Having hijacked your "who is doing dakar thread" though I had better put the update on the Namibia training on a different thread so people don't get fed up with my posts. I am just struggling to do attachments or upload photos due to slow internet here. So bear with me. I have tried putting the newsletter into PDF format etc but it won't upload and it has the photos on - so have just copied and pasted from it.Anyway hope you enjoy it. As part of his time in the saddle David set off fromMazabuka on the KTM 690 bike and rode the whole way (with the exception of 75 kms) into Gaborone, Botswana. That was a fairly decent distance of one thousand fourhundred kms over two days. He then went down to Johannesburg with Charles (this time in the Sprinter) to do some Dakar shopping and to get the KTM450 rally bike branded at Bandit Signs courtesy of Darryl Curtis. The bike now really looks the part with all the sponsorsstickers on board. It was also the perfect opportunity to chat to potential sponsors such as Pirelli (who are now on board with the most vital aspect of the race tyres and mousses), and to be guided in such things as goggles by the experts. Goggles come in different shapes and with different lenses for each type of landscape, blue, yellow, chrome and clear (night riding!). Goggles now purchased. Also important is the nutrition required by the riders, so once again Mr Curtis introduced David to Megan of Pace and Power who discussed the rehydration and calories that David needs to consume, so the relevant milkshakes and rehydration powder have also now been purchased. Thermals- it gets somewhat cold in the Andes, so gloves, scarves, thermal socks and underwear all have to be bought and packed along with the actual riding kit. Luckily UFO has helped out in this regard with boots, enduro jackets, race pants and helmets. Back to Gaborone for the last round of the SORC championship which David was leading, when we heard the bad news that his closest rival had been robbed in Zimbabwe whilst on his way to the race and sadly had to withdraw. This meant that David had won the championship without having to race. A long discussion, and finally a decision was made not to let David race on the Saturday. So close to Dakar and with the training in Namibia scheduled to start on the Sunday, it was too much of a risk to take. David understandably was upset but could see that it would be unnecessarily stupid to go out and take chances out there. So we arranged for him to take the KTM 690 round as a roving marshal, to stay out of trouble but at least do some training! Due to the fact that we had to be in Namibia by midday on Sunday, we attended prize giving and then left at 9.30 at night to drive through to Windhoek. It was freezing cold, the amount of game on the road was unbelievable and it was an extremely long night of driving. We got to the border at 6am on Sunday and then offloaded the KTM 690 again so Davidcould ride the 300 kms into Windhoek. [FONT=Calibri,Bold][FONT=Calibri,Bold]NAMIBIA NAVIGATIONAL TRAINING COURSEThe tourists at Klein Windhoek lodge must have had palpitations when the course participants turned up there. It was chaos, one Sprinter with trailer and two bikes on board (us), one Toureg and trailer with two Hondas on board (Brett Cummings and Glen Grundy), one VW bus with trailer with two KTM 450 Rally raid bikes (Darryl Curtis and Riaan Van Niekerk), one very large overlander type truck which was the backup truck for the bikes and took spare wheels, tyres, kit and spare engines as well as food and drinks, the Waldschmidt bakkie with roof top tent contraption and Ingo on his DakarKTM 690. One has never seen so much stuff. Dirk was the truck driver and Tom the navigation software/road book guru. Once we had sorted ourselves out and loaded everything up and dropped our vehicles off at the Waldschmidt house forthe week, Ingo sat us down to discuss what to take to Dakar. He brought with him the tent (3 seconds to open and 20minutes to wrestle it to the ground to close it guess who has that job during the race in South America?). A word of advice on mattresses if you cannot actually take your bed from home, then take the next best thing, dont skimp on comfort, you are going to need to sleep properly). Ingo kept stressing that sleep was the most valuable thing a rider couldget. Initially I did not take much notice, but after one week of training, all of us were shattered, and the reality of hitting the wall due to lack of sleep, started to dawn on us all. So take a decent mattress, none of this itty bitty slim stuff you might as well sleep on the floor with that. There are two schools of thought as to what to take with you to Dakar and what to carry with you on the bike. Some riders prefer to run as lightweight as possible; others are prepared for every eventuality and carry an additional few kilos on themselves or the bike. Some service crew operate with minimal stuff, and then you get the worriers (who also take whatever they can and require their own 747 to get it there), I fall into the what if category and am determined to get an entire hotel and motorcycle dealership to Peru. Charles and David keep taking my lists and chopping them in half. Ingo is incredibly prepared, as is Darryl, everything has its place, in its Tupperware box, labeled and then in the ammo box. Air filters already prepped and oiled are stashed away neatly, spare batteries for head torch, jump leads, tow rope, little mat for putting your bikes tools on when working out in the bush on your own, the list was endless. As the riders say make life easy for your mechanic, so he is not scratching for stuff in the night and having to wake you up to find if you actually brought that brake lever or whatever .A chat about the bivouac