“It was all going really well and, although it was hard, I was feeling pretty good about it. I’d got stuck a few times, as I’m sure most riders did, and the navigation was really difficult so I had to make a few detours to get back on route. But other than that I was happy (ish).” “Shortly after the fuel stop I came across a bike and a riders body covered by a blanket,” said plumb “I later found out it was Andy Caldecott, last years 6th place finisher. Your heart goes out to the family when you hear about another rider dying during the Dakar. It also makes you think hard about your family at home and if the Dakar is really getting too dangerous, especially for the bike race”
Nick met up again with Simon Pavey at the first fuel stop. Simon was alone as fellow Race to Dakar rider Matt Hall had been forced to retire.
“I think the dunes just got the better of Matt and his bike,” said Plumb “I’ve known Matt for a long time and he’s a great rider, but there’s a huge difference from riding the smaller enduros in the UK and then riding the BMW in the desert. It’s always so hard when you do the Dakar for the first time. He’s done amazingly well getting this far but the long stages like this seem to be designed to narrow down the field. I haven’t spoken to him yet as he’s still in the desert waiting recovery [some 24hrs later] so I’d be interested to find out if he had bike problems, I know mine keeps overheating”
At the fuel stop Simon was forced to stop and change his air filter. Due to the soft desert sand air filters can get blocked easily. Nick, knowing today was going to be a late finish, set off alone.
Shocked by the tragedy, Nick continued into the dunes. Meeting up with Simon Pavey at the top of yet another sand dune they rode together for a short while, helping dig each other out of the sand, until Nicks bike started to experience problems.
“I should have though,” explained Plumb “When I’d met Simon at the fuel stop he had started to change his air filter. Now the same problem was happening to my bike. Whenever I tried to go up a big dune the bike just started to loose power. I had to go around some of them or find a lower point to cross. I lost so much time.”
When he finally exited the dunes Nick stopped to change his air filter to find that some of his tools had gone missing and he didn’t have the allen key that he needed to fit the new filter.
“I knew someone would come along,” said Plumb “and, as it was getting dark, I sat and started to fit my helmet Xenon light. Eventually a rider stopped for me and lent me the tool in exchange for one of my snack bars. We had a bit of a banter and it was a nice feeling to stop for a short while and get a boost from the Dakar camaraderie that most riders are part of”
“After the fuel stop I knew I had to go for it otherwise I would be in the desert all night,” said Plumb “It was pretty scary riding fast across the rocks at night by yourself. The last 70k was murder on my back and arms I was really looking forward to finishing for the day”
Around midnight Nick came across Simon Pavey whose bike had now developed fuel problems and, once fixed, they rode the rest of the stage together.
“We though they might cancel Tuesdays stage,” explained Plumb “We passed loads of broken down bike on that last stretch. We started to stop; one guy was stood in the middle of the track with a small helmet light on. He was lucky a car or truck hadn’t come along and run him over, he flagged us down and told us his bike had gone into a hole and asked us to help get him out. We said we would and it wasn’t until we saw the bike that we realised he was lucky to be walking. The front wheel of his bike had gone straight into a huge hole, he could have gone over the bars and got hurt pretty bad.”
“A bit further on someone else stopped us for a jump start and it was after helping him that we decided not to stop any more. Although we all help each other you get to a certain point and you just have to be selfish. The sweeper vehicles will pick up anybody who have been left behind so they’ll be okay, but if you stop for to many people you never get back and that’s your Dakar over.”
Nick and Simon finally got to the end of the special stage and after 30 minutes eating and another 1 hour sleeping they set off on the liaison to the Bivouac and their awaiting teammates.
“We finally got back at about 6am,” said Plumb “We had to stop at about 100km into the 245km liaison to have another quick sleep, we were just so worn out.”
On arriving at the Bivouac the riders found that for bikes the next stage had been cancelled and, although they would still have to ride it, it would be classed as a liaison and wouldn’t be timed.
Nick is currently sitting in 88th place overall with the only remaining Race to Dakar rider (Simon Pavey) in 99th.
Team Touratech wish to extend their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Andy Caldecott.