Rhino Run wrap

Did you Spot it?

Day 9 - chocolates and scorpions

Thought on yesterday's activities

Day 7 - it's heating up

Day 6 - Cokegate or not, perhaps!

Day 5 - Corrugations and headwinds

Day 4 - French and grapevines

Day 2 - full season fatigue

Race favourites

As the majority of racers crossed the finish-line already and a large gap to those on the course, I’ll wrap up the Dotwatcher coverage for the race with a quick recap.

![Betta](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2CDHED9ZsymmGFusq0TLhi/7e44dc6291f0d75331296609f0b0e61e/IMG_8080.jpg)

__Note__: the results are provisional - the organisers will review rider data before making a final General Classification announcement.

## General Classification (provisional)
1. Abdullah Zeinab (Australia) 24
2. Kevin Benkenstein (South Africa) 36
3. Steve Halligan (New Zealand) 46
4. Max Riese (Austria) 32
5. Sofiane Sehili (France) 40
6. Jimmy Ashby (Australia) 23
7. Bagoly Levente (Romania)  34
8. April Drage (Australia) 41
9. Guy Jennings (South Africa) 57
10. Peter Maritz (South Africa) 54
11. Jurjen Draaijer (Netherlands) 55
12. Adrien Liechti (Switzerland) n/a
13. Sophie Jail (France) n/a

## Finished without qualification
Peter Wassagwa (Uganda) 26
Paul Kato (Uganda) 26
Florence Nakagwa (Uganda) 21
Raphael Albrecht (Germany) 33
These riders made it to the finish-line, however they received vehicle assistance, so will not go into the GC.

## Actives and Scratches
There are still 5 riders on the road, all are in Namibia, 4 riders are within the final 300km and Lantern Rouge racer, Tim van Coller, is around 600km from the finish-line. 10 riders scratched, making that a third of the field - this is pretty normal for a race of this nature. Two riders completed the short course finishing in Stellenbosch.

## Race flow
Leaders Adbullah and Kevin broke away early in the race, gapping the more regular racing folk who live on the European Continent and perhaps have more opportunity to take on the races we get to follow. But both leaders come from previous races and both were on my radar for keeping an eye on. From race analysis, Kevin was the better climber, but Abdullah was strong on the flat. Suffering some mechanicals and losing time to Kevin, he always managed to pull back his lost time. Going into the final climb towards the climb, Kevin opened a gap, but his was reeled by Abdullah who took the win by 17 minutes. Taking it to the wire and holding up a close gap we don’t see often in this long races.

Racing behind - Sofiane, Max and Josh Ibbett, who all competed in racers earlier in the year - displayed either mental or physical fatigue and dipped out of the tussle up front early in the race. Steve Halligan, who placed third in two races this year, sitting in 4th place, held his distance to the leaders. Jimmy Ashby held third place for much of the race. After the Namibian border, Jimmy drifted back on the leaders, allowing Steve to take his third 3rd place this year. He’s not a youngster, so he must hold some secret recovery trick the others are unaware of.

## Women’s race
In the women’s race, Florence took an early lead over April and with Sarah Hammond scratching, however tracker issues plagued Florence so her race data needed to be validated at the end of the race. With discrepencies showing up in her data and taking some vehicle assistance to help with a crank issue, meant Florence's ride will not be valid for a GC placing. April Drage takes the women's podium. She rode a steady race, always with a smile on her face, seeming to enjoy the rough terrain presented by the course.

## Group riding
It’s very common in these races to see riders grouping together, riding speeds and limited resupply mean it’s hard to get away from those around you. What with humans being gregarious by nature and that most are taking a holiday to ride a bikepacking event, friendships form and well there you have some participants riding together. It would be very hard to enforce this rule, so rather than focusing on this, let’s give a big shout out to those who spent the majority of the race riding alone. It’s a hard place to be, but sometimes you just don’t find someone going the same pace as you or you’re not mid pack where most of the riders will pedal together or pass each other throughout the day, or hook up for a place to sleep or eat. In no way am I implying the others broke the rules, there was just more opportunity to run into other riders on the course.

- Florence Nakagwa
- Jimmy Ashby
- Steve Halligan
- April Drage
- Bagoly Levente
- Elodie Deprez
- Greg Birss
- Tim van Coller
Feel free to message if you disagree - I just want to highlight some of the other racers out there on the course. 

## Young riders and those not so young
Perhaps one of the more notable things about the race are the number of young folk taking on the challenge. For so many riders to be under 25 years old shows the sport is attracting young riders with big talent and the win was taken by an under 25. To celebrate the age spectrum in our sport, at 71 Tim van Coller is the oldest rider, so keep supporting him as he holds the Lantern Rouge and we hope he carries it to Windhoek without incident.

## Racing incidents
No race is immune to racing incidents, a topic that fires up many a Dotwatcher and with a smaller field this meant more Dotwatchers were focused on fewer riders. My inbox was very busy in this race from both riders and Dotwatchers, with a variety of concerns raised. My approach was to validate anything I published and I tried contacting the organisers to find out their view before I published my thoughts, but to no avail. They are the sole decision makers on the case and they verified the data in question once the riders crossed the finish-line. Services are remote out on the course, especially away from the towns and with a small team on the ground fliming the race, and the race director out on the course riding the event, it was left to other riders in the event to raise the alarm while racing was happening. When one of the biggest names in the sport raises the alarm, it's worth paying attention.

## Human attached to tracker
While incidents took place and Dotwatchers and riders were upset, let's remember there are humans attached to these trackers. To err is human, to forgive devine. Mistakes are opportunities to learn and I hope these, clearly talented riders, are welcomed back to racing these events, where they can showcase the leasons learned and validate their talent. The bikepacking community are very helpful with sharing information to bring others into the sport, we've seen the huge growth because of it and bringing in development riders is the next step in growing the sport - let's help them too.
![Tracker](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/0pmAaS65RiLv6frdFYNRW/6d36e30cdabf338a8016786de5f2895e/IMG_8033.jpg)

## Dotwatcher commentary
Over the years the Dotwatcher community has grown, where initially we watched in ignorant awe, now we’re sofa experts. Some Dotwatchers never racing, others participate in these events - but all are more wise to the ways of racing than those first events.

Many events now provide their own media crew, so my question is where does Dotwatcher fit in with this. For me it’s a central point, where close to 15,000 folk follow all the races throughout the year. The Dotwatcher coverage can plug the gap between the media provided by the race organiser and what's happening in the field where the media are unable to access, given the huge distances covered in the race and how far riders are spread along the route.

