Desert camp again - pretty slow to get get going in the morning. Scott and I have already decided we will try to ride together today without anyone else. Bran Flakes for breakfast again which I hate so it was peanut butter and jam sandwich again - not the best start to the day.
We were quite slow getting packed up but it didn't matter as most of the riders had gone out individually today and most had already left ahead of us. We had written the directions down as there was a bit of zig zagging to do today. - with about 13k on the road before hitting the off road section.
We travelled out through a town and then over a big dam over the Nile which was quite cool. Then we started on the dirt - it was quite good to start with. Scott and I were riding together and trying to help each out a little bit. We were riding along the railway tracks and going pretty good but not too hard - trying to take it easy and keep our heart rates low. We had no idea about the people ahead - just wanted to ride fairly easy. I felt really good - however after about 25 k Scott hit a rock and fell and hurt his hip. We stopped to get him right and started off again. It was corrugated bumps - really had to pick your line so we were doing a lot of weaving in and out - we were also overtaking people which was nice. However after about 30 k or so Scott fell again and really hurt his hip this time - he told me to go on ahead so once I made sure he was OK I set off on my own.
I was feeling really good - it's nice to be in the position where you are chasing people. So I carried on going - feeling really good and riding pretty hard. Slowly ticking off some of the other competitors. We were still riding along by the train tracks with a varying terrain.
At about 50 k I caught up with Jorg and Adam - ahead of us all were the two race leaders, Paul and Horst. I didn't really expect to catch them but suddenly I spotted them in the distance - so I pushed myself a little bit more but still felt fairly comfortable - still felt in my comfort zone.
They arrived at lunch just before me so I was pleased to have caught them up as they had started ahead of me. I had made time. Also we had lost a little time with Scotts falls so the fact I had actually caught them up made me feel really good. So I decided to eat lunch quickly and go straight out again. Horst and Paul followed me - they are both really good road bikers but at this stage I had no idea how good they were off road. I went pretty hard for about 10 k - only trouble was it was into the headwind and Paul was behind me and definitely getting a bit of a rest off that. After about 10 k I realized I wasn't going to lose them so I sat back for a while and rode on Paul's wheel for a change - then he ushered me forward so I just moved over and sat on Horst for a while. It was good to get a bit of a rest!
Then we slowed down through a village and I realized Paul had disappeared - didn't quite understand what was going on. I carried on at a steady speed and then just as suddenly Horst also disappeared. I kind of thought " wow have I lost them? This is amazing!" So I sped up a little bit but then the road got really bad so I slowed down again and seconds later there they were! They suddenly came flying by and pressing the speed a bit! I followed and after a while we all calmed down again. Paul turned and said to me " well looks like you're the stage winner then" and I took that to be a little cue to say " let's stop racing and just ride it in now!". Fine by me!!
It was a 100 km day and it was really really hot - we had been guzzling gallons of water - I had drunk both water bottles and and all my camel bak in the morning and refilled at lunch.
Oh I forgot to say that I totally kicked a tent peg - one of those big ones off the kitchen tent - put a hole in my toe. Had to get it bandaged up - it looks very pretty. Hopefully that will be the only time I have to visit the medical truck. It doesn't actually hurt and I am sure it will be fine tomorrow.
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