“I hope it can get me out of the coal mine.” Cool words spoken by the ultimate underdog. And “coal mine” isn’t a metaphor. Jordan Strachan works in the coal mines of British Columbia and, after stepping away from riding after breaking his back a few years back, he came back with a bang. Having applied to race Dakar on a whim, the man who rides for the joy of a crisp beer at the end of the day made it to the finish despite issues that would have discouraged many others. But, as he says, when you work 16 hours a day at the mine, working on your bike in the middle of a sandstorm is no big deal.