FINAL Stage 15: Dakar - Dakar

PATRICIA WINS 3RD PLACE, DAKAR 2007 LADIES

Another Dakar completed and the 3rd place position - well done Patricia !

French organisation ensured free champagne was available close to the finish !

Two engine rebuilds and a lot of sleepless nights - well done to Bernie as well !

Well done Rally Raid........Well done Patricia
and Well done ASO for remembering to chill the champagne !

FINAL UPDATE FROM DAVID - January 21 2007

That's it folks, hope you enjoyed the reports.

Thanks to all of Patricia's sponsors who made her Rally possible.

Thanks to everyone that donated to Kidscape (you still can, if you have been
too mesmerised by journalistic brilliance, to remember up until now !!
Go to www.justgiving.com/PatriciaWatson-Miller

And thanks to everyone who sent messages of support (and hugs) during the Rally - they were much appreciated - Patricia loves you all !!

Stage 14: Tambacounda to Dakar

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Patricia setting off for the final stage to Lac Rose

FROM DAVID: January 21 2007

(connection 124km, special 225km, connection 227km)

Patricia arrived safely in Dakar yesterday, although the talk of all the riders was the madness of the local traffic. Local cars were having sport trying to bump the Rally cars and bikes as they weaved through the city.

Yesterday's celebrations were a little muted as 2 people died on the stage. A photographer died after hanging out of his car window to take a photograph and when his car crashed, he was killed. This mirrors an incident involving a photographer in Portugal. Neither were wearing seatbelts.

Also yesterday, a rider died after getting off his bike on the final run through Dakar and then having a heart attack. Tragically, his parents were waiting for him to arrive at the finish line. The cruelty of the Rally. This brings to 4, the number of deaths this year.

Marc Coma, who was leading the Rally (motorcycles) until 2 days ago, got lost, went fast to catch up and hit a tree. He is now in hospital with head injuries but will be OK.

Hopefully, today's short stage around Lac Rose will be less newsworthy and we will simply be reporting on celebrations in the next and final report.

Patricia is in good spirits, relieved to have arrived in Dakar. Bernie looks exhausted, dirtier and more unshaven than when I left him 2 weeks ago. Werner is in good spirits but disappointed he had to pull out. Tom Classen is euphoric after coming 4th 2 days running, which is a stunning performance for a privateer versus all the professional teams.

Stage 13: Kayes to Tambacounda

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Why is Patricia carrying a tree on her bike?

From David: January 19 2007

(connection 180 km, special 260 km, connection 18km)

Well, I have managed to get online here in Dakar. I'm impressed that the hotel has broadband because they do not yet have any roads with tarmac on, street lights, or much else.....and is it the traditional Senagalese welcome to be jumped on by 100 taxi drivers as you come out of the airport???

I have had a very limited debrief on yesterdays stage from Patricia - mainly because she called me at 6am this morning and I was still asleep. The unedited version of the debrief on yesterdays stage is as follows "Yes, it was fine". Other evidence backs up this succinct description, as she came in 69th for the days stage - another excellent placing. We can only assume the new engine performed well.

I am sure I will receive a much fuller description of today's stage, as I will meet Patricia face-to-face when she arrives in Dakar. Hopefully I will be able to get on line again and send another update.

Today's stage, as they head towards Dakar, is a connection of 124km, special 225km, connection 227km. Tomorrow, the final day, is an "out and back" from Dakar around the Lac Rose.

Stage 12: "somewhere sandy" to Kayes

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Less camels, more trees, but still plenty of sand.....

From David: January 18 2007

(connection 372 km, special 257 km, connection 117 km)

Yesterday's stage passed without major incident for Patricia, although her engine had been rebuilt the night before. Unfortunately, the rebuild did not prove sustainable and last night a new engine had been acquired from KTM and was being installed in her bike.

When I spoke to Patricia last evening, passports were being stamped ready for todays stage, which includes the passage into Mali.

Patricia believed that after yesterday's stage 12, she was 3rd placed amongst the ladies. The 4th placed person is closing each day on her, as she has an earlier starting position, and therefore spends slightly less time arguing with the overtaking cars and trucks ! Patricia had a great stage yesterday, coming in 64th in the whole field - certainly her best stage position this Dakar, and I think, her best ever.

