Stage 3 – “the white pit” – Jan 4, 2010
Today I woke up to pouring rain and considering how Cooper and I have been handling the heat … I was pleased … Yesterday, Rick road in this rain and he said it was pretty messy! He is still having problems with his battery and puts a lot of energy into jump starting his bike. He was pretty worn out last night. He also had a couple of falls and has a sore left knee … same leg as the broken leg. It’s to be expected that it will be a little weaker than his other leg. He also had his GPS go down (which he has to have in case of emergency) so he spent time last night getting it fixed. Poor guy, he really was tired when I talked to him.
Today is a big day! Not so much for the distance, the total is just around 400km with the day ending exactly at the end of the special but it’s the first day in the dunes with a section around 30km. I guess that is why they call today the white pit! But they are keeping the day ¨short¨and tomorrow they cross the border to Chile as high as around 4,000m …. brrrrrr!
There are more pictures on http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnieandrick
As for tracking … http://tracking.dakar.com/ASO/index_us.html … he has yet to start the special when I am writing this today.
Thanks again for all the comments and emails, I shared them all last night with Rick and they really make him feel good! OLN should have started airing their program yesterday so be sure to check it out. Last year it was half an hour per day so they mostly just highlight the pros but you never know!
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6 Responses to “Stage 3 – “the white pit” – Jan 4, 2010”
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Way to go Rick! Excellent job to Bonnie for keeping us informed here in the northern hemisphere. Stay stong and i will keep my eyes peeled for a glimps of the best Canadian rider.
Have Fun!
Thomas
Rick don’t worry about your knee thats why god gave you two. head up wheels down, finish that race. we are all routing for you. good luck from all of us.
From looking at the live timing it sounds like today is really nasty. Going to be a long day but Rick did show up at the first checkpoint so still going!
Go Rick Go!
We’re routing for you buddy
Just keep going and enjoy it!
Em, Roy and Stocky dog!
I have to agree with Bonnie, It takes courage to do the right thing. Not reaching the finish line should not take away from the experience. I am just thankful that you are making it back in one piece safely to your family. Can’t wait to hear the stories, I am sure that there will be plenty. God speed, G,S&L
I know that this must have been such a tough decision Rick but this decision just demonstrates another great attribute that you have. Good for you.
“The Greatest Test of Courage is to Bear defeat without losing Heart”
Another perspective might be this.
the reasonable man adapts himself to the world
the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself
therefore all progress relies on the “Unreasonable Man” (by George Bernard Shaw)
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK RICK. MOST PEOPLE ONLY DREAM BUT DON’T FOLLOW THROUGH.
XO,
JILLIAN