STAGE 14 – KAYES to TAMBACOUNDA 

We’re another day closer to our destination of Dakar, Senegal and the entire team is in great spirits. I just enjoyed the first decent hot shower I’ve had in almost 2 weeks and on a scale of 10 this was a 20!

Today’s ride was not unlike yesterday’s: extreme dust, lots and lots of holes and washouts and a lack of course markings, due to recent bad weather and rain. My strategy today was to ride smart and conservative. Considering the conditions it was a fine ride. I ended up finishing the stage in 21^st and remain now in 17^th overall.

Chris logged another great ride today with the best rally riders in the world. This rookie rider finished 3^rd for the stage, just 23-seconds back from the first place KTM of De Azavedo. The entire Red Bull KTM US Dakar team could not be more proud of him. Chris’s heads up performance throughout the rally has him in 9^th overall.

Kellon Walch had the toughest job today. He’s forced to start well back in the pack and work his way up through the masses – which he did. His flawless ride today landed him in 19^th overall (from about a 48^th place start!) and he’s now in 22^nd overall. Kellon is a tribute to the “never give up” spirit. Had it not been for the electrical problem he suffered this week, there is no doubt that he would have been in the final top 10 at the finish.

Tonight we sleep in our little Dakar tents for the last time because we’re burning them tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night we’ll be in a real hotel to prepare for the final run at Lac Rose.