Each person commentating on the race volunteers their time to do the coverage. It takes around 4-5 hours per day at the start of the race to analyse and write up a race report, for this race some days saw me analysing data for 8 hours. Every commentator brings a different perspective to the race commentary. Coming from a racing background and coaching, I enjoy the analysis of the course, the varying rider strengths and make my analysis from that point of view. Riding many of the events allows me to portray what could be happening on the ground. While it’s good to comment on the pointy end of the race, I like to shine the spotlight on those the media team don’t get to film or photograph. In doing so, I’ve found some great stories, followed some interesting riders who post great stuff on their social media - without commentating about them, I certainly wouldn’t have found them. But most of all, and this race highlighted it the most, it’s a community and a community that care about integrity. Therefore I considered my points of view carefully, not wanting to publish anything I couldn't validate 100%. 

So thank you to everyone who got in touch, I enjoyed the interaction and the opportunity to discuss varying points of view and to neutralise some accusations that were unfounded at the time they were highlighted. Even if they turned out to be true, innocent until proven guilty still holds strong.

![Across Andes](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5P1GzW3jQEE7Q4Nea2pUf/9a05920af4a3955d04cdbdda1729b110/IMG_DD380FE55239-1.jpeg)
## Across Andes
I’ll be back commentating on the AcrossAndes race. Really excited about this one. We’re working with the race organiser and should have a WhatsApp group where I can tap into what’s happening behind the scenes. I’ve never travelled to South American, so am looking forward to doing some research on the terrain and the local folk the riders will encounter on the way. Race starts on 27 November, see you all there. 

[Across Andes](https://acrossandes.cc)

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)


The clue was in the word ‘Spot’, the more common tracker used on these races. They have few buttons to get the thing tracking, depending on which one you own, it might have a different sequence. But I imagine the steps are all the same.

1. You need to power it up at number 1.
2. Then you need to press the tracking button (number 2.) for 3 seconds or until the light at number 4. starts blinking. This is messaging the satellites to get a signal. 
3. You will get a red light at number 3. this means the tracker does not have a link to a satillite yet.
4. When the GPS light turns green, you have a GPS co-ordinate that can be advertised on a web page.
5. Only when all of that happens, then you show up on the race tracking page.

The instruction to a rider to ‘turn on your tracker’ or ‘make sure your tracker is turned on’ is not accurate enough to problem solve the issue. Simply turning it on is not enough. (Paul at Masaka, are you hitting your forehead yet? - said with a smile, cos I know you are.) 

So let’s say the rider gets all the steps done and the GPS light turns Green, what could possibly cause a reliable tracker, which is working for everyone else, to stop tracking. Lets assume there are new batteries in the device, which I know happened in Stellenbosch for Florence.

Has the penny dropped yet? For the tracker to keep communicating with the satellites and advertising your position to a tracking page…

… the tracker needs to have a clear view of the skies above. If not then the GPS light will turn red telling you it’s not able to pinpoint your co-ordinates. (I hear a lot of pennies dropping).

I went back to look at where Florence mounted her tracker on her bike. I found it on her saddlebag, a common place for riders to mount the tracker. But it was also where she put a packet with her race food - I assume because that's where I put mine and it looks like she started the race with a few apples. As a small rider, frame space is limited and this is an easy place to access food. It is therefore accurate to assume that this bag would diminish in size as food gets eaten and then be filled up at a stop. I would suggest that the tracker was randomly blocked by the packet and if Florence stopped to get food out the bag, then the tracker would switch on again and at some point it would be blocked again.

Here are the image captures I've managed to find. At the start you can she how full her foodbag is on the framebag and later on Day 1 you can see it is less full. There isn't much other footage I could find to show the tracker being obscured by the plastic bag - if you do find some, please send it over to me. Thanks.

![start with text](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3YfMQwG52QDAwm98bowOs6/26ffbfc76e61bdae173928f4eb4b733c/start.png)

![day 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4mC6SE6AK8UMkwf3N2898F/11ab5c1a0f8cefd42b401a5b5d6b040e/day1.png)

Lastly, it is very hard to see the Green light when it’s on the framebag behind you and, if you’re using one of these for the first time, you only know to look for this if someone points it out to you.I's possible the tracker faces the sky when you take the plastic bag off the framebag and the green light kicks back on.

I would suggest that this is what has happened with Florence’s tracker. I understand she has now moved her tracker to the front of the bike, so hopefully the tracker won’t be obstructed from it’s direct view of the sky.

Obviously this still leaves the matter of needing to verify her ride by other means and as the organisers have stated that they will do this, I’m going to put this to topic to rest and suggest you do the same. There are people slogging it out in the hot, dusty roads who I’d much rather be talking about.

So it will be back to normal coverage again in the next article.

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

Ok, let’s get back to the more fun stuff, like scorpions and chocolate.

But before we do, the third place rider will be making it into the finish-line. Our fact checker of the day, __Brian Alder__, messaged to say if __Steve Halligan__ comes in third today, it will be his third third this year. Tour Te Waipounamu and Silk Road Mountain Race he placed third as well. It might not yet be in the same league as Raymond Poulidor, who became know as Mr 2nd Place, but it can become a trend if he's not too careful. I know a racer from our local crit-series who spent an entire season placing 11th.

## Scorpions
For a while I was wondering whether I’d been wrong about the scorpions, but a sighting of two scorpions by __Bagoly__ confirms they are, indeed, well and alive in the area. There’s even a town named after them in the area, as Bagoly can attest to and in his ever cheerful way, he announced they were well and truly behind him - as he left the town of Skorion behind him. He didn't think he’d make it to the next services to be able to sleep indoors, so it would be a night under the stars and hopefully without a scorpion sneaking into his shoes or indeed under the bivvy.
![Skorpion](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3uZ1zw8OZHS7n164Vnu94p/835ed7980fd6deba3201ae060d172613/IMG_7953.jpg)

He video messaged me looking very chirpy yesterday, with all the excitement happening, it was great to see someone enjoying the ride and taking in the great scenes. I’ll have some of what he’s on. Hopefully not Scorpion juice.

![Greg](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2QUu0j3BFoK4UrepddVmys/43286d84440e09abfe89c1e1c1f366e9/IMG_7912.jpg)
__Greg Birss__ - our very own CrocDundee, also bivvied under the stars. Nestled between some small bushes in the area, it might shelter him from the wind but the view of the million stars will be unobscured from his hiding place. “Slept on the swag last night”. Gotta love that Aussie slang and it wouldn't be the same in a different accent. 

![bivvy](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5DXCTsihhjPeQSEg3qlBCJ/8707930c911fde07b41bd58dd11b0cfd/IMG_7962.jpg)

## How to eat melted chocolate - The French way
Anyone with a chocolate addiction (not that I’m implying this in anyway) will find it hard to keep it from melting in a bikepacking race. But if you do need to carry some to appease those chocolate-craving creatures that live in some of us - spooning chocolate out of a packet wrapper is one way to tame those cravings. Chocolate in South Africa holds a slightly different texture and taste to those of their European cousins. Needing to withstand the heat a little more, their ingredients vary to have a higher melting point,  however at 40°C nothing is going to stay solid. So ‘Sporking Chocolate’ is the trend of the day. (As a chocolate aficionado I can state the more melty ones taste way better).

