Racing pensioner vows to storm desert once more

IT IS the golden age of slippers and games of bridge, not sand dunes and dirt bikes. Yet while fellow pensioners sank their life savings into a new conservatory or a luxury cruise, Robbie Allan chose to become one of the oldest competitors in the Dakar Rally, the deadly 5,000-mile race across desert sands.

For seven days, the pensioner rode over mountainous sand dunes and across the rocky roads of Saharan Africa on his 450cc Honda motorbike, while his wife, Margaret, tracked his progress from their home in Lesmahagow - a moving dot on a computer screen.

Yet the dream, into which he had invested 45,000, of finally crossing the finishing line with Saltire flying, became bogged down by a violent sandstorm and an asthma attack. Yesterday, Mr Allan, now back at home, described his frustrations and desire to compete again next year.

"You know, I'm really kicking myself," said Mr Allan, who was born in Aberdeen and who has ridden motorbikes all his life. I made one mistake in the seven days I was on the bike and that single error cost me big-time."

Mr Allan, 65, was the oldest competitor among the 250 motorcyclists who left Lisbon for the off-road race, which has claimed the lives of 45 competitors and many African civilians since its launch in 1978. The race, which has 15 stages and is open to motorcycles, cars and trucks, became famous in Britain when Mark Thatcher, son of the then prime minister, became lost for six days in 1982.

Mr Allan, who competed in the Isle of Man TT races, paid for entry fees, a mechanic and a bike to fulfil an ambition and secure a spot at the starting line. For the first six days, he rode through dunes, mud, grass and over rocks, sleeping in his own small tent, away from the official camp sites.

However, last Friday as he struggled to complete a 333-mile stage between Zouerat and Atar, his dream came to an end just two miles from the stage's end. Just 24 hours after conquering the sand dunes between Tan-Tan and Zouerat, his bid was blown off course through a combination of the worst sandstorm to hit the event for years, and an asthma attack. He said: "I'd battled through the sandstorm for four hours when I reached the fuel-stop and took my compulsory 15-minute rest. Then I made the wrong decision."

Having been told the stage had been cut short because of the severity of the conditions, Mr Allan decided to battle on to the end when, with hindsight, he should have ridden out the rest of the storm in the relative security and protection of the fuel-stop.

He could then have completed the stage in calmer conditions the following day.

"I made a naive decision," the Scot reflected. "With hindsight I should definitely have waited, but I thought because I'd ridden so well on the sand dunes the previous day that I'd be able to do it again. I was wrong."

Having decided to plough on, he safely negotiated another 50km before being confronted by a wall of 200ft sand dunes.

"There was no way round. I had to go over them. The problem was I could immediately see between 40 and 50 cars, lorries and motorbikes stuck in the sand."

He quickly discovered why. "The sand was like talcum powder," he continued. "It was so fine it was unbelievable. As soon as my front wheel hit the sand it just disappeared and I went flying over the handlebars."

Determined to continue, Mr Allan dug the wheel out then manhandled the 350lb bike upright.

Immediately after he re-started, the front wheel dug in again and he had to repeat the whole exercise, not once, but five or six times.

"It was knackering. In the end, because of my breathing problems, brought on by working in the fine sand which was being blown through my mask, I lay down and slept."

During the night Mr Allan was offered a lift back to the stage finish by rally officials, but he declined. However, when the doctors in another vehicle recommended he call it a day at 4am, he finally submitted. "It was the worst feeling in the world when I stepped into that truck. I knew then it was over. I felt I'd let everybody who had been supporting me down. What made the feeling worse was that once over the dune, there was only another 2km of sand before I would have been on a gravel road and I would have been fine. I was gutted."

Undaunted, Mr Allan, whose experience at the end was in stark contrast to the euphoria he felt when he was cheered by more than 100,000 spectators at the rally's official start in Portugal seven days previously, has made the remarkable decision to return and conquer the event next year.

"This year has been a major learning experience for me," he said. "I learned a huge amount from my seven days in the desert, not just about me but about how best to tackle the event.

"If anybody had said to me before I reached the start-line in Lisbon that I would return to do the 2008 event, I'd have told them they were mad. Now it's possibly me who's going mad because I'm determined to return and beat it."

Yet having spent so much of his own money on this year's venture, Mr Allan - who became a major celebrity during his time on the Dakar attracting global media coverage on television, as well as in print and through the internet - is determined to find sponsorship for 2008.

"I made the mistake this year of not trying to get any sponsorship.

"With the global coverage I can guarantee for companies next year, I'm going to be working hard to raise the cash."

As Mr Allan pulls on his biker boots once again, it looks like the slippers and bridge games will just have to wait.