and what to expect in the way of food, showers, riders briefing nightly (compulsory), getting your road book done and loaded on to your bike, laying out your clothes for the next day, and general conversation about the noise, lack of sleep, and the dreaded fesh fesh all came up. Note hit showers early, before they become vile, take your own bath plug for the sink so you can wash your kit, not to mention take clothes line and clothes pegs and washing powder. Favourite topic, the dreaded monkey butt which Dakar riders seem to suffer from. Vaseline is what the medics recommend, so take tubs of the stuff (also used for sealing goggles to your face to keep out dust). Down to the real business of the navigation and road book. Here, I bow to those techno gurus such as Charles, for a more sophisticated view than mine, as to what exactly is on the bike and why. To me it is a load of waffle, but vital waffle ..Thebikes are all fitted with a) A Road book, this is the instruction manual of the route giving kilometers to travel between waypoints, between landmarks, it gives indication of dangers, speed zones, waypoints, co-ordinates and compass bearings to follow, especially when there are no landmarks like in the dunes. b) An ICO, this is basically an Odometer connected to the front wheel, the ICO has to be calibrated to the circumference of the front wheel and this will indicate to the rider the kilometers traveled according to the Road book. Normally riders will have 2 ICOs fitted so they have a comparison; the second ICO is an optional extra. The ICO needs to be adjusted when they get to a distinct landmark if different from Road book to the reading indicated in the road book. c) An ERTF GPS which is supplied by the organizers and has all hidden waypoints, Safety waypoints, these waypoints only open when you are within a certain diameter of the waypoint and validate when you pass within a predetermined distance from the waypoint varying between 90mts and 200mts. An optional Caps reader may be fitted; this is mounted near the ICO on the top of the Road book so rider does not have to glance too far down to read when navigating at high speeds. The Caps reader is connected to the GPS and gives the information from the GPS at eyelevel. After the days ride the GPS is downloaded by the organizers who then check where riders erred, exceeded speed limits and missed any waypoints. Any errors are either penalized with monetary fines (speeding), time penalties up to disqualification if errors are repeated or excessive. Marking of the road book is a very personal choice. There were the perfectionists whose road books looked like a work of art, and then the scribblers who merrily highlighted anything that looked excitingly different to the past 100 kms! Obviously each rider has their own preferential way of doing things, and it was interesting to see the differences between them all. Cautions and speed zones are imperative and these must be obvious to the riders in a variety of assorted colours. The pencil cases were full of highlighters, glue, cello tape, white out and scissors, it was like the first day of school. Monday morning early, the riders left Windhoek and rode towards the Brandberg Mountains. We met them for breakfast, and tales of wildlife in the Namibian bush abounded, Kudu and warthogs seemed to have given a couple of the riders a bit of a scare. Those of us in the back up truck, stopped at Uis to look at the route of the recent Namibian enduro which had been held in an old mine area, and looked like a very demanding route. We finally arrived at the White Lady camp area in Brandberg, on the edge of the Augrab River after a 410 km ride for the bikers. Evidence of elephants was everywhere, and warnings of not bumping into them on the way back to our tents rang loudly in our ears. David had no problems with navigation and using the equipment, so it was a great relief that he was so comfortable with it. The routine each evening was the same, the bikers came back in, handed their GPS to Tom who could then see if they had deviated from the route, what speed they were going at, and what their general navigation abilities were. He would then give them the road book for the next day, and whilst they sat around marking and discussing the route, Ingo and Dirk would wash down the bikes and check for problems. In the meantime, Lisa along with Dirk always had a spread of food and drinks out for the riders to nibble on. Breakfast and dinner each day was at the camps main restaurant, so food was not in short supply by any means. Every evening we could ask questions and talk about the upcoming Dakar, with insight from Darryl and Ingo as to what to expect. All of these little trivial queries really helped us to build up a picture as to what we were all in for. It was great tocompare the riders navigation skills and speed, and to see that David was on the pace and handling it like a pro. The terrain was spectacular, and the red of the mountains in the early morning light was unbelievable. The riders saw the rare desert rhino on one of their rides, but nobody saw the elephants at all. Hard luck hit Glen and Brett on the Tuesday, with both of their bikes playing up within 5 kms of each other. Luckily and by an absolute miracle, Glen had contact with friends who drove from Long beach with two spare bikes for them to use which was so fortunate otherwise their trainingsession would have been very short lived. After 3 nights in the Brandberg and riding the countryside around there, the riders left on Thursday morning to head to Long beach, which was a total distance of 341 kms. They stopped and took photos of the incredible Spitzkoppe Mountains before meeting the truck for lunch and to refill their camelbacks. Then after refueling