Werner is in good spirits, and the pain is being help at bay by his equine tranquilisers.

Once again, I do apologise in advance if I fail to maintain these reports once in Dakar from this evening (Friday). If you wish to follow Dakar's progress - you have three options:

1. Watch Eurosport each evening - live coverage, repeated through the night

2. Go to www.eurosport.co.uk and look under "motorsports"

3. Go to www.dakar.com , where with a little effort you can track the progress of each competitor live each day.

Patricia is raising money for Kidscape as she undertakes the Rally. Kidscape is a charity committed to keeping children safe from abuse. If you would like to make a donation, please go to Patricia's Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/PatriciaWatson-Miller .... for those that have already donated, thank you ..... and for those of you that are about to do so, thank you as well ...... go on then...... click on the link and do a good deed today for those kids that need your support.

I'm now off to pack my bags for Dakar - must remember knotted handkerchief, bucket, spade and camel stun-gun.

Stage 11: Nema to "somewhere sandy"

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally







Photo: The Bivouac: or "base-camp" - this small village is packed into planes and moved every day ...... 15 times ..... impressive stuff.


FROM DAVID: January 17 2007

(connection 256 km, special 0km, connection 0km)

Today was a "connection" day i.e. no Special Section - which means it was the next best thing to a rest day.

I have not heard from Patricia this evening - either her battery ran out on the satellite phone, or she was too busy being a TV star - as she appeared live on Eurosport (UK) tonight ! Eurosport UK seemed to be quite "adoptive" of her as pseudo-British, given she lives and works in the UK !!

Patricia was being very positive on camera, although her fingers looked a bit sore. Interestingly, they interviewed (10 seconds each!) all the leading bunch of female riders, and it would seem that all the girls are still in the rally i.e. no pull-outs - I presume that must mean they are better riders than the average male rider, or more sensible riders, or something. I will withhold any further comment on this observation, for fear of offending any men .....

Ludivine Puy is leading the ladies, but we have no further details at this stage on subsequent positions.

Tomorrow is a 250km special section, with some considerable navigational challenges along the way.

I hope to get one more report out to you tomorrow night, before I leave for Dakar early on Friday to join the welcoming party as the rally arrives there on Saturday.

I do apologise in advance if I fail to maintain the reports once in Dakar - that will be for one of two reasons:

1. I cannot get online to see the results or to send any emails - I'm not sure of the state of Senagalise telecommunications until I arrive!

2. My PC has been eaten by a camel and I am chasing it across the desert, with the hump

If either of the above occur, but you wish to follow Dakar's progress anyway - you have three options:

1. Watch Eurosport each evening - live coverage, repeated through the night

2. Go to www.eurosport.co.uk and look under "motorsports"

3. Go to www.dakar.com , where with a little effort you can track the progress of each competitor live each day.

The rally arrives in Dakar on Saturday, with the final "loop" on Sunday. We fly back Monday, so YOU WILL recieve a wrap up email on Tuesday.....meanwhile I will do my best to maintain normal service.

Stage 10: Nema to Nema

Daily Updates From David on Patricia's Progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Special Stage 9 : More sand.... and Patricia, of course.
It looks like the same dune I sent a photo of yesterday - is that photographer cheating on us?

FROM DAVID: January 16 2007

(connection 0km, special 360km, connection 0km, total 360km)

Update on yesterday - a shorter day, only 360 km. Patricia was safely back at camp by 5 p.m. The main challenge yesterday was to avoid getting run over by cars and trucks - as the route was along a track with high sides, so there was no-where to go when they came up behind you. Several bikers were nudged out of the way in a less than subtle way.

Patricia is referring to the Camp doctor as a Magician - her wrists were much better yesterday.

Unfortunately, the fall that Werner took a few days ago, and which was not aassisted by horse painkillers, turned out to be a broken shoulder when X-rayed yesterday - he is now out of the race, travelling to Dakar in the back of a truck. This event is addictive, so I wonder if he will be back for more next year...

The severity of the challenge on the machines and people is indicated by the RallyRaid team survival statistics: of 10 bikes that left Lisbon, 4 remain in the rally. Of 6 cars that started, 2 remain. The truck is still hanging on in there.