I can't believe I forgot to screen grab that insta-Story for a visual. Sorry, you'll just have to take my word for it. Sorry __Sophie Potter__.

## Finally - someone found Stoney
This has nothing to do with wacky-backy, and it’s not going to remove you from reality for a few hours. This is Ginger Beer, but not just any Ginger Beer, it offers a spicy, warming feeling that you’d experience when eating a curry, the more you eat the more intense the heat gets but without the fireryness of chillies. Hard to explain, but it is really really good. And if you do get the flu, it’s great to warm up and add lemon and whiskey to make a hot toddy. Well done __Max Riese__ for choosing this a his drink of choice.

## Biltong and droewors
I can’t believe no one has posted up any pictures of this wonder-food (for non-veggie / non-vegans only). Maybe I’ve just missed it.

## The animals do it
Taking a leaf out of nature’s book is a good strategy. In the heat of the day animals will take shelter away from the sun during the hottest part of the day, sleeping under a tree until it cools down. It seems some on the route are following in nature’s wise ways. __Sofiane__ and __Max__ sat out for the morning and took to the course in the late afternoon and through the night. __Florence__ has taken the same strategy, she rode through the night and stopped early today to get out of the heat and will continue again once the temperatures fall. She seems to have a wise head on those young shoulders.

![Devil Thorns](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6T25VT6R9Fqy9B496unGr0/4e46154d7ad0025d95da7a6e5c012989/IMG_7960.jpg)
## Devil Thorns strike
Laying in wait, strung across the ground, it’s hard to spot these little Devils. __Elodie Deprez__ ran over some and her tyre looked like someone sprinkled hundreds and thousands over it. The thorns popped some holes in the tyre and the following day the tyre was flat, probably due to the sealant leaking out. After replacing her tracker batteries she forgot to pack away a strap.  It caught in her back tyre, tensioning it up and making pedalling hard. Thankfully not snagging and volting her off the bike. So she needed to cut the strap and free up her wheel. Lets hope the day improves for her. I also found this amazing taping job by Elodie - those knees aren't going anywhere.

![Knees](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/27tEXsBWmZesiYHbrT2Hg3/1a69e8ed1cda7419275e00206268b2a2/IMG_7910.jpg)

## Rider of the Day
__Jurjen Draaijer, Netherlands, 55 years old. Living in Johannesburg__
Flying massively under our Dotwatcher radar until now, Jurjen crossed over the border into Namibia yesterday. To mark the occasion he put on a fresh pair of socks. In the Namibia flag colours. Nice one. High Fives to Jurjen. He was also fortunate to find a bush tukker along the way. Some trail angels with possibly the best outdoor catering set up, who brewed him up a coffee and set him on his way with a few extra nibbles in his pocket.

![Socks](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6woDOpbxfRr5jTiVxVm9Mb/d054f5bbbae0a29fa595bb9a729a9db3/IMG_7972.jpg)

[Jurjen](https://www.instagram.com/jurjen_draaijer/)

I don’t know about you, but I’m knackered from the last two days. So I’ll sign out here and hope everything runs smooth from here out.

Happy Dotwatching!

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

Apologies for the radio silence yesterday. I’d penned an article but was waiting to hear back from the organiser and the Masaka Club before hitting the publish button. I spent the day analysing tracker data and didn’t want to hit send without comments from either party. The organisers didn’t respond, but I did receive the update from Masaka, the same one they have now published on their Instagram Page.

[Masaka Cycle Club](https://www.instagram.com/masakacyclingclub/)

It’s worth pointing out a few things, it’s pretty remote out there, phone coverage will be intermittent. Getting hold of someone can take a while, I’ve been without mobile coverage for over 12 hours in some races. It’s only when you come near a town that services kick in again and if you’ve forgotten to top up your data when you were connected to wifi, you find yourself trying to flag down drivers at midnight in the pouring rain, with your rain hood up and no one will stop to help. All they see is this crazy hooded person running around a big junction waving their hands frantically. Would you stop at midnight?

There’s a lot going on when racing, getting everything working smoothly takes experience and even then, some times things go wrong. In these conditions things can go wrong quite quickly. The biggest concern I had prior to the race start, was the large stretches without services and in the heat riders were experiencing. Dehydration was my main cause for riders to suffer and this can deteriorate rapidly into heat exhaustion, where the symptoms that show up are not what you expect - chills when it’s 40°C. Lack of salt and drinking too much water can make your skin look like there are ants running under the skin and that symptom needs urgent medical assistance.

We’ve got development riders taking on a very tough race. They’ve been thrust into the spotlight, compare this with riders who win a race and then only get into the spot light, they’ve done races prior to their win and often have been able to make their mistakes without the view public scrutinising their every move. 

The last point to make. These dots have human’s attached at the other end. Every rider is suffering out there, fatigue and heat exhaustion will be high. Neither lends itself to always making the best decisions. We’ve received an update from the team, which explains the event and I was commenting this morning that if the medical emergency was dehydration related, recovering from this is hard. At the Silk Road Mountain Race, my partner was suffering - any water he drank he threw up, I was unaware of this - just before bed I noticed the ants running under his skin. I woke him up and made him drink a double does of electrolytes as this is an early symptom of hyponatremia. I’m paranoid enough about medical emergencies, that I tend to carry a little more than is normally needed. But that one slip-up in maintaining homeostasis in the body can impact a race further down the line.

So the Club have answered our queries about the Masaka men. Let’s hope they recover well. Others have also been asking questions about Florence. I spent the day yesterday analysing the tracker data available and comparing it to other riders around her. I’ve not found any anomalies in what I was able to analyse, obviously I don’t have sleep data to be able to make a more accurate calculation, but from what I can see the data looks consistant with how I’d expect the race to flow and the varying sleeping patterns for the riders. The organisers have noted that they will look at other means of verifying the missing data.

I understand from the Club that Florence has had problems with her tracker. This can happen, not very commonly, but even in races like the TransCon, riders need to swap out a tracker. The TransCon offer this as part of their race service, but other races don’t, so there’s no way of getting a new tracker to Florence. Let’s allow her to continue on the race without harsh judgement and let the organisers verify the ride afterwards. This is, after all, a 21 year old female, riding alone in a remote area without those close to her knowing exactly where she is.

It seems rather timely that Dotwatcher have just published an article on Demystifying the Tracker, so it may be not every understands this little safety device and what all the buttons mean.

[Demystifying the tracker](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/demystifying-the-tracker)

I’ve will have my normal race report to follow, scorpions will be involved. 

