dakar stage 13: nasca to pisco

day 22 - 14th january 2012

liaison 100km

special 275km

total 375km
start time 05:15


dunes, dunes and more dunes! we'd been warned about the peruvian sand dunes on the penultimate day....


i was really tired this morning and we hit the dunes almost straight into the special and i rode like a novice, getting stuck on the simplest of climbs and falling when normally i would have fought to stay on the bike; i lay in the sand almost enjoying the rest!!




the day was a blur....i was just so focused on finishing.....


for some reason i just could not get into a good rhythm.....riding into the steep face of the dunes, i just could not get to the crest without falling 2 feet short every time, or flying over the top and falling down the other side. i was getting so frustrated, shouting at myself to get a grip, all the while dragging the bike up over the crest.....every fucking time!! i thought leah would be impressed with the number of times i managed to lift and drag the bike through the softest sand with boots full to the brim with it - gave me a great low centre of gravity on the bike, but meant walking was all but impossible!!

i reached another set of dunes and having stopped near a group of spectators i was suddenly surrounded, the obligatory photos ensued, the offer of gatorade and fuel, incredibly generous.....i said yes to the gatorade, i was fed up with the luke warm electrolyte flavoured water from my kreiga pack and a cold fresh drink was awesome. i decided to check my fuel, but i'd filled up at the last check point and only covered about 100km of dunes since, so should have used at the very most 50%, but i was almost dry!!! why? yes, it had been hard riding, i'd fallen a lot, each time losing a little fuel, but to have gone through nearly 30 litres?? i must have a leak? i had smelled fuel while riding, but could not determine whether or not there was a leak. so i gratefully accepted the offer of fuel and with only about 40km to go, i thought that a gallon should be fine....shows where my head was at, as in reality 5 litres in the sand would only last for about 35km without a leak?!

the spectators only knew where i was finishing, so they would say "you are so close, it's just over this dune set!" what they did not realise was that the roadbook was not taking me to the finish in a straight line! furthermore, they would tell you which way to ride.....i listened, but invariably i would go a different way.

now i was searching for fuel, every rider or car that i saw i stopped to ask for fuel, riding even more carefully now thinking how ironic it would be to miss the finish, not due to physical or mechanical failure, but logistical error.....i was starting to sweat, not just because of the heat......cutting huge corners off the roadbook, hoping i did not miss a waypoint, but i thought i would prefer to argue over penalties or possible disqualification once i'd reached the bivoauc.

everyone was driving diesel engine cars and the racing cars had no apparatus to syphon the fuel and i did not have enough length of tubing on the bike to use....the pressure was on. then i found someone who did have petrol and with an empty gatorade bottle he managed to syphon out 250ml of fuel at a time......it took a while, but i threw out my hand to thank him profusely....i did not have enough energy to do much more!

arriving at the bivoauc was a relief, (and in daylight), but after the emotional arrival yesterday, today felt more of a formality. for me i had already finished the dakar. today had by no means been easy, but today was a bonus day.

as i squeezed through the traffic, i thought i was back in london rush hour, although this time i was standing on my pegs, admiring the crowds of spectators and race trucks......i was a part of this, a unique event, amongst the best riders and drivers in the world, everyone here had obviously made it and were now one day away from finishing the dakar. we'd triumphed where many had failed, there was a real air of excitement.......and dare i say it, relief....

i was balancing the bike as i picked my way through the traffic and almost at the entrance the traffic came to a halt, i balanced precariously when i heard somebody shout "TOBY!!!", i turned and in doing so lost my balance and fell off my bike! idiot!! not the best way to finish the day. cross with myself, i yanked the bike up and looked around to see who'd shouted out my name and to my great surprise it was jim, jago's dad! i went over to say hi briefly, before saying i'd catch up with him shortly and failed to see who was with him.....everything was a bit of a blur.

i was so pleased for patsy, martin and john that i had been able to make it this far. patsy had invested so much of her time, money and energy, huge amounts of energy to help me get this far......the guys from frontrow gb and rally pan am, as always, smiling and welcoming me home, it was like one big family and i was very proud to be part of it.

stripping down to my shorts and about to head of for a shower, patsy asked me to stay put, she wanted to get something for me. so keeping myself busy doing something for a few minutes, she suddenly re-appeared and said "i've got someone here who wants to say hello..." not sure who was about to arrive, i was so surprised when it was my mum!! it was so lovely to share that moment with her.....i was so proud to share it with her......then jago and lucy jim and sheila also arrived with some large bottles of beer! it was such a great moment, and i was so glad jago was there to share it with him. we'd been through so much together over the past 2 years and we'd experienced the dakar together......memories that will never fade......we'd seen the best (and perhaps the worst!) in one another....

beer o'clock!



our last camp, beers or not bike stripped down and prepared for the final day's riding



then first supper - pasta.....

then second supper....pensive....

with jago's wife lucy, jago and jim (you can just see his white t-shirt!!!)

lucy, sheila and jim

mum and i had a long chat, sitting in the folding chairs, drinking beer in the warm evening sun, with all the usual sights and sounds going on around the bivouac. mum was being given the tour by jago and the family. jago was brilliant, organising passes for mum and looking after her. it must have been so exciting to witness this, i know how i felt and i'd been preparing for it, for someone to come to this fresh must have been incredible.

i was so proud of mum, she'd arrived a week before, traveling on her own to lima and had managed to hook up with jago's family and find her way to the bivouac, that took some doing! i was bloody pleased her trip had not been in vain. mum had asked about coming out for the start and as much as i would have loved her to have been there, i did not want to make the decision.....what happened if i failed scrutineering or went out in the first few days......i said i would leave the decision to her and ask that she keep it to herself.....and she well and truly did! thank you mum : )) xxx

we all had supper together in the mess tents and it was probably about 10pm when they all headed off, i still had my admin, washing etc to do, in preparation for the final day. tomorrow i would be second leaving the start line as they reversed the starting order.....coma and despres, eat my dust!

chatting with stan and the crew. bed late, even though very early start the next day....