ed, excitement oozing out of all our
pores. We wished Lyndon well on the
start line and then went to watch the
racers. I have to say, I love bikes but
the truly amazing machines are the
trucks. Jeez they move. The sound
is incredible and their power is phe-
nomenal. We couldn't get enough.
We were fortunate to see a good bit
more of the Dakar over the next few
days, including riding with some of the
racers on the road and seeing another
section of the special stage in the des-
ert. On one of the liaison stages, one
quad rider even stopped off and asked
us to take a photo on his phone for him
with the sea in the backgound. He
came from a land-locked country, and
I have to stay the view was quite amaz-
ing with the bright blue sky backdrop.
I stood there with my makeshift Brit-
ish flag, and our South African friends
Michnus and Elsebie also waved their
country's flag with vigor.
TRAVERSE 39
What a few days!
In the last two days I'd ridden on
sand about three times, the first three
times of my life, completed the most
crazy mountain pass I have ever done,
watched the Dakar live, another first,
and camped in the desert and on the
beach. That's what life's all about! In
addition, we'd made some more great
friends from Australia, Ecuador and
South Africa, and shared many a beer!