Dakar 2023 - Day 1.

Sunderland is out. Sainz is still el Matador.

One of the themes of the Dakar rally is struggle. 13 days of riding or driving through hellishly difficult off-road conditions. Sand dunes taller than supermarkets. Rocky paths that shred tires. All this is raced at 100 kph or better (much better if you plan on winning). Relentless amounts of distance, weather, mechanical failure, human error, drama, tragedy, struggle.

Racing is one of the things we do that is hard. Ask people *why* and they'll say something about winning. Maybe. But there isn’t a race in the world worth winning if it's easy. If it's easy, any jerk can do it. It's only worth it if it's harder than almost anyone else can even imagine.

Struggle adds meaning to life.