The Paris Dakar Challenge Legends
These are the riders who have completed the full Paris Dakar Challenge. Different ages. Different countries. Different riding abilities. Some had loads of off-road experience. Others had never ridden sand before.
Over three weeks they crossed mountains, deserts, beaches and borders together — and somewhere along the way became a proper team. These are their stories, memories and advice for anyone thinking about taking on the adventure themselves.
Plumbz
Name: Plumbz
Age: 45
Where are you from?
UK
Bike ridden:
CFMOTO 450MT… bloody lovely.
Off-road experience before PDC:
Enough to keep me upright.
Had you done anything like this before?
No.
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What made you sign up for PDC?
Wanted to feel like I was in the Dakar, just for a moment. And I did.
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
Not nervous at all, surprisingly.
Favourite moment of the trip?
Riding along the beach with all the fishing boats — think it was Senegal.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
Turning off the beach into the soft sand hell. But I loved it. Everyone getting stuck and challenged — amazing. Would do it all again tomorrow.
What surprised you most about the trip?
Halfway through the trip I found out my bike had an off-road mode.
Funniest moment?
Can’t pin one down. Every day was a crazy laugh. Really cool bunch of people. Endless laughs. Recharged the soul. And Knuckles Up.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
That the tough days make the best memories.
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Throttle open in the sand. Just send it.
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
Three weeks of the most amazing assault on your senses. I thought it would be good, but it was fkn great.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
An unforgettable experience with tough days, excitement from the unknown, and constantly changing environments and situations that keep you right on the balls of your feet.
Describe PDC to a mate in the pub:
Make sure you read your rider notes. Mr Lee doesn’t like it if you don’t read your notes. Ready for Gambia to Cape Town when you are. (Mr Lee: “Not happening!”)
Thanks again Mr Lee — been unreal.
Teresa
Name: Teresa Robinson
Age: 55
Where are you from?
North Yorkshire, UK
Bike ridden:
Honda CRF300 Rally
Off-road experience before PDC:
Some local green laning, but no sand riding experience.
Had you done anything like this before?
No — only self-planned bike trips.
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What made you decide to sign up for PDC?
It was a bucket-list adventure that I’d always wanted to do, and I felt the desert riding aspect needed organised, experienced leaders like Lee and the team.
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
Riding through Paris rush-hour traffic on a Monday morning 😂
Favourite moment of the trip?
Far too many to choose from, but the beach riding was definitely a huge highlight.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
The day crossing into Morocco when the ferry was delayed due to storms and we arrived late at night. Not technically difficult, but a lot of patience was required — not my strong point.
The biggest riding challenge was getting off the beach in Dakar.
What surprised you most about the trip?
That it floods in the Sahara Desert 😬
Funniest moment?
So many. But Plumbz buying a fluffy pillow and duvet for the camping was up there. And obviously all the stories about “pivot turns”.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
That I’m tougher than I look, and age is no barrier. It’s definitely mindset.
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Don’t think about it — just do it. It’s the best challenge I’ve ever done.
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
If I was asked whether I’d do the trip again… 100% yes. Long days in the saddle, mixed terrain, deserts, different cultures, sunsets, scenery, border crossings, making friends for life, and an incredible sense of nostalgia as we crossed the finish point on Dakar beach.
It’s hard to articulate the essence of PDC in words. Only those who’ve done it truly understand it.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
I felt incredibly accomplished and grateful to make it to the end unscathed — apart from a few bruises from those pivot turns 😂
The friendships created on the trip are very special, and I hope we’ll reconnect again in future. I also felt very proud personally to fly the flag for female bikers as the only woman in a group of 12 fabulous blokes.
For any women out there thinking about doing something like this — go for it.
Guy B
Name: Guy
Age: 57
Where are you from?
U.K.
Bike ridden:
15-year-old Yamaha Tenere XT660Z
Off-road experience before PDC:
Amateur.
Had you done anything like this before?
A couple of ACTs in the UK and the Pyrenees. But this is not an ACT or a TET.
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What made you decide to sign up for PDC?
I wanted an adventure that would be the culmination of my 18-month journey trying to learn how to ride off-road.
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
Would my bike make it?
And would all my carefully thought-through add-ons and upgrades prove I had a knack for amateur engineering?
The bike made it. Very few of the add-ons survived the desert — which was brutal on the bikes — but everything stock OEM was extremely reliable.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
We spent a night in the middle of the desert in what was basically a hotel made of mud huts.
The next morning, our hosts told us that overnight storms had flash-flooded our intended route, so we had to backtrack the previous day’s ride.
What had been challenging sand, stone and dust the day before had turned into a one-inch layer of grease. WadIs we had skipped across were now rivers rising quickly. The support vehicle couldn’t follow us out and ended up having its own adventure. But everyone pulled together.
