Doctors who remembered Don from last years Dakar were coming up to him and asking him how he was doing, and how was his wife. Natalie told Don he should have said “EL LOCO (crazy!!!) to let me do the Dakar again”.

Don was up all night with bad stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea. “He said you cannot imagine what it is like to have to vomit in the bivouac toilets!” I say TMI Don!

Even so Don left this morning but his Iritrack (tracking system) was not working. He told the organizers who said not to worry it would work. It was clear that it wasn’t working, it would turn on but then kept turning itself off. Don wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t working so at EVERY check point he told the organizers it wasn’t working. He is concerned that not having Iritrack could result in a disqualification from the race so he needed to make sure they understood it wasn’t working.

Don had 2 big crashes today and says his 690 is well worn in. At around kilometer 20 he had a huge crash and was down for about 1/2 hours (he thinks). Ripped his pants wide open. He didn’t realize how heavy the 690 was to pick up. Then just before the end of the special his front end went out from under him as he was crossing water. Apparently there was a lot of algae in the water and his bike literally slipped out from his hands. This picture, from Reuters, was among many of bikes going down in the same spot.

Don has also been at the organization tent fighting his time penalties that have already added up to more than 1 1/2 hours.

Don’s final comment was “Just remember I am riding this for a finish not a win”

As you are all likely aware, the rally begins on January 1st.

The ASO’s online tracking system is greatly improved this year. You can track Don’s progress on the following page:

http://www.destinationdakar.com/rally-coverage/dakar-2010/rally-tracking/. You can also find it in the RALLY COVERAGE menu at the top of the page. Note that Don is #74. If you click on “Follow the stage” in the bike section, you can select a participant. Entering “74″ or “Hatton” in the search box should do the trick.

During the Rally, this site will be updated on a daily basis, with descriptions of the next days stage and (hopefully) updates from Don or Natalie if they have time and an internet connection.