Sometimes, actually quite a lot of the time, I really do need to pay just a little more attention.
And if I had paid a bit more attention this time I might have avoided a last minute Boxing Day dash to Go Outdoors and a slightly panicked phone call to my mate and Dakar veteran Toby Moody.
How did I find myself in this unfortunate situation? Well let me explain.
I’ve been desperate to cover the legendary Dakar Rally for the best part of 20 years now, and I’ve come close a couple of times, but this year it’s actually happening.
DirtFish was offered a place in the media center by the Dakar organizer and obviously my hand went up fastest and furthest accompanied by squeals of “Pick me, pick me, pick me!” It worked, so off to the Dakar I was going – but that was six months ago and my goodness, things have been mighty busy in the meantime.
Now, I wouldn’t dare blame any of this on the lovely folk from the event organizer, the ASO – they have been more than efficient with their communications. But the last part of the year was bonkers busy and I’d have to say, Dakar preparations took a bit of a back seat.
And when I did skim the Dakar emails that came through I absolutely blanked on anything at all that talked about tents, roll mats, sleeping bags etc – you know, all the things you used to take with you on those camping holidays with your parents.
You see, I just assumed that the camping malarkey was for someone else, surely it wasn’t for me?
I’d heard all sorts of things about how the Dakar had almost gone a little soft around the edges. There was talk of camping cabins and, god forbid, hotels for journos. I’m 53 in a few weeks’ time, I liked the sound of softer edges, and therefore steadfastly ignored the increasingly regular reminders that “you must bring with you a tent and all your own kit, nothing will be loaned on site. It’s strictly forbidden to sleep in the media center”.
Boxing Day morning, 24 hours before I was due to hit the long road to Saudi Arabia and one final reminder from the organizer about tents, and the penny dropped – actually this does mean me!
And what a muppet I was to think anything otherwise. The raw and challenging nature of the Dakar permeates every aspect of the event; bivouacs and tents are as big a part of the event DNA as dunes and dust storms.
And so, embracing my inner boy scout, a mad dash to the Boxing Day sales ensued to weigh up the pros and cons of pop0up tents against storm tents, self-inflating sleeping mats against roll mats and sleeping bags against goodness what else!
The experience was a bit of a blur, I kind of managed to explain to the lovely helpful shop assistant what I needed and she did all the rest. Nearly £400 [$483] lighter but feeling almost prepared, I headed home to play Tetris with my new purchases: three weeks worth of clothing, travel kit and my what I had previously considered to be cavernous trolley bag.
Just as a side note, three weeks away equates to 21 pairs of boxer shorts – who actually owns that many pairs of boxers? Well not me, I managed 17, and that included a couple of pairs that have more holes in them than St Andrews and really should have gone in the trash years ago! Let me tell you though, they will be used on this trip.
Back to that call with Dakar veteran Toby Moody.
“Yeh Col, I can always get my bags for Dakar under 20kg.”
What? Does he wear every T-shirt three times and every pair of boxers four times? No, the answer was a relatively simple one.
“Only take what you absolutely need – we won’t be hitting any nightclubs on this trip!”
Turns out what I absolutely needed was 28kg of luggage – and even then I feel woefully short of, well, just about everything.
And so the journey began, Staffordshire to London City Airport, a quick flight to Rotterdam and then the Dakar Express to Yanbu, where the rally kicks off in a few days’ time.
First challenge for me? Getting my spotlessly new tent up, working out how the roll mat inflates and then experiencing the delights of a micro fiber towel in the communal showers for the first time.
Oh the joys of covering the Dakar – I’m genuinely loving every second of it. So far!