Today (Wed) there is no special section - simply a few hundred kilometers of road link to the next camp. The chance for a later start, a more civilised ride and an early arrival at camp, to refuel ready for the final few days.

Stage 9: Tichit to Nema

Daily Updates From David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally.

Photo: Patricia on Special Stage 8: More sand....and its getting softer....
.....they call the sand "fache fache" when you sink up to your handlebars...
....I suspect it is often called something else when that actually happens !!

FROM DAVID: January 15 2007

(connection 0km, special 494km, connection 3km, total 497km)

Update on yesterday - Patricia completed another long day successfully, arriving in camp just before dark - which was a great achievement.

There was much stony ground during the day, which meant her wrists were very painful by the time she arrived, and the doctor has bandaged one up for her.

Werner had a bit of a fall the day before yestereday and is in quite a bit of pain. Tom (and Patricia) are trying to persuade him to take the equine (horse) painkillers that Tom brings along (supplied by Tom's wife Sonia who works in a veterinary surgeons). Apparently they do wonders, but side effects include a tendency to start talking to the camels.

Looking ahead to Tuesday (today): Nema to Nema; connection 0km, special 360 km, connection 0km. Today is the day that was shortened in advance by the Organisation, due to political unrest in Muaritania. So to quote Patricia " the special is only 360km". Most people don't go that far when they go on holiday !!

Stage 8: Atar to Tichit

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Patricia on Special Stage 6 : looking confident in the dunes.... look closely...is that a traffic cop behind her? - about to give a speeding ticket?

FROM DAVID: Sunday January 14 2007

(connection 35km, special 589km, connection 2km, total 626km)

After Rest-Day yesterday in Atar, during which Bernie completely disassembled and re-assembled Patricia's bike, today was the longest special section of the Rally. It was Patricia's latest finish - arriving in camp at about 10pm, after three hours riding in the dark. Werner was close by for most of the day, but he slowed down in the final 2 hours, so Patricia went ahead to camp. She sounded pretty exhausted tonight, and said she spent a lot of energy picking up the bike... a few times. Apparently, when it falls over the lights go off, which is not a good idea when the trucks are catching you up at 150km/hr in the dark !

The days rankings have not yet emerged. Even Eurosport were struggling tonight, as the bikers were so strung out - some will only arrive in time to set straight off again tomorrow!

So..... Bikes, Cars and Trucks....what is the difference? Apart from the obvious number of wheels....

In Lisbon I made the following observations:

Trucks : These are big, very very big. They look big in the photos and on the TV, but when you get close to them, they are monstrously big! Their wheels are about as tall as me. The main pre-occupation of the trucks, seems to be to look menacing and grumpy. Their drivers are not too disimilar from what I saw - you would not want to pick a fight with them, or expect a lot of friendly chit-chat.

Cars : Very different. They are very pretty and seem to be built on the basis that being the best looking may just win the Dakar. The colours are luminescent and vibrant and they are incredibly polished. The big manufacturers (VW and Mitsubishi) have "mine is better than yours" competitions on cleanliness, fleet size and driver smartness. Mitsubishi won in the hotel in Lisbon, but VW are winning on the sand !

Bikes : Apart from the big factory teams, whose machines are just as polished as the car teams, there is an abundance of privateers. Whilst car drivers will discuss tyre pressures and speeds, bikers don't say very much - they just walk up and inspect the wiring on everyone else's bike. I'm not sure what the fascination with wires is, but it is defintely the way to impress a fellow biker. ie my loom is better than yours. When people first approached Patricia's bike and started fondling the wiring, I thought they were saboteurs, but then I saw the love in their eyes as they ran their fingers over the wire loom and perfect joints made in Schek base-camp, Wangen. I'm sure they are normal people really!

Looking ahead to Monday : Tichit to Nema; connection 0km, special 494km, connection 3km. A total desert stage with very few landmarks - the good navigators will gain some considerable advantage. The poor navigators will have to follow tracks and hope that camels cannot ride motorbikes. The aim is to get into camp before dark - as then the challenge multiplies rapidly.

Stage 7: Zouerat to Atar

Daily Updates From David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Patricia on Special Stage 5 ; obeying the 30mph speed limit in an urban area.....or maybe not.... she does not do so in the UK, so why do it in Africa !!

