I'm going to Tunisia! In possibly the worst kept secret of all time, Rally Management Services wound up with some open slots late last fall and invited me to take a slot in the Tuareg Rally this March. The prospect of going somewhere new, racing some good tracks from a roadbook, and spending time with friends old and new was too much to resist, and I said yes. I called my friends at Hundred Acre, who own both Layer Cake and a new brand called "If you see Kay" (say it out loud for the full meaning, it's a James Joyce poem), and they immediately wanted to help. Kay is a full throttle Italian red wine (ask for it by name and don't blush!) and we both thought it would be a ton of fun to go rally racing. When I explained the situation, they wanted to help the whole team, so everything got off to a great start. Kays motto is Wide Open Throttle or dont bother, and that's pretty much how the project started out. I arrived home from a trip with 5 days to prepare my racebike and get it shipped to Oakland (and from there to Europe)... with C.Vestal's help, we got it done. The bike is a 2009 505XCF with a rally moto kit. More details on the build to follow. We went from this: To this: in a few late nights. I am joining some longtime friends and inmates from here. Wild Man, aquavit, Jean-Luc, and lastplace got this project started together with GSNorCal, and I can't wait to spend the time with them. Several of us have finished Dakar, and I think I speak for us all when we say were really looking forward to the Tuareg. Its a friendly rally that doesnt have the same pressure as the big race, but does have the same enjoyment, of riding with friends and reading the roadbook and railing through the desert. Wed like to thank our sponsors: If You See Kay Wine, Klim, Renazco Racing, Sidi, Rally Moto Kit, MX1West, Bell Helmets, Dirt Tricks, KTM of Aspen, Touratech, Scotts Performance, Cycra, FMF, Wolfman Luggage, Kates Real Food, Motion Pro, Rally Management Services, and Doubletake Mirror.
Were raising some funds for the race by selling shirts. These are super high quality designer Ts (not the typical Beefy-T), they are $25 + shipping and will probably get you laid. Proceeds go to the race budget. The goal here was to make a really cool memento, but I am not doing high end support packages because I felt like all YFFs were extremely generous helping me get to Dakar and it wasn't right to ask for that kind of help for this.
There will be a few ways to keep up with the race. Like If You See Kay Wines on facebook , follow @neduro81 on twitter and instagram, and of course well be calling into rally raidio and getting updates here on ADV.
Wow that was quite a drum roll (what did it last, three days?) Nothing like building up the suspense! Good luck Ned, I'm looking forward to following your progress and enlarging my tee shirt collection.
This rally is gonna be a real hoot! Super fun to have a big 9 person team, with 7 riders. Can't wait for the big team photos at the start and finish! Dave
Go Super Dave, RMS and team! Hope you find time to post a lot of pics ... see you around the campfire, -- SFMCjohn