Paris Dakar Stage 4

Stage 4 of 60, Day 4 of 71: 144 km, 1807m, 5:47, 310 shifts, ave speed 22.9, max speed 63.0

I woke up before my alarm at 5:15. We packed up and ate breakfast in the dark at 6. I skipped the muesli maybe for the first time ever due to so many other yummy options. After a tiny headset adjustment we started riding together at 7:10 but after 1 minute everyone turned left whereas Wytze and I took the more direct right turn. The track didn’t start at the camp so there was some confusion.

In a few minutes the sun rose and the two of us were out in the countryside. There was mist and it was quite cool for the first time.

We took it easy and after 20 km when I offered to take the lead, Superman said no worries. We stopped in a gorgeous town just past 50 km and looked for a café. We met some more riders and Daniel spotted a bakery. It was amazing, just perfect. We had all kinds of things, shared, and relaxed.

It was only 25 km more to lunch – Ype had a great spot. It was already warm out so sitting in the shade and eating and drinking lots was great.

After a while, we hit the road. The whole morning was mostly level with a little up. At 90 km the first real climb started, but it wasn’t steep and soon we were on the col (pass), about 850m. We had a good rest, drank, then blasted down the other side. Around 110 km, the second big climb started, a little steeper. As I was cresting the top, about 950m, I could see a big jet of water: Wytze spraying Jan and everyone else. I rode right to him and got soaked instantly.

We headed down another wonderful, fast, shaded descent in a big group. Four of us got ahead and in the town below found a café. Wytze immediately got us an orangina and a Perrier each. We ate some bars then each had a nice Belgian beer on draft.

Finally it was almost 4pm and maybe a degree cooler. So we headed off, up one last climb 165m to our campground. The firetruck had suffered and was not working and it had our tents and pads, as well as all the food and the kitchen. We hung out and soon the luggage truck came with all our gear except the kitchen stuff. Showers were had, some went swimming and we had lots of food. At 6:40, we started walking on the shortcut to town for dinner. It was a 40 min walk down through a farmer’s field, on dirt roads, etc. Soon we were in Olliergues at a nice outdoor restaurant, seemingly the only place in town. We had beers, wine, dinner, dessert, cognac and more dessert. The temp had dropped while we ate so hiking back up in the dark was not so bad. Shirtless was best. Back in camp Rob and the firetruck were there, so all was well. It was almost 11pm when I set the alarm for 5:30, to do it all again tomorrow. Good night!