Ola Hermanos

 

Following the Dakar, few riders stayed behind to participate in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.  One of them was Ross Branch.   And he had kept one day out of his calendar to join the community ride with Motozone.  

I was eagerly waiting to ride with him and my fellow colleagues but sadly day he had to postpone by few days which did not fit into my schedule as I had already booked a flight to Canada to see my daughter. 

 Using the excuse to visit my daughter I searched for some fun and cold outdoor adventure.   Riding in the snow was something I wanted to try for a long time.  As a former skier and snowboarder, I wanted to see how it felt to ride on snow compared to regular off-road motorcycling.  Surprisingly, the Salon de la Moto of Montreal was happening just when I arrived in Canada, so I went to the convention centre a few hours after landing to see the new motorcycle launches from every maker in North America.

There were also many tour companies, and the photos of the Canadian countryside were stunning. I'll have to plan a trip there and ride in the wilds of Northern America. 

I wanted to try snow motorcycle,

but I could not rent any outside Montreal, so I chose snowmobile instead. I made a reservation with Artic Adventure and drove north of Montreal to join the trails. The machines were Ski Doo 600cc with Rotax engine that produced about 85 hp. A good option for beginner riders. The start of the ride was dull as the guide tested rider’s skill but when groups of similar level riders were formed it got more enjoyable. Overall impression is snowmobile is closer to Quad or Jet skiing than to off-road or desert riding. Anyway, it was a good experience and I achieved what I wanted.  

I returned to Dubai and collected my T700 from the shop, where I had left it for service and to add high front end kit, new decal and some small things to suit my preferences. I tested it at Max Enduro site and liked the outcome.

I'm still not sure if I should reduce the height of the bike by 2cm to feel more at ease, but it would compromise the ground clearance. And lack of ground clearance is what damaged my GS. So, I have the lowering kit from AltRider with me, but I haven't put it on yet. I'll see...

It was time for a much-needed amazing weekend in Liwa with some colleagues from Motozone Dubai. Liwa is the ultimate place for dune bashing in the United Arab Emirates. It is near the Saudi border, about 3.5 hours from Dubai, in the empty quarter. There are many high dunes to ride on. 

It was a wonderful weekend!!! I had never experienced such tall dunes and stunning scenery. It was like Heaven. It was both exciting and difficult, traversing the wide and diverse land of sand dunes, from soft hills to sharp falls, leaps and turns to feel the rush of speed and liberty. And it was also a great chance to connect with other riders and share the love for off-road riding. And of course, the drinks after the ride...notwithstanding, the long discussion on rally racing with Jason.  

As it turns out Jason, whom I had already ridden with during the UAE raid adventure in December has already taken roadbook classes with TRC and was very complementary.  And as alumni of TRC he gave me the direct contact of the lady in charge of admin so I could ensure everything runs smoothly when the training take place or clarify any queries I might have.   He gave me lots of useful information about different types of roadbooks (ertf and some others) as well as training app.   Still a bit blur in my mind but trust it will become clearer as I continue my journey.   

Today, is the start of Ramadan so many shops will do Ramadan sales’ deals.   Already registered for free service on my CRF and Palm Mx is having massive discount on Leatt product.   Time for some new clothes.  Am also still debating for GPS for my T700 to do trails in Northern part of the Emirates and Road book tablet to adapt to the upcoming electronic road book.   Hence, I contacted Willem Avenan from RallyTab who appears to have successfully developed an Android tablet with accessories for both adventure riding and for rally navigation but am still debating with myself what tablet to buy, so whilst awaiting, I bought a second-hand Montana that I will use in the mountains here.

Like last year, I attended the Get Out There’s iftar in Al Qadr.   It was nice to reconnect with the adventure communities as I have been absent this year due to constant weekend commitment with Motozone and Furiosa Racing.   With the recent acquisition of the Tenere and my ambitious 3 years project, I need to do a lot more of rock riding and the guys at GOT will be a big motivation help.  

In preparation for the Enduro cross at MX Ride end of April, I bought a second-hand Acerbis 11L tank for my CRF.   I took it for a spin Saturday and was unpleasantly surprised how the bike handled with a more weight upfront.    I felt I was losing the front at every corner.   All things became normal after I rode for one hour and the gasoline level came back to what I am used to.   I will need to ride it more to adjust to the new balance of the bike with additional gas.  

Yesterday, I met with Benji Melot who has recently relocated partially to Dubai to discuss my project.  Nice and very humble bloke.  

Gave me lots of advice to move forward on my project.   I am sure we’ll meet again as I move along in my adventure. 