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

It’s hotting up out there. Temperatures appear to be much higher than the weather forecasts are suggesting. A cycle computer can show a higher temperature than it actually is as the enclosed box sits in the sun, but that won’t stop it playing with a riders mental state. Compound that with the accumulated hours in the heat adding in the heat generated by their muscles, it’s going to feel pretty uncomfortable out there. The further north the riders go, the less vegetation is available, little shade available means stopping for any reason takes away the only thing keeping a rider cool - the wind - even if it feels like hairdryer it still offers a little relief from the heat. Road signs will be a welcome relief, offering up some shade.

![signs of shade](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3ru2VC0hTiMLpR7JU1SFlu/160dd3de54937e03d2e656bd6f86e00a/IMG_7899.jpg)
Signs of Shade!

Weather app predicts 34°C in Windhoek, with a real feel of 36°C and shade offering only 33°C. UV is very high, winds are predicted to be North Westerlies, making it a cross head wind of 13kpm but with gusts up to 40kph. With so much sand, there are chances of being sand blasted in the gusts. Down in the valley where the riders spend much of their time in Namibia, will be much hotter. The valley sits around 700-800m above sea level, while Windhoek is at 1,700m above sea level. Riders face an alpine style climb up to the escarpment where the race finishes in the Capital of Windhoek. The higher altitude gives Windhoek a cooler climate than down in the valleys.

Looking at the photos and just how barren it looks, it is unlikely the riders will encounter any coastal fog, which offers up water to plants and animals and you’d see signs of life along the way. So far it is not showing much in the way of any form of life along side the road. The route follows the edge of the large sand dunes that make Namibia famous, what comes with that are roads covered in sand, even if they are tarmac. It looks like riders won’t get to see the crazy Welwitscia plant, a giant green ‘Octopus’ that only ever produces two leathery leaves, they are split into several strands by the strong winds in the region. 

[Welwitschia plant](https://www.namibian.com.na/149087/archive-read/Welwitschia-%28Welwitschia-mirabilis%29-Part-1)

Upfront things are heating up too. With services very limited, riders will be stopping at the same places, giving them the opportunity to eye out the competition to see how they are looking but also the emotional support found when meeting other riders on route. This often happens further into the race, where riders are travelling at a similar pace. How much of a mental boost this is relative to a pair riding the whole way together is not something that’s been studied, but from personal experience just seeing someone who you can share a moment with is a huge relief. 

__Benky__ looks like he is marginally faster than __Abdullah__ on the climbs, while Abdullah looks faster on the descents. Abdullah took a longer rest at the 500km to go point and his stops after that were a little longer. If he’s using the stops to recharge before the final push to the finish, then we’re likely to see him stop less towards the end. This leaves a question for Benky to answer, can his strategy to rest less towards the end pay off by staying ahead of Abdullah. There is 1,000m elevation gain to the escarpment, giving Benky the slight climbing advantage over Adbullah. The course drags slightly uphill before a descent into the finish-line. An opportunity to make up any loss to Benky on the climb. What every happens, it will be exciting as neither rider seems willing to give up the battle for the first over the line.

Just behind, __Steve Halligan__ moved ahead of __Jimmy Ashby__ into 3rd spot, he's  been holding 3rd spot for sometime. Steve held his distance to the leading riders, suggesting Jimmy lost pace on the leaders and is drifting back through the field and is now riding with the Amani pairing who are followed closely by Sofiane and Max. Sofiane made up ground on the short cut taken by the Amani pair - he reported back saying he’d not seen their tracks in the sandy road to Steinkop, so assumed they must have taken the tarmac road.  His loss of two hours on the pair were made up when the __Amani team__ were held up at the border for 1.5 hours, arranging visas which could only be obtained through an airport. The group of Amani twins, __Sofiane__, __Max__ and Jimmy are riding within a few kilometres of each other. The Amani pair are strong on the climbs, riding away from those with them. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve made a navigational error, taking the tarmac road heading east out of Khaubeb, rather than the road north east out of town. They’ve posted up screen grabs of their group chat, so I guess it’s ok to say someone will, no doubt, alert them to the fact they have gone wrong. Navigation on these races takes some experience and you have to hope that the software you’ve used to transfer the route to your device is showing the correct route.

I don’t think anyone will forget the 2016 TransAm Bike Race, where Sarah Hammond was leading the race. A wrong turn lead her off-course by a 100km or so. She chased hard to make up the lost time but the race lead was gone and she went on to finish 6th. Let’s hope the Amani guys realise sooner rather than later as there is no shortcut back onto the route where they are headed. It’s a circuitous route to get back on track.

Update: a rider alerted me that the Amani rider was clocked at 77kph on their tracker - that sounds like one of the riders may have suffered a mechanical and they have jumped in a vehicle to go and get a repair done. Let’s see where they pop out at the end of this - back to where they left the track hopefully. If not then serious questions will start to be asked and some are already being asked - with the trackers of these riders being switched off more often than compared to other riders in the field it’s hard to know what’s happening. Riders on the ground are getting a little annoyed and are messaging to ask what’s going on - I don’t have an answer to this, but hopefully the organisers are able to verify their ride by other means and can placate fellow racers through their verification process and make it transparent to those taking part.

![by car](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2XVpYZK1ZnBL3GOKwhJ3EJ/166b1307e9371f0241aabaf61b95d062/IMG_7920.jpg)

## Best shirt of the race

Pre-race photos indicated this could be a hotly contested competition, but alas the contenders were reduced to just one rider, when the race kit came out at the start. This does not diminish the award by any means as the shirt may just become the unofficial shirt of the race. It also is a good choice given the temperatures out on course. Less aero than others, but with the wafting fabric not clinging to the skin, it will no doubt feel a little cooler than the skin tight lycra of a regular cycling jersey. 

I present __Bagoly Levente__ with the coveted ‘Best Shirt’ prize. 

![Bagoly](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5YynCTxnBCv3ruuwzKs091/b0cba6c80b6bbb701992ca47a88b8fc8/IMG_7858.jpg)

## Best head gear

The heat of the South African and Namibian desert brought out the head gear, some riders seemingly pre-organised their head gear, others innovating along the way. I am gathering photo evidence to present a newly created ‘head gear’ award. More on that tomorrow.

## Lantern Rouge

The Lantern Rouge changed hands when a few riders stopped short in Stellenbosch.  Local rider, __Tim van Coller__ from George in the Western Cape (the race went through his home town), holds the cherished Lantern Rouge. He’s 150km behind the rider ahead, so if he’s able to carry it all the way to Windhoek, it will be his to take home and keep. (I'm still searching for him on Social Media - message if you can point me in the right direction).