FROM DAVID: January 12 2007

(connection 4 km, special 542 km, connection 34 km, total 580 km)

You are safe from journalistic creativity today ... as we do have some genuine, hot off the press news!! I have just spoken to Patricia in Atar. She had a good day on the rankings - 93rd today. It was a long day and after getting no sleep last night because her back was hurting, she found the day quite tiring.

However, tomorrow is rest day - a chance to recuperate and recharge the batteries (on the KTM as well as the PWM).

There were some technical problems yesterday for Werner, as his road-book broke, so today he rode all the way today with Patricia - which made for a rather more sociable stage than normal. Apparently, one hour from camp tonight, they took a rest - within this one hour break much conversation was had with a local Mauritanian tea-shop owner, much tea-was drunk and some clothes were purchased - sounds more like a trip to Oxford Street than a Dakar Rally to me !!!

The competition between the ladies this year is now heating up - Patricia reckons she is currently about 4th. The Faring on her bike broke loose today and has been causing issues for a few days now - Patricia estimates it is taking 20mins off her time each day - hopefully tomorrow, with a full day on the task, Bernie will be able to make a more permanent repair.

Patricia's mobile phone no longer works - apparently the signal is even weaker than in Cambridge - and she has switched to the satellite phone. No texts are getting through on either device. I will provide you the number of the sat phone should you wish to call her tomorrow - 00000000000 - however I should warn you that it only works when it is switched on (obviously) AND Patricia holds it very precisely without any movement (not so obvious !). I have not managed to connect to it yet, so good luck if you try.

Looking ahead to Saturday : Rest Day, so there will no racing to report, although I have some observations to make on the differing nature of the Truck, Car and Bike riders of the Dakar, as observed in Lisbon - which I hope you will find of interest, even if of no practical use in your life !! Tune in, if you can bear it .....

Stage 6: Tan Tan to Zouerat

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Whoops - I don't think the BMW Marketing team had this picture in mind, when they entered the Dakar.. the people were all fine, the car was a bit sick...

FROM DAVID - Thursday Jan 11 2007
(connection 414km, special 394km, connection 9km, total 817km)

The updates are getting briefer I'm afraid, as I have not heard anything directly from Patricia today - although I do know from my offical text updates that she has completed the whole stage and is now in camp. Apparently there were sand storms as they left early this morning, but they must have abated, as all competitors are now in camp. Albeit without any mobile phone connections.

Patricia appeared to have a good day, making 123rd position for todays stage - yet another improvement. She is steadily working her way up the field - experience and steadiness seem to be paying off.

As I am short of news, I will now give you a brief lesson in Dakar technicalities... the Dakar veterans can stop reading at this point....

When Patricia was allocated her start number, 145, weeks before the Rally she was a bit upset - I did not really understand why at the time...but here is the reason. The further back in the field you start each morning, the quicker the following cars and trucks catch you. When they catch you, you have 3 choices: (1) Stay on the road and get run over (not a good idea) ... (2) Pull over, let them pass and then proceed, but in a cloud of dust caused by the car/truck (not a good idea) ... or (3) pull over , let them pass, wait for the dust to settle then start again...by which time the next one is here and you have to wait again (not a good idea). Have you spotted the important point - once they catch you, everything starts looking bad for the bikers. So the critical thing is to start as soon as possible within the bike line-up each morning, so you can ride as long as possible before getting caught by the cars and bikes.

Last year, Patricia started higher up the field, which was odd as she had not done the Dakar for a while. This year, after winning the Ladies last year, she started further down the field - I'm sure there is a logical french reason for this, but it was not apparent to Patricia (I think that is a polite way to describe her reaction) - and the effect being that she probably has about 50 more cars and dust clouds to deal with each day, than she did last year.

Apologies if you just fell asleep reading this - I will try to find rather more interesting snippets for future editions, if the news content remains scant !

Looking ahead to Friday (stage 7) : Zouerat to Atar connection 4km, special 542km, connection 34km, total 580km. "Crossing the Erg" - a bit of all terrains. This is the day that tiredness really sets in - after 6 previous days racing. Get through this day, and then Saturday is a welcome rest-day. We need to keep fingers crossed for tomorrow for Patricia, as this was the day she crashed last year.... so an important psychological barrier to break through.

