We get back in the saddle and begin exploring the riverbed. The dust is awful, so I try to ride alongside Marc and Jan Lucas, but because we’re all trying to find a safe line, riding side by side in an ever-changing riverbed prevents spontaneous sideways movement, so we soon spread out again.
I’m getting tired of riding at the back and missing out on all the animals, so I make a mad dash for the front position.
It takes something to catch and then safely overtake Jan Lucas. He used to race, so he's quick.
By the time I have him in my sights, I have my sand shoes on and I’m in my flow, power sliding around the corners and lofting the front wheel over the holes in the sand.
God, I love the 500. It’s the most fun bike I own and if I only had to own one bike, this would be it.
I lose all sense of time as I blast through the river canyon.
It opens up into a greener area where I stop to wait for the guys – exhilarated and feeling amazing.
They don’t arrive. I peer at my GPS and notice that I’ve drifted off our planned track. Perhaps they took the actual GPS track instead of staying in the riverbed.
5 minutes later, I turn around and begin retracing the actual GPS track to see if I can find them.
It takes a while, but eventually I see them under a tree. As I pull up, they are oddly silent. No excitement.
“What’s up, guys?”
“Marc almost hit a giraffe.” Jan Lucas says somberly.
The giraffe had suddenly run out from the bank of the riverbed and crossed right in front of Marc. Apparently, Marc only just missed crashing into it.
Afterward, they had stopped to regroup. I could tell that something was up with Jan Lucas. He was not smiling as usual and had a distracted look on his face.