9 JANUARY 2005 – Atar (Rest-day)

Note - Click here for the CMG Dakar Glossary (just in case you don't understand some of the terminology used).

Rest.

Photo: Bob Bergman

We were up by 9:00 am and took our time at breakfast, but the pressure was soon back on as I had a promise to fulfill with the bike. It had been thoroughly neglected over the last few days and today was my only chance to catch up. I also had all the maintenance that I had pre-scheduled to do today on top of that, but figured that if I got it done as soon as possible, I could take it easy for the remainder of the day.

After washing the bike I went to work removing the skid-plate, but after standing up get more tools, everything started to spin. I was seeing stars again, I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was going to faint. Seeing the medical tent across the runway, I slowly made my way toward it thinking maybe I was having a heart attack.

They checked me out and said that my cardiovascular system was in great shape and that I was likely suffering from exhaustion and I should just rest for today. It was a classic catch-22; I was so stressed to get the bike done that I couldn’t relax, but without some rest I was too fatigued to work on the bike.

The doctors sent me off with some sleeping pills and vitamins and I made my way back to the tent to find Sharon and get some rest.

I managed to sleep for a few hours and woke up feeling a bit better, but by the time I’d eaten, the day had suddenly disappeared and I was back in the thick of things. By the time I was done it was pitch dark!

So much for a rest-day …
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Links:

Official Dakar website – Daily updates of the 2006 Rally.

Maindru Photo (who graciously supplied us with pictures) – Check out their daily update of pics from the 2006 Dakar.

Eurosport – Dakar 2006 coverage.

Total Motorsport – Latest news from a Dakar sponsor.

Adventure Rider website forum on racing – Lots of Dakar threads going on.

ODSC website – Read all about how Bob prepped his KTM 660.

Thanks:

Bob would like to thank the following people for helping make his Dakar adventure possible:

Jim, Colin, Richard and the crew at Cycle Improvements.
Michel, Paul and Jocelyn at Kimpex.
Guy, Patrick, Bill and Mario from KTM Canada.
Digby and the ODSC posse.
Lawrence Hacking.
The Harden off-road crew.
Everyone on the U.S. Red Bull KTM team.
And of course Sharon McCrindle.