## Rider of the Day
__Greg Birss, Australia, 53 years old__
Sneaking under the radar by not linking his race profile to his social media, we finally caught up to Greg Birss. His Insta posts are great and it looks like he’s have fun out there. If every there was a Crocodile Dundee on a bike, this would be him. Great choice of hat and he comes on a stead worthy of the terrain he is riding - the trusted Salsa Cutthroat, the choice of many a Tour Divider for good reason.
![Birss](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/73QVVZwnyVfrTqQkvAuZDz/a516436cc02ce586167bcd1f63a53e01/IMG_7911.jpg)

[Greg Birss](https://www.instagram.com/birssy/)

## Best Race Face so far

__Sophie Potter__ - you crack us up!!

![Sophie P](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/mXq2ph5P49bAPgjqPfENB/802b2591200ec94a9a674f8e44564945/IMG_7872.jpg)


Rules are rules! Or are they?

As growth in bikepacking races increases and races are run year after year, a style of applying the rules varies from race to race. Some apply to rules to the letter, as in 'Cokegate' on the TCR this year, where novice bikepacker and winner of the TCR, but no stranger to ultra-racing - Christoph Strasser - faced the Spanish Inquisition at the end of the race, needing to provide evidence that the assumed rule infringement was an act of human kindness rather than giving a rider an advantage by helping out. Thankfully is was an act of kindness and Christoph could claim the victory without penalty for shouting fellow racer, Ulrich Bartholomoes, a coke earlier in the race, when his credit card didn't work. Ulrich had just resupplied and genuinely didn't need the coke.

Balance that with the Hope1000, where in 2020 Jochen Böhringer, who was leading the race, broke his bike after crashing into a car. He completed the final leg on a borrowed bike - rim brakes and all. Without penality - I think the retro-bike was pentalty enough - he claimed victory. As is was possibly safer to not continue on a broken bike and thus might not be a real rule infringement. But you get the point.

As races progress, their characteristic-application of rules come to the fore, either strict and to the letter of the rules, or more laissez faire. Normally races take a few years before they need to show their colours on the application of the rules, but the Rhino Run may not have that luxury.

A potential rule infringement was reported to us from a rider on the course, suggesting we look into it. A few more notifications from those following the race have added weight to us doing a little evaluation. Before we do let’s lay some groundwork first. The race rules are always a good place to start:

![rule 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5L5ZS2Bs7SMXD1OMWUXnpl/687908ce50224b3956faa227a56af1c2/IMG_7839_2.jpg)

![Rule 5](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2x4WhE2P4KHw9SZodesB3y/f12c53bfb182c3188502ab3361eabf25/IMG_7846.jpg)

![rule 4](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7tNsqlnA0frrekxLTv9Gde/ccbfac77b470387dcc55aaf49e6b1663/IMG_7847.jpg)

So the rules are pretty clear, easy to understand language, not super long and convoluted. Nice.

In essence riders must stick to the route 100%, returning to the point they left the route no matter what the reason for leaving the route. If trackers are not recording a riders location for longer durations on the race, riders need to provide evidence they stuck to the course. A GPX file would be a 100% proof of the course taken and the time the rider covered the period the tracker isn’t recording. This is useful as you can then compare the time other riders took over the same sector where the rider wasn’t tracking. Photos aren’t recorded as frequently, but with data stamping, proof of time at a junction would be useful to make similar calculations as the GPX file.

## Race Rules
A quick refresher of the organisers race rules before we get to the infringement details.

The rules state the rider will be notified at the end of the race about the infringement, thus providing them the opportunity to present any evidence. This means the race organiser does not mentally imped the rider while they are out on the course. These races are tough as it is, so being whacked mentally with a potential infringement notice may alter the race in it’s own right and should the rider be innocent of the infringement, then their race has been tampered with by outside influence. Therefore, we don’t expect any notice from the organisers until after the race concludes.

## The reported ‘Alleged infringement’.
The section highlighted to us was between Bergsig and Steinkop. The course route is 56km via a gravel road, the suggested alternative taken was the N7 between the two towns, a 46km section via tarmac.

Sector Start
![Sector Comparison start](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/23aG8KSeg0sbZTsaomMzR0/b8cb0b6bf81d4fae851598d3d9c25091/Bersig_start.png)

Sector Finish
![Sector finish](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1DELRsvivibdNIxYVHXMaD/7b12d3edf8b4a27740416bd94cbde859/Steinkop_end.png)

Sector disputed
![Disputed sector](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1Ci7LF1J1E6bKK8fjGPgky/76efdeea94a4a1fabf84b1136c37e248/Disputed_sector_new.png)

Sector Analysis
![Excel comparison](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5NqGyAU4aujEVB4iycLmPS/d291bc96c80755ce5b6be4d3e99bb144/Infringement_comparison.png)

This is what we are seeing on the tracker page. The trackers were switched off for both riders, Paul Kato and Peter Wasswa, for this sector, so we can’t verify where they cycled. This would be up to the organisers to verify using the methods they highlighted in their rules. The trackers for these riders have, for the most part, been switched on for the duration of the race, bar one or two times post sleep where the’ve forgotten to turn them on.

![Rule 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/afcQqopK3Kg8iWQi1ccIU/00f7f4f3662398a2060c89400149506c/IMG_7848.jpg)

Contrast this with Florance Nakkagwa who looks like she keeps forgetting to turn her tracker on after she’s taken a break - easy enough to do with everything else going on in the race. As a female rider, the tendency to switch off the tracker when sleeping is higher from a safety perspective, so this may be less common in the mens field. But no doubt the organisers, who specially notified riders not to do anything to bring their race into disrepute, may also want to follow this rule themselves and thus may also want validation for the sections where the tracker was not switched on, as this covers significant parts of the course.

![Not switching on tracker](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2UAu1CS65UsaupWKLVk5Hc/67e19f43dfbfb6cfd3571146fbd2073e/Screenshot_2022-10-27_at_12.17.46.png)

## Developing the sport
The organisers have brought in the development riders and are supporting them via the race entry fees. Thus, it puts them between a rock and a hard place. Grant leniency to the development riders, giving them a GC ranking even if the rules were not adhered to or apply the rules across the board. The former condones the rule breaking, doing a disservice to those they are meant to help. Apply the rules fairly and feel guilty for reprimanding those you are bringing into the sport. It is not an easy position to face. By not applying the rules fairly the organisers face two options - keep the rules as they are and face the wrath of those wanting to race according to the rules advertised and to race fairly, or consider changing the rules to a less strict system to allow developement riders the opportunity to cut their teeth in a development race. 

