Queen Bee!  (sorry Barrie bad analogy!) 

Each night dinner is served from 7pm and the Rally briefing is at 9pm. At the briefing you get details of tomorrows route and have to pick up a USB key with waypoints on. Everyone now spends an hour or so carefully route planning for tomorrow. Its now 10 or 11pm which doesn't seem late but when you've been riding all day and you're up at 5:00 you're knackered. I crash into my tent and sleep until I'm woken by the cold. The days are baking, but the nights are cold. Each night I wake in the early hours and have to put more layers on.

This morning was a little different for me as i didnt wake until 7am!  I catch up with Vincent again, learning of his plans to do the train track route. I warn him about fuel and we part company. My tyre issue from yesterday resolved itself when the corrugated road beat the tyre back into the rim. My trusty war horse took a battering though. The top triple clamp nut has vibrated out, the rear indicator has fallen off, the tool tube cap popped out and Speedo cable broke off on a rock. All easily fixable, if you have the parts. The handle bar retaining nut is clearly a worry.

Below, the 'road' that caused loads of damage due to corrugations. Two BMW GS's were stopped, one of them cracked a rim and couldn't hold pressure. No 'AA' or 'RAC' out here.

Im making my way from Chinguetti to the 'Desert camp' near Akjoujt, about 170 miles away and will use the Service Route (with the trucks) intermixed with stretches of open piste. In front of me was the ORG kitchen truck, I witnessed it suffer a blow out whilst driving! They didn't need my little bike pump or 13mm spanner and had it fixed promptly.

At Atar I bump into the friendly Abu Baba again as I refuel. The racers have been complaining about the quality of the fuel. Some bikes barely run, some have melted fuel filters due to the pollution in the fuel. Its said that the oil companies sell the worst quality fuel to the poorest countries. Who will complain? Hardly any station has Essense/Petrol so when you find it, you take it. I can't really tell the difference on my air cooled carburetted dinosaur, it just works.

The desert camp is, erm, deserted when I arrive.

Its just open ground, no amenities, no toilets nor showers this night, everything we need has to be brought by the ORG and the support teams.

In the early afternoon there's not even shade, aside from one truck that I find teammate Duncan sheltering under. He has the right idea and more of us join him.

Everyone starts to arrive and the normal routine take place, with one exception. One of the trailers has no brakes, so this afternoon three of us set about attempting to fix them.  Alan and Frank clearly know their subject matter, i pass spanners and remove wheels. The camaraderie in the bivouac and within the team is superb, what an experience. 

This night the stars and milky way shine like I've seen before.