dakar stage 9: antofagasta to iquique

day 18 - 10th january 2012

liaison 9km

special 556km

total 565km
start time 07:15

although a very short liaison, finding the start of the special was really quite tricky, riding through little streets, crossing railway tracks, it was really obscure. for those of you who have never been to to the pacific coast of south america, the mountains and sand almost pour into the ocean, so soon enough i was climbing up into the mountains for the beginning of stage 9.

morning in antofagasta

this was the longest special of the dakar. we started with really fast flowing gravel tracks, weaving through the gullies and it meant i covered over 160km before the first car past me. there were some odd changes to the road book today and meant a fair amount of confusion on the navigation for some of the riders, however, sticking to my guns i rode on where others stopped and soon i found myself in a yo yo of riders coming past, stopping, me passing them and then they tried to come past, including captain d. a little fed up with this i upped the pace enough to stay ahead, at least until the cp.

just before the check point i found myself riding with captain d alongside, but when he could see the cp up ahead he rode off in front of his fellow soldiers on the side of the track, where he received loud cheers of support! replenishing my water, eating some food and enjoying the brief respite from the sun under our little awning, captain d asked to ride with me as he had not been able to sort his roadbook changes adequately - the amendments were confusing and it took a little discussion with ned this morning to try to clarify things before i left the bivouac. however, when one of the faster riders was looking to head off, he decided they were a better option.....

soon after leaving the cp, i was riding off piste to steer clear of the cars that were flying past. i'd tried jumping in and out of the track, but it was proving a little hazzardous now as the berms on the side of the track were probably 1.5ft high, were sometimes hard and sometimes soft. however, off-piste has it;s own hazzards, namely, the you don't know the hazards until they are almost upon you! suddenly i saw a steep drop off, but having recently had a food break i was feeling a little sluggish and i reacted slowly and badly, as i tried to stop rather than ride the drop..... big mistake as bike did not stop quickly enough, my slow reaction plus i was fully laden with 30 litres of fuel, i landed on the front wheel, which dug in and sent me over the bars, the bike following me over, i was only able to turn in time to deflect the full force of the bike landing on me, but burnt my arm on the exhaust or engine in the process.

"fucking idiot!"

"wake up! you're gonna fuck yourself up if you ride like a novice!"

later came a river crossing. i assisted one rider across the 20m wide section of water which was thigh deep and smelt of cow manure, it was rank.. wading back across, the rider i had just helped also came over to assist me. pushing the bike again with the engine off was the wisest move, i was not in a hurry at this point! having survived that crossing i then fell off 100m down the track, braking another hand guard!

i don't remember the road section of the  special, there probably was not much to remember really, other than the fact you had time to look around at the empty space around you in every direction. at over 1000m above sea level, the temperature was relatively cool at around 38c.

the second section of the special was incredible. we rode across this relatively level dried salt flats, stretching out to the mountains on the horizon, but unlike some of the lake beds i've ridden across in morocco which really are flat as a pancake, i was nearly caught out a number of times when confronted with a 2 foot berm, or ditch which would appear out of nowhere. still, the sudden surge of adrenaline would keep the mind and body going for another few km!!

approaching the last 100km i was feeling optimistic about riding the log awaited dune down to iquique. i had silently set this as a goal, i felt by reaching this point would signify a great accomplishment in terms of days survived on the dakar and a memory that would last forever; i wanted to see iqique from the top of the mountain before surfing 1200m to the bottom. the thought of it was a thrill. but as a result, i was not prepared for the incredible journey that awaited me.

seeing the first steep climb up a familiar rocky sand dune my stomach turned, the adrenaline started to flow and in riding towards the sun that was now on its slide down towards the sea, i focused on getting to the top. seeing the many bike tracks going in different directions demonstrated that this was a difficult and steep climb so it would need to hit the slope at a good speed. in the shadow of the dune, the climb took me up to what was to become a crazy roller-coaster of massively steep climbs and descents, pushing me out of my already rapidly expanding comfort zone....it was incredible to see the routes before me, surfing down 45 degree slopes for 100m before climbing again up through wide yet deep gullies. km after km this went on as i traveled west until suddenly i could see the pacific again and started the final run north, yeh!!

the next 25km were immense, the roller coaster continued. here i was riding high up on the edge of the andes, 1000m above the pacific which was may be only a few km away to the west. steep steep climbs, huge open spaces, only sand...we were riding the mountains of sand again. there were 3 or 4 bikes, familiar colours scattered across the slopes, each picking their own route, on this giant moto-cross course. it was surreal to be among such giant features ans seeing cars, trucks and bikes flying over them as if it was a normal past-time. everyone made it look so easy!

military personnel were stationed on one particular crest, offering water and waving in the direction i was traveling. sometimes i found this annoying since i was happy with my navigation and did not need this guidance, not to mention that a lot of the time the spectators inadvertently tried to send you in a different direction to the roadbook - they knew the direction of the finish line, but this was not necessarily the direction the roadbook had been designed to take you. anyway, i obliged them, took some water on board, thanked them for their hospitality and support and headed off to struggle up another steep climb. my poor bike, she received a battering!!

at one point i was so engrossed on another steep climb, in first or second gear, i had failed to read the roadbook for the next important turn. riding over the dome i slowed and rode out onto this ridgeline, which was so steep the ground sloped away from me on both sides making it almost impossible to put a  foot down to stop and read the roadbook. no sooner had i stopped to look down at this surely impossible drop to my left i head the familiar sound of a car behind. i turned to see a bright red nissan descend the route i thought was insane.....you would not consider walking down it if you were in the alpes! down i went. i think the slope was in fact a little more gentle than it appeared from the top, the lack of vegetation made it hard to read.

and then i arrived at the final decent to iquique. the sun was still shining, i was going to be surfing in daylight. brilliant. helicopter flying overhead, a large group of supporters had gathered, including a guy, dressed like a bird, presumably meant to be a condor?! either way he was happy to be there and took this photo.

only 1.2km down to the bottom of this dune!

lining myself up for the run down, i found myself caught in deep rut, but soon found my own route down traveling at around 80kph just thinking "don't fuck up now!!" i'd spotted john with his wide brimmed hat and camera, he'd almost walked to the top of the 1200m slope, but why he stopped i don't know, must be his age ; )) (only joking john, i was well impressed!). i'll have the footage on the site soon. i still find it amazing though to think the drop is equivalent to riding down from the top of ben nevis to the sea, it'a one heck of a way. and all through the night you could see the lights of cars and trucks riding down the slope, they looked like piste bashers rather than rally vehicles.

john  removing my roadbook scroll

i managed to miss the last cp, so engrossed on the surf down, i aimed straight for the finish line! so i had to circle back to find it, but finally made it to the end, seeing the familiar smile of the aso lady on the finish line - never got her name : ((  - always too wrapped up in the moment, excited, relieved, triumphant!

i have to say it gave me a huge sense of achievement to ride back into camp each night, and say to myself, "i'm still fucking in this!". then seeing the crew truck, awning and team ready and waiting was a massive boost. climbing off the bike and handing it straight to patsy or martin excited to tell them about the highlights and laughing as i showed them that i'd broken yet another pair of had guards - i think i was going through a pair a day!

in addition to patsy, martin and john, all the lads from stan's team, front row gb and the pan am crew were so supportive, right from the start. it made all the difference.

no one expected me to get this far, certainly not me, but i felt defiant now. i had so much support, i had to finish, not to say i've done it, but simply the fact that i could not envisage putting myself and by all accounts everyone else, through this hell again!