in Swakopmund, they headed off to ride in the dunes. David had no experience of dune riding, so this was a new lesson for him and not as easy to master as he had thought. Went barreling up the first sand dune and front wheel dug in and over the handlebars he went. Fortunately he has adapted to the dunes but does feel that he could have done with more time out there learning how to read them and ride them. Also one has no idea how much sand can get into absolutely everything, clothes, bikes, shoes, hair it was a stark reminder of what to expect in South America. [LEFT][SIZE=2]That evening we all went for dinner at the Burning Shore Restaurant (of Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt fame). We were joined by[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Andrew Mulligan who was there to get some footage of the riders for an upcoming programme. The minute he arrived, all[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]our plans went awry. Friday saw 3 bikes seize out in the dunes, it appears to be sand going down the exhaust pipe and[/SIZE][/LEFT] [SIZE=2][LEFT]causing a problem. First Lourens Mahoneys bike, then Darryl and then Davids bike all developed hiccups. It was not a[/LEFT] [/SIZE][LEFT][SIZE=2]good day for the guys or for Andrew who was trying to get some footage and interviews. Luckily we had one spare engine[/SIZE][/LEFT] [SIZE=2]between the riders, and Darryl replaced engines. Poor Brett was on David[/SIZE][SIZE=2]s bike and had to walk nearly 3 kms in the dunes[/SIZE] [FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]to alert us of the problem. Ingo had a back up in the form of a Rhino which went out to retrieve the bike from the middle of[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]nowhere. The next day, Riaan had the same problem but managed to get the sand out before the engine chewed it up and[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]seized, but it was a bit of a fright for all, 6 riders and 6 nearly destroyed machines on an 1800 km trip. Even the use of Sat[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]phones proved to be a learning exercise for us all when we were trying to locate Riaan out in the dunes. Thank goodness[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]for Facebook as he used this to advise us where he was!!! All these things showed us not to take for granted the safety[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]equipment, the machinery or our own limits. After 7 days, we were totally shattered from the experience.[/SIZE][/LEFT] [SIZE=2][/SIZE][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri] [LEFT][SIZE=2]Comments on our fellow riders who are doing Dakar: - Glen and Brett are currently doing the Australian Safari and we wish[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]them all the best. Brett is the little dark horse out of the riders, extremely bright and a very capable rider, navigation is[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]going to be no problem for him (having said that, I have just read he has wrong slotted in Oz). Glen is the stalwart of the[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]two and will keep on keeping on. Both of them have taken over a year off from work to prepare for Dakar, and if they are[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]not racing bikes at every desert, national, international (Australia and Morocco) they are racing bicycles. They are two[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]absolute gents who we clicked with immediately and who will be friends for life. Darryl and Riaan need no introduction as[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]riders; they are at the top of their game, professional racers and professional comics too. Nothing or nobody was safe[/SIZE][/LEFT] [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2][LEFT]around these two who were always scheming up something to antagonize the rest of us. As far as navigation goes, Darryls[/LEFT] [/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]GPS downloads were so interesting, he never wasted any time getting from point a to point b. Each and every time through[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]the dunes he navigated in a dead straight-line regardless of what was in front of him obstacle wise. Riaan, although new to[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]the Dakar is no fool either, and will surely be quietly quick in Dakar. Ingo Waldschmidt is the rider who made us all realise[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]that a privateer from Southern Africa could do Dakar and finish. Probably the most natural sand rider (it does help being[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]raised in the Namib Desert), he reads the dunes like a tracker. His neat and methodical way of doing things calmly certainly[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]makes sure he has everything in order and needed for completing yet another Dakar. His wife Lisa and daughter Zoe also[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]offer the most incredible support system for him. Every single one of the riders made the weeks experience memorable as[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]did the guidance and advice from Tom and Dirk. (PS Just heard that Brett finished 4[/SIZE][/LEFT][/FONT][LEFT][/left][/FONT][LEFT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2]th [/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2]overall in Australia and won the Dakar[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Challenge. Glen also finished in 21[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][SIZE=2][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri]st [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri]place, so well done to them both).