Taking it to him !

What a day we have had, 2 more competitors dropped out today, that’s 4 in total the two previous were withdrawn by the doctor; this event is so brutal there is one here all of the time.

Simon though goes on and on; we began today at 10 am and since then (it’s now just after midnight) he has taken 2 major breaks (over an hour) and several minor ones, the best of those was in the shade with his legs dangling in the pool, we have discovered that this is not only a good way of keeping his feet in good order but naturally cools the body, which is essential in these temperatures. Three other competitors have followed our lead.

As for the contest, the aim of course is to finish this debilitating event, but when there are two athletes like Simon and Kale competing, it has turned into a game of cat and mouse, neither wanting to cede to the other. Whilst we were sleeping between 6 and 10 Kale was able to gain some ground, 80 kms in fact, there’s an adage that springs to mind “you snooze, you lose” but in this case it’s a double edged sword if you don’t snooze you can lose. So it’s all about finding a balance and deciding when it’s right to sleep and when to drive forward. There has been some serious ‘chess moves’ today, some very bold tactics, only an hour ago Kale tried to destroy Simon with 2 laps each covered over a minute faster than his [Kale] usual, Simon responded, despite me asking him not to because there is still a very long way to go and using too much energy early could have disastrous consequences, for 6 laps Kale tried in vain to break Simon, eventually he broke himself.

Simon has now passed the 900 km mark and has increased his lead to 65 kms; how far will he go before the next long break?

‘The walls have ears’ especially in this cyber space age, so watch this space.

 Stay strong, ride long Simon.