If somebody got stuck — usually buried way above the axle — five riders would immediately stop to help. When we reached flooded crossings, nobody sat around waiting. Somebody would put a brew on, others would walk ahead looking for crossing points, and a couple of riders would strip off and test the depth and current.
This was serious, unplanned stuff. But there was no whingeing — just a lot of smiles and laughter. That’s how a real team works.
Favourite moment of the trip?
When we finally got back onto tarmac after the “storm day” — I literally hugged it.
I thought I’d broken my ankle, but a couple of Ibuprofen proved me wrong… sort of.
What surprised you most about the trip?
The people.
Funniest moment?
One of the group got his bike hopelessly stuck in a huge dune of soft sand and temporarily swapped it for a local bloke’s quad bike.
The local then showed all of us how to ride sand properly… wearing flip-flops.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
Three or four decades ago I used to do some serious “boys’ own” adventures.
At 57, I found that old version of myself again.
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Stop thinking about it.
And if you decide not to do it, forget you ever heard about PDC… because if you don’t, you’ll regret it forever.
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
This is not a motorcycle tour — it’s a proper adventure.
The French and Spanish motorways aren’t particularly exciting, but they lead to Africa… and Africa is.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
It proved two things:
- I’m not an engineer — or mechanically capable in any way, amateur or otherwise.
- I’m not an old man yet… and won’t be for a while.
Describe PDC to a mate in the pub:
“You’ll never look at a beach the same way again.”
And:
“When the PDC team politely tell you that you don’t need a new back tyre… listen to them.”
(If you were there, you know.)
Stafford
Name: Stafford
Age: 63
Where are you from?
Wiltshire, UK
Bike ridden:
Kove 450 Rally
Off-road experience before PDC:
UK green lanes, ACT Pyrenees and EU TET routes.
Had you done anything like this before?
No.
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What made you decide to sign up for PDC?
Just do it… or you never will.
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
Only having a stupid fall en route.
Favourite moment of the trip?
Riding down the beach to the Dakar finish was emotional, of course. But I also really enjoyed the two-day Sahara Desert crossing.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
The off-road riding in Morocco. By the end of one particular day I was absolutely exhausted and genuinely considered going home.
What surprised you most about the trip?
The heat from Mauritania onwards. Completely debilitating whenever I had to stop to fix a puncture.
Funniest moment?
Poor Guy getting a face full of wet sand from behind my bike. It cost me my drinking water to wash his face and glasses clean afterwards.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
That I’m still mentally strong enough to keep pushing when completely knackered.
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Go light on the bike. (Honda… not Kove.)
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
Any single day is doable. Add all the days together and it becomes a real endurance challenge. It’s basically the longest track day ever.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
Looking back, some days were easy, some were hard, and one day I could easily have turned around and gone home.
Making it all the way to Dakar — and Senegal — felt like a real personal achievement. I just wish I’d done it ten years earlier when I was younger.
Describe PDC to a mate in the pub:
Think about that one time you rode from home to Scotland in a single day and thought “phew” afterwards… Now do that almost every day for three weeks straight. It’s a challenge. But if you get a group like ours, they’ll drag you through it when needed.
Alain
Name: Alain
Age: 65
Where are you from?
USA
Bike ridden:
Honda CRF300L Rally
Off-road experience before PDC:
Intermediate level on big adventure bikes.
Had you done anything like this before?
Never. But I had previously completed a three-week trip from South Africa to Zambia and back through Namibia — although only around 450 miles of that was off-road.
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What made you decide to sign up for PDC?
My friend Wayne sent me the link… and then ended up not coming himself.
Considering I’m not on Facebook or Instagram, it’s honestly a miracle I even found out about it 😊
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
Spending three weeks with eight Brits.
Favourite moment of the trip?
Riding across the Mauritanian desert.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
The final one kilometre of sand after technically finishing the challenge in Dakar.
What surprised you most about the trip?
How quickly the Moroccan desert flooded after the storms — and how Mr Lee handled the whole situation completely cool as a cucumber.
Funniest moment?
Guy hugging the tarmac after our “adventures” in the desert.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
That I can “just do it”… especially with amazing fellow riders around me. And they really were amazing.
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Prepare, plan… and then just do it.
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
An amazing and tough experience with a caring crew and awesome fellow riders. Riding through those incredible landscapes was a true adventure and worth every penny.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
I had always wanted to travel from France to Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania. That journey had been one of my dreams for years, and the reality went far beyond my expectations.
Describe PDC to a mate in the pub:
A true adventure that safely pushes you to your limits thanks to a knowledgeable team and support crew. You’ll experience at least a small taste of the most famous rally in the world.
David aka “Faffer”
Name: David
Age: 62 — with a birthday celebrated in Morocco (see cake photo).
Where are you from?
Originally Indiana, USA. The last 24 years in Toronto, Canada.
Bike ridden:
Honda CRF300 Rally sourced by Lee.
