The Bivouac

[skibum69]

Originally Posted by Bluebull2007

Now you have hit a nerve: My bike wont be in time ready for Nevada. I held off working on it, and now they found water got into the engine and rusted stuff up in there so it has to be rebuilt. Plus I have just taken up a new job that is likely going to screw my chances of making the Dakar next year, so I'll have to postpone to 2013. What its does mean though is I will be riding a lot more in Bolivia as well though, and home base will be moving to Toronto this fall.

Im still going to keep up my connections in Peru though in all liklihood, I will be down here to see the Dakar in Jan. I'll probably do the Nevada thing in August though.

What's on the agenda for your next rally?

Nice! You'll have to come to Newfoundland for a visit, lots of room for you and whomever you bring. As for my next one I've been thinking about Morocco in October but some of my life might get in the way so I'll be looking at the spring. Maybe Tunisia?

[garfey]

Originally Posted by yety61

^^^^ Thanks for the help garfey, I'll have to work on that.

This had me LMAO,
" I was mousin' 'n' 'clickin' my tits off "
Brought back some funny memories that did.

HEY!! I used to have a great, matched set of 40DD's. Long gone now! PERGRA to use my Team F5 sigline line anytime, Yeti. I was LMAO about you LYAO.
















(OK, OK .... I lied about the 40DD's: they were really only 38's.)

[wrk2surf]

More bad news for those hoping for the race to go home.. voanews.com

Protesters staged a large anti-government rally in Senegal's capital Saturday just hours after the government said it had arrested several suspects accused of planning a coup d'etat.

Several dozen riot police stood watch over Dakar's main square as groups of mostly young men shouted and chanted their grievances against the government of President Wade.

The protest, organized by Senegalese media tycoon Sidy Lamine Niasse, marked the 11th anniversary since President Abdoulaye Wade ascended to the presidency.

Just hours before the rally, the justice minister appeared on state television saying security forces had foiled a coup plot targeting different locations in the capital and jailed several suspects.

Opposition figures denounced the arrests and many protesters called the allegations preposterous.

A taxi driver observing the protests named Mamadou says he does not believe there was any plot. He says a coup is either lead by a powerful politician or the military, but that the opposition in Senegal is far too weak for that.

Senegal prides itself as one of the most stable democratic countries in West Africa, but rising food prices, high unemployment and daily power outages in Dakar have frustrated and angered many former supporters of the president.

Some are also uneasy over President Wade's decision to stand for a third term in elections next year, when he will be 85, as well as his handing over of several important government posts to his son, Karim Wade.

Protester Mamsher Ibrahima Fall, a fisherman who works at the city's port, said he came to the rally because he is tired of rising food prices and the lack of jobs for young people. “We cannot work, we don't have nothing to do anymore, and the government is not good here. He doesn't give no work, he's just building streets. The people [are] hungry. We want another president. We don't need this president," he said.

Like many others in attendance, Fall voted for Wade 11 years ago but now thinks it is time for a change of leadership.

A retired civil service employee named Amadou Diaw agreed. Diaw says there was a lot of hope and trust when Wade came to power in 2000, but now people feel there has been a total deception.

Diaw now supports human rights activist and professor, Amsatou Sow Sidibe, who has already declared her candidacy against Wade for 2012. He says it's not because he's a feminist, but in his opinion, after three regimes lead by men, it is high time for a woman.

The United Nations and embassies sent out warnings to foreign nationals to avoid the protests in Dakar, though the rally remained relatively peaceful.

Although some government critics sought to link the protest with those in Arab countries, protester Serigne Malick said Senegal does not need a revolution. He says it would be useless for there to be a revolution like the ones in Egypt, Tunisia or Libya. The people are only asking the government to work better, work together with the people and be held more accountable.

Malick said he was impressed by the turnout, by some estimates as many as 3,000, though at times there appeared to be more onlookers than participants.

Later in the day, some protesters migrated to Place de l'Obelisque for another demonstration organized by opposition groups, artists and students.

[garfey]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

2112
Dakar will be on the moon using 50cc hover bikes.

Ahh, ermm, ahem, you caught that, too, eh, Hayduke. I wasn't gonna say anything, .... !

[yety61]

Hey garfey, you helped fix my F5 problem.

Talk about a nOOb mistake.

Ouch!! I think I just broke my F5 finger. Noooooooo!!!

[garfey]

Originally Posted by yety61

So, finally we know the dates, 1st January to 15th January.

14 days of severe sleep deprivation for me, I think I'd better start putting some sleep in the bank now so that I can keep up with the Team F5 maniacs.


New route, new bikes, exciting times ahead.

By the time Dakar 2011 was over, I had honed my Team F5 strategy down to praying for a very long, slow 1st Liaison so I could catnap through it and not miss much, then I'd jerk awake and race through the posts I'd missed, jumping back and forth between "most recent post" and "earliest unread post" until I'd caught up and could post without -ing (or 410-ing, or, doG forbid, 615-ing or 820-ing) myself too badly.

Then I'd just outlast all the Ol' Pro F5ers, staying with our "favorites" who were not among the first, ahh, 75 or so stage finishers, F5-ing like mad thru the web, looking for scraps of unposted info to post, and hoping to stay awake 'til all sources of info down there themselves fell asleep.

