BMW International GS Trophy 2018 Day 5: In the foothills outside Dalanzadgad
'It's harder than we thought' is what Suprej said in an interview today. And this pretty much sums up the collective thought of Team India. The 270 clicks in the desert today after and already hard ride and then camping out in the cold, windy, vast expanse (and those words can't be more of an understatement in this country) definitely took its toll.
Sunrise at the campsite
Taking a breather at a nomadic shelter
We were the second group (each group has 4 riders or two teams) off the start line today on the liaison stage and that's always a blessing. The tracks in the sand aren't dug up or deep and there's no dust cloud to eat.
Team India at a Nomadic shelter
But we were also quick to fall back because of some shoddy teamwork by Team India that had six riders get lost. So by the time we arrived at the special stage, we were at the back of the line waiting in the sun and you could see the anxiety showing.
The all-woman team at SS1
Shade in the desert is a luxury - Teams India and Latin America at lunch
To add to that the special was no easy feat by a long mile. An obstacle course with ascends through deep sand, descents through rock faces and pushing the motorcycle through part of it, although while standing on the right side - something that is rarely a practice.
Team India and Team Latin America deep in the desert
The exhaustion after this special stage was evident and it was the beginning of a chain of events that lead to Team India struggling through the remainder of the day. After that fatigue set in, every passing hour on the motorcycle made the sand get softer, the ruts get deeper, and the dust clouds bigger.
a whole day of riding in this stuff isn't your average touring agenda
We've finally just rolled into camp, exhausted, bruised and battered. But it's nothing that camping under the spectacular skies in the mountains outside Dalanzadgad won't fix. No?
To stay abreast with Team India's progress and to get latest updates from Mongolia, you can follow the International GS trophy 2018 here
Also see,
BMW International GS Trophy 2018 Day 4: Deep in a Mongolian desert
BMW International GS Trophy 2018: Media preview on Day 2
BMW International GS Trophy 2018: Day 1 in Mongolia
Team India hones their skills for the BMW GS Trophy 2018
We leave for Mongolia to ride alongside Team India at the BMW International GS Trophy 2018
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