The time has come... Neduro DID Dakar!

Not to mention he's been training (bikeless, just down and dirty exercising!) on the Manitou Incline, an old closed down cable car railway. It's a real short and steep route, it gains almost 2000 feet of elevation of 3/4 of a mile and remember, we start out here at about 6k feet elevation

Forcasted high for tomorrow in Copiapo is 72 Degrees F.

Must have been hot......riding with his jacket un-zipped.

WOW, that'll make the bike run like a pig, even with correct jetting. HP loss is a biggy at that kind of elevation, at least it's on a road.

Thanks for the explanation of his wrist issue. I've had friends that retired from motorcycle racing after a wrist fusion, so i am surprised he is doing Dakar.

I am also curious about your comments about his pace. He seems to be running a strong pace to finish well. Particularly in view of his well-documented previous races. Why do you suggest he's riding modestly?

I think he's being pretty aggressive, given his success. There are 100 riders behind him who spent a lot of money to be there. Some crashed or had mechanicals, but it is still short of the half flags and by the results, most are riding more modestly than Neduro!

Personally I love what he's doing. If he can continue to concentrate on his goals, he's going to have a great finish. Maybe like you suggested earlier, another Dakar can be in his future.

Anyways, thanks for the color. I know you guys spend a lot of seat time together.

+1 on that.

I run a business and we support a number of local riders. Every time we sell something and the purchaser mentions stuff like this it makes the decision to continue supporting the rider the next year a lot easier.

I can vouch for this.

...this too.

Hilslamer, I think you have video (audio) proof of this.

I can assure you he is riding modestly. It's been the plan the whole time to preserve himself, the bike and finish. He mentions in one of the call in's that he is not pushing his pace in the technical stuff and slowing waaay down in the dust.

Now, where his comfortable pace is relative to some of the rest of us? It may seem aggressive.

It's unreal how fast and loud that kid snores. 1 minute he's awake, the next minute he's snoring and everyone else is awake.

Personally, I feel sorry for everyone else in the bivy.

I took the time and sent thank you mails to a couple of Ned's sponsors.

You can just imagine it - the team camped next door to Ned's tent are anxiously waiting for their missing rider to arrive late at night after a long day out in the desert.

All of a sudden they hear a noise and think a bike is on it's way - only to realise it's Ned snoring

Did this too - up to 39 likes Didn't know they had pannier racks to fit the Wee hmmmmm, think they'd trick me out some boxes with those orange KTM corners?

Ned's gonna kill you when he gets back home and sees you all talking about his snoring.

Now we just need his mom telling us about "that cute little accident he had when he was three" and his professional reputation is tarnished forever.

The problem the last few years wasn't the sickness it was the 'falling asleep' on the bike. IIRC at least one rider crashed heavily in 2011 and had to retire!:eek1