Stage 5: Ouarzazate to Tan Tan

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally


Photo: Patricia during Stage 2 Special Section (I think!)


FROM DAVID: Wednesday January 10 2007

(connection 164 km, special 325 km, connection 280 km, total 775 km)

Only a brief update today I'm afraid, as I did not manage to get much information from Patricia.... communications are becoming a little more irregular as they get further into Africa.

She completed the day safely, and again improved her ranking from previous days, within the Special Section.... coming in 132nd today. Today was an early start, a very long day, and will now be a short night - as she has to get up at 3.30am tomorrow for the longest day of the Rally. This stage in the Rally is where tiredness really begins to have an influence - and lets hope Patricia's experience will see her through to rest day.

Yesterday's problem with the bike seems to have stabilised during the day, and now Bernie will be working on it to make the fixing more secure.

I was hoping to tell you by now how to send emails to Patricia, but the facility has not yet gone live from the organisers - personal messages do intermitently get through via text messages, on Patricia's normal mobile number.

Looking ahead to Thursday (stage 6 ) : Tan Tan > Zouerat , Connection: 414 km | Special: 394 km | Connection: 9 km Total: 817 km. The longest day of the rally , hence the 3.30am wake-up call. This section will take the riders towards the Mauritanian border. Economy and efficiency are the order of the day.

Stage 4: Er Rachidia - Ouarzazate

Daily Updates From David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

No Official Photograph of Patricia today

FROM DAVID: Tuesday January 09 2007
(connection 96 km, special 405 km, connection 178 km, total 679 km)

Today's fourth stage of the Dakar was tainted by the death of South African rider Elmer Symons, in an accident after 142 km of the special stage.

Patricia reported in safely this evening and has completed today's Stage. It was a very long Special stage (8hrs 14mins), but she seems to be consolidating her position, coming in 134th on today's stage - her best stage position yet. Good navigation, rather than inappropriate speed, are helping her results.

The tracking system on the web today, caused a few minor traumas for observers, as Patricia appeared to stop for 4 hours in the middle of the Special. Werner also showed as stopping nearby and we did wonder if one of them had an accident or a serious technical breakdown. It was neither - just the tracking system became frozen!

Patricia has had a technical problem today - as the fittings connecting her headlamps to her faring broke, causing the faring to flap around. Werner stopped to assist her in the desert. Good team-work. She got to camp and when I spoke to her, she was asking someone to do some welding for her ! Remember, there are no mechanics in camp tonight, so the riders are having to do their own repairs and help each other.

It is cold in camp tonight, apparently even colder than last night, so Patricia has "borrowed" four blankets !! She seemed rather pleased with these acquisitions...

Looking ahead to Wednesday (stage 5) : Ouarzazate > Tan Tan, Connection: 164 km | Special: 325 km | Connection: 289 km Total: 768 km. Dakar regulars will have rallied from Ouarzazate to Tan Tan on three occasions in the recent past. Yet despite this, they’ll never have taken the 2007 route on a long-distance trek before. On this special, the drivers are going to be getting a taste of the Atlas Mountains, a feast for the eyes that means the trucks will have to take a slightly different route, a few kilometres shorter. On average, the scenery is dramatic, lunar: for the connoisseurs.

Stage 3: Nador - Er Rachidia

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo: Patricia on the Stage 1 Special Section (official photograph)

FROM DAVID: Monday January 08, 2007

(connection 205km, special 252 km, connection 191km, total 648 km)

Patricia has phoned in and has now completed today's full Stage. Werner is still on the final Connection.

Patricia reported queues at the petrol station on todays first Connection which meant she got to the start of her Special 15 minutes late. She was not impressed !!

However, the SMS has just arrived to show she was 156th in today's Special - her best day yet. Looks like her navigation skills paid off on a very long (4 hours, 47 minutes) and complex navigationally challenging Special Section.

The photo is above shows Patricia on the Stage 1 Special Section - I will be getting official photos each day now, bur they are 48 hours delayed. I assume the above photo was taken at the beginning of the Section, as when I saw her at the end she was covered in mud and sand - although she did more closely match her orange KTM bike !!

