Tales From The Bivouac, Dakar 2012

Thanks Ted!!!

Great reporting from the bivvy. Brings us right there.


Damn exciting Ned is so close to the finish!!!

GO NED!!!

This thread is awesome. Thanks Ted for the commentary and thanks to Tim for the expertise wrenching skills to keep Ned alive and running smooth.

That is great!!

I miss annie

She's back in 2013 - this time in the car category:
http://anniedakar.wordpress.com/

I admire Robby; he's got his own mind for the car (I wish he'd build something 4x4 just for Dakar), drives like crazy and has to compete against the organisers (any American is persona non grata, I reckon; Danny LaPorte was a once slip by them) as well as better resourced teams. He's got the Colin McCrae "nutter" factor you need. Peterhansel is more "slow poison", cool and calculating.

Me too. She's had some great Dakar moments....

lg

"On the road again"
Ned left the bivouac about 20 minutes ago. Tim, Ned and myself had breakfast early this morning and Ned was looking chipper and raring to GO!!!!
Today is a shorter day and we expect Ned into the bivouac around 1-3 this afternoon.
Like everyday in the Atacama, it starts off cool and foggy due to our proximity to the coast. Its 6:22am and the fog is lifting and the temperatures have begun to rise.
Well time to get a move on, tonight we have to behave ourselves as Jonah is meeting us with 35 Top Oil folks. We'll pretend to be proper and maybe I'll use a glass for my vino tonight"

was it ever determined what was the problem with Jonah's bike?

Soap? Check.

Razor? Check.

Comb? shitshitshit




Great shot, thanks for posting.

I too was wondering about this. Could have been the gasoline problems that many people had?

Symptoms point to that. Be nice to know.

Won't know for sure until Jonah gets the bike home and tests some stuff out but it is believed to have been the stator, electrical for usre

Just pulling into the last bivouac, looks like we'll be right out in the dunes, can't wait for the wind to pick up this aft as it wouldn't be a Dakar bivouac without a sand storm

Hey Ted.. Thanks again for your inside coverage of the Dakar.

Just to let you know... it's -20 C this morning, bright but with a wind here at home.

Maybe the sand storm isn't all that bad in comparison.

Take it easy.

JM

That truck is the first of 3 that we built for the old African Dakar. Robb and I (mostly Robb) built it on the sidewalk in SF back in 2005, then rebuilt it in 2006. Back then, it needed a roll cage, race seats, navigation equipment and a decent off-road setup. It also weighs about 12,000 loaded up, so it is not your average off-road truck. After the cancelled 2008 Dakar, we left it in Lisbon. It has stayed in the UK at our other mechanic Sid's back yard since then. The reason for this is that the ASO offers free shipping to the start in South America from Le Havre, France. Sid just drives the truck to the ferry and to France before each rally, which is tons cheaper than loading it in a container and shipping it to South America and back from the USA each year. Just ask Mike Stanfield's team! Our truck will go back to France and eventually to Sid's back yard again after this Dakar.

After this rally, we'll have to see the condition of the truck. I've driven it for 2 Dakars, Robb has driven it for 3 and Des drove it in the CER. Usually, it is much more beat up after Robb drives it. If it is OK for another Dakar, then it will probably go again next year. Also, Sid and I are talking about racing it in the Toureg rally in Morocco in 2013. Why not? It has all the FIA equipment, and it has room for a beer fridge between the 2 rear seats, and it goes OK in the dunes as long as you don't back off, ever.

fun fun
Charlie

It's been great following this thread.

j

That lady is a dakar moment
And always finished

(!)

"Ned is in the bivouac, one more day to go. Go!! Ned Go!!"
"Bivouac is strategically located in a dust bowl, fun entertainment watching trucks burying themselves"
"Niles is here, cervezas are cold, etc"