Fransua Rachmann: Sean is finally back in the saddle and we did a short training ride on one of our oldest and easiest training routes. Darryn and I went on this route last weekend for his first ride back after his Achilles tendon injury. Even though he is not going to do the Challenge, he just couldn’t wait to ride again!

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Fransua Rachmann: With the Desert Challenge just around the corner, friends of mine invited me to join them for a practice weekend in the Liwa desert over the 26th / 27th February 2010. They are also getting ready to do the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and since Paul is traveling and Sean is still not riding with his collarbone on the mend, I thought it was a good idea to go and see what the terrain looks like.

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Fransua Rachmann: We awoke to heavy fog in the morning of Round 6 which did not lift by the time the race was due to start and the race organizers took the decision to delay the start time by 30min for safety.

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Fransua Rachmann: Rounds 5 and 6 of the Desert X series were held in the desert near Arjan, approximately 1hr from Abu Dhabi over the weekend of the 12th / 13th February.

After an early start in Dubai followed by a 2hr drive to the bivouac, the UAE CC Team set up camp in time for registration, scrutineering and the start of Round 5 at noon.

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Fransua Rachmann: Paul, Sean and I did another GPS ride on Saturday from the Bab Al Shams road. Darryn was hoping to make this his first ride back after snapping his Achilles tendon playing in the Dubai Rugby 7's back in Dec 09. However, whilst the rehabilitation is going well, he is not ready to deal with the rigours of riding in the desert just yet and had to sit this one out.

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Fransua Rachmann: Paul, Sean and I were in the desert this morning kitting up as the sun came over the horizon. Sean had programmed a 135km route into each of our Garmin GPS units so that we could all follow the same route from waypoint to waypoint.

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Fransua Rachmann: Two members of UAE CC participated in Desert X Round 3 and 4 held over two days in the Arjan region of Abu Dhabi (8th / 9th January 2010)

The races can be treated as a “mini Desert Challenge” because the riders had to ride on Friday, camp overnight in the desert and ride on the Saturday again. It’s a great way of getting used to the atmosphere and the setting of the big race that is less then 3 months away.

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Sean Curnow: The lads emerged from their tents a half hour earlier today at 5:00 am due to the early start. As usual, Sharon & Alessia had again organized breakfast and the team sat down to fuel up before our final days riding. There was a real sense of anticipation at the breakfast table. Whilst today was the longest day of the challenge – it was also the last and the guys could almost see themselves crossing finish line.

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Sean Curnow: The lads slowly emerged from their tents at around 5:15 am –things were definitely slower this morning and the moans and groans from bumps and bruises were definitely spreading. Sharon & Alessia had again organized breakfast and the team sat down to fuel up before another days riding. It was interesting to watch how an endurance race of this type had the ability to turn a morning person into – NOT a morning person. After a quick toilet break it was off to the UAE CC tent to kit up and get ready to go. This was Ground Hog Day.

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Sean Curnow: The lads began to emerge from their tents at around 5:30 am – though things did seem a little slower than the previous day. We had cut things a little fine the previous morning so we gave ourselves an additional 15min to get ready and get some food into us. Sharon & Alessia had again organized breakfast and the team sat down to fuel up before another days riding. After a quick toilet break it was off to the UAE CC tent to kit up and get ready to go.

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