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Dakar Diary
 30
Dec 2006 - The Thrash on the Bikes Starts
Everyone
gets up for breakfast but by 11:00 AM, the thrash is on. First we
have to re-assemble the truck. Almost everything that has been attached
to the outside of the truck had been removed in order to get the truck
small enough to fit into the plane. The sand ladders, the generator,
the top rails on the body, the platforms for the frame jacks all have
to be found in the truck and put back in their proper place on the
truck. [MORE...]
 31
Dec 2006 - New Years Eve
The
bikes are coming along. Chris' bike is just about done. We're down
to mounting the spare brake lever, the spare shifter, the spare brake
lever, the spare clutch lever, a spare tube, Chris' Leatherman and
routing the power and data wiring for the GPS James' bike is still
a work in progress. David and James still have a lot of work to do.
[MORE...]
 03
Jan 2007 - Registration and Scrutineering
In
order to compete in the Dakar, you have to register and then you
and your vehicle have to pass a technical inspection known as
scrutineering. The point of the registration process is to make
sure that you have all the necessary documents, approvals, permits,
passes and information and that you have paid whatever money you
owe the organization which in this case is the ASO. I probably
should have put the money first in the previous sentence because
without the organizers being satisfied that you have paid all
that you owe, the rest of the process doesn't happen.
[MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-1
Spice
and I arrived in Lisbon on Christmas Day. The trip was uneventful
but the our arrival to the starting city of the 2007 Dakar
was the beginning of what would become the most adventurous
and emotional two weeks of my life.
The
bike and race prep up to this point had gone about as smooth
as could be expected given my situation and circumstances.
My bike was as ready as I could make it and on a plane to
France. My training wasn’t going to get any better
only 10 days before the race so everything I had done up
to that point I had to live with. I did manage to squeeze
in a few runs along the boardwalk but that was mostly to
calm the nerves. [MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-2
We were up around 4 in the morning on raceday. The day
was only around 500km in total with 117 of that a Special
Stage. I don’t remember what I ate that morning
but I am pretty sure it almost all came up. They only
allow you into the parc ferme 30 minutes ahead of time
so there isn’t much time to mess around. I said
bye to Spice and got ready in the parc. The atmosphere
in the parc was really tense...
[MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-3
Around 2:30 in the morning on Day 3 the first breakfast
bell rang on the boat. I swear you would have thought
it was a fire alarm with the speed the Hungarians jumped
up. I thought for sure the whole boat was waking up
for breakfast but it turns out we still had two and
half hours. I wish I would have known this but they
don’t tell you at the Intro To Dakar seminars.
After they left I got my stuff together to greet the
day and went up top for my requisite 6 cups of coffee
daily. What a surprise when I entered the cafeteria
and saw only me and the Hungarians. Oh well, I was up
now...
[MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-4
The
day started like every day I guess. It was dark leaving
the bivouac and the first cautions of the day don’t
take long to show their ugly head. One of main sources
of transportation in northern Africa is the donkey and
whatever it can tow behind it. Unfortunately the locals
haven’t figured out a way to rig a headlight to
them. Needless to say that made for some exciting riding
until the sun popped up. Once it did pop up the morning
chill gave way to a spectacular landscape. I had never
seen anything like it. The sights alone were almost
worth the hefty price of admission to the Dakar, almost...
[MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-5
My
start time wasn’t until around 7 that morning
so I actually had a little time to enjoy my coffee.
Again, I really enjoyed the morning ritual of coffee
and watching the bivouac come alive but today it was
different. The sleeping pill did wonders for my night.
Once I slipped into my blankets I don’t think
I so much as rolled over until the troops were rousting
about. I needed that. The sun had barely come up when
I poked my head out. It was way too cold to actually
get out of the blankets and walk to the coffee so I
stayed wrapped up like it was Sunday morning at the
house and shuffled over like Mr. Snuffaluffagus... [MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-6
Day 6 was a drag. It started out crappy and finished
even crappier but it did finish.
The sandstorm throughout the night made it nearly
impossible to get any real rest. I liken the whole
bivouac experience to trying to sleep while laying
in the middle of a NASCAR pits. There are constantly
generators running all night, motors running all night,
cars, truck and bikes revving their motors to the
rev-limiters, welders, grinders and all sorts of pit
craziness. [MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-7
Race day 7 was a big one. The liaison wasn’t
going to have the same issues as the day before
but the Special was the second longest of the rally
at 542km. We didn’t have a particularly early
start but that just meant we would be getting in
closer to sunset the later we started. According
to the roadbook info packet we received before the
rally today’s stage started out with fast,
mixed ground for 77km then 81km of off-piste camel
grass then 100km of stony track then 40km of dunes
and after that we are greeted with more mixed, stony
tracks, more camel grass, another set of dunes and
wrap it all up with a short gravel section. Reading
the book it is hard to tell exactly how difficult
the tracks are but at least you go in knowing a
little about the day’s course [MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-8
Stage
8 was another unassisted stage, a marathon stage as
they call it, and deservedly so at 589km. For me it
truly was a marathon stage, my longest of the rally.
The
assistance vehicles had to get on the road early before
any of the bikes left. That meant packing up the tent
and airplane box before anything else. That by itself
isn’t a huge deal but it broke the usual rhythm
of the morning. I think I was still hovering around
the 105th or 110th place area or close to it, so we
got off around an hour after the fast guys. The liaison
was mostly dirt that morning but still only 35km.
It wound up and around and through a few villages
that may as well have been on Mars. [MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-9
Day
9 started a little rough. Getting to bed so late
the previous day meant a short nights sleep at the
beginning of a long week. One good thing that came
out of sleeping in my gear was it shortened my time
to get dressed in the morning. As usual I was up
two hours early for breakfast but had some business
to take care of first. The only other person up
around me was Casey and he had the same thing on
his mind. The bivouac was literally in the middle
of a humongous dirt field that doubled as an airstrip
the rest of the year. When I inquired about where
the “Toilettes” were I was told they
are 1km away and cost 5-Euro. Casey and I both decided
to take matters into our own hands, so to speak.
[MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-10
Stage
11 wasn’t really a stage at all. I mean,
it was a stage but it only consisted of a liaison
to break up the otherwise ridiculously long liaison
from Nema to Kayes. They had us down for 372km,
225-miles, but with the new schedule we would
run 250km that day and the rest the following
day. Everyone was looking forward to the little
break. [MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-11
According
to the Handbook, “Expert skidders are
going to have the times of their lives here!
On these tracks over laterite, the aim of the
game is all about controlling your machine.”
Even in French I understood that.
[MORE...]
 Dakar
Diary-12
I
hardly slept all night. I tossed and turned
and stared at the ceiling while the minutes
ticked away into hours. I don’t know
why I even tried. I was so excited about getting
to the hotel and the end and seeing Spice
that I forgot to slow down for a minute to
enjoy it. I was really looking forward to
getting out and to the start of the Special.
The morning was damp and cool when we got
out and everything covered in dew. There was
a roadbook to put in for the Special but honestly
we just had to follow the sand. I can’t
describe the time at he hotel. Spice walked
me out and we got the bike warmed up and ready
just like I had done the past two weeks but
today was different, it was the last day of
the Dakar. Tomorrow the bikes would be loaded
up on a boat and shipped to France.
[MORE...]
More
of Chris Jones' "Dakar Diaries" and
photos to come...
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back often!
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