Labe – Tambacounda
13th January 2006

On todays stage the riders hit the mountainous section of the Dakar. Verging on 1000 meter high passes on narrow dusty tracks, today is not a day for mistakes.

“I was feeling good about todays stage,” “said Plumb “Dakar is getting close now and I’m getting really excited.”

Nicks good feelings didn’t last long as shortly into the 348km special stage they came across another downed rider.

"I'd had some breakfast with Simon Pavey and Charlie Boorman this morning," explained Nick "We were talking about how well the women riders are doing this year and one in particular, Ludivine Puy, who was running in the mid thirties."

“I was riding with Simon and we were only just into the stage when we saw this rider who was surrounded by medical staff. It was Ludivine and from what we could pick up she had a suspected broken hip. Our speed dropped from that point. It just reminds you that you might be near the end but the danger is still present.”

“Todays stage was hard, people are being knocked out every day and the stages aren’t getting easier. I left Simon early on to see if I could make up the time that I’d lost over the past couple of days but the terrain didn’t make it easy.”

“I think today must have been the hottest day so far. We had lots of rocky trial sections with big drops and steep climbs and descents. The day went good though; my bike didn’t have any problems after yesterday’s problems. At the end of the special I met up with Simon and some other friends from the UK (Patsey Quick, Clive Town and Patricia Watson-Miller) and rode the liaison with them.”

“Today was a beautiful day, the scenery and wildlife was amazing. I’ve done the Dakar four times now and the year I finish, my first year, the rally ended in Egypt so this is my first visit to this part of the world.”

Back at the Bivouac Nick met up with his mechanic, Bernie, who started work on his bike for the ride to Dakar tomorrow. Nick finished the stage in 73rd place and is now in 80th place overall. Simon Pavey is currently sitting in 89th place overall.