Today, I haven’t really done a huge amount, just getting ready for tomorrow.
The race starts at 9am tomorrow morning, so we’ve spent today getting all our equipment and kit ready and making sure its under 10kg, as we’re only allowed to put 10kg on the horse.
Everyone has had their kit spread out everywhere, struggling to get it down to 10kilos. I had to get rid of a few bits of clothing and some food, which was a bugger. But the rider weight limits has worked in my favour. The maximum weight limit for riders is 85kg, and if you’re not 85kg you can make up the extra weight with additional kit. So I’ve been able to take an additional 17kgs of stuff.
Once I had all my saddle bags packed, I went for a short ride of about 1km to make sure they were comfortable.
Some of my fellow competitors having been playing polo against the Mongolians. And tonight there is a big party planned complete with Mongolian wrestlers. They are apparently going to make all the competitors drink a special drink of fermented mare’s milk, sounds delicious! Its 12% alcoholic, I think I’m going to pretend to drink it.
Tomorrow we get weighed at 8.45am and the race starts at 9am. I’m hoping to cover 120kms tomorrow, riding from 9am until 8.30pm.
The weather is really going to test endurance. Its incredibly hot during the day, probably in 30s and then absolutely freezing at night. I’ve been wearing all my clothes and sleeping bag and am still cold.
Unfortunately Richard Dunwoody has pulled out of the race as he’s going to return to England to participate in Strictly Come Dancing but he’s going to come back and ride the first leg with all of us.