No technical problems have been reported with her bike to date.

Looking ahead to Tuesday (stage 4) : Connection: 96 km, Special: 405km, Connection: 178km. The first big day of endurance. The second Moroccan special is a long one, and above all very varied. For novices, this is where the full-scale apprenticeship starts as they discover the dunes and experience their first thrills. The priority of the moment: don’t get carried away. A “private” bivouac will be set up for motorcycle racers approximately 100 kilometres from Ouarzazate. Assistance vehicles will not be allowed to enter the working park, as this will be an area where only competitors can work on their motorcycles. Tomorrow is the first day where Patricia will not have Bernie's technical support in the evening - fingers crossed for no technical problems.

Stage 2: Portimao - Malaga

Daily Updates From David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally.

Photo 1: Patricia's support and Bernie's Home

Photo 2: The Russians are coming to the desert

FROM DAVID: Sunday January 07 2007

(connection 15km, special 67km, connection 463 km, total 545 km)

After a good night's sleep in what will be her last hotel for a while (!), Patricia rode the short 15km Connection to today's (Sunday) Special section and started the Special at 8.54am.

Bernie had his first long evening working on a bike last night (not Patricia's or Werners, but another RallyRaid bike that had an argument with a tree yesterday).

One of the Rally Raid cars also had a problem yesterday, after being hit by another car and needing to be towed off the course - the Rally Raid challenges have started with two bangs !

Patricia described today's Special as very dangerous (steep drops etc), as predicted by the organisers, but she had no problems and completed it successfully in 1 hr 24 mins.

The second Connection today was undertaken in a van, for the long slog down to Malaga - the last time this luxury will be available. The team will board the ferry when they arrive this evening and then get some sleep, before being woken at 3am to unload and prepare for tomorrow's first Africa stage.

Patricia's provisional statistics for today's Special Section are as follows : Time 1 hr 24 mins , Position 197th (across men and women).

Looking ahead to Monday (stage 3) the first African stage : Connection: 205 km, Special: 252 km, Connection: 191 km. Navigation is the main challenge on this stage. There are very many navigation changes and a real maze of tracks. And though the rocky trails seem ideal for speed, the many wades will bring the competitors back to reality.

If you have Eurosport, and would like to see the event on TV each evening, you can do so. The coverage focusses on the professionals and the Special section, but does give a great sense of the nature of each day's terrain.

Stage 1: Lisbon - Portimao

Daily Updates from David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally

Photo 1: On the Start Ramp at 7:09 a.m.

Photo 2: At the end of Stage 1 Special Section

FROM DAVID - Saturday January 06 2007

(connection 115km, special 117km, connection 232km, total 464km)

Patricia set of at 7.09am today (Saturday) from Lisbon, leaving the Start Ramp alongside Tom Classen (also RallyRaid) from South Africa, as she did last year. The bike started fine this morning, despite being in Parc Ferme for 2 days after scutineering - always a relief. Testament to KTM and Schek build quality.

The first 115km Connection section, south from Lisbon, was foggy and chilly, but no problems were encountered by Patricia. The same cannot said for your reporter, who after being diverted 100km in his car by Portugese police whilst trying to get to the Special Section start, lost his sense of humour and jumped a road block to reach his destination !

This first stage Special was very sandy.… a foretaste of Africa. The technical riders aimed to snatch back a few seconds in the bends through the forests of pines and corks.

Patricia had one minor fall on the 117km Special, but she was fine and smiling at the end. She then completed the final 232km Connection section to Portimao, in warmer weather, and arrived about 4pm. So Stage 1 was successfully completed.

Patricia's provisional statistics for the Special Section are as follows Time 2hrs 28min, Position 176th (across men and women).

Looking ahead to Sunday: Connection: 15 km, Special: 67 km, Connection: 463 km. Patricia's Special Section starts at 8.54am, following the very short Connection to reach it. The terrain in the Special is tortuous, the ground quite hard. One false move on this route, and the drop can be a severe one. Then she travels to Malaga for the overnight ferry to Africa.

Scrutineering Day

Photo: The desert awaits the Rally

Daily Updates From David on Patricia's progress in the Dakar Rally.

