Irene Pezzanera also fell off her bike during a seemingly easy part of the course, a transfer: after a jump, the bike crashed into the sand and she could not avoid a somersault. "I took a knock on the shoulder and leg, I also beat up my face, but I managed to continue," says Irene, who with tenacity and determination managed to complete the race. Her passion for motorbikes was passed on by her mother and in the desert she, who works in administration for an eco-sustainable toy company, found herself: “I understand what my limits are, how far I can go. Adrenaline was my gasoline."
Susanna Grasso is an environmental engineer and loves travelling. She has competed in motorally and enduro before, but had never ridden in the desert, so Chica Loca was the opportunity to get back in the saddle. "A unique experience thanks to the landscapes, the adventure of living in the desert, the encounter with a different culture". Susanna found herself overcoming distances of sand and stones or riding through wadis, small dry canyons that swell only with seasonal rains. Every evening she and others, after riding all day, set up the tents for the night. “We lived in a tent, with few clothes, water and little food, without technology, supermarkets or other material objects. And we were happy. It is shocking to see how many things we consider fundamental, but in reality, they are superfluous. "
The charm of the night in the desert with starry skies compensated for the visits of scorpions and mice. "We comforted each other and had fun", the protagonists say today, all back home with a sense of belonging to a group with a special chemistry. “In the evening, before dinner, camped in the middle of nowhere, we shared beautiful moments. Usually hyper-connected, in the desert we were isolated from the rest of the world, no cell phones reception. We have rediscovered the pleasure of chatting around a fire", says Gaia Franceschini Beghini with nostalgia, immersed in her everyday routine in the digital marketing world. Their evening conversations were a mix of advice from enduro experts and the insecurities of those who had less confidence with the bikes, all intertwined with interesting life stories.