[/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE][/LEFT][SIZE=2][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri] [/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE][FONT=Calibri,Bold][FONT=Calibri,Bold][B][SIZE=2]UPDATE ON DAKAR SCHEDULE [FONT=Calibri,Bold][FONT=Calibri,Bold]PART TWO [/SIZE][/B][/FONT][B][SIZE=2][/size][/b][/FONT][B][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/B][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]Sunday morning all the other riders headed home to their real lives! We were able to relax, if you can call it relaxing! I[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]dragged a very reluctant Charles and David to the shops to purchase various items, and they whined and sulked and lost[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]interest with[/SIZE][/LEFT][/FONT][LEFT][/left][/FONT][LEFT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2]in 10 minutes, but cheered up when promised food. We spent an enjoyable evening with Davids team mate[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/LEFT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri] [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2]Ingo and his wife Lisa. It was the first chance for us to really discuss the team and plans for January 2013.[/SIZE] [FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]We spent the entire Monday morning and most of the afternoon at Interpol and Natis and various police stations around[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Windhoek in order to complete paperwork on the KTM 690 which had been purchased in Namibia and then after a quiet[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]dinner at Joes Beer Garden (we were all like zombies), loaded up the Sprinter in order for the early start the next day.[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Departure time was 4.00 and we drove off under cover of darkness. A few kilometres before Gobabis the Sprinter ran out[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]of fuel, but no problem, offload bike, shove David onto it with fuel can and instructions to buy diesel. Within 10 minutes he[/SIZE][/LEFT] [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]was back and off we set again. We were doing well time wise and at 14h00 were through Jwaneng, when we had a little[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]incident. Charles was overtaking a Toyota Cressida which decided to turn right with no warnin[/SIZE][/LEFT][/FONT][LEFT][/left][/FONT][LEFT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2]g. Obviously he hit us, but[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Charles had already tried to swerve wider and next minute we were barreling down the side of the road through grass and[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]rocks. David was asleep in the back, sat up and saw we were heading for a tree; meanwhile all of us were more worried[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]about the trailer behind and the two big bikes on the back. Nearly 200 metres up the road we were able to stop, how[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Charles stopped us from flipping I will never know. Luckily all of us, and the occupants of the Toyota were ok but we had[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]done some damage to the trailer as well as cosmetic damage to the front left of the Sprinter. Thank goodness for high[/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/LEFT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri] [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2][LEFT]friends in low places . Neil Gailey was with us within 30 minutes armed with a welder, an army of workers, police etc. we[/LEFT] [/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]also became the freak show on the side of the road for 5 hours with every Tom Dick and Harry stopping to gawk. Neil[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]welded our trailer, (that also caused a small fire underneath it due to the dry grass!!), went with Charles to the police[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]station and generally baby sat us through the whole ordeal. Anyway, all of us are safe and sound at our various homes.[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]David is armed with packing lists, shopping lists, shipping lists etc. We will have to ship the bike and all of the other items[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]over to Europe in October. Once in Europe, Jan will strip and check the bike and arrange for it to go on board the ship to[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]South America. Meanwhile we have a VW 4 Motion as a small service vehicle as well as the Mercedes Truck. Air tickets[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]have now been purchased and the house in Lima has been booked and paid for, all we need now is to book for the finish in[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]Santiago, Chile.[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]To the Sponsors, thank you for your continued support, and please let us know what else we can do to give back to you.[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]The photographs of David jumping the KTM Rally raid in the dunes, was put onto Face Book and posted to KTM Racing[/SIZE][/LEFT] [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][SIZE=2][LEFT]page, where I see that it has been shared 167 times and liked by 2279 people. That is a fair amount of coverage for just[/LEFT] [/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri][LEFT][SIZE=2]one photo which has now been shown all over the world. Hopefully we will also feature on TV in December and also have[/SIZE] [SIZE=2]had articles posted in Enduro World magazine, Lowdown and various newspapers, so your company name is getting out[/SIZE][/LEFT] [SIZE=2]there! [/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][SIZE=2][FONT=Calibri][FONT=Calibri]Follow Davids Facebook page [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Calibri,Bold][FONT=Calibri,Bold][B]David Reeves Zambia Dakar 2013 Challenge.[/B] [/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=2][/size][/FONT][SIZE=2][/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