FROM DAVID - Thursday January 04 2007

2 DAYS TO GO

Today (Thursday) was Scrutineering day, so the first pressure was on the participants to ensure they had their paperwork in order and on the mechanics to sort any technical issues. Patricia' paperwork was fine and her bike needed no adjustments. Therefore there was plenty of time to enjoy coffee (decaf) and cakes..... and talk to everyone who came within 5 metres (the Schek's are very famous in these parts!).

Contrast this organised and calm passage through scrutineering to poor Werner (Patricia's team-mate), who thought he was as organised and ready, but had to rewire his Iritrack system (involving, for the non-mechanical observer, an apparent rebuild of the entire bike - three times !). By the end of scutineering, Werner had passed, but was looking emotionally dishevelled - life is not always fair for organised people. Then the zip broke on his new, state of the art, BMW jacket. As bad luck comes in three parts, I decided to force him to buy me a beer, before something else significant happened to him or his bike.

The "characters" of the Rally are now arriving - an interesting asemblage of keen "first-timers" and the hardy, committed enthusiasts who return each year for the adventure, punishment and fun that it involves.

It is interesting to watch the "mind-games" between the commercial teams - Mitsubishi and Volkswagen are in our hotel and there is a continuous battle for who can have the best briefing notices in the lobby (Mitsubishi were ahead last evening, but VW installed an even better one in the dead of night), the best team uniform (close tie) and who can dominate the parking area of the hotel - a massive victory by Mitsubishi who lined their fleet up overnight - 10 shiny, red and pristine cars/trucks. VW came back this morning however and paraded their 15 strong convoy along the seafront..

Patricia is raising money for Kidscape as she undertakes the Rally. Kidscape is a charity committed to keeping children safe from abuse. If you would like to make a donation, please go to Patricia's Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/PatriciaWatson-Miller

PATRICIA -- DAKAR RALLY 2007

A daily log of Patricia as she competes in the Dakar Rally on a motorbike. Her boyfriend, David, is sending daily updates which I am posting.

Photo: Patricia and her bike


FROM DAVID - Wednesday January 03 2007

3 DAYS TO GO

Patricia and the team arrived in Lisbon yesterday. No technical or navigational problems arose during this early Hertford-Lisbon stage of the rally.

The bike also arrived safely in Lisbon yesterday, after being built at the Schek workshop, Wangen during December. It was transported to Lisbon, alongside its sister bike, another KTM, to be ridden by Werner Pfeuffer. Both bikes will be maintained on the Rally by Bernie Wright. Patricia and Werner have promised Bernie that they will be sensible and gentle with the bikes, so he stands at least some chance of getting some sleep during the 2 weeks of the Rally.

Bernie was informed by Werner this morning that his duties as a mechanic included boot-cleaning after each stage - the first dissent amongst the closely knit team was almost visible.

In the last few days, the organisers have changed one stage of the Rally, due to political unrest in Mauritania, knocking 800km off the total Rally distance. Sighs of relief by all competitors were obvious.

Today is a day of general preparation for the technical scrutineering that will occur tomorrow. There is an air of growing anticipation in Lisbon as the streets resound to the roar of the trucks, cars and bikes of the assembling Rally teams. The sun is out and the atmosphere is friendly and exciting. The Russians are winning in the engine decibel stakes and the Australians in the "witty jokes" stakes.

Patricia is maintaining her race preparation of no alcohol or caffine and she led an unprecedented bout of enthusiasm in the RallyRaid team, by taking them out for an early morning run along the waterfront in Lisbon.

Further updates to follow......

David


These updates will be issued daily, once the Rally starts, but if you wish to follow Patricia's progress at anytime on the official Rally website, you can do so at http://www.dakar.com/ ..... Race numbers for Patricia and other members of the RallyRiad team are as follows:

RallyRaid Bikes

130 Alberto Hintenaus
131 Mike Hughes
145 Patricia Watson-Miller
146 Tom Classen
156 Mark Elland
164 Christo Aspeling
179 Werner Pfeuffer
194 Hein Joubert
212 Neville Murray
220 Oz Bestel

RallyRaid Cars

432 Round/Coulson
433 Hugounenq/Coste
434 Radet/Gerard
436 Petrus/Petrus
438 Schoo/Koning

RallyRaid Truck

540 Saumet/O'Malley