Took me a while to get to the second review I know.So for those of you thinking of doing the Dakar, also be aware of the post Dakar issue. Difficult to be back at work and not 100% focussed on a race. Too tired still to do anything but bored with not doing stuff. Still, I have a Duathlon to look forward to at the end of the month.So, final list of stories – less dramatic than the last lot The Rest Day The rest day started slightly oddly. The stage before the rest day was a long 600k stage. Racing against the sunset the last 40k or so were in pretty dunes with cacti looking like people as the light gave out. Finally finished and got to the bivouac. Such an amazing feeling to have made the rest day which was my target for the whole effort and which I really didn’t think I’d make. Rode up to the Team Desert Rose awning to find a note on the white board “Well done – we’re all in a hotel – see you tomorrow.” To be fair the mechanics really needed a good night’s rest and properly deserved a clean bed in Antofagasta but still it was a little bit of an anticlimax. Craig Bounds was already in and asleep and Tamsin had yet to finish (she finished at about 2 am) so a good feeling but no-one to share it with. On the rest day itself Craig told me not to laze about all day but to keep a bit of physical activity going. I went for a walk along the beach which was ideal. All of a sudden the project changed – I needed to find a new plan to get further into the race….No idea when I wrote this – it’s clearly been sitting in the draft section for months. Anyway I decided to publish.It’s now October and the Dakar fever is kicking off again. All the people I know on faceskive are prepping for Argentina in January again…. but I’m not.It’s hard to find the impetus to keep prepping but a new plan is starting to evolve as the year wears on and the finances recover and the boredom sets in. I’ll never be a top Dakar racer but I know folk who can be. I’ve done the apprenticeship and I know how to get there. Maybe I can marry my knowledge and more importantly my contacts with the guys I know and create a Scottish desert racing legacy.We need support to do this – and cash. I have a feeling it can be done.Starting point is getting my good friend Mike Robertson through the Tuareg Rallye in March 2011. More posts to follow on that adventure for anyone who’s interested.