![Rule of integrity](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3I5uWfOH24wCIKgGKHVtX9/b73780c859b2753f7a58aaba4dd19dcd/IMG_7850.jpg)

In conclusion, the application of the rules is the prerogative of the race organiser, what this does for the wider community is give an indication of the style of race. Riders looking to compete in a fair environment where the rules are applied and applied evenly across the board, can judge whether it’s a race they want to do if integrity is essential. While this may not appeal to everyone, others may want to take on a race where the rules are a little more lax and they don’t need to fear a ‘Cokegate’ incident and if someone bends the rules and comes in ahead of them, that’s ok. It’s a growing sport and without a governing body, organisers can do as they please. However, a rider signs up to a race expecting the organisers to apply the rules they’ve advertised, so it is a bit of a Catch-22.

An addendum. Many Dotwatchers are noting the twins, Paul Kato and Peter Wasswa, who have riden together for the duration of the race, even though there are no pairs category in the race. It is understood one of the twins is illiterate and thus the race organisers are allowing them to ride together given they are their development riders. A fairer approach for the riders would be to have advertised this upfront rather than leaving the riders facing critisism from those following the race. Where this leaves the rules and the General Classification is anyones guess. 

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

Apologies I can't remember where I nabbed the featured photo from. Let me know if was yours and I'll update the article.


These teeth chattering, bum pounding features of dirt roads are found the world over. While no grading system is applied, as they do in Skiing, some are worse than others. Is it a black run or can you grade it as a blue?

Lets try grade them (European Ski Run classification):

Black run:
Corrugations reach across the width of the road, leaving no edge to find a smooth surface. The corrugations are wider and deeper, meaning the bike dips and bounces out, even at maximum effort. Sand on the shoulders is possible.

Blue run:
Smooth edges on the road side, or down the centre strip, leaving you with a smooth surface to ride. Corrugations are shallow and closer together, allowing you to surf over the top even at a slow speed.  No soft sand piling up.
![More corrugations](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5a56XLcPerBj6CV4aDjlVw/532c8ac2a0970d0b1be66201dbd0056b/IMG_7799.jpg)
My first encounter with a ‘Black Run’ was off Check Point 1 of the 2018 Silk Road Mountain Race. A descent of around 30km after a brutal climb to the Son Kul Lake, I was looking forward to it immensely. A teeth chattering hour later, I felt like I’d ridden down the longest corrugated roof in the world. 

Like the cobbles of Paris Roubaix (first hand experience of these too), riders will find the thinest strip of smooth surface to avoid the pounding of those cobbles. It’s how I found myself in a two up team time trial, in the gutter on the aerobars descending some of the roads on Silk Road Mountain Race. Sometimes you just have to go fullgas and trust the bike under you. Gravity helps and a headwind hinders.

Which is where the riders find themselves at the moment, riding corrugations into a heavy headwind on the flat. In the last few days, posts of corrugated roads are showing up on riders feeds. They stretch as far as the eye can see. With experience of both Silk Road and Rhino Run corrugations, I asked Sofiane which were worst. By far those on Silk Road, he replied. The ones the riders encounter on the Rhino Run are more of the Blue Run type, with a smooth surface away from the corrugations. Riders may need to switch back and forth between the sides and centre of the road to find the smoothest surface, or to avoid piles of soft sand but at least there is some relief from the pounding. But not from the wind. Update just in from Sofiane, the roads are starting to deteriorate and there’s an increasing amount of sand on the roads. This will put riders back onto the corrugations more if there is a hard-pack surface to ride on, if not it’s going to be slow going and riders may want to take more air out their tyres to increase the surface area, making it easier to ride in the soft sand. 

Bagoly reported a head wind - as I thought from looking at the weather earlier in the week - it’s not a gusting wind, but a constant driving headwind. Also most famously known as the ‘Invisible Climb’. Belgian rider Elodie Deprez will know that all too well. She also has an advantage of understanding the road signs and one of the official languages in South Africa. Afrikaans derives its origins from the Dutch, when the Dutch East India Company started up a supply station in Cape Town. As they say, the rest is history. While the language may have come from the Netherlands, its modern day version is more close to Flemish and someone speaking Afrikaans is more likely to understand Flemish than Dutch and vice versa. Those Belgian beers also give you a good kicking, so perhaps they’ve more in common that you think.

Not much has changed at the front of the race. The leading pair are still neck and neck and appear to be quite relaxed, even taking a joint bike service just over the border in Namibia. They’re entering Windhoek Lager territory, a more gentle style of beer, perhaps coming from the Germanic folk who settled in the region, where you’re bound to hear some German spoken. I mean who can drink whole litres of their local beer and still be standing afterwards. Not the Belgians, that’s for sure. Could we be in for a sprint finish at the end, or do one of the leaders have a sneaky ace up their sleeves.

While on the topic of corrugations, one could ask - which is the best bike for the route? Max Riese loves his MTB for this course, Sofiane is really happy with his gravel bike, and I can probably interpret Bagoly’s experience on the Lauf, as I ride the Lauf Fork. Sofiane is running a special seat post, that takes the vibrations out of the saddle, while Max’s MTB and the Lauf will take the vibrations out of the handlebars. But which really is the best bike for the job? The one you have with you. There’s always walking if the bike or the skills are lacking and a little walk is good for the soul, the ass and the hands. Besides the best way to deal with the rough stuff on this race is to just take a little air out of the tyres (if you’re brave enough to risk the thorn punctures).

Dario Valsesia messaged to say he's stopping in Stellenbosch. He posted a photo of a large pyton crossing the road, but I don't think that was the cause for him to stop. 

![Python](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/24IkpmowqMa31aCRH906BV/ce9289e58016f539547d300b7da9b705/C9E2BE7D-CDFE-4A40-A1A9-CF6D559B7A56.JPG)

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

All photos from racers' Instagram pages, with feature photo from __Steve Halligan_.


If you speak French then wine and vines are intertwined into your DNA. So it was an assumption on my part that __Sophie Potter__ (from France) and __Adrien Liechti__ (from French Speaking Switzerland - which has some great wines), would be setting up camp in the vineyards just beyond Franschoek. A huge region for South African wines, but less known than the world famous Stellenbosch valley, Franschoek is a quaint and beautiful region less visited than areas closer to Cape Town. The vines are just coming out of winter, so there’s no sneaking a cheeky midnight snack off the vines overhead. It turns out the trackers mislead me and, after chatting to them, they’ve been staying in accommodation along the way. What France has in miles and miles of vineyards, South Africa competes in the length of their snakes. It’s not unusual, if you live there, to see a 2 metre python slithering along the road, it’s not an everyday occurrence, but you would spot one now and again. 