Off-road experience before PDC:
A wealth of off-road experience… which surprised people given my poor riding, mechanical and navigational skills.
Had you done anything like this before?
Do DNFs count?
Click to read more...
What made you decide to sign up for PDC?
After university, I volunteered as an O-Level Maths and Physics teacher in West Africa, so I knew first-hand the time-sucking bureaucracy these countries inherited from their colonisers.
I liked that all the paperwork — visas, carnets etc — was handled for us so we could just ride.
I also liked that this was Paris-Dakar Plus. Other organised rides tend to stay in Morocco. With PDC the Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia were made easy — that was the real differentiator for me.
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
GPS navigating.
Favourite moment of the trip?
Except for one married couple, nobody knew each other beforehand. People came from different countries, backgrounds, personalities and riding abilities.
When the nicknames started appearing — 1/2 Pint, Plumbz and the rest — I knew the group was going to gel.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
Toughest day:
The first day of camping, when I was assigned to cooking duty and Lee handed me a garlic bulb and I asked him what it was.
Biggest challenge:
Language. I can manage Spanish and French, but despite living in London for three years, I still struggle with English. Also… is that really what “slash” means, or were you Brits just winding me up?
What surprised you most about the trip?
I thought everyone would show up on BMW 1300 GSs. I’ve ridden big ADV bikes around the world and still own one, but I was surprised how well the CRF300 handled the French highways — and then how much its lightness rewarded us in the sand.
Because of this trip, I came home and added a small 390 to the garage, which I’d never previously considered.
Funniest moment?
The swarm of kids in Mauritania.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
That I was able to clear my head from everything back home and really live in — and enjoy — the moment.
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
The trip is organised without being controlling.
There’s a lot of freedom to experience it how you want. If you want to ride fast, you can. If you want to stop and take photos, you can.
It’s not a procession.
People were also always quick to help each other — punctures, stuck bikes, tip-overs… whatever it was.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
Describe PDC to a mate in the pub:
Mate: Who are you going with?
Me: I don’t know.
Mate: How much does it cost?
Me: I don’t remember, but it’s less than the cost of regret.
Mate: Maybe next year.
Me: There’s more sand in the Sahara than in your hourglass.
Mate: The missus…
Me: Anthony Kiedis.
Mate: Who?
Me: Red Hot Chili Peppers — “This life is more than just a read-through.”
Mate: I still don’t know.
Me: Be a rockstar and remember… no ragrets.
Robert
Name: Robert
Age: 64
Where are you from?
United States
Off-road experience before PDC:
I’ve ridden off-road all my life.
Had you done anything like this before?
Yes — rides in the USA, Australia, Morocco, Ecuador, Nepal, and an 890 Adventure ride from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Nebraska.
I organised and led most of those rides myself, so it was actually very relaxing not being responsible for everything on this trip.
Click to read more...
What made you decide to sign up for PDC?
It was realistically my only opportunity to ride from Paris to Dakar at this stage of my life.
Like many riders, I dreamed of racing the Dakar when I was younger, but never had the skill level or financial backing to do it.
I didn’t want to attempt the route alone and deal with all the logistics myself, and this trip allowed me to fulfil a lifelong ambition.
It certainly wasn’t a race — nor was it trying to be — but we still rode motorcycles all the way from Paris to Dakar.
What were you most nervous about before leaving?
Sand riding. I’m not a particularly good sand rider, although I usually managed to find untouched “virgin” sand which was much easier to handle.
Favourite moment of the trip?
There were several.
Riding across the Mauritanian desert and camping there. Riding 70 miles down the beach in Senegal. And the flowing trails in Spain and Morocco.
Toughest day or biggest challenge?
The heat and humidity in Mauritania and Senegal. I’m definitely more of a cold-weather person.
What surprised you most about the trip?
How well the less experienced riders handled the off-road sections.
Funniest moment?
The endless jokes from David over the intercom system.
What did you learn about yourself during the trip?
Nothing new. I’m probably too old not to know myself by now!
Advice for someone thinking about doing PDC?
Go. You only live once.
Sum up the trip in a sentence or two:
Three weeks of camaraderie as we “flowed” across Southern Europe and Northwest Africa.
What did the trip mean to you personally?
It scratched an itch I’d had for decades — experiencing at least a taste of the original Paris-Dakar spirit.
Again, to be clear, this wasn’t a race. Far from it.
But we did ride motorcycles from Paris to Dakar.
Describe PDC to a mate in the pub:
It’s a fantastic way to travel through a part of the world many people would otherwise avoid.
You’ll experience different cultures, incredible scenery, overcome a few obstacles — think punctures and sand — and probably step outside your comfort zone from time to time.
But it’s not a dangerous or impossibly difficult ride, and the logistics were excellent.
You don’t want to reach the end of your life regretting adventures you were too sensible — or too nervous — to try.
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