 

ola amigos

 

The Dakar 2024 race is over. I followed all the summaries of each stage on youtube, and the ‘behind the scene’ episodes of Benji Melot and Charlie Hertz. They were both amazing and inspiring and have prompted me to set my goal on completing this race. I am eager to start this project. Despite many uncertainties, I can’t keep delaying it or it will never happen. But as I begin this journey, I am filled with worries and doubts. What is my motivation, who do I want to impress, wouldn’t it be better to keep riding for fun on the weekend, do I really want to go through the discipline, and most importantly, can I handle such toughness at my age?

 

I have given myself three years to get ready for the race. I would prefer to do it sooner, but I must be realistic. My riding skills are not very good, I have minimum mechanical knowledge, I don’t know how to navigate, I don’t have a rally bike, I don’t have the money, I have never participated in a rally race, and on top of that, even though I finished an Ironman 70.3 two years ago, today, at 54 years old, I am unfit and overweight.     

Where to start?

A few days after the race ended, Benji Melot did a live session on social media where he answered questions and said he wanted to try something new in his Dakar career. I thought of a good project: coaching Dakar rookies. I sent him an email telling him about my project and asking him if he would be my mentor. The idea is that I would go to his garage and learn some mechanics and navigation and that he would help a rookie like me get ready for the race. He hasn't replied yet, but I hope he will.

I also looked for any navigation training near where I live. I searched online and found "Rally Training Centre" in Dubai. 

They responded quickly to my request. We exchanged emails and we just need to decide on the dates for 3 days of individual navigation training. And the best part is, they will give me a KTM 450 rally replica bike with all the equipment for the training.

I have been busy learning more about various topics such as navigation, electronic tablets, safety gears etc... and watching more documentaries on other rallies and how rookies set up their project. It's amazing how many people dream of doing the Dakar. It will be hard to get in, and rumors in the paddock indicates that it will become even harder to get in as the years go by.

Considering the Dakar is ultimately a race then why not start with a race with the objectives of the bivouac atmosphere, my riding skill level compared to other riders, and my physical strength.   So, I registered in Abu Dhabi Baja Challenge, 

a 2-hours race in the desert, where the winner is the one who travels the farthest. The race has a 30ish km loop without navigation. It is a good way to evaluate my level with some of the riders who will compete in Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge next week.   

In preparation for Baja, I started to work on my fitness.  30 min of muscle strengthening for my upper and lower body and 45 min of indoor cycling daily isn’t the greatest effort, but I must start somewhere.  Ideally, I need to create a training program that I haven't figured out yet.

 

15-29 Fevrier

I have just returned from AbuDhabi Baja, and I realized that the road to Dakar will be long, very long, very very long, and I am already starting to doubt myself.

I had woken up at 3h30 and reached Tilal Swaihan by 5h30 to experience the environment and the mood. 

Many riders and their friends and family had stayed overnight at the "bivouac" with their tents and caravans, and I could still smell the fire remains. 

I registered 

and felt suddenly more comfortable when I saw Jorge A. from GOT whom I knew from Dubai and another guy I had met at Motozone who had just returned from Qatar Baja. He had ridden all night to make the final round of the series. Then Oran Okelly joined us and shared some stories from his Dakar.

Then I went back to Joel's pickup, unloaded my bike, put the mat and refuelling jerrican in the pit lane, got ready and went to the riders briefing. 

I felt a lot of nervousness and butterflies in my stomach. The baja challenge is a race that lasts approximately 2hr and the goal is to complete 3 or 4 laps of the 32km course through the dunes.  In fact, it’s like a prologue where everyone gives it all over 100 or so kilometres.   There is no navigation, just cones placed along the course that riders must follow. Then, it was time to get on the bike and line up at the start line. As a beginner and a veteran, I started last. 

 

Then it was time open the throttle.  The first part of the course was hilly and wide, not very difficult and lots of speed. I caught up and passed 3 riders and felt good.   Then came the technical section with lot of riding at low speed and lots of sudden drops.  

I fell stupidly when another rider crashed in front of me and ultimately lost sight of the riders that were ahead of me.  The gap between me and them became wider and then I lost my rhythm.  With no one ahead of me and to open the line, I became even slower.   All competing bikes had 11-12 litre tank compared to my 6,5-litre tank on my CRF which meant that I would have had to stop at every lap for refuelling and lose considerable time.   Like the first lap, had great first 15km on the second lap and then another fall in the technical section this one nastier than the first which injured my left wrist and made handling the bike much harder causing me to quit at the end of the 2nd fuel stop.  But that was enough to achieve the objectives set for this race. 