Hi - since I last posted, its been a time of trial and tribulations.... endless forms it seems to fill out. Worry of bike and all bits to Holland, then our tyres were delayed a bit which meant our poor mechanic had to drive 1700kms to get them the day before the boat left Le Havre. Nail biting stuff for us in Africa on slow mo internet and erratic communications. In a panic I wrote to anybody and everybody, and BIG THANKS TO MICHAEL STANFIELD, who I don't know from a bar of soap, but he wrote and offered to help if we needed. Fortunately I think we have come right but the decency of people in this sport never ceases to amaze me. The SA boys Darryl, Riaan, Glen and Brett are also 90% organised, (they are with KTM factory team and the Honda Australia crowd), quad rider Sarel van Biljon is also pretty organised too with the Memo team. Ingo Waldschmidt from Nambia and David are with the Orange Service team. Bike no's 101 and 102. Was a bit startled to see Ingo was not higher up - he has done 2 Dakars and always finished inside the top 50 I think. But it seems that they are running numbers more as teams than individuals?? I stand to be corrected here. Ingo has done some massive marketing and got a number of good sponsors on board, and David is helped by the Zambian motorsport community so things are ok. David is currently training by riding his 690 or his 300 around the farm, and dragging tractor tyres around with him at a run.... as you can see, gyms are a bit far and few here, so farmer boy has to make a plan. Anyhow - its one month to D day, and we fly out to Peru after Christmas... thanks for your page, its made my life a lot easier to take on board information where I need it. Cheers and wish us luck.
Oh and if you want a prediction - look out for Darryl Curtis but also the seriously quiet and skilled Riaan Van Niekerk, I think he might make a few people sit up and take notice...
Ditto what Carlos said. Here"s hoping that you have the experience of a lifetime! Ride safe; be smart.
Thank you for your words of support - will tell "my two riders" (wow how nice is it to be able to say MY TWO RIDERS) to ride safe and ride smart. So sad to hear about Sam and Felipe - I had the pleasure of meeting Sam briefly during the Qatar Baja last year, and immediately took a liking to this young man. He is an inspiration and I am so gutted to hear about his accident. Both riders - heal fast, get well soon from us all in AFRICA....
LATEST UPDATES<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> In less than three weeks, we will be boarding South African Airways to Buenos Aires, Argentina which is an 11 hour daylight flight, then, transferring to Peru which is another 5 hour flight. We land at 23h00 on Friday 28<SUP>th</SUP> December, but it will be 06h00 our time (I think, on the Saturday??). According to my calculations there is a 7 hour difference in Peru, and a 5 hour difference in Chile and Argentina, BEHIND AFRICA TIME.<o></o> <o></o> Firstly, many thanks to SeedCo who have sponsored David his ticket there and back. This is a big saving for David. With the erratic Euro/Dollar at the moment, both our team and the South African competitors have suddenly come up short due to the exchange rate and we are all frantically trying to get more sponsors on board.<o></o> <o></o> Theo Pieterse an artist from the Siavonga area has so kindly donated two beautiful pictures of leopards to auction off in order to raise more funds for Dakar. The information on the auction and photographs of the paintings can be found on Facebook under Art Auction Supporting David Reeves Journey to Dakar. Please go on this page and like and also look into bidding on the pictures. We have had 424 likes on our FB page, and I think both David, Charles and myself are getting personal messages from people asking about the race and from all over the world. Romanians seem to have a keen interest; either that or they are stalking one of us with a view to human trafficking! Simba Milling also very kindly sponsored us with some much needed funds, and this is greatly appreciated. Again we cannot thank you all enough for your support.<o></o> <o></o> Our Boss, Charles Bender has been rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous lately in Monaco where he attended the FIM Gala awards dinner. Photos of him hanging out with Marc Coma, Gio Sala et al have been spied, and he was also spotted lurking about at the famous Marina gawking at the yachts and ships etc. However, he was pleased to get out of the expensive city and back to his shorts and crocs in Africa.<o></o> <o></o> <o></o> <o></o> Charles managed to spend a few hours in Holland (constructively I like to think), meeting up with Jan, Jacqueline and Onno. Jan is the mechanic for Ingo and David, and Onno runs the Orange Service Team and provides the big Mercedes truck which transports spares etc around. The bikes, cars, service trucks were all loaded on to a massive ship at Le Havre, France on 22 November, and as I write, our hopefully halfway across the ocean to Peru. We had a bit of a scare when our bike tyres nearly did not make it from the depot to Holland, but with frantic phone calls and a panic mechanic, who drove the 1400 kms across Europe to rescue the situation, we have come right.