New Zealand’s Chris Birch tells us about his latest ride at the desert classic…
It was not the best day for me today because the thing was all about pure speed and that’s not really my style of riding. There were guys really flying along in the dust and it was a bit too kamikaze for me at certain points. I’m just happy to get the day down and to be back at the bivouac looking forward to having another crack tomorrow.
I’m hoping for a more technical day tomorrow with some interesting navigational challenges. Today was all about clocking up 150kmph for 20 minutes at a time and for me that’s something totally different to what riding motorbikes means to me. It was so mentally intense to be riding like that.
'You know that one little rock is all it takes to totally clean you out!'
Getting acclimatised to the speed is something that I’m learning during this Dakar and I’m also starting to trust myself more with the navigation. I’ve still got a long, long way to go but it’s definitely getting there. It’s been a rapid progression because in the first few days I was just following dust and hoping for the best, now I happy to take the lead when I’m riding in a pack.
One thing I do seemed to have cracked pretty early is the banter that goes on in the bivouac. I’m spending plenty of time out on the course and in the camp with my team-mate, Darryl Curtis. It’s important to talk about the good and bad things that can happen in a day and have a laugh so things aren’t always so super serious. Darryl was riding with me today until he started feeling his age towards the end of the day and had to drop back a bit.
Follow the rest of Chris Birch’s Dakar debut on Red Bull’s dedicated desert classic website.
Want more?
- Check out Chris' profile page
- Take a look at Cyril Despres' latest Dakar blog
- Go to the official website of the Dakar Rally 2012
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