RUST magazine: RUST#42

DAKAR
Wayne just asked
rather matter of
factly, “Are you
planning on riding
on THIS?”
A1(M). As the beggar here, I was tied by
Wayne’s other RAW Academy bookings
and his enduro series schedule. I’d gone
as far as starting an otherwise dirty and
dusty trials bike, given the tyres a quick
squeeze and thrown it into the back of
the works van.
Tired, fatigued and I’d got a bit of a
sore shoulder/upper arm after a little
crash in the desert, plus all of the other
standard excuses too. I’d spent about
50 hours of the previous week riding a
rally prepped 450 enduro bike through
huge sand dunes. Then driven home.
I pushed a bit here and there and just
missed out on my target of a podium
in enduro class, coming home 4th and
28th overall. Respectable. Tiring. Not
trials.
I was typically late to arrive and
Wayne was up and out, waiting in
what is a pretty stunning location up
by Gouthwaite Reservoir. Not far from
where, many moons ago, I’d raced my
w
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