<o></o> <o></o> <?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" oreferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><vath o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></vath><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><o></o> <o></o> <o></o> Unlike Charles who went hobnobbing with motorsport royalty, I went off to the Roof of Africa where loads of advice and encouragement from Alfie Cox, Darryl Curtis, Riaan Van Niekerk were most appreciated, as was the offer from the SA Toyota drivers to come and say hi when we are all together in South America. It is an amazing brotherhood the Dakar. Whilst having kittens over assorted issues, I went onto a bike forum, where immediately offers of help and contact details were offered along with cries of good luck and we will be following you.<o></o> <o></o> <o></o> <o:wrapblock></o:wrapblock> David has been keeping up with his training regime, including dragging tyres around the farm, cycling and riding a motorcycle as often as possible. Davids boys are home for the holidays and no doubt will be assisting him with his training. The lot of a farmer is not a happy one; I know David is anxiously awaiting the rains so he can get on with various jobs before he leaves. Usually he has planted crops before end of November, but so far the rains have failed at Dorvic. This just adds to the stress of things he needs to do before leaving Zambia, and the worry of having to dump it all on Emma. A farmers wife has to really be the jack of all trades, Mum, farmer, accountant, wife, nurse and vet to name but a few trades.<o></o> <o></o> <o></o> <o></o> <o></o>
Some important information for you is Davids race number which is 102 and Ingo is 101. If you have good internet access and are prepared to deal with the time differences, there is live tracking during the event. Go onto www.dakar.com and pick up the information from there. You can put the race number in, and it will show you when he has reached the waypoints. Word of warning, sometimes things do not register, and you go into a tizz because your rider is not there, jump to next waypoint and see if he has arrived at that one. Dont be frightened to play around with it but it does become addictive. We will update on the FB page, David Reeves Dakar 2013 Challenge as often as possible.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> <o> </o> Silly things now need to be sorted out, trying to arrange three different types of currencies, work out the cost of fuel in each country, find maps of Lima so we dont miss out Technical checks and know where the port is in Lima to retrieve our vehicles. Lima is massive and has appalling traffic congestion, so apparently an hour to do 20 kms is normal. Proof of vaccinations, proof of ownership of car, bike, and presumably yourself, medical forms, insurance forms, bizarre directives from the organisers which confuses us all as it goes from French to English, translated by a Hollander, German, Zambian and a female we come up with a few versions of what it is meant to say. The dreaded email Major Alarm had us all at panic stations. The thought of having to pack for nearly a month away from home, and keep it light is beginning to dawn on us all. Charles has so many gadgets that I dont think he will have any space for clothes!<o></o> <o> </o> Well as Bugs Bunny would say Thats All Folks, I wont be writing any newsletters until end January/beginning of February 2013. However, we have engaged a photographer to put pictures up on FB each day for us, and I will try and write a little info each day and keep up a journal whilst hanging onto the panic handle in the VW as Charles screeches around the Andes on the wrong side of the road. <o></o> <o> </o> Keep us in your thoughts and have a super New Year. We will be up (not because we are partying, but Ingo arrives about 30 mins before midnight! Just in time to have a cup of hot chocolate and get sent to bed.)<o></o> <o> </o> To our precious families we really will miss you and thanks for letting us go racing!<o></o> <o> </o> Happy New Year to you all and may 2013 be all we wish and hope for.
took me a while to find it but for others here is a link to his Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/DakarDaveZambia
Thanks for well wishes guys. Stress levels are beginning to rise at this point. Team Boss has gone to Mozambique for Christmas, which possibly means he will be out of contact. David is still trying to plant crops, but is busy dragging tyres around in the mud for training. Scared the wits out of me when I got a message that he had dropped the bike in the rocks and whacked his knee. Lucky he is a tough dude so no whimpering just bruising but I went into Mommy mode and had a panic fit. New issue to stress about - all our tyres did not make it onto the ship. Now we are harrassing our poor sponsor to take them to Jhb International airport and get them to Lima someway or somehow. At this point, we are pretty freaked out. David did ask me to take a few mousses as hand luggage/excess baggage or wear a long skirt and hide them under that:eek1 Does anyone know of any tyre dealers in Lima where we can buy for the bike along with mousses please in case this lot don't get them there in time. As a complete rookie - will the tyre companies have a truck there where I can go and get if and when and during the rally or book or 14 tyres and mousses in advance. Your help is appreciated. One of you guys did contact me earlier but at that stage I thought all was in order - should not have been so smug!!