![Vines](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4E6sA6BGh5hEB9OEzASmFy/710eed4d8133776f32294b519e5f621d/IMG_7766.jpg)

So to find one on the race is pretty special, as Sophie did on day 2. From the video it looked around 1.5m to 2m long. The males can weigh up to 44km and around 4.25m long, while the females are a bit more beefy weighing 55kg and 5m long. Pythons don’t have venom glands but can inflect a nasty bite. They feed on things like cane rats, hares, monkeys and the large ones can swallow very large prey but then they’re immobile for a while and vulnerable to attack. They ambush their prey and then squeeze them to death before swallowing them whole. So I can see how Sofie and Adrien took to indoor shelter. Of course, it also allows them time to get better recovery and there’ll be time to sleep under the stars when services are less frequent. With limited light pollution, the stars dangle just above your bivvy or tent, temptingly close to try and reach out to grab one. So I’d definitely recommend one night under the stars.

South African accents are quite gruff, so it was wonderful to hear the French softness of pronouncing some of the Town names. My Favourite was Ceres. They are heading towards Clanwilliam and will see if they make it into town for another night under a roof or press on and bivvy in the wild. 

__Sophie__ reported the people along the way have been exceptionally friendly and are very curious about the bikes with bags. It’s unusual to see touring cyclists in some of these areas, usually if would be day trippers from the metropole areas. Keeping a stomach happy on a long bike race can some times be a little tricky and find the right fuel can also be a little harder. South Africa have small supermarkets that are well stocked and they have longer opening hours than one would find ion the continent. A firm favourite so far for Sophie are the sandwiches from Spar, nothing exciting, but easy enough to digest. There was a section on the main road on day 2, around 200km of tarmac, the race went on smaller roads but also a very busy main road. It must come as quiet a shock going from the French roads where drivers are obliged to give riders space to being passed by a car doing 130kph not bothering to move into the other lane. It was a part of the race Sophie says was a little scary. But they onto the northern part of the race, so should find the smaller roads a little quieter again.

![Monkeys](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1z4rzTHarLfU7keaXRComJ/84eae7a3a08d96aab8cdb4e99cdcb260/IMG_7768.jpg)

If you’re racing at the front, there is definitely no time for stop for a beer. But in fast-touring mode beers are a welcome rehydration item when you kick your feet up at the end of the day. I have it on good authority that this is a first for __Sofiane__ to get a beer in on a race. Let’s hope that’s not the cause of the stomach issues. Perhaps I should have mentioned the beer in South Africa. It is harmless at night, but kicks you in the head in the morning. Beer fermentation is accelerated by chemical means to increase production and the mass produced ones can leave you with a mean headache in the morning, even if you don’t over consume them.

I thought the ‘best shirt’ of the competition was already a done deal, but the corner of a shirt in one photo has made me reevaluate the contenders. I’m waiting on some proper photographic evidence before I put the nominees to the vote. Keep an eye on out and cast your vote. 

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

All photos from racers' Instagram pages, with feature photo from __Adrien Liechti__.


It’s heartwarming to experience the Dotwatching community spirit but more crucially to know they keep me honest. Yesterday I reported that __Max Riese__ could be fatigued from the Silk Road Mountain Race (SRMR) this year, thanks to __Don Pasquale__ for contacting me to advise Max did TCR this year. He did SRMR last year. My confusion came about because Max reached out to me while I was doing the SRMR coverage with some great insight into the race, the terrain and what riders would be feeling. Wonderful input which always brings a different aspect to the commentary.

![Don](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3EB07kGIINcXGFiQ17EpGe/e6454db414c5500e634d4db7e41339de/IMG_7762.jpg)

Bikes and bike setup is always interesting to observe and without anyone doing a ‘Bikes of the Rhino Run’ allowing me to do some quick research, I’ve been checking out the different set ups riders have brought to the race. Two of the key aspects of the race will be the distances between supplies and the heat as riders head north.

Most riders have gone for half frame bags, with a two bottle set up in the frame and one bottle under the down tube. A few are running 4 bottles, with the potential to put extra bottles in their jersey pockets and feedbags. Some are carrying hydration vests. __Max Riese__ holds 4 bottles on his bike for normal conditions and holds the potential for 7 bottles. Well that was until the saddle unit broke, leaving him with only 5 bottles. He’s resourceful, so no doubt he’ll make a plan. Sofiane is running 3 bottles, but also has a bladder and a fold-flat bottle to add to his volume of water for the later parts of the race. __Sofiane__ reported that there were additional services in between those highlighted by the organisers, so it may not be as big an issue as I first thought. There is always the option to divert off the route a little to a town bypassed in the race. 

The predictable and strong Cape Winds are giving the riders a some help with __Sofiane__ reporting good tail winds so far. He and Max have turned north and still have some favourable winds. Unlike the mountains where winds can change direction throughout the day, the winds here will blow in the same direction for a good few days. A large weather system is sitting south of Cape Town, driving winds up the west coast where those already heading north will face tail and cross winds as the route zig-zags north. A system coming in from the east will see a headwind start to develop towards Windhoek by Wednesday. The leaders are knocking out around 400km per day, with 1,500km left until the finish, they’ll be arriving as the wind turns south while those trailing may face a stronger head wind if the weather system continues to build in the area. I’m not sure how much the race will be affected by the sea breeze, but given the large difference in heat between the desert and ocean, I might expect a sea breeze to impact part of the course where it deviates west towards the ocean. Wind will blow on-shore in the morning where the sea is warmer than the earth and then switches to blow off-shore as the temperatures head up. You can generally note when this happens as the air changes direction and you get hit by a line of insects riding the wind out to sea - well it’s not like they have a choice, they go where the wind takes them. 

__Sofiane and Max__ found themselves riding a similar pace and ended up in the same towns at the end of the day, so they’ve bunked up together to share the costs of hotels, with Sofiane usually arriving a half hour before Max. One of the harder aspects of the race is the solitude, especially when there are few towns on route. I noticed this on Tour Divide and it got me thinking about the front of the race where someone like Sofiane can take an early lead and never see another rider for the entire race. Once you’re in no-mans-land, as many of the faster races tend to find themselves, getting some social time on a race is great for restoring some mental fortitude. I think we can say after Tour Divide, SRMR and TCR, a little social time on an end of year race is just what Max and Sofiane deserve. Riders in the mid-field all bunch up, share hotels and ride together for days on end with anyone worrying too much about them. The winners are held to a higher standard, so it’s nice to see them getting to enjoy some of the aspects of the mere-mortals, thought I suspect still at a fast pace.

__Josh Ibbett__ reported that the fatigue from Atlas Mountain Race is still with him. He’s going to take a longer break tonight to see if it resolves the fatigue. He can’t dilly dally as he has a flight to catch. At this level riders can push through the fatigue, they may not have the top end speed they have when fully recovered, but they can still push on through long hours on the bike to make their target finish time. So I doubt we’ll see Josh drop off the pace too much. 

Further back __Elodie Du Prez__, getting back into the race-scene  this year after deciding to stop early on the Race Around Rwanda to return to a busy schedule that hampered her race efforts.  She’s taken the wise decision to enjoy the route and save her energy for making it to the finish. Who can blame her when the scenery is so rewarding. She’s managing a knee-niggle, so let’s hope that doesn’t hamper her efforts. 