In summary, it was a great first experience, I liked the atmosphere and the camaraderie. However, it was a wake-up call with regards to my level of riding, and my level of fitness. I quickly understood that I need to seriously work on my riding ability and improve my skills to be the one controlling the bike rather than the opposite.  Had I finished the race, I would have probably taken 3^rd before last.  And I clearly need to work on my physical strength and endurance to cope with the intensity of racing.   The road will be long….

Two days gone since the race closed and whilst my wrist injury seems to fade away, I am feeling muscle soreness throughout my upper body.   My shoulders, trapeze and lower back are completely null, and my legs are shaking every time I walk up the stairs.  

Mentally, I am navigating from: “I will never be able to make it” to “this is going to be too hard to achieve”, to: “you can do it”.   Let’s take it one day at the time.

On the T7 front, yesterday was a day of joy.  I have finally received the parcel ordered for my Tenere’s upgrade, consisting of hight front fender kit, enduro mirror, steel luggage / protection rack, new decal, and mount for the front indicator.   

 

Oli caballeros

 Well, let's start by wishing everyone a happy new year....As usual in Dubai, winter time is riding season, so kept on riding, had few incidents, bought something new, working on new project, got my 2024 racing license, etc....  So all going well on the bike front.   

Started as usual with usual desert ride on saturday with Motozone.   And for first time, was not able to keep up with the experienced group.   Really felt troubled, had no pace and no stamina.   Luckily, few lads dropped before me, so cut the ride short and rode back to base with them.   It really troubled me for few days, so one week after I decided to go back on track and work on my technic.   However, Brett was in for a short ride due to family commitment and since we are more or less on same level, I decided to join him to gas station and back.   A solid one hour ride, at high speed and sensation went right back to where they are supposed to be.   

Then, decided to do some urban enduro with my GS.  And that was a mistake.  I tried to jump over some high concrete sidewalk (to avoid traffic), did it at fairly high speed and the skid plate hit the curb damaging the lower engine.   

I was furious at myself for making such a beginner mistake.   The skid plate is normally fixed on the bike with rubber mount, however as I discovered the previous owner might have replace the rubber with some solid concrete space leaving no leeway to the skid plate if the rider hit something concrete.   Hence damaging the engine.   And considering the GS engine is made of one unit, the whole engine needed repair and welding.  

Jorge and his team did a pretty good job patching things up, however, the engine is only good for road riding as any other hit will permanently ruin the motor.   Problem is, no one would want to buy a bike with a damaged engine even if its for road use, unless the guy knows what h
e has in hand.   As a good samaritan, I more or less gave the bike away to young lad from sub-continent who would probably never have been able to afford such bike as such young age.   bye bye my dear beamer and thank you for getting me into adventure biking and max enduro ....

So the hunt was on for a new bike.  I did not want to go back to BMW or any other big trail bikes such as the KTM 1290, was more focused on getting a dual bike, of a lighter weight and more versatility for the middle eastern terrain.   

I tried the Husky 701 and the KTM 690 but they were, in my opinion to close to the sensation I have on my 450 which I ride in the desert, and considering I want a dual sport bike, I felt they were too agressive.  I settled for the Tenere 700, a good combination.   As it turned out, Michael from X enduro was selling his, and knowing him, I knew she has been well taken care off.   So, swop was made and a new T7 entered my garage.  

Michael has done some upgrades to the bike with more racing decal, which I have reordered already as it is damaged in few places, but most importantly, he has changed the rear exhaust which is better protected in case of falls.   The only thing missing in my opinion, is a high front fender like the one below.

So I ordered one from Alt rider in the US and will mount it when I receive it.  Originally, I had plan to change front end with vintage tenere kit from Unit Garage but ultimately decided not to and keep modern racing look. 

After getting my confidence back on the cfr450, I teamed up with Karl for another Rally Raid through the United Arab Emirates, going from Dubai to Fujairah.   

10 of us, left early morning and reached Fujairah at sunset.   

Going thru various terrain, sand, gravel, rocks, mountains.  Click on the link below for some gopro footage of the day. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__fgkZQAkmY

Upcoming this weekend is full day at the Dubai Autodrome track on International circuit configuration. 

A week in Canada to see my daughter but also to do a snow mobile raid, and the long waited weekend in Liwa in the empty quarter early march. 

 

And moving towards racing, got my new Baja racing license 

to participate in the dubai enduro cross race in April and AbuDhabi Baja Challenge 

Awright folks, that's all for this beginning of the year.   I will talk about another project of mine shortly, meanwhile and as usual, some random shite stollen from the net.