And it's really a proper chain gang — all 12 of us. Peter Noble was the last to arrive, fresh (?) off the plane with his Bianchi in a bike bag, just in time for this evening's final briefing meeting.
Sadly, Beate won't be riding: she damaged a knee skiing and can't take an active part, though she will be coming with us in the medical support vehicle, manned (personned?) by Kirsty Le Doare and Mamina Bojang, a nurse from the Basse MRC unit.
We have got a Police motorcycle escort (at a reasonable price too) though we'll have to ferry him and his bike up to Basse. Amazingly, Pete bought a suitable trailer a couple of weeks ago, and I've got some straps, if I can find them. It'll be good to have someone ahead to clear the road.
And speaking of roads, it sounds as though the whole 370+ km are now tarmac, and there's just one km or so that isn't yet open to motor traffic. Should be OK for bikes though. And we've got out Set Settal pass for the vehicles.
This evening's briefing went well, though all of us are — quite reasonably — a little apprehensive about what Saturday and Sunday hold in store. The weather forecast is reasonable, though it's considerably hotter away from the coast (and could be up to 35 or 36 degrees C) humidity is lower. And the wind is predicted to be light and might even be slightly behind us. Tomorrow morning the bikes will be loaded, provisions, tools and spares packed away, and we'll be off!
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