dakar stage 10: iquique to arica

day 19 - 11th january 2012

liaison 317km

special 377km

total 694km

start time 06:00

it was a relatively short liaison, up into the mountains, with trucks laden with salt trundling down in the opposite direction, in places the road looked like it was covered in snow where the precious cargo and been deposited over time. a calm mood among the riders now, fewer each day, everyone grateful to still be in the game. etienne was having his morning chat with some of the riders, always interested and concerned for our welfare, i have a lot of time for him.

the first part of the course was a very fast track, but soon became a bone juddering nightmare, the olins shocks and the whole body taking the brunt of it. passing through uninhabited villages next to dry lake beds, how anybody ever lived here, there is nothing here apart from rock, sand and dust.....

by now i found myself either passing or being passed by the same group of bikers, no words exchanged, just a knowing nod or polite hand gesture.....sometimes anyway! one particular french rider seemed to like my navigation, but as we approached cp2 he tried to race ahead, but this time i was not going to sit back, so i pinned the bike all the way to the line. don't know why i reacted that way, guess i was feeling strong and riding ok....

the wonderful thing i find about touring on motorbikes is that all of your senses work overtime, you cannot hear anything but the engine, but you can feel subtle differences in temperature of 1c or 2c, the vibrations of the terrain you are riding over (these are not so subtle!), the colours changing as the sun arcs across the sky (and the moonlight for that matter!!), but also scents, aromas and down right bad smells! sadly, when crossing the border from chile into peru, the contrast that hit me most was the smell. whilst peru is a fast developing country and lima has changed beyond recognition from when i was there last, the remote parts of the country had not yet felt the full benefit of this development; if anything the impact was probably taking younger families away to the cities. no matter, what peru did not necessarily have in monetary terms it more than made up with it's support and love for the dakar and everyone in it. for that i was most grateful.

the day was going pretty well really. i was certainly very tired, there is no denying that and the terrain was unforgiving every step of the way, but i was strangely fitter and stronger than at the start; apart from my right wrist which was constantly in pain. cleaned and strapped up each night by pauline the pretty physio who also gave me a massage.....in a tent with about 5 other physios and  mainly riders......sounds bad any which way you say that! but suffice to say everybody loved her....i only went 3 may be 4 times in the second week as my wrist was pretty sore and on one occasion another phsyio opened the curtain and said "who's next?", nobody said anything, then pauline popped her head round and said "who's next?" and we all said, "me!" it was very funny!! a light moment....

i was told the second week would be easier, i think it is a mental thing really having got past the half-way point. but these last few days were relentless.....another name i gave dakar, relentless.....it pushed and pushed you.....huge admiration for stan, ned and the pros, they really are on another level. somebody once said by finishing dakar, you join an elite club, but for me, if i finished, i would be climbing in through the dog flap or the garbage shoot!

some incredible sand dunes again today, each time i felt like i was a beginner as the scale of these dunes never ceased to impress.....perhaps overwhelm me......not sure whether i would have ever consider attempting these on my own, but for now it was just a case of let's 'crack on!'

it was very satisfying finding a way through, but at the back of my mind were the dunes that were to follow in peru. whatever challenges i was facing now, peru was to trump the lot. but my focus was today.

the dunes gave way to some long fast flowing tracks, with little surprises of fesh fesh, made all the more challenging with the cars and trucks which continued to make my journey that bit more challenging.....but exciting....i was on my toes!!

the liaison home was hard. it was very long, very hot, with a very strong side wind and a lot of traffic!! but i was excited to see arica again, it had been 16 years since i had been here last and i wanted to see what if anything had changed. what i found incredible was that i actually remembered sections of the journey from when i had been riding a chopper in the opposite direction.....but what i had forgotten was the hairpin roads etched into the sides of the mountains, giving way to lush river valleys a long way below.


i wasn't the only one to find it hard. not long after the start of the liaison one of the competing truck drivers had fallen asleep at the wheel and had sent his truck across the highway and off the edge of the road a good 10 feet below. the truck was on its roof and the cab was flattened. somehow the crew got away with a few bruises!


i was also very happy to be home and in daylight......another stage completed, unbelievable...