Hi I will chat to the KTM people here in Lima tomorrow (this) morning, Im pretty sure there will be plenty of tyres to go round, you really only need to secure tyres for the first few days because thanks to the rider attrition rate it is possible to scrounge tyres every day in the bivouac from riders who drop out. Take a deep breath, everything will be fine. Neil
Oh Neil - thank you so much. - I just want to know that I have back up in case things go **** up, and I don't like worrying my rider with "little details" like lack of tyres. So want to know I have plan A to Z. You are a star thanks.
Hi we have some extra Michelin Desert tyres and Michi rallye mousses which will be available for sale, look for the red team San Lorenzo rally service truck or the bivy of Ben Grabham rider #57, there will be an Aussie flag above the pit tent and on the rally truck
Brett Cummings Todd Smith David Reeve Stanley Watt Pablo Rodrigez <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WgFWgyiIZeE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Riaan Van Niekerk Ben Grabham <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V5HfX-RCcBE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So sorry to hear David (the Zambian Rider) is out with a broken leg . It's really a shame after such a wonderful performance and now that most of the rally distance and hardship was behind.´ Rookie, hope you come back here after the turmoil and tell us your and David's story in detail.
Any News on this topic? The Norwegian Embassy in Lusaka (Capital of Zambia) posted this. http://www.norway.org.zm/News_and_events/PAL/ Last updated: 25/02/2013 // Pål Anders Ullevålseter has been invited to Zambia in mid-March by David Reeve and his fans. The invitation shows their appreciation for the help given by the Norwegian to Reeve during Dakar Rally earlier this year. Ullevålseter will come for a friendly visit and to compete in the National Off-Road Championship which is said to be one of the toughest and most technically challenging races in the region. David Reeve in Dakar Rally 2013. Photo: David Santos Jr The dramatic story from Dakar rally has been described in Lowdowns February edition under Our man at Le Dakar. The article highlights how the Dakar incidence, when Reeve ended up with a broken leg, also restored faith in the innate goodness of mankind. Ullevålseter who was riding behind Reeve saw that he was in a state of shock and stopped to press the red button installed on each bike to get help. That a fellow rider would stop and help is not necessarily a given at Dakar and Ullevålseter lost valuable time. To show their appreciation Reeves supporters have gone together to raise money to bring Ullevålseter to Zambia. The National Off-Road Championship During his visit to Zambia Ullevålseter will attend the National Off-Road Championship, where the Tom Reeve Memorial Trophy is awarded to the winner. Tom Reeve is David Reeves father and this event is run in his memory because of his valuable contribution to motorsport in Zambia and in particular off road motorcycling. The setting is the Reeve family farm, Dorvic which is located near Mazabuka, south of Lusaka. The Championship is the premier event in the Zambian off-road calendar and is by far the most difficult and it is regarded as being the toughest and most technically challenging with virtually every terrain being encountered in one loop. Riders are taken through majestic mountain scenery and have to cope with long rocky ascents and descents, river crossings, mud and clay sections, open flat areas and they need to dodge trees in the forest sections. They pass through local villages and get cheered on and assisted by enthusiastic locals. One can literally follow a popular riders progress from up in the mountains by listening to the locals as they cheer through certain points of the track. One is certainly in no doubt when Reeve is passing any spectator point. For many riders, the goal will be just a finish and every rider who completes the course is cheered home because everyone knows that they have overcome some serious personal challenges, particularly if they are not in the main classes. Stay tuned, updates from the Championship, whether celebrating victory for Ullevålseter or not, will come!
Hallo Bluebull How is the leg recovering? Funny thing but I though you might be the one who would respond first I would love to go and watch this, flying up to Ndola again on Sunday and coming back on Thursday. The article states it will happed mid-march....so basically exactly when I'm in Zambia thus bumping up the topic. PING Dakar Rookie