Seems to have worked pretty well although - and if anyone noticed he was nice enough not to mention it - on the final Thursday, I think it was, tho' it might have been Friday - it all blurred and ran together - I was running on about 3hrs actual sleep in the last 3 days and simply took a header into the kybd and had to sneak off and actually lie down for a couple or three hours, two alarm clocks set, before I could continue (that was the "tits off" phase, btw ). All n00b strategy, I know, but still, I don't think I disgraced The Team too badly.

Feel free to take over for me in 2012, yeti61, but I can tell you now that banking sleep won't work; you just have to outlast all the other F5ers at the end of each stage. That's where it really helps to be retirded and living Hermit-style so that you don't have to be any other place at any time during The Rallye. It also helps to lay in at least a 3-week supply of food and drink NLT Dec 31st and to have a little shop 5 miles away that opens at 0600 with fresh breakfast biscuits & burr'os and hot blugleberry dognuts!

[garfey]

I'm heading North tomorrow morning on the Beemer, 'bout 0500, to work the Roxton Rallye de Paris (n00b, again, but not for long!) and I will be wearing a Team F5 tee for the stages I work, shifting back and forth between RiffRaff and Team JMo/Piglet attire when not "on duty." I think it's gonna be a blast!

[Flood]

Originally Posted by garfey

Ahh, ermm, ahem, you caught that, too, eh, Hayduke. I wasn't gonna say anything, .... !

Instead of fixing my post, Mr. fancypants moderator chooses to make fun of his fellow's disly dasxy dyslexia!

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by Flood

Instead of fixing my post, Mr. fancypants moderator chooses to make fun of his fellow's disly dasxy dyslexia!

[JMo (& piglet)]

Originally Posted by Flood

More confirmation:

Aye - just had an email from Chris Evans (Cyril Despres' team manager) saying much the same thing - starting in Mar de Plata and finishing in Lima - end to end, like the old 'Dakar days' - and by all accounts, plenty more sand reminiscent of Mauritania too...

The expectation is that entries will fill up quickly, especially in the bike categories... roll on May 16th!

Should be exciting!

Jx

[barrier]

Originally Posted by protondecay123

All doubt ( not that there was alot of doubt) about the bikes has been removed

"BIKES: EVERYONE ON A 450CC
The reform which began two years ago has reached its conclusion. All the bikes enrolled on the Dakar 2012 will be limited to an engine size of 450cc. In 2010 and 2011, the compulsory switchover to 450cc for the elite riders led to a more intense battle between the constructors: 4 different constructors were represented in the final Top 10 of the last edition."

Hey Proto,
Is this a recent official ASO quote confirming the rule?
Regards, Barrie.

[protondecay123]

Originally Posted by barrier

Hey Proto,
Is this a recent official ASO quote confirming the rule?
Regards, Barrie.

Yes Barrie, Sorry for not posting the web page as well.

http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2012/us/route.html

Look towards the bottom.

[yety61]

Originally Posted by garfey

By the time Dakar 2011 was over, I had honed my Team F5 strategy down to praying for a very long, slow 1st Liaison so I could catnap through it and not miss much, then I'd jerk awake and race through the posts I'd missed, jumping back and forth between "most recent post" and "earliest unread post" until I'd caught up and could post without -ing (or 410-ing, or, doG forbid, 615-ing or 820-ing) myself too badly.

Then I'd just outlast all the Ol' Pro F5ers, staying with our "favorites" who were not among the first, ahh, 75 or so stage finishers, F5-ing like mad thru the web, looking for scraps of unposted info to post, and hoping to stay awake 'til all sources of info down there themselves fell asleep.

Seems to have worked pretty well although - and if anyone noticed he was nice enough not to mention it - on the final Thursday, I think it was, tho' it might have been Friday - it all blurred and ran together - I was running on about 3hrs actual sleep in the last 3 days and simply took a header into the kybd and had to sneak off and actually lie down for a couple or three hours, two alarm clocks set, before I could continue (that was the "tits off" phase, btw ). All n00b strategy, I know, but still, I don't think I disgraced The Team too badly.

Feel free to take over for me in 2012, yeti61, but I can tell you now that banking sleep won't work; you just have to outlast all the other F5ers at the end of each stage. That's where it really helps to be retirded and living Hermit-style so that you don't have to be any other place at any time during The Rallye. It also helps to lay in at least a 3-week supply of food and drink NLT Dec 31st and to have a little shop 5 miles away that opens at 0600 with fresh breakfast biscuits & burr'os and hot blugleberry dognuts!

garfey, you just described my experience exactly except for two differences, I worked all day and Dakar'd all night living on about 2hrs sleep per night except for the rest day. for the rest day. And I was "mous'n 'n' click'n my tits off"

Now with more experience and a quick fix from you, I'm good to go.

Jeebus, I've just realised I must be a Team F5 Dakar tragic.

[rallyman]

[Aussie66]

Anyone looking for sand riding/ rally training, more than ample opportunities down here in the UAE. James West operates a tour operation with rental bike and caters for group rides up to about 15 people and max 5-6 days.

pm if you need details.