Well, where to begin - seriously. This was such a while ago! Anyway, on the 18th December I participated in the FNB Desert Dash in Namibia as a solo entrant. A bit of background to the race is that it is a 24hr endurance race that you can complete either as a solo rider or as a 2 or 4 main team. The route takes you on back roads from Windhoek to Swakopmund in Namibia. The total distance for the ride is an advertised 340kms through the desert. (If I am not mistaken that makes this the longest single day mtb race in the world) For some reason I though this would be a good way to end my year!!

I arrived in Windhoek on the 17th of December and headed through to the guesthouse. It appeared that the bike had travelled well and it did not take long to assemble it back together. We ran around town buying a few last minute things (headtorch, water etc) before we headed back to the guesthouse to relax (read - nap) for the afternoon. We quickly popped down to the race registration to collect our numbers and find out what was in stall for the next 24 hours. The registration process was quite easy and the 'goody' bag very generous. That evening we headed to Joe's Beerhouse in Namibia for a beer (ok two) and a carbo loaded meal! After taking in the sights of the Windhoek 'nightlife' we headed back for the night - it was going to be early to bed.

As the race was only starting at 3pm we had the morning to prep the bike & get all our gear ready for the next 24 hours. The day was rather lazy but I think the nerves were beginning to build and it was great just to laze about. We packed up the back up vehicle, making sure that everything was accessible and easy to find. And got dressed (and lathered in sun cream) at the country club where the mercury was hitting the high 30's Celsius. Just before 3pm we headed through to the start shoots. The riders were placed in order of numbers (solo, 2-person and 4-person teams) and before long it was ready to go.

Desert Dash Route Link - look here for more

The route was broken into 6 stages with a mid-point water stop in the middle. At the end of each stage the riders had to check in and check out again for safety reason. The stages were as follows:


On paper the route looked pretty simple - mistake number 1! The first 2 stages looked like the climbing stages and after that it looked all downhill to the sea... bearing in mind that we were looking at a 70km stage on a 5cm profile map!!

The first two stages went pretty simply - the heat however was unbearable my Polar recorded that the on-bike temps had soared to 47 degrees in mountains - the climbing was not hard, but the heat took its toll. Mid point into stage 2 the wind picked up and we were riding headfirst into it and unbeknown to us sapping much needed strength that we would need later on. Towards the end of stage 2 the light was fading and we quickly stopped to put on our lights. We had made good time for the first two stages and we were taking on food and drink at all the stops like we had planned. We knew the most important factor in getting through this race would be to fuel correctly.

But as night fell in the middle of the desert the dynamic of the race changed significantly. The downhill route never came to reality! The race profile had been very misleading and the route was actually constant descents followed by ascents, ascents and more ascents. The descents were actually very tricky in places and the bottom of the gullies tough to navigate at any level of speed in the dark. Stage 3 and 4 passed in the night which was a lonely experience in the middle of the desert with only an ipod and a narrow beam of light to keep you company. We had planned to stop on the hour to eat and stretch which proved to be a life saver - cheese and marmite sarmies have never tasted so good. Kilometer after kilometer passed with little red flashing lights ahead of us being the only sign that we were not alone in the desert.

Dawn broke towards the end of stage 4 which was an amazing site in the vast expanse of the Namib desert and is a sight I will not forget for a long time. By now I was completely exhausted - the effects of going too fast in the first two stages had caught up with me. The energy from the early morning light was soon lost as we were back on the bikes again! With the rising sun came the rising heat and soon again we were back in the heat again.

Stage 5 was a real test of willpower, with the knowledge of the support vehicle at the end of the stage - which could become the rescue vehicle - the urge to stop was huge. Luckily I was riding with someone else from the start who pulled me through otherwise I possibly could have thrown in the towel. By the end of stage 5 I was well and truly knackered! We took a while at the checkpoint, took on as much food as possible - by now everything that we ate throughout the night was not appealing and the through of a meal shake just was not possible! Regardless we headed out in the head of the day for the final 30km push to Swakopmund. With 310km under the belt - this was going to be the longest 30km of my life!

The downward ride to the finish went on and on. I drafted where possible behind my riding partner. The only riders around us now were the solo riders with the team riders long gone.

Kilometer after kilometer we 'plodded' towards Swakopmund - by now exhaustion meant that I could not get my HR above 55%. And eventually the town outline appeared on the horizon. The spokes on my rear wheel which had broken 150km before were beginning to cause me problems - I just homed that my rim would hold out!

Finally after 21:44 hrs we crossed the line on the beach at Swakopmund - considerably longer than our planned time. It had been an exceptionally tough race of proportions like nothing I had ever experienced in my life - but we had done it! The feeling was pretty empty purely due to exhaustion - my legs were finished even climbing into the car at the finish took massive effort. I simply could not have gone on any further. Of the 80 solo riders that entered - 28 pulled out during the race which meant that only 52 finished. We managed 37 place - but for me it was just the fact that we finished.

Will I be back to do it again - a month later and I am warming to the idea!!

Highlights:
Finishing - the worlds longest single day mountain bike race
Dawn over the Namib Desert after riding throughout the night
The friendship that kept me going through this race - I could not have done it without you!
The checkpoints and support vehicle - like little beacons of hope in the desert. The support vehicle was literally a lifesaver and ours was simply the best! Thanks very much - it must have been just a difficult for you to get through the night!
Spotting an Aardvark in the middle of the night - and I made sure I was not hallucinating!

Lowlights:
3am in the middle of the desert with a VERY long way to go.
Dust from the support vehicles coming past you
The race profile was EXTREMELY misleading - the hills were a killer (3000m+ of climbing)
Team riders riding out of the checkpoints with fresh legs!