» DOC's MEDICAL TENT

This year's dakar rally was a test of nerves and patience more than ever before. Moments of joy and pain came with each day, the highlight being the 4th overall of Chris Blais and the down point was the death of Andy Caldecott. The television coverage does not do justice what goes on behind the scenes. For one, the mechanics work relentlessly on the motorcycles after traveling all day long cooped up in a off road vehicle, keeping them mentally alert can result in the rider making it to Dakar. To achieve this, everyone received B12 shots and they were hounded to drink electrolytes and maintain their health. Furthermore, the effort the whole team puts into hydrating the riders is incredible. To achieve proper hydration during the Dakar rally, the rider cannot do it all by himself. When you watch the OLN coverage notice how much more astute Chris and Andy seem compared to the rest of the field; this is no mistake. Towards the end of the rally, Chris's decision making reflected how well his electrolytes and fluids were maintained throughout. On more than one occasion, he found the waypoints before the top riders and the instead of making circles and becoming lost, he executed logical patterns to search for these waypoints.

This year's Dakar also brought the same sadness, the loss of Andy Caldecott was a major blow to the team; after Andy Grider was forced to abandon, we took Andy Caldecott under our wings giving him everything possible. His untimely death was due to mental error ultimately, and as he had to do everything himself at the beginning, one must wonder if he was forced to hydrate and such, if such an accident could have been prevented. The same question arose after Meioni's death last year.

Congratulations to Jonah Street and James Embro, as they practically did everything themselves concerning hydration and nutrition. They knew when to back off and just finish, but also when to give an effort; both riders were awarded with top finishes and arrival to Dakar.

Hopefully one realizes the teamwork and effort it takes to achieve proper hydration and nutrition during long endurance races that depend so much on mental ability.

For the record, OLN listed Joe Barker as John Edwards - team medic. First, they were wrong on the names. Even more, they listed me as a medic. As not to degrade the term medic, but realize that I am a team physician, with 15 years of schooling behind my M.D. degree. Any letters or comments sent to OLN on this regard would be appreciated.

Doc

Note: writing these monthly columns are a lot easier with questions received from the Harden-offroad website. So please post your questions so that I may be able to answer by sending them to the following email: jjedwards@pol.net

Thanks, Doc