![Elodie](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1gNJNgo23NUNLgjpJiKLsr/9bb47f9376cc47b55c6db1b8ee3eb600/IMG_7752.jpg)

Tomorrow an update from Sophie Potter and Adrien Liechti will be posted up, it was just a bit too late for me to write up tonight.

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

All photos from racers' Instagram pages, with feature photo from __Bagoly Levente__.


Day 3 - community spirit

We’ve been given the opportunity to see first hand how much a race can take out of a rider. With this late season race drawing in racers who have taken part in more substantial events prior to this, the accumulation of fatigue is showing us the reality of the races. While physical fatigue is easy enough to spot, mental fatigue is less so.

Mental resilience is more than 50% of a bikepacking race, once the head goes the legs aren’t going anywhere in a hurray or anywhere at all. It’s easy to take an antibiotic for an infected toenail, but there ain’t any antibiotic for the brain. Clicking down a notch is what Sofiane is doing as he experiences the mental fatigue from winning two demanding off-road races, both with some gruelling aspects: Tour Divide for it’s unseasonal and challenging weather conditions; and Silk Road Mountain Race where he came into the race under the weather and clawed back his lead. James Hayden didn’t give him an easy win, coming within four minutes of Sofiane towards the end. Max Riese was also on Silk Road Mountain Race and will be suffering some of the late season mental fatigue too.  

South Africa delivers some spectacular views and talking to Sofiane, here’s what he has to say about his decision to switch from racing up front to fast-touring (which for most of us would be full gas). I am paraphrasing his voicemail to me.

He found the course, once he took the decision to switch to fast-touring, much easier to digest and with the beauty around and the incredibly friendly and helpful locals, taking a slower pace allows him to appreciate these aspects of the race. He’s hoping to finish within 11 days, giving him time to catch his flight home. He sounded very upbeat and in no way did it appear that he’d give up. The daylight hours are relatively short compared to the summer Continental races, leaving around 10 hours to cycle without the need for lights. Sofiane is riding as much during the day, then refuelling and getting a longer night's sleep than normal. The off-season is a key time to rest and recharge for the following year, so it’s no surprise mental fatigue can catch out those we always expect to be at the front.

Talking of the front of the race. Abdullah and Benky are playing a game of leap-frog as the lead changes between the two. The route is pretty rough, with large rocks and rough surfaces, add in the additional dark hours and it’s inevitable something will ding a rim. As Abdullah found out. A slight ding in the rim makes it harder to seat a tubeless tyre into the rim where it can form a seal and hold in air. A rider will try and maintain a tubeless setup, this is preferable to putting in an inner-tube, which is at risk of a pinch-puncture. An aluminium rim is a little easier to hammer back into shape, while a carbon rim does not lend itself to any additional force once it’s damaged - which is what Abdullah looks like he is riding. This mechanical and a 45 minute break left him trailing Benky, but he made up the time and the two are exchanging places on a regular basis. 

Behind Steve Halligan and Josh Ibbett, both also coming off big races earlier in the year, they are holding 4th and 5th place respectively, behind Australian Jimmy Ashby. Steve you’ll remember from chasing hard on the tail of Sofiane and James Hayden in Silk Road Mountain Race. With more time to recover, Steve may hold the advantage over Josh, fresh off the Altas Mountain Race. It will be an interesting race to observe between the two.
[Steve Halligan](https://www.instagram.com/halligan.steve/)
[Josh Ibbett](https://www.instagram.com/joshibbett/)

Florence, as predicted, was suffering tracker issues, and popped up doing the same pace as her fellow country men, Paul Kato and Peter Wasswa, putting her in the lead for the women and currently holding joint 6th place as the Ugandan’s hold a similar pace overground.

Jono Both, who is doing his first bikepacking race holds onto 9th position, just ahead of Sofiane and Max Riese, who also comes off a Silk Road Mountain Race finish and is reporting some late season fatigue as well, but he's share enough to spot the warning signs for Leopards. 
[Max Riese](https://www.instagram.com/kleinerriese/)
![Max Riese](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4yO3xQyPaCLjhpJPFyoIc4/f09caa043618b312f64b4acacfbf5c57/Screenshot_2022-10-23_at_19.14.33.png)

April Drage is in 12th position and second lady overall, while strong contender, Sarah Hammond, scratched. It looked like she was suffering with lung issues and the dust roads were adding to the strain on her lungs. 

So far four riders have scratched, all from Australia - changing time zones and travelling for the first time in a while, being exposed to flights and different bugs, could explain the high dropout from down under. 

Our favourite moustached bikepacker is taking the opportunity to soak up the South African hospitality with the French Renault 4 adventurer and mechanic, Sophie Potter. Sporting, by far, the most exciting and vibrant kit between the both of them, they are also in contention for some of the best footage of the race too. 
[Adrien Liechti](https://www.instagram.com/adrien__liechti/)
[Sophie Potter](https://www.instagram.com/potter.sophie/)

## Rider of the Day
### Peter Maritz
Hailing from the east coast town of Balito, a very humid and hot climate. The terrain around Balito is very hilly, so the Rhino Run should feel relatively tame and with a dry heat in the semi-desert, even higher temperatures than in Balito should not hinder Peter too much. While his postings on Instagram are relatively few, he’s got some good races under his belt, so I’d expect to see him make it over the finish-line if the tokoloshi doesn’t cause any trouble.

[Peter Maritz](https://www.instagram.com/maritz.peter/)
![Peter Maritz](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4qELxegGylyoTWAQaMUN1J/292af47c61fd15718295d2e796c67162/Screenshot_2022-10-23_at_19.22.00.png)

# DotReporter
Your DotReporter for the race is me - *__Peta McSharry__* - longtime bikepacker and bikepacking coach. I grew up in Southern Africa, lived in Cape Town for a few years and know all about Devil Thorns and biking in the Cape Town headwinds.

You can follow me on Instagram where I'll post up in *Stories* when a new article hits the internet.

[Peta McSharry Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/petamcsharry/)

All photos from racers' Instagram pages, with feature photo from __Adrien Liechti__, showing the fog or low cloud.

Peta McSharry

Abdullah Zeinab

Rhino Run Tracking 2022: Race tracking and commentary for Rhino Run 2022 + Rhino Run describes itself as an immersive ultra-endurance expedition with a mandatory donation to the Masaka Cycling Club in Uganda. An all-star cast are set to race this inaugural event.

Rhino Run Tracking 2022

RHINO RUN TRACKING: Rhino Run describes itself as an immersive ultra-endurance expedition with a mandatory donation to the Masaka Cycling Club in Uganda. An all-star cast are set to race this inaugural event.

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Rhino Run 2022

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