He went, competed but did not conquer - but there will be another time.

Recently back from his adventures in Europe and North Africa, business executive Laurence Noble is already dreaming about his second crack at the challenging Dakar Rally.

"Yeah I'm going to do it again for sure. Absolutely!

"I will be having another go and, with the lessons I have learnt, I should be better prepared," declared the motorbike enthusiast who completed five days of the desert race before becoming stuck in sand dunes in southern Tunisia.

That led to a decision to quit the event after he fell behind significantly, but with it came a determination to try the gruelling journey again in a few years. Noble returned home to Bermuda with no regrets and great memories of his exploits, knowing also that in pursuing his life-long quest he was part of a very worthy cause.

Numerous people responded to the call to sponsor Noble's rally trek, thereby contributing to a memorial fund established to honour one of his late colleagues at Aon. Rhondelle Tankard - on work transfer to New York - was among the thousands who perished in the World Trade Center disaster.

"I think it's gone well. A lot of local businesses and individuals have been very generous. We raised a few thousand dollars," said Noble of how much money has been donated.

Still, he would have liked to raise a bit more by reaching the rally's finish in Egypt's Sinai Desert. That was not to be.

"I was on the sixth day of racing - a particularly difficult desert section in southern Tunisia leading up to the Libyan border. There was about 100 miles of serious sand dunes and I got stuck," recalled Aon's Vice-President of Information Technology regarding his undoing.

A fellow rider stopped and helped him after which he made very slow progress; so much so that night caught him in the dunes and he decided it was safer to stop.

"I lost quite a bit of time . . . and I was struggling. I hadn't had enough practice riding at high speed through the dunes.

"I tried crossing some big dunes after dark with just the bike light but that was too dangerous because I couldn't really see where I was going. I decided to stay in the dunes, either until first light and ride in the next morning or the organisers had trucks that would come past and pick you up.

"Unfortunately for me, the truck arrived at 3.30 a.m. before it became light and when the truck catches you up, you have an option: they will pick you up and take you to the next checkpoint but you're out of the race or they will leave you there on your own.

"If they leave you at that point they will come back and get you if you set your emergency beacon off but they don't pick your bike up, they just come and get you," explained Noble who competed on a Honda XR 650 motorbike in the amateur-standard production category.

Faced with such a daunting decision plus the reality that he did not have enough time to reach the race start for that day, he opted for a premature end.

"I had too far to go and I also had to go through Tunisian customs and immigration and then Libyan customs and immigration. I only had a few hours to do that and I had to prepare my bike and get ready for my start.

"It just wasn't going to work so I decided to go in with the truck. So that was me out of the event," said the 45-year-old.

Though disappointed, he chose to savour the positives from his experience which began on New Year's Day in Marseilles, France.

"I am glad I entered and was part of it. It was fantastic and riding in the desert is wonderful, to be out there in the middle of nowhere. The scenery is spectacular."

So captivated was Noble by the event that, after he had withdrawn, he rented a car and drove back to meet rally competitors crossing from Libya into Egypt, including the remaining members of the Rally Raid UK team of which he was a part. He then drove across Egypt to witness the finish.

The death of a French co-driver, Bruno Cauvy, towards the end of the Libyan section of the race threw a pall over the rally camp but was taken in stride.

"It's always sad when somebody dies in such a pursuit but it's one of the realities of the desert race. There was an air of gloom even though - with 400 competitors in the rally - a lot of people didn't know the guy who was killed," said Noble soberly.

Prior to the fatality, he noted, several other competitors were airlifted to hospital with "serious injuries". A member of his team ruptured her spleen in a crash and was flown to Cairo. She is now recovering in the UK.

"You had to be aware of the danger but, on saying that, everybody was also aware that the race had to continue and you had to do your preparations for the following day.

"I think that's where the professionalism comes in.

"It's not that you overlook things like